The Facts: Greg Olson ran the Raiders' offense while Goff navigated through his freshman and sophomore seasons at Cal, their stadiums only 12 miles apart. Olson studied Goff closely then, from 2013 to '14. He saw talent and promise. "Nothing that I've watched so far has deterred me from that same evaluation," Olson said. "I'm just real excited to get a chance to get with him and have a chance to work with him."
Diehards Line:
Olson is the now the Rams' quarterbacks coach, so it isn't a reach to call him the franchise's most important assistant. His job is to work with Goff; to correct the issues that plagued his rookie season and to tap into the raw ability that made him the No. 1 overall pick in 2016. Olson believes the ceiling is "really high" for Goff, four months removed from his 22nd birthday. He sees "tremendous arm talent," a phrase Olson used often. As a rookie, Goff threw to an underwhelming group of receivers, took snaps behind an inferior offensive line and ran a scheme that didn't function properly, regardless of the quarterback. But Goff himself didn't make sound decisions and didn't complete routine throws. Olson also believes Goff was at a disadvantage because he spent a significant portion of the season receiving limited snaps as a backup. The key to his development, Olson said, is "being comfortable within a system." We'll all be watching for signs that Goff is getting more comfortable in the coming months.