It’s a big season for the Detroit Lions on offense, and that is especially true for Jared Goff considering the stakes for the quarterback.
Goff is coming into a critical second season at the helm of the Lions, and a lot about his future will be determined by what happens this season. With that in mind, it’s probably great news that folks within the team seem to feel fantastic about him to start the year.
More proof of this was revealed by Detroit running back coach and assistant head coach Duce Staley. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, August 23, Staley talked about Goff, and said he is impressed with the quarterback every day for a variety of reasons. Specifically, how his teammates respond to him.
“A true leader.”
“A true leader. These guys look up to him, they listen to him, you can tell when they’re in the room how they respect him. As a quarterback, on the outside looking in as a coach first, to see the guys look at a quarterback like that is special. You can always tell from your offensive line how he is respected. If he ever gets knocked down, they are running over to get him up. Those guys love him, they love fighting for him, they love battling for him. Happy we got him,” Staley told the media.
How a quarterback commands a room is a big deal in the NFL, and given his experience in the league, Staley would know a thing or two about that.
To hear about how players are responding to Goff is excellent news. The team will want to see more of that in the months ahead. It’s a big reason there is a lot of chemistry on the team at this point.
In terms of complements, this is a good one for Goff, and a significant feather in his cap.
Goff Encouraged With Lions’ New Offense
So far, Goff seems to like how things are trending for his new offense. The team is making important gains on the field week by week.
Speaking to the media on August 17, Goff discussed where things were at within the team’s offense. As he said, while there may be a lot to consider, the team is moving forward even if there are some things to fix.
“I feel great about it. I think there’s still a lot of work to do. We still have however many weeks we do have, but if you told me where we’re at right now six months ago, I’d be pretty happy about it,” Goff said. “So we’re doing good things. With that being said, there’s still plenty of things to clean up, myself certainly plenty of things to clean up that I can do better and I think that’s what I spoke to really. That standard that we have now is just different. It’s the way it should be. It’ll continue to rise.”
Seeing the offense continue to develop is what folks will want to look for as the start of the season wears on. As Goff seems to know, there’s good reason for the team to be optimistic.
Goff Praises Ben Johnson’s Coordinator Work
In terms of how the offense has performed when on the field, Goff thinks that things are moving in the right direction as well.
“We haven’t played a game yet, I don’t know. It looked good in practice, right? It looked good at times (in practice). Preseason, that first drive was fine. We scored but it wasn’t huge explosive plays, so we don’t know. It’s still yet to be seen, but I think we’re trending in the right direction and feel good about it.”
Why does Goff feel so good about where things are trending? That has everything to do with the team’s offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who’s been calling the shots this offseason. The quarterback offered more praise for Johnson and his plan in terms of how he is moving things forward.
“I think Ben has done such a great job getting guys ready to play. I think that’s the most important part for those guys, those coaches and I know they know it too. Getting us ready to play and and what Ben has done through the spring and then through training camp has been tremendous, and it’s felt really good.”
How good does Johnson’s offense look? That’s the big question, but perhaps soon, the team will get some answers. At the very least, there is no question about the man who
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Lions Coach Provides Jared Goff His Biggest Vote of Confidence Yet