The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Super Bowl LVI recap: How the Rams won it all & what's next for Joe Burrow & the Bengals

Episode Date: February 14, 2022

The Los Angeles Rams are Super Bowl Champions for 2021! After a long and sometimes controversial process of team building, relocation and numerous injuries, Aaron Donald, Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp & Company got it done 23-20 over the Cincinnati Bengals. What kind of precedent does the Sean McVay offense set for the rest of the league now that they've won a title? Can Aaron Donald & Von Miller head straight to Canton? What does the offseason look like for the AFC Champion Bengals at the outset? Nate Tice joins host Robert Mays to react to all the Super Bowl LVI headlines (and the halftime show, of course). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the athletic football show. Welcome to the athletic football show. Today's Monday, February 14th. I'm Robert Mays. Joining me tonight. It's my good friend Nate Tice. Nate, how you doing, buddy? I'm doing very well.

Actually, when we finish this recording, it probably will be Monday. It probably will be Monday. We did a day of. We're doing it live. But no, it's like that Mitch Headberg joke. You went to the game and everything, and I saw everybody this whole week. you know, a media row at the media hotel.

And it's like, we all had the same, like, shine and bounce because we're all using the same shampoo and conditioner the whole time. That's all I could think of. I couldn't wait to get that headberg joke off. But no, it was a great time this week seeing you. And you got to go to the game and see the halftime show, which I'm so, so jealous of. The game, eh, it was a football game. But no, the halftime show. I'm very, very jealous you got to see.

We'll dig into everything. You know, the Rams just won the Super Bowl in sort of unspectacular fashions in some ways, but it doesn't really matter. you get there, all of it matters is you bring it home, you know, this team, it's a culmination of everything that they've been working toward. We'll dig into all of that. Halftime show is awesome. So rarely are they fun. So rarely are they interesting. And it was great because the crowd was super into it. And yeah, I mean, there were certain little moments along the way. Like the Mary Jane Blige part was great. Like when 50 said came down, just kind of funny like what hanging upside down. But oh my goodness. When Dr. Dre went to the piano and started.

to doing the Still Dre intro and then it kicked in. I got chills when I was sitting in the stands. That was a real moment and the crowd was really into it. It was really fun. My fiance mentioned this one. I was talking around the way home. She's like, no frills. Like they weren't trying to have like a viral moment.

It wasn't this thing that was over the top. It was just, you know, songs you love. 2001 is I love that record. Like all the way top to bottom. It came out when I was in middle school. And like it was just starting to get into rap music. And I just, I love that album. And just hearing two or three songs off that album, like even the forgot about Dre intro.

And it was, it was awesome. It was just such a fun thing and kind of outstaged the game in some ways. But I was very glad that I was in the building for that moment. Yeah. And the set was great and how they utilized it and how they flowed from one song to the next. It was really, really well done. Having the live band helped as well. But it was, uh, I've been jaded ever since I learned that Whitney Houston's like National

Anthem was like lip synced. So like seeing when I hurt the crowd at first, I, I've seen. enough wrestling to know that sometimes you pipe in, pipe in a little bit of crowd noise, you know, pump it up a little bit, you know, especially in the dome. But then I realized I was like,

oh, no, that's actually the crowd. Like, they're feeling it. Yeah. So that was, that really like,

was palpable through the TV screen. So it was just so cool. But I think by the end, I was like, I don't know if tearing up is the right word, but kind of like my breath was taken away. My wife's like, oh yeah,

she was asked me questions about the game. I was like, yeah, hold on. You know, that was good. That was good. I think I needed that in my life.

It was fantastic. And a game that obviously, you know, there were some woes. It was a strange game. It was just some strange moments. And the way that it went was kind of odd. I mean, elements of the Rams, you know, just a game plan overall. So let's just start with, I think, the final drive. You know, and then we'll kind of work backwards from there.

Because I thought a lot of the elements of the Rams game plan were strange. And it didn't really make a lot of sense. And it seemed like they were pounding their heads against the wall. And there may be reasons for that way that we can explore. But that final drive, everything kind of clicks. And, you know, they, I tweeted this in the moment. Cup had six targets heading into that final drive. And I don't really know why that was the case.

I think we can speculate on why. Not a ton of great postgame access today. Not a lot of people came through. The press conferences were a little short. So questions that I would have loved to have asked just didn't really have a chance to ask about some of the game planning, everything else. but that final drive, they come out and it just seemed like they were going to get him the ball come hell or high water and kind of setting him up.

And the one thing that McVeigh did say, and Cup kind of confirmed it is that they were using a lot of tempo in that final drive in order to get them into some pretty standard static, what McVe referred to as regulated looks, a lot more zone rather than letting them play some of the designer man that they were playing on third down and other aspects of the game. That was one of the other benefits of the last drive is they didn't let him get the third down. I mean, all that big, that big cup completion was on second down. But, I mean, three or four throws from Stafford and three or four connections with Cup coupled with a couple penalties. And that ultimately won in the game. The, the cup big catch and run that had Stafford honestly had an all-time throw on. That play was set up.

