The Case For Benching Case Keenum
By Sam McPherson
It's easy to acknowledge that little has gone right for Los Angeles Rams in the 2016 NFL regular season so far. After a promising 3-1 start to the season, the team has now lost four straight games, and the last three in a row have been by a touchdown margin or less. It's hard to overcome missed opportunities like that in today's professional football world.
The schedule ahead also contains at least five more losses, in all probability: Road games against New Orleans, New England and Seattle all promise to be tough challenges, and home against Atlanta and Arizona also are not going to be manageable wins with those two teams fighting for playoff spots down the stretch.
While it's too early to think about throwing in the towel on the season, it's not too early for the Rams organization to think about putting Jared Goff on the field.
Overall No. 1 Draft Picks Need To Play
When it comes to quarterbacks chosen first overall in the NFL Draft, there have been many success stories for the Los Angeles Rams to consider. Just a quick glance at Super Bowl-winning QBs that went first overall tells you something: The talent needs to play in order to develop and be good.
The less these QBs play as a rookie, the less successful they are as NFL players down the line. Terry Bradshaw, Peyton Manning, John Elway and Troy Aikman all took their lumps as rookie quarterbacks, but in the end, that experience paid off in the form of 11 Super Bowl wins and 16 Super Bowl starts.
The longer the Rams wait to play Goff, the more they are stunting his long-term potential.
Case Keenum Isn't The Answer
While Keenum is a hard-working player, he doesn't have the raw, natural ability to be a successful NFL QB. He now has an 8-15 record as a starter in the league, including just a 6-7 mark with the Rams since the start of the 2015 season. His QB rating with the Rams is just 80.4, and in 13 starts, he's tossed just 13 touchdowns along with 12 interceptions.
Those are not the numbers of a QB that is going to win games for the team on a regular basis. Keenum is the kind of talent that can only lose games for an NFL team. That may fit with Head Coach Jeff Fisher's conservative offensive game plan, but when the running game isn't even working, Keenum is just a liability.
The Rams aren't going anywhere with Keenum at the helm in 2016. That much is clear already: He's thrown nine TDs and 11 INTs this season, and his statistical production defines mediocrity across the board.
Start Goff Now
Earlier this week, it was reported the Rams won't play Goff until they're eliminated from postseason contention. That time hasn't officially come yet, but for all intents and purposes, the time is now. Los Angeles isn't going to make the playoffs, and only wishful thinking is keeping that pipe dream alive.
Goff started 37 games in his collegiate career at California, and he completed 64.5 percent of his passes his senior season. Numbers of starts and completion percentage are the highest indicators of future NFL success for college QBs, and Goff has both in his favor: That's why the Rams drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick last spring.
At the very worst, Goff should be just as good as another former No. 1 pick, Detroit's Matthew Stafford. At best, he could be a lot more. Either way, the Los Angeles franchise is better off right now with Goff than it is with Keenum. Every game the Rams do not play their prized rookie is another game that delays the team's inevitable return to meaningful January football.