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It all seemed so perfect: Jared Goff, the No. 1 overall pick out of Cal, making his NFL debut in the Bay Area, starting for the Los Angeles Rams against the 49ers on Monday Night Football before a national television audience.
Too perfect, as it turns out. Barring a change of heart by Rams coach Jeff Fisher, Goff won't even be in uniform, relegated to third string behind starting quarterback Case Keenum and backup Sean Mannion.
The Rams' company line is they are exercising patience, even if that's not the way of the NFL in recent years. The last five quarterbacks taken No. 1 -- Jameis Winston (2015), Andrew Luck (2012), Cam Newton (2011), Sam Bradford (2010) and Matthew Stafford (2009) -- all were Week 1 starters.
You have to go back to 2007 -- JaMarcus Russell and the Raiders -- to find a No. 1 pick at quarterback who didn't open the season as the starter. With Russell and the Raiders, there was a good reason: He didn't sign a contract until after the opener.
Goff had a shaky performance in the exhibition finale against the Minnesota Vikings. After leading the Rams on a 62-yard touchdown drive in his first possession, Goff ended up 6 of 16 for 62 yards and a touchdown, but lost a fumble and threw an interception. He dropped a center snap that hit him in the hands, misfired to open receivers and couldn't execute plays he made in his sleep at Cal.
percentage (44.9) ranked 102nd.
percentage (44.9) ranked 102nd.
Only Goff knows if the pressure of being the top pick and the face of a franchise in its return Los Angeles is contributing to his struggles.
More likely, Goff is having to learn an entirely new way to play football, and do it against players far superior to anything he saw in the Pac-12. At Cal, Goff never went into a huddle or took a snap from under center.
When the Rams worked out with the Dallas Cowboys in Oxnard preceding their preseason opener, visiting ESPN analyst Jon Gruden didn't think Goff was ready and didn't think starting immediately -- as he did as a freshman at Cal -- would be a wise move.
"Right now, Case Keenum's better. He'll be a role model for Jared," Gruden told reporters. "Just hold your horses on Goff. I know he's going to be the chosen one. Fans are going to love him. I just think you've got to be a little patient. I'm concerned with putting too much, too soon on the guy."
Jumping to more conclusions with the regular season up next:
- The opposite approach to the one the Rams are taking with Goff is in Philadelphia, where Carson Wentz, the No. 2 overall pick from North Dakota State, is being fast-tracked after the Eagles dealt Sam Bradford to Minnesota for first and fourth-round picks.
Wentz may not open the season as the starter because of a rib injury, but the plan is to get him on the field as soon as possible ahead of Chase Daniel, who was signed to be a backup.
In the preseason, Wentz's quarterback rating of 41.8 was even lower than Goff's, and he threw only 24 passes.
- Minnesota's move to acquire Bradford speaks as much to the severity of the injury sustained by quarterback Teddy Bridgewater as to their desire to win this year. It could take more than a single season for Bridgewater's knee to recover.
Bradford, by the way, is 0-6 and has taken 21 sacks against NFC North opposition.
- The Browns are bad because they can't draft. From 2011 through 2014, Cleveland had six first-round draft picks: Justin Gilbert (No. 8) and Johnny Manziel (No. 22) in 2014; Barkevious Mingo (No. 6) in 2013; Trent Richardson (No. 3) and Brandon Weeden (No. 22) in 2012; and Phillip Taylor (No. 21) in 2011.
Incredibly, none is on Cleveland's roster.
- Agree or disagree, the 49ers' Colin Kaepernick had answers to questions about why he refused to stand for the national anthem. Can't say the same for Seattle cornerback Jeremy Lane, who in the postgame locker room Thursday night hadn't seemed to give it much thought at all.
over here so let's keep it movin'. 
