Useless predictions: 2021 Season over and 2022 expectations

   Season is over, new champion was crowned, super team won, the all in worked for the home team. the L.A. Rams placed a bunch of their eggs, the neighbors and their future grandkids on one basket and manage to take the ultimate price. Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford made it work just enough for their defense to shut it down in the final half, the Bengals fought hard but their Achilles heel showed up often at the end of the game and just could not cover it up any longer. Congrats to the 2021 Rams who made it two consecutive Super Bowl winners at their own stadium. As for me, well I think I did pretty good, it will work as a measuring stick for future references.

Line + O/U record:

Regular season record: 43-135 (24%)

Playoffs record: 5-8 (38%)

2021 season: 48-143 (25%)

   There was some cyber talk whether Stafford talk about him not deserving to be a Hall of Famer, I will say this, it would surprise me if he was to be a first ballot entrée but if he got in eventually it wouldn't bother me the slightest. He is a very good QB that maintained the Lions relevant, once he lost Calvin Johnson to retirement he still put good stat numbers with an average at best team, Jared Goff could do diddly doo with the Lions while Stafford was the missing piece for the Rams offense to win the Super Bowl and now has a ring to put on his resume. So yeah, I really don't mind if he makes it and will depend on what groups of players he gets chosen from when he is eligible, consistently good QBs are hard to come by and Stafford is definitely one of them. And while I'm in the subject of Hall of Fame talk, Devin Hester should be included, he was a difference maker and is the best returner in history, even if he wasn't the best WR, he was a really good field stretcher who found success in a very poor/unbalanced WR group, I'm not mad he didn't make it as a first ballot like some people were/are and I cant blame them for being so, I was more afraid others not as deserving made it instead of him and reading some opinions that looked to have been the case and for that I do feel disappointed, he deserves to be in sooner rather than later, "never" should not be an option. 

   Lets test the waters of what the 2022 season looks like.

   The L.A. Rams have a bunch of work to do this offseason to maintain themselves as a competitor, they invested quite a bit of future capital into this season and there are some rumors that veteran players could opt to retire with their goal of getting a ring cross checked off their to do list, I don't see many players opting this road but being complacent might be more of a reality ultimately resulting in hanging the towel sooner than one would think. Their cap situation is bad and will make it mostly impossible to sing FAs so it will take a very good eye to identify cheap talent to fill in the holes that FA players will leave, the WR group will continue to be the strong group of this team once Robert Woods returns but might have trouble if Andrew Whitworth calls it quits adding multiple holes on the Oline, the defense can still be good if Aaron Donald stays put, but a repeat doesn't look too real for them.As for the division, if they can better their Oline situation, they might have a shot of taking it once more. The 49ers and Cardinals are in a similar boat with cap difficulties to bolster an already strong team but are having different but important question marks on their QB situation, the 49ers might go with Trey Lance next season which will be a coin flip that could pay off because Jimmy Garoppolo ain't it and the Cardinals have a disgruntled Kyler Murray that might result in a soap opera if they don't fix the contract extension issues. Seattle has its own QB mess with Russell Wilson rumors popping up again that he might want to be traded, adding that their whole secondary might disappear along with some Oline starters it doesn't look good for the franchise, only thing going for them is that they have better cap situation than the other three teams on their division. 

   As for the Bengals, they are in a better position to repeat their trip to the Super Bowl, with a younger team and cap to spare, they can sign key FAs and most importantly build the Oline to keep Joe Burrow alive. The Bengals problem is getting in the playoffs, the Browns are the team that looks to be ready to take it up a notch and compete with the Bengals for the division but will a healthier version of Baker Mayfield make it happen? The Ravens will take some hits this offseason especially on defense but this is a team that has always rebuild through the draft and there's always a pair of players that were sitting it out on the bench just waiting their turn to shine. The Steelers are the ones that need the most work to do now that they don't have a legitimate QB to lead them and no Oline establish to protect whoever takes Ben Roethlisberger's place, they have cap to work with and maybe can build something to go get a QB on this years draft.