It was more of a base, I wouldn't say basic coverage, but more just like you pointed out, when he's saying regulated looks, it's when you're going tempo, just like on an offense, like the cool gadget plays can be. really, really wordy, trying to get everyone in the right spots. Same on defense is that their cool designer blitzes, which the Bengals actually brought some heat late in the game too is some simulated and some they brought five, but that can get really wordy. So like he said, regulated looks.

Okay, standard day one concepts. When they're panicking, they just go, I'm just making up a word here. Like, sky, sky, three, three, three, like just get into it, get into it. Because we don't know when they're going to snap the ball. So yeah, just kept them uneasy. And the one, yeah, the big catch and run the cup. They ran the exact same play. When you're going tempo and offense, this is what's always fascinating,

fascinating me about the McVeigh offense. It's how they're able to get so much, like so many different plays with motions and jet out of tempo. That's always fascinated me because usually it's very basic what you get to, static looks because it's just, hey, we don't want all. It's a lot to learn. And if you're not like used to the offense, well, imagine a code word with a motion. They would do it all the time. That's always fascinated me.

But the one to cup, right before that, they hit it to Hopkins, the tight end, who was like, oh my God, who's this big Y tight end lumbering around? He actually caught a nice ball. He had his first catch of the day, they like couldn't tackle him. It was like seeing a bunch of like lions trying to break down, take down an elephant, like something like that. He's just barreling through. But he caught one underneath and it was the same concept.

It was the same high low. And Stafford peppered him. I think it was like a nice eight-yard gain. Might have been even more. It was like eight-yard gain. And then it was the big throw to a couple plays later. It was also interesting, the fourth and one jet sweep. Like, I don't know if I mentioned.

this on the Friday show, but a stat we pulled up was the, I think I talked to you about it, but didn't mention on the show was football outsiders has a power success rate, which is third and fourth down and one, one and two yard runs. Uh, what's your success rate on those? And the Rams were 29th in the league, uh, this year. Because they can't finish off a quarterback sneak and they tried to run it on the goal line. They, they couldn't run a quarterback sneak from the one inch line on the goal line and they had to throw the fade to cup. It was so funny at him. And they could not run the ball. I mean, they just couldn't run the ball at all. which we'll get into.

It was unbelievable. But that throw, in the moment, I rewatched it. So when you're watching, I was watching the game live, obviously, but I had the game going on my computer just so you can rewatch plays. And when I was rewatching that throw, I was like, I don't think he was looking at him. I don't think he was looking at him at all. And I was doing it from the broadcast view. His head was tilted just a little to the right.

And then you see the replay later on. That high load a cup, it's a game-changing play. Yeah. Just an insane throw. I mean, to hit that ball with. out looking at Cup coming over the middle. You guys, obviously the player were talking about the 22-yard gain on that final drive. They run a little high-low.

And the only reason that Von Bell isn't in the passing lane that Stafford hits the cup on that play is because he's holding down Von Bell with his eyes because he's locked on to Hopkins, whatever the tight end's name is, in that high-low. If he even glances back Cups way, Bell is not driving on that ball. Bell is right there to take that throw away. hanging and the entire game, like really on third down, because really this game felt like it was all decided on third down so much with or without, or not even get to him sometimes,

but it felt the whole game was Stafford playing games with the robber, whoever it was. Like that's what it was. This whole game was based, that was the matchup. We talk about quarterbacks versus the Mike Linebacker. This game was the quarterback versus the robber, whoever it was for the Bengals,

just hanging in the middle of the area and playing games with his eyes. That's why he does the no look stuff, other than the fact that he's like Jason, Williams can't throw a normal chess pass is that he is like he's keeping the eyes. That's what you have to do. It's that kind of next level stuff where it's obviously it's next level stuff. He threw freaking no look pass. And anyone that's saying that's not a no look pass like doesn't know what the hell they're

talking about because he's going, what he's doing, going left or right is he's fucking progressing on the play. So he's progressing on the play. But he realizes that it's man again. He sees that's robber. You confirm safeties. That's what you do when you check coverage. So you confirm in safety, seize the robber.

And he goes, okay, I know what I'm about to do here. I'm going to hold, hold, hold. And so no luck in the anticipation. he has to go right past Bell is ridiculous. Like he has such great arm talent, our arm strength in general, lining the ball and throwing it deep that the fact that he can throw the anticipation, it's actually unguardable because it just gets there. Even if the guy broke on it,

if Bell broke it around the right time, it just would zoom right by his head because those arm strength is so talented. It's, I honestly think it's one of the greatest throws I've seen, considering the moment and like the stage of what it was. It's one of the greatest throws I've ever seen. And it was so cool. It's one of those you appreciate more.

more and more as you watch each replay of it. And then obviously you finish off the drive with the fate for the touchdown. They're McVeigh said afterwards, or I think Cups said afterwards, that's an alert. That's a run play called in the huddle. And they check to that if it's in man. And they was working against Apple, had them. I'm not going to lose a lot of sleep over the two penalties. I think they were both penalties.

