With a big contract in hand and now a wedding ring on his finger after marrying Christen Harper last weekend, Jared Goff has some important things squared away as he gets ready for the coming season.
At this point, Goff's fans or detractors can find whatever data they want to find to confirm their thoughts. But we know what he is and isn't as a quarterback, good and bad, and over the last couple seasons that has been quite good with Ben Johnson cultivating a relationship with his quarterback and designing an offense that highlights what Goff does best.
A hallmark of Johnson's offense is the quick passing game. We know about the drop-off Goff has when he get's pressured, more than any other quarterback last year based on DVOA. He's not a mobile quarterback, and when he does take off to run it looks awkward (to put it nicely).
PFF time to throw data points to obvious strength of Jared Goff
The best offensive line in the NFL keeps Goff very clean, which is obviously critical to the success of the Lions' offense. But in concert with that is Johnson's play design, and where Goff excels.
Pro Football Focus recently put Goff in some rare air for last season, as one of two quarterbacks with a top-10 passing grade on short (under 10 yards), intermediate (11-19 yards) and downfield (20-plus yard) throws. His highest ranking, but not his best grade, was on short passes.
PFF most recently ranked top-10 quarterbacks by time to throw last season, categorized by less than and more than 2.5 seconds. Dolphins' quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had the best grade on under 2.5-second throws, and he lapped the field by many other measures (good and bad) due to his sheer volume of those quick throws.
Goff had the second-best grade (84.2) on throws made in under 2.5 seconds. Getting the ball out of his hands quickly, and so proficiently, is a testament to his intangibles (pre-snap recognition, etc.) as much as his physical skill.