   For the rest of the NFC, the Cowboys will lose like half of the team to FA and are in cap hell. The Giants will go all in with Daniel Jones, need I say more? the Commanders (chuckle) might be in a position to take the division if it weren't for the huge question mark on QB and because the Eagles have a butt load of picks, have a decent roster and cap to work with, only thing stopping them is making the decision on continue to go with Jalen Hurts or take a different road. OMG the South is in shambles, is this a Tom Brady curse where every other team on the division gets like the plague and sucks until he leaves? The Saints have no QB and are bottom of the barrel in cap space, woof. The poor Falcons are a Matt Ryan retirement away of being hot garbage. The Panthers are not far behind with no direction and no idea what to do at QB. Is part of the Brady curse that his former team turns to a rotting pumpkin as well? Oh boy, the South is going to suck. The Vikings defense is going to look, putting it politely, different. The Lions can make some noise this offseason and build something that can resemble a competitive team, if only they had a QB. The Bears need to play their limited cards well, they need to start with the Oline and go from there, give Justin Fields a fighting chance. The Packers are Pandora's box because Aaron Rodgers IS the Packers, I'm hating this guy more by the day, he has noodles for brains and nobody knows what's going on in there, still if he stays in Green Bay he is the guy to beat in the North.

   As for the rest of the AFC, the Jets can turn things around with a good offseason, they are loaded with cap and picks, they need to help Zach Wilson get on track. The Dolphins are on the same boat as the Jets, have everything to make noise this offseason, need to get their QB settled. The Patriots and the dark lord have their guy set at QB, just need to fill in the holes. The Bills are the ones to beat, they wont do much this offseason but they really don't need to, except get a better game plan. The Broncos have a good team and have ammo to use this offseason but on a division where every other team has his prime QB and you don't, then you are automatically at the bottom. The Raiders and Chargers have a shot of getting closer to the top of their division if they have a good offseason with the Chiefs struggling a bit in cap space and loosing some key FAs. Its sad to see the state of the NFC South to then turn to the AFC version and see more of the same, the Texans are in QB limbo with an owner that is pure evil, the Jaguars have everything to be good but its owner still refuses to do so, the Colts have an owner that ignores the importance of the QB position and as good as the Titans look, they have a band aid at QB, a very good one but a band aid still and not much cap to work with. Does this division have no sense of respect for the QB position? The south is going to double suck.

   Right now the AFC is looking pretty though while the NFC is lacking in QB talent, that is good for the ones that do have a QB and can roll easily to the playoffs while working their roster and scheme to be better prepared and can absorb an injured player or two in the process as long as they get them back for the post season. One can argue that the AFC teams that gets to the playoffs will be deserving ones that survived a hellish conference (not you AFC south, you look doomed) and will be tempered in fires of battle. Lets see how this pans out in the next month or two once Free Agency starts.

Useless predictions: 2021 Super Bowl weekend

    The game is set and ready to go in a few hours, didn't get neither of the two conference games correct but I got one of the finalists right since the beginning the the season. The Chiefs couldn't hang on to the lead, they hand control and the team to put the game away but as their season was plagued by inconsistency to finish off games, this game ended being a reflection of their season. The 49ers offense did too little to help their defense out who ran out of gas in the 4th quarter, they could have ended the game if Jaquiski Tartt didn't drop the interception and failing to stop the Rams last drive for the winning FG, still the 49ers offensive weapons were held in check and Jimmy Garoppolo showed too little to be considered the QB that can take this team to a Super Bowl. On to the last game of the 2021 season.

Conference round: 0-2

Playoffs record: 4-8 (33%)

L.A. Rams at Cincinnati (+4.5)   U48.5

   The super team against the young underdog, it has the look of a good game. The Bengals, a team many had not in the playoffs and even some had them ranked to end the season as one of the bottom 5 teams, a team that is quite stacked with young talented players managed to reach the promised land with a potent air attack and a sturdy defense, they will go against a team that only got richer as the season progressed via trades getting Von Miller to help elevate the pass rush and Odell Beckham to replace injured Robert Woods while also convincing Eric Weddle out of retirement to replace injured Jordan Fuller, its an up and down team but has all the makings of a complete roster with no reason not to be the favorite to win this game but honestly the only thing stopping the Bengals from being favorite is their incapability of protecting Joe Burrow, can he survive the pass rush once more to lead his team to the Lombardi? Can Mathew Stafford get rid of the Lions label and get the ultimate price? Or will he need help from the other savvy veterans on his team? I don't expect this being an offensive juggernaut of a game, the defenses will be in full display and the one that blinks first is going to pay the price.