You know, obviously in that moment, it's tough to call those because there hadn't been a lot of flags over the course of the game. But this stuff comes out in the wash. I mean, T. Higgins almost tried to rip Jalen Ramsey's head off on a playdown that ended up in a 75-yard touchdown. Don't really have a ton of issues with other of those calls in those moments. And, I mean, that final drive was so huge. Six cup throws on that final drive after six targets the rest of the game. And I want to get into that because I was so confused about aspects of the Rams game plan. And I think there are reasons for it, but I still think it's worth exploring.

On third down, that entire game, so I had one of our buddies at NextGen look it up before that final drive, because it seemed like the Rams weren't empty on third down, so much of the game. And they were 69% empty rate on third down before the final drive. Over the course of an entire game, it would be the second highest rate in the next Gen era. And when they were going and empty on all those plays, I think there's a lot of kind of trickle-down aspects of it. All of those stacks we talked about with Cooper Cup in those third downs, there's none of

that because everything's so spread out. So there's a combination of him getting double-teamed, which he was in a lot of those situations where the robber is just kind of sitting over him. And then in other, and Cup said this. He's like, UI Apple was playing me really physical the whole game. I mean, they were mugging him at the line of scrimmage because he knows he has help because there's like a true double team happening. And there were other players where Woosier was really kind of getting in his face

at the line of scrimmage. They were pressing him consistently. I'm like, why aren't they stacking in those situations that they know they're getting man coverage to get him a free release and kind of let him go to work when there's no one else on the offense? And I'm wondering if it's just because they didn't want timing aspects to the offense and stacks because there were so many new guys in there. It just felt like after O'Dell got hurt at the end of the first half,

with Higbee out, which ended up affecting the game a lot more than I thought it was going to, especially when you kind of compound it with the O'Dell injury. It just seemed like they weren't comfortable doing some of those stacker bunch looks that we are so used to seeing from them. Because remember the Scars Guard one on third down that they just totally boshed. Whenever they tried to do anything like that, it looked really ugly. So you had these kind of static empty pictures on third down. And that's why you're seeing so many slot fades to Henderson to Jefferson to Jeffrey. And it just felt like they didn't have anything easy on third down because they weren't lining up in the ways that we typically see from them. But I think that's probably the explanation is that there's so many new guys in there that didn't feel comfortable about the timing of those plays.

Yeah, really when Scars Guard and Van Jefferson, they just ran into each other kind of summed them up. It was like one of them had to step up because just what happened obviously with OBJ down. And you understand now why they signed DeShon Jackson this offseason, why they drafted 2-2 at well, why the wing got OBJ. it's because they didn't trust these guys. And Robert Woods is hurt. Like they were down. They were down to like their third tight end and all the receivers that they don't want on the field. And one of the leading rusher or leading attempts guy just came off in the Achilles like six months ago.

It's not as like tip top as you would think. It's just, you know, Cooper Cup and Stafford coming in there. But like those double looks too. I've been thinking about this is so usually you get the picks and you or you just keep a guy clean, keeping off the ball. A lot of smaller receivers. this helps. But it's also just kind of like a nice change up for even guys that can win versus press. Because like you said, the refs swallow their whistles, which I'm all four.

So Bengals realized that just like last week or in the championship game. They're like, oh, you're going to swallow your whistles. All right. Like, crack their knuckles. Like, we're going to beat the shit out of you. And that's a great, great game plan in a big moment to like really beat up the top player. It's the Jordan rules kind of thing. But all those spread looks and watching a couple of plays back is with all that robber they're playing in the drop eight they were playing.

they have so much help in the middle. So many of the Rams concepts, I think they actually had a nice idea. They did this concept that a lot, the bucks will run as well. And it's a high low, just, well,

I'm going to say that term a whole bunch of times of show. But you had underneath a tie down routes, six to seven yards, and then you have two inbreakers. You have kind of like a bender and kind of like a sloppy dig that the Shanahan tree kind of likes to run. That's why it's sloppy dig, soft dig,

bender, end breaker. That's all you really need to know. What they're doing is, okay, we're going to occupy the robber player with that first end breaker, you know, the bender, the over, what do you ever want to call it? And then it's almost like a dagger concept. And then we'll hit the sloppy dig behind it. And they tried to get to it.

When you know when Stafford banged up his knee and like really he should have checked it down, that was the concept they were running because they're trying to occupy the robber player. And he was waiting for number two to bend behind it. They're creating a deep high, low. So it was one of those where it was they trusted their firepower so much that even if it's like there's easier answers. They're like, no, we're going to try the A, the A answers and push the ball down to field. It's like, maybe, maybe just run a little choice route, you know, maybe just, maybe just stack

them, run a little angle route, make them sit. And they did seem to get to that later, or at least they were able to anticipate that. If you also knows, too, Stafford was hitting a lot of checkdowns on base downs because they were just pushing so deep. They're running a lot of variations, simulated cover twos and switching up the looks. So pushing, pushing like Tampa 2. And so Stafford's like, all right, I'll just check it down. And you seem to find that later in the game.

