The Detroit Lions’ locker room roiled with joy, and in the middle of it all, head coach Dan Campbell held court, his voice as shredded as a torn jersey.
“Dude, how electric was it out there?” Campbell bellowed after the Lions had beaten the Los Angeles Rams for Detroit’s first playoff victory in 32 years. “I’m telling you what. It doesn’t get any better. It’s everything you dreamed of and more.”
Then Campbell took a moment to recognize two individuals who brought Detroit to this ecstatic moment. The first was general manager Brad Holmes. The second: a guy whom Holmes brought to Detroit and Campbell turned loose on the NFL.
“I’ll just say it like this,” Campbell said. “You’re good enough for f***ing Detroit, Jared Goff.”
You can trace the spirit of these Lions back to Campbell’s infamous “biting kneecaps” news conference on Jan. 21, 2021. To the delight of cynics and smug football knowers, Campbell snarled his way through his introduction and promised that better days were ahead.
The spine of this team, though, started forming 10 days later, when Holmes shipped Matthew Stafford to the Rams in exchange for a 2022 first-rounder, a 2023 first-rounder … oh, and Goff, too.
The trade won plenty of praise for Detroit, largely because of those draft picks. Goff? Eh, better than nothing, right? Right … ?
There was little expectation outside Detroit that Goff would do anything more than occupy a roster spot. After a strong start in Los Angeles, including two Pro Bowl appearances and a trip to the Super Bowl, he struggled in 2019 and 2020 and was eventually benched. His relationship with Rams head coach Sean McVay bottomed out, and he wasn’t exactly heartbroken to leave Los Angeles.
McVay, for his part, acknowledged the rift last week. “He deserved better than the way it all went down, I’ll acknowledge that, and I think he knows that, too,” McVay said of Goff. “I’m not afraid to admit to those things. But I think we’re all better…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/jared-goff-has-settled-all-scores-183344587.html
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Publish date : 2024-01-16 18:33:44
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