Offseason rant: New leadership/roster for 2022

   While many Bears fans where desperate and criticizing the Bears front office selection process for their GM and HC hire claiming it was moving to slow and the list was too long, once they did take a decision on their new GM in Ryan Poles, he moved fast to make Matt Eberflus his first ever HC hire, the pair moved as quick to select the majority of their staff while the rest of GM/HC needy teams where still processing their decisions, so kudos to George McCaskey, even if he get on fans nerves most of the time, for his determination to keep going with the process and once he and the committee knew who they wanted, making the swift decision to hire him results in a big positive move by the organization.

   The decision to make Poles the Bears next GM is somewhat surprising to me, I didn't knew him as one of the candidates listed but once I started to read about him and what others thought about him, in my head he looked to be the redemption version of Ryan Pace, the young upcoming prodigy that comes from a team that has been very successful the past few years where he has quickly climbed through the ranks, so to hire someone similar to the guy you just fired is a bit weird. I have zero problems with this because I was very supportive of Pace and his keen eye for finding talented players in FA and draft day, but even I had to accept that he messed up big in other categories such as contract evaluation and giving away picks too often to go up the board or when trading for veteran players from other teams, many of these decisions hurt the Bears roster significantly but no other decision crippled the team more that failing to accept that his HC hire was a bad one and going all in with him, so here is hoping that Poles does a better job overall and that his time surrounded by good football people as well as his experience playing the game help him make better decisions. I am intrigued to see how his input and experience up front as an OL guy can upgrade the Bears roster, its obvious to state that it would be a huge help for Justin Fields, hopefully he can play behind better protection and has time to see the field rather than trying to make time by running for his life, helping the running game would be nice as well, I bet David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert would appreciate it. The decision by Poles to add  in Ian Cunningham as an assistant GM is very interesting, both have very similar backgrounds by playing as OL at their schools and when they didn't getting drafted they started their carriers as scouts all the way to the positions they have right now which one could view them as very fast risers, it will be good for both of them to experience and share the top of the organization together and grow from it.

   Eberflus although being a defensive guy was who I liked more to get his first stint at HC, he views himself as a teacher of the game, his time and experience as a defensive coach is well documented and looks to be very well respected by his past and present peers and players, this is all good but is also expected to be heard from a first or former HC. What I expect of Eberflus is what he has said to the media, he expects hustle and accountability, he expects his staff to always put the player first and the scheme second and it was something that Poles stated himself as well when asked about his philosophy, these three points were missing completely from Matt Nagy's team, there was a lack of hustle from various players specially on offense, there seemed to be no accountability when mistakes where made and there was close to no adjustments made to fit the scheme to the players who just looked unprepared most of the time, if this staff can achieve these three thing they have spoken of as their principles, then the Bears will be a different team next season in a good way.

   As for how the staff is looking, well there were names thrown out there that sounded very promising like Rich Bisaccia for ST Coordinator and Rod Marinelli for DL being the biggest examples, imagine having two ex-HC to your disposal, but they didn't materialized. So I'm not going to act like I know the people on the staff enough to say if they are going to work or not but I do feel good about who is in it as of today especially the defensive side, Eberflus getting three of his coaches from his previous team is very promising, they come into the building knowing already what they want to do and have the communication established already to do it the way they want to do it, they didn't get Marinelli  but got the assistant who already has worked out with Khalil Mack so there's familiarity there. As for the offensive side of the staff, I can see a trend which is good but I don't know how much its going to help Fields out, I like the hiring of Luke Getsy for the same reason I am interested in the hiring of QB coach Andrew Janocko, both have experience coaching WRs and have had success doing so but as QB gurus its a bit more of Getsy being close to Aaron Rodgers and Janocko being a former QB himself, so there might be an interesting mix to it that can help QB and WR groups work better together. As for the other coaching spots, I see guy with years of experience and/or have experience playing the position.  There is no RBs coach as of today but as things are moving I don't expect it to be empty for much longer, many are commenting that this offensive staff is leaning on a Shanahan style of play, the important thing is that they are familiar with it and know how to work it out between them so they can coach the players up and execute it. Listening and reading what the new head honchos are saying, it pretty much looks like there's not going to be a rebuild but instead they will try fixing the roster filling the roster with FA and the draft, which is harder because it means that results should come sooner rather than later, so next step is getting into the Free Agency period with an idea of who to get that can contribute, with limited cash and many holes to fill let see how the new regime starts the offseason.