But it was, it's kind of like, it's destroying it sometimes. Some drives are like, wow, they have all the answers. And some drives you can tell the Galaxy brain it a little bit. Well, I mean, you took it, look at all the slot fades they ran. And the first one they ran in the game, obviously is the touchdown to Odell. And slot fades too, sorry, real quick. It is usually a day one answer to be press man. That's why you run slot fades.

So I just makes perfect sense. It makes perfect sense. But the slot fades look a lot better when you're running them to Odell early in the game. Then they do when you're running them to Van Jefferson, who, to no fault of his own, his head is very elsewhere, considering he left after the game to go to the hospital because his wife gave birth. Totally understand that. So when you're running that to Odell on that third down for the first touchdown looks a lot better than when you're running it to Van Jefferson. And even that the pick to Scars Guard at the beginning of the first half, that big of that playoff play action, that's an Odell play. So it just, there's so many aspects of the game plans seem to fall apart.

And then early in the game, I believe Stafford in the first half was four or five for 54 yards on under center play action. And think about it. The touchdown to cup. He fakes the over, breaks back out. That's play action. They had a really nice fake toss play action completion in the first half. I'm wondering after Stafford screwed up his ankle if they didn't feel as comfortable running some of the boot stuff from under center. So, and now you're running out of things, right?

We can't run boots from under center because our quarterback can't really. move. We're down to Cup, Scars Guard, and this version of Van Jefferson in our fourth string tight end. And then they could not run the ball. And their insistence on early down runs was just really frustrating. And I just, they had so many chances to lose that game based on the ways that they were playing offense and just how many bad third down spots they were getting themselves into. I just really don't understand a lot of the aspects of how they went about this. And ultimately it didn't end up mattering because their defensive line decided to win the game for them. It seemed to me naked eye watching TV copy that there's guys taking turns

getting beat. Like there was a different Bengals player. Bengals DBs were also firing down real hard, like props to them. They're a good tackling team. They have great formation tell. They really can tell formation tendencies. It's, it's apparent once you watch more and more of them. But also, honestly, the Rams took advantage of that early was like you said, that bootleg on the to cup. because you see Eli Apple, he's staring down. He's like he's ready to make a play and fill up the run. And then there's, that place hilarious, by the way, OBJ, as he's running the route, he's pointing at cup going like to Stafford.

He's like, hey, he's wide open. Like it's actually pretty. It's like running with one arm pointing at cup going, no, throw there, throw there, which was, you know, pretty hilarious. But all that stuff, which is all, yeah, that's a great point about the, the leg and the naked. I didn't even like kind of like put two and two together. Yeah, that would make a lot of sense.

So much that stuff was disjointed But that one drive The second TD drive was freaking awesome They hit a catch and run to OBJ on 3rd and 11 Oh, it was beautiful It was like a scissors against man coverage That was one of my favorite place the entire day Yep

So beautiful. Oh and that's why you get OBJ Like you said with the one with Scars Guard In Breakers OBJ is best on in breakers Slants, digs, overs Get him on the move Get him running

Let him create yards after the catch That is what he's best on And that one was amazing Because Stafford had three plays I can see where his eyes were made the play, like where he held a guy down because he had to work against the robbers, especially on third down. And on that one, there was cross country. Yeah, it's like a whole bunch of overs going against each other, like a deep, deep scissors

kind of thing. And then did you see on that play? They were in empty and they were spread out. Of course. He brought the running back and the tight end both into chip because he knew he needed a little bit more time. It's they shipped. They kept shifting all their guys.

Like they'd have the back in the back field and then move him up. Just nice little tweaks. Don't just line up into it. Make them communicate. They're making the Bengals communicate. Their third down package was like kind of had some cool stuff. And it was just like their run game was so shit. And it's just so bizarre.

And our guys were just losing too. And I think the next play after that was the the fake toss throwback to Henderson down the left sideline. Yep. Yeah. It's a beautiful sequence. Oh, and the fake toss was hilarious. He did the old school fake hand on it and put the ball on his hip.

Like it's like he's like a tradition. You know, like they say he's like a method actor. He's like a traditionally trained actor. Like, you know, like that's what Stafford is with so many of these things. And then he throws the ball. He does all the trick shots. But all the mechanical stuff, it's like so old school. He, you know, he takes a knee in the huddle, like when he's in the huddle and looks up, like old school style.

I feel like he draws it on his chest. But that whole sequence was pretty, I was like, oh, okay, here come the Rams. Yeah. And they kind of get anything going on the run game. That overrout to OBJ was awesome, though, because he looks off baits, holds baits and then flips it to OBJ. It's like, I want to watch that one from the end. That's one I'll be posting on Twitter soon. And I told it because that it felt like during that sequence, like here, there they go.

