This is the correct take..... This is exactly why the Rams ran that play on 4th and 1 in their own territory with the game on the line. Give the ball to your best playmaker and pick up the first down.
Ehh. I say you go with what got you there.
I understand what you are saying, but this isn't some special play. It's a handoff for 1 yard. You go with your studs, IMO. Regardless, the real issue isn't a RB that can't get a yard, it's an OL that can't get their RB a yard, and an OL that couldn't give Burrow 1 more second to see Chase was WIDE OPEN for the winning TD on 4th and 1.
And the killer thing is - if Hopkins just doubles down on Donald with Spain - Burrow has that extra second to hit Chase, who was running wide open after Ramsey fell down.
It's funny to think, but if the refs don't flag Wilson late and the Rams can't punch it in on 4th and goal, Lou is the talk of the NFL this week. He'd be the guy that shut down Henry, Mahomes, and McVeigh's superstar offense all within a month.
Nobody in the world, not even Whit himself, thought that, at 35 at the time, was going play at an All-Pro level for the next 4-5 years.
How did they know they were going to make the Superbowl this year? And that it would be lost because of the lack off offensive line that they pieced together in the offseason? Was it a good outlook to begin with? No. But they couldn't have known it was going to be that bad, and that it would cost them that much.
What made it worse, IMO, is that they watched Ced and Fischer for 2/3 years - and still thought they were good enough. That is a serious miscalculation on Lewis/staff or management ignoring the obvious to "justify" their draft positions. Either way, they did not do what needed to be done.
You never know when you are going to make it - which is why you need to be ready each year. It's not like they were "a piece" away - right - they knew that no less than 2 or 3 of the OL needed to be replaced. This goes back before Burrow was here. Then Joe got his knee snapped. And yet they went into the season with enough cap space to at least significantly upgrade 1 position on the OL. Even if they wanted to make it a multi-year process so that by '22/23 they were 100% ready to really compete - why not get at least 1 guy, and then stack that with another guy this off-season, and maybe another draft pick - and now you've got 3 or 4 potential starters that are better than what they ran out this year, plus allowed them some depth with the draft.
Good point. Anyone that continues the dialogue of how much better we would have been with Sewell simply fails to acknowledge what Chase does to that offense. One of the best things about attending a game live was watching how concerned defenses are about his presence. He changes games that he doesn't even make many plays in.
Forgot about Waynes. He definitely needs cut and that could save us Bates.
Here's the thing, though, about Thuney's money (not just him, in general) so many teams do the "Funny money" thing with contracts. He's never going to see all of that money. The Bengals do more realistic contracts where the player is likely to realize most of their contract. In the end, they will earn more money in Cincinnati - but they need to check their "ego" about what the paper says - and now, at least, the Bengals have more to sell than just that - but a true young nucleus of players on offense that will win games. Imagine being Jenson of TB - he can go from blocking for Brady to blocking for Burrow (and Chase, Mixon, Higgins, Boyd) - you know he sees the potential in allowing his career to sustain on a winning team. If the Bengals offer anything close, I think F/A's are going to be more tempted than ever to sign.
Agree 100%.
