I don’t know that the Rams are in any hurry to get Jared Goff on the field. He’s not ready (I’m not sure he’s even their 2nd-best quarterback), and they’ve been able to have some success with Case Keenum.
Keenum is unheralded and modestly talented – a former undrafted free agent who worked his way onto the Texans roster. They traded him to the Rams. Keenum has started eight games in the last two years, and he’s been under 200 passing yards in five of them.
But Keenum at least has some ability to avoid sacks and interceptions, so they’ve been competitive in a lot of his games. He’s won two games, for example, against the Seahawks. For the Rams, he’s 5-3 as a starter.
Over the last two years, 35 quarterbacks have started at least half of a season (8 games). Of that group, Keenum is one of only 13 who’s won over 60 percent of his games.
Some big names, on the other hand, are among the few who haven’t won any more than 30 percent of their starts – Andrew Luck, Marcus Mariota, Blake Bortles and Philip Rivers.
As long as Keenum can continue to carefully manage games, the Rams probably will leave Goff on the sideline. I don’t think we’ll see the No. 1 overall pick in the starting lineup before November.
| WIN-LOSS RECORDS, 2015-16 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | W | L | T | Pct |
| Cam Newton, Car. | 19 | 16 | 3 | 0 | .842 |
| Peyton Manning, Den. | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 |
| Tom Brady, N.E. | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 |
| Carson Palmer, Ariz. | 19 | 14 | 5 | 0 | .737 |
| Brock Osweiler, Den.-Hou. | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 |
| Andy Dalton, Cin. | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 |
| Teddy Bridgewater, Min. | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 |
| Alex Smith, K.C. | 19 | 13 | 6 | 0 | .684 |
| Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0 | .632 |
| Russell Wilson, Sea. | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0 | .632 |
| Case Keenum, Rams | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 |
| Matt Hasselbeck, Ind. | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 |
| Sam Bradford, Phil.-Min. | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick, NYJ | 19 | 11 | 8 | 0 | .579 |
| Matt Ryan, Atl. | 19 | 10 | 9 | 0 | .526 |
| Kirk Cousins, Wash. | 19 | 10 | 9 | 0 | .526 |
| Derek Carr, Oak. | 19 | 9 | 10 | 0 | .474 |
| Tyrod Taylor, Buff. | 17 | 8 | 9 | 0 | .471 |
| Joe Flacco, Balt. | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | .462 |
| Brian Hoyer, Hou.-Chi. | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | .455 |
| Matthew Stafford, Det. | 19 | 8 | 11 | 0 | .421 |
| Eli Manning, NYG | 19 | 8 | 11 | 0 | .421 |
| Drew Brees, N.O. | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | .389 |
| Ryan Tannehill, Mia. | 19 | 7 | 12 | 0 | .368 |
| Jameis Winston, T.B. | 19 | 7 | 12 | 0 | .368 |
| Blaine Gabbert, S.F. | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | .364 |
| Nick Foles, St.L. | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | .364 |
| Jay Cutler, Chi. | 17 | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 |
| Andrew Luck, Ind. | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 |
| Marcus Mariota, Tenn. | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0 | .267 |
| Blake Bortles, Jac. | 19 | 5 | 14 | 0 | .263 |
| Philip Rivers, S.D. | 19 | 5 | 14 | 0 | .263 |
| Colin Kaepernick, S.F. | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 |
| Josh McCown, Clev. | 9 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 |
—Ian Allan