Like they're going to go on a row now. Their offense is finally clicking. The Cup touchdown, I think the sneaky part of that is that they were in like a tight stack to the right, I want to say. And I think Jefferson went in jet motion from right to left. So right before the snap, Cup goes from being the number two receiver to being the number one receiver. And I'm sure that plays with Apple's expectations and his rules on that play.

If he starts going over and then cutting back to the corner, it's just little tiny layers of complexity on that play that I thought ended up becoming important, especially actually when a cup like inside releases. Like he, he, inside stem, inside stems, I think is the best way

we put it. So inside stems before breaking out. So Apple sees that. Just like you said, they probably have some rules on it. Oh, he's going in. He's fitting up on the safety.

Yep. It's freaking duo coming right here. He's fitting up the safety. I'll hit, I'm going to hit the back coming from the side. I'm geeked up. They've told me all week. We got to tackle.

We got come down and tackle these guys rally and tackle. So he's, you know, it's early in the game. They get to him. He had a rough game, though. He had,

He got put on some posters tonight, sadly. But no, but the other one, awesome, like Bengals coming back after that and do the La Daniel Thompson play to Joe Mixon, the throwing touchdown. Love it. I love that. I love running back toss double passes. Those are some of my favorite plays, especially in the red zone. And if you look at that entire drive, that Bengals touchdown drive before the half,

it's all quick stuff. It's everything was quick for them in the first half. So looking at the numbers heading into halftime. 5.9 air yards per attempt for Burrow heading into the half. I think 16 of his 18 attempts before halftime were 10 yards or shorter. Four of them were behind the line of scrimmage. So I'm fairly certain that his time to throw at halftime was 2.35 seconds. They were just getting rid of the ball as fast as possible.

It was all underneath stuff. And I want to say on that drive where then mixed and finished it off, they had chases the number three, ran a little jerk route against Reader. It's like their best play. That's what they're trying to do. trying to do as many things as they can to get the ball out really, really quick throughout the entire first half to keep their quarterback from getting murdered. And then in the second half, I want to go back and look at whatever tweaks the Rams made in

real time, it's hard to see coverages and things like that. But it felt like he was holding out of the ball. I'm assuming they were squatting on more stuff in the second half, just pulling tighter to the line of scrimmage, not letting anything get out. Because as soon as he started having to hold the ball in the second half, it was over. They just couldn't block them. The moment that you had to hang on to it for an extra beat, they were just completely outgunned up front.

That's what in that, and that's when you had the talent mismatches, and I've kind of touched on this before, is we think it's like, oh, it's every freaking play that this guy's going to win, this guy's going to win. It's over time.

It's over time. Usually the better player wins over time. Like they say like poker, you know, like the better poker player, yeah, he's going to lose sometimes. He's going to lose a hand or two.

But over time, he's going to take your money. Like that's just kind of what it is. And that's what Von Miller, freaking, oh my God, Von Miller, the one sack where he ran down Burrow. They ran a game for it. It was like so, I hate saying this term, but it was. It was

such vintage Von Miller. It was the, it was just the looper where Von Miller has that weird way of looping where he stays square as he's like, as he comes around, he never turns his shoulders. He's like Zoolander, he can't turn. And he's just kind of like, he just loops around and just ran down Burrow and you can see Burrow

going like, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Like, he's closing fast. And that Just beautiful. But like a plate, when you have to go one and done on your reads, not because of mental, because Burrow can handle all that, but just progression wise because you're worried about the pass rush, it just convolutes the whole thing when your old line can't hold up for the entire game. There's the third and three after the Stafford interception. So they're in the red zone. They run choice to Boyd. It's straight up stack, choice.

And Taylor Rap does a great job and plays inside. But he does it. He flips his hips right at the last second. So Boyd's reading his leverage and goes, oh, I got him. I'm going to hit an inbraker right here for a touchdown, like in the Super Bowl. And then right the last second, rep flips his hips and takes inside leverage on him. And then so the play's fucked because there's Burrow going like looking, looking, looking, going, oh, shoot. And then Donald's in his lap.

Yep, and the Donald's in his lap. And so that just kind of kept happening because when that's what happens, you have to go one and done. The ball has to come out if you try to run anything past, you know, 10 yards because everything has to be a quick game or five-step timing. The only down the field opportunity, it felt like they had the game. and missed. There were two throws, two plays in the first half that I felt like the Bengals left on the table that really short-circuited drives. They had Evans on the wheel on third down.

He got caught up a little bit with Jones, and I think that's what Burroughs timing expected. He expected him to get off clean, and he didn't. Double clutched it a little bit. So he overthrew him on third down, and there was another play where... I love that concept, by the way. Like, that was the Bengals play. Sorry, I keep cutting you off because I was excited about that play, but I was like that that was a sweet concept by the Bengals because it looked like their seven man

protection stuff and then they released them. Yep. So they ran six man. And so they released them and it's like, oh, here comes a choice route. And he just went, who vertical right by him. But sorry to cut you off. But it was like, that was a good play design. And they had it.

