Jared Goff Loves Throwing Football Downfield

Dan Campbell shares his thoughts on Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

Jared Goff is getting acclimated to his new home. 

Since being traded to the Detroit Lions, along with significant draft capital, in a monumental quarterback swap that involved Matthew Stafford, Goff has been tasked with leading the renovation of the organization. 

Early in training camp, he’s earned rave reviews from his new head coach Dan Campbell. 

“He’s been good,” Campbell said. “You can just see him, from where we were in the spring to where we are now, you can see how much more comfortable he is and how much more he’s taken ownership of this offense, which is what we want.” 

There isn’t a ton of familiarity when it comes to Goff and the Lions. 

Many of the wide receivers in the organization are new, much like Goff. Yet, Goff connected with some of them during workouts in California this offseason. 

Campbell believes those efforts are paying off. 

“Man, he’s really growing into it,” Campbell said. “And, he is embracing it and it’s becoming, and that’s what we want. We want it to become what is best for him and his vision, as well as ours. And so he’s been great. He really has.” 

With a potentially dynamic one-two punch in the Lions' backfield with D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams, plus a solid offensive line, it’s uncertain what Goff’s workload will look like. 

However, Campbell said he and his staff are making sure they align the offense with what their quarterback wants. 

“There’s certain things (Goff) really likes and he does really well,” Campbell said. “He loves progressions. He loves progression reads. He loves throwing it downfield. He really does." 

 Backup quarterback competition

With Chase Daniel gone, Detroit has reopened its backup quarterback competition.

Squaring off are incumbent third-string quarterback David Blough, who has started five games in his career, and free-agent signing Tim Boyle. 

Blough has been inconsistent in his career, throwing for 984 yards, four touchdowns and six interceptions. Boyle, meanwhile, is unproven, after spending the beginning of his career backing up Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.  

The competition hasn’t been decided yet. Campbell outlined his expectations for his backup during his press conference Friday. 

“Certainly somebody you know that, if something happens to (Goff), that can go in there and run this offense,” Campbell said. “I don’t think it’s any different than (Goff). You know, you wanna feel like, ‘Alright, whoever comes into that game is gonna be able to function in this offense. They’re gonna be able to run it, understand what we’re trying to do. We don’t need you to be, not looking for somebody to sling it all over the field. We just need to know that you’re gonna be able to communicate what we’re trying to do. You’ll get us to the right play.”  

Penei Sewell Update

Breaking in new rookie Penei Sewell will be important during training camp, as he’s expected to see significant playing time once the season rolls around. 

Sewell has the size to play right away. However, a major focus will be finetuning and adding to the skill set he already has. 

Campbell has a solution: Romeo Okwara. Sewell will line up against Okwara in practice and take full- speed reps. 

“The best thing for him is gonna be Romeo Okwara,” Campbell said. “That is the absolute best. That actually gives me hope, because I know Romeo’s gonna give (Sewell) a full day’s work.”

Campbell knows Sewell will struggle at times -- that’s part of being a rookie. However, by learning from these failures and adapting to the struggles, Sewell will be able to carve out confidence and become stronger. 

“It’s about just taking it day-to-day and rep-to-rep,” Campbell said. “What can happen with those guys, he’s got the talent and he’s got the ability, is to not lose confidence. I think that’s a big thing, because he’s gonna have a couple of bad days. It’s just gonna happen. It happens with the best of them.”