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.
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