That was something they left on the table. And then there was the other third down early in the first, in the first half where he had Higgins. They had Higgins going a jet motion from right to left. Higgins was in the flat. And he just, he goes for whatever reason, he goes on to chase on the. the curl and Ernest Jones was just sitting right there. You had a theory on that play, though. P. Ryan leaked into that same area in the flat. So you thought Burrow might have gotten a little bit spooked throwing the ball to that area because for whatever reason, P. Ryan flashed to that spot and might

have scared him a little bit. It was. Yeah. And it's something happened there because Pryan was late on the snap. And then he, I think he just busted. Like he just panned. It happens. It's hilarious that happens to these pros. But Piron's a smart player. So the snap of the ball. happened, he hesitates. And then he's like, oh, shoot, what do I have? And so he starts kind of going to the flat, but Higgins is to the flat. And I think Johnson was maybe on P. Ryan or maybe he had the flat coverage. So like when P. Ryan goes there, it convolutes the whole look, the picture. And so I think Burroughs like, oh, shoot, I'm going there no matter, because I thought this was going to happen. I thought the back was going to go to the other side and open up that picture for me. So I think that's just what

happened. He predetermined it. And it was like, oh, shoot, this is not what it's supposed to look like. it happens. It happens sometimes. You hope it doesn't happen, but once in a while, some guy just goes into the wrong spot. On that, but the play before that, Aishon Robinson had a huge TFL on third and one. And every single guy in that front had a couple moments today, right? Yeah. So Aishon has that on third and one. The play before the Von Miller sack that you talked about on the loop on the stunt, Von Miller beat the right tackle inside and Aishon Robinson cleaned it up. And then obviously there is no better sequence by a defensive player than the final two-play sequence from one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history. The play he made on that final third and one, which we could talk about that play call if you want here.

The Bengals, for whatever reason, hand the ball to Samage P. Ryan out of the gun on third and one with the Super Bowl on the line. Aaron Donald stands up the right guard and with one arm, Yanks P. Ryan Ryan down for no game. they line up on fourth and one. McVeigh said, as soon as he saw they were in the gun, he's like, Aaron's going to end the game right here. And I had the same feeling.

I had the same feeling. So they lined up, he was over the right guard, and I was like, this is it. Like I just, this is one of the greatest players in NFL history.

This is his moment. He's about to walk off the Super Bowl here. That play, it's just patented Aaron Vinyl move, right? He does a Superman cross shop where he gets airborne, like truly airborne on

the move. Superman punch. And the little cross-chop move, and his bend back to burrow on that play is flat. It's flat. There's like no angle to it whatsoever. He bends all the way back flat to the quarterback and doesn't get a sack, but gets, breaks up a play and wins the Rams the Super Bowl. I was saying afterwards, he's one of the greatest players of all time.

And we can talk about what this means for him and his future and all that. Oh, yeah. He won the Super Bowl. of all time with a nasty past rush. There's only been 56 Super Bowls, man. There aren't that many walk-off plays to win the fucking Super Bowl. And this guy who is the greatest defensive tackle of all time, no questions asked, and easily one of the best four or five defensive players in NFL history,

when you look at his resume, won the Super Bowl on a fourth and one with a disgusting move. Like, I don't know what else you want from that guy. Like, that play is going to go down in history. Oh, yeah. And the third one, he was about the German suplex, Pryne. Like he had him back to belly. Like, he was about to lift him up.

But I've seen Aaron Donald. So I was at Pitt when Aaron Donald was there, his junior and senior year. And no one blocked him in one-on-ones for two straight years, which is pretty funny. We had to take him out on play action plays like in spring ball so we can actually like run a play. Like we had to take about, hey, hey, AD, can you just get one? He got it. He was one of the hardest practice player has ever been around, super smart. We lost the Florida State, the senior year.

So 2013, we lost. I'm a GA. I have to go put input to film, put all the data in, blah, blah, blah. I'm there. The only other person in the building was the defense GA and Aaron Donald. And Aaron Donald was in the meeting room because he's so pissed about the loss against Florida State. And he was there. It's like 2 a.m.

Because it was like a Monday night Labor Day game. But watching him come out, I think Collinsworth even said it was apparently Aaron Donald, which I'm not shocked at, sprinted onto the field before that last drive. And then when they showed him, he's just pumping up the crowd. and it was just like, but it wasn't like just like five pumps. It was like he pumped. You know like whenever the St.

Joe's owl when they have to flag for the entire game. Like that's what he was basically doing. It's just pumping him. And it was just, he just watched him. It was like he's going to absolutely kill somebody. Like he's going, he is taking over this game.

That's exactly what he did. And that's so cool. It's usually defensive plays. It's like five guys. Maybe it did something. Okay, it's a scramble drill where everyone's falling and all those types of stuff. And like great coverage.

