LA Rams Head Coach On QB Jared Goff Starting Week 1: "I Can't Answer That Right Now"

Los Angeles Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher was on LA Today on  LA 570AM yesterday with hosts Bill Reiter and Leeann Tweeden to speak on a variety of subjects, perhaps most notably his timetable for new QB Jared Goff to take over the starting position:

Tweeden: So Jeff, you just said he's ready to go. Is Jared Goff going to be your starter on opening day?

Fisher: You know, that's not what I'm saying. I can't answer that right now. You know, I think he's hoping that that'll be the cause and I think a lot of people are as well, but we're not going to put him in a position to fail unless he's prepared. You just don't ask somebody to do something they can't do. It's been a short time to come a long way to grasp this offense. So, eventually he'll be there. He'll be ready. And we'll play him, start him when we think the time is right, but [I'm] not going to come out and say that he's our starter for the opener. [That] doesn't mean to say he won't be.

Bear in mind, both Fisher and GM Les Snead have repeatedly committed to Case Keenum as their starting QB, though (a) nobody really believed them and (b) they never explicitly named Keenum as the Week 1 starter.

So it's less of interest due to Snisher's public comments and more due to the intrigue around Goff's nascent career. The Rams are Goff. Period. If he grows into the NFL level and his career blossoms, the Rams will finally taste success. If he struggles to adapt, there's no reason to assume any improvement. If anything, the Rams could find themselves moving backwards as the rest of the team and roster has had to make way for Goff and the hole his cost has carved out of the roster.

Now Fisher's not wrong in his approach. If Goff's not ready, there's no reason to force him into starting. Nothing is more important to the franchise right now than Goff's long-term success (well, there is something more important to the franchise overall, but nothing more important to the fans who want the Rams to win...often and consistently). The question though perhaps might be why Goff wouldn't be ready when his predecessors all have been, apparently. The last #1 overall pick who was a QB that didn't start in Week 1 of his rookie career? Jamarcus Russell.

That is not the kind of company you want to keep if you're Jared Goff.

Since Russell led off the 2007 NFL Draft, Matthew Stafford (2009), Sam Bradford (2010), Cam Newton (2011) Andrew Luck (2012) and Jameis Winston (2015) all started in Week 1 of their rookie seasons.

Should Rams fans be worried if Goff isn't under center for Week 1?

It's hard not to suggest as much.