It was like, no, it's just Aaron Donald won right away. one-on-one on island and that's the play that's that's what won them the game what's one of the play i thought he should have been super bowl MVP i agree i agree i totally agree yeah i 100% agree agree i think that he was the MVP of that game and i think so you could say he's the most valuable non-quarterback in the league of the last eight years over the last eight years you could make a solid argument for it pretty much every single season and i mean he was asked about it

after the game if this will be it and he didn't say he'd be back so i mean there's a chance that we just watched the last game of Aaron Donald's career, that he had a walk-off play to win the Super Bowl as his final moment in the NFL. I hope not. I hope that's not the case. I hope not. But he truly has nothing left to accomplish. He seven-time first-team all-pro, his second through eighth seasons, first-team all-pro, I think three-time defensive player of the year, correct? Three-time defensive player of the year.

Super Bowl winner. I would say the greatest player ever to play his position. I feel completely comfortable in saying that. I think he's the most impactful defensive tackle that's ever played the sport. And if this is it, what a legacy. I mean, just what a career, what a player. I'll never forget watching his tape at Pitt before that draft. And I mean, you can go back.

There are receipts talking to Barnwell before that draft. I was like, that's the best guy. He's just, that's the best player. And he, so few guys walk onto the field the moment they get into the league and they're just the best player. And that's what he was. And to do it as someone who, his frame doesn't make sense. Like, that's why he was the 14th overall pick despite being the most productive defensive player in college football his last year at Pitt. Because people looked at him and just like a six foot defensive tackle can't.

isn't going to be this guy. Doesn't matter. He ran a 4-6 and change at like 285 pounds. Yeah, it didn't matter, apparently. And it's just this combination of attitude, ability, and refinement. It's not as though he is one of like the all-time freakyest players to ever step into the league. But when you combine that with the fact that like that final crossshot move, that's just incredible technical proficiency. And that's why when you watch him, there was just nothing offensive.

I'm talking about him in the past tense. now, there's just been nothing offensive guards could do because no matter what you did, you were fucked. Because if you wanted to play him for speed, he could walk you to the quarterback, that third down sack that ultimately comes up huge in this game to shut down that drive after the interception. That's just him walking the guard back to the quarterback. If you want to set him for power, he is literally the fastest, quickest, most explosive

defensive tackle in the history of the sport. There was nothing you could do to slow him down. He had 98 sacks in his first eight seasons, the same number that Von Miller had. And he's a defensive tackle. In my opinion, I think the best player that I've seen since I started covering the league. And I don't think it's particularly close. I've been blessed to be around a lot of great players. And he's not, it's one or two, like for me.

I mean, he is, he's absolutely insane. And just seeing the combination of just talent and work. ethic and attitude. Like he's he's willing to like bow up on guys. He's just like a psycho competitor. And just how he carries himself is just fascinating. It's just like he's one of those personalities and those players that is an all-timer. Like you were saying like top four or five defensive players like when I hopefully he doesn't retire. If he kept this up for another couple of years, it's like he's a top 10 player period. Like he absolutely. He does this three more years, four more years playing at this level. You could probably make a case that he's the greatest defensive player of all time. And I know Lawrence Taylor is like always going to be there for people. Like it just because of what he was and what he represented. And yes, he'll probably be like the most singular dominant defensive player of all time. But when you think about resumes and accomplishments and production, the same way that Tom Brady is not the most dominant player of all time. Yeah.

And his talented quarterback of all time. But he's the most accomplished player. I think that if Aaron Donald continued to do this, he would have a chance, would have a chance to be like the most accomplished defensive player. of all time, or at least be in the conversation. Oh, yeah, just on the podium at the very, very least. Yeah, he's a gold or silver medalist. There's a play. You're talking about his college film.

Do you remember the one against Duke? Where he tackled two guys at the same time? Two guys at the same time. It was one of the craziest plays I've seen. And against that and watch him against Georgia Tech triple option by just like one the most comical experiences ever, seeing like a center that's the same height as him, but have about 40% of his athletic ability, just try and block him throughout a game. And it gets a triple option, like it's just.

actual comedy gold. I think he had like seven or eight TFLs that game, something ridiculous. It was, it was fake numbers. It was Randy Moss had Marshall numbers, but a defensive tackle. That's what type of player he was, but that's the type of player he is.

He's just a generational player. He's an all-time player. We had an all-time throw from Stafford and an all-time performance by an all-time player, Aaron Donald. Another guy that might be gone. Andrew Whitworth is 40 years old. Oh, yeah. And just gave up that sack.

Other than that, when did you hear Trey Hendrickson's name over? over the course of that entire game. Never. And again, somebody that... And the other sack was just a fluke reader fell down and Stafford stepped up into it. Like that was a fluke that O-Line overall played fairly well,

especially in the passing game. In past protection, they played well all year. And that's something we brought up on the show on Friday. Just something that remind... Remember how good this O-Line has been in past protection? Because him waiting on that... It's a unit. Him waiting on that no-look throw is only possible because he has time to do it.

And he did it all year. So Whitworth, there's a chance he walks away. There's a chance based on everything that we talked about this week and all the rumblings and everything else that maybe McVeigh is done. So now you kind of have these questions. I don't think he will be. I think that he'll be back. But there's this team with the way they've done this.

This was it, right? This was everything that they planned to do. They made the staffer train. They went out and got Von Miller. All the contracts they've handed out. It was all building to this moment. I think it's more sustainable, and I think they'll be relevant for the next couple of years

of all these guys come back. But they push the chips into the middle for this exact thing. And now you have questions to answer. You're like, little things. Von Miller is a free agent, obviously. Brian Allen is a free agent. You know, guys like that. It's just little tiny, again, bits of connective tissue of the roster,

and they're up against the. cap. Staffer probably needs a contract extension. So there are some things, let's say Whitworth retires. Joe Moten, Joe Nobom steps into that spot most likely. He played well when Whitworth was hurt, but you go from one of the best three or four pass protecting left tackles in the league to somebody that isn't that, even if he's a capable starter. So whatever the succession plans look like or whatever the roster will look like next year, it's never going to be as all in or as committed as this version of it probably was. So if McVeigh is back, if Donald is back, they're going to be one of the teams in the NFC.

But they were building to this moment and they got it. Yeah. This was their path. We talked about paths of the team of what's considered success. It was like, this was it. And they did it. So, hey, there we go. It's, they're feathering all of their caps.

Team building, what their angle. This was their window. We knew it. It was like every little move they made was just to pry that window open, just a little bit more, a little bit more, an inch, quarter inch, all that. And I thought actually that Sean McVey at the end of it was going to say he was going to Disney World, but it was to start training for Monday night football. Like I actually thought that I thought that's, I thought that was about to happen.

But I think he added his speech too quick before he could announce that. So. So I mean, it's funny because, you know, this team in, in the end, it came down to the fact that their guys were better than the Bengals guys. Oh, yeah. I mean, the, the, the Vaughn plays, the Donald plays. The Cooper Cup fade touchdown. Like, we make fun of it at Red Zone fades all the time.

I get it. But if you, it's an advantage play. If you have Randy Moss, you do, if you're in a Moss, you do it all the time. And it's an advantage play because you're getting it. It's an 80, 20 ball, basically. So that's why that's why that play overall is like, that's why end zone fades or red zone fades are so much better when you have a guy like Cooper Cup. It was a Jimmy's and Joe's matchup.

It was just that player is better than that player. And we're just going to attack it. And that's what those at. That's what it is. Like as far as team wise, they had a lot of those types of matchups. And that's, the defensive line they had at the entire game. So that kind of brings us to where the bangles are.

We know where the Bengals are. I mean, their defense is pretty much, most of it is coming back next year. And they have a lot of cap space because their offense is so cheap. They have all of their main players on offense quarterbacks on a rookie deal. Their two best receivers are on a rookie deal. Boyd is on a relatively, is on a pretty marginal contract. They haven't paid any offensive linemen because they have no offensive linemen worth paying. So they have some money to work with, and obviously whatever they'll have in terms of their draft capital, it doesn't get any simpler than this.

They need an offensive line. They need to spend everything they can to rebuild that offensive line in the off season because sometimes the game feels complicated, feels convoluted. Sometimes it's really simple. They gave up seven sacks in the goddamn Super Bowl. even with all of the doors, the Rams left open for them over the course of that entire game, you can't give up seven sacks in the Super Bowl

and hope to win. Yeah, you can't make it when you want to get the ball of these weapons and you can make everything one and done when you have a quarterback that can progress with the best of them. So let's let's let him maximize that. And I think Shio Capadia has,

our boy, Shield. I don't know who won a player prop contest, by the way. I know I didn't. I was doing pretty damn good until Odell got hurt. I know, man.

The Rams in the under, two to one. I know. That was nice. I thought about you. Very, very nice. Very nice. Oh, Joe Burrow.

Okay, this is a little stat. She'll tweeted. Shout out to Sheal. Joe Burrell sacked 19 times in the playoffs. That's the most of any QB in a single post season at least the last 20 years. It's not close. No other QB was higher than 12.

And it's a miracle. Because usually you lose before you keep getting sacked. They won with nine sacks. and people who I couldn't get it over it. I did a substack article on it, breaking down each stack. It was almost too many words. That's all I can tell.

It was a miracle that they could get this far. That speaks to Burrow and the skill guys, but still, it shouldn't have ended like that. But thank God he kept playing. But then they had kind of a team. They seemed too, like they was Stafford with the bootleg.

It changed their game plan a little bit. They came back with a lot of runs, draws. I get that they're trying to kill some of the clock. But you can tell they're like, oh my God, we cannot let Burrow hold on the ball. He might die unless we just have to.

That drive where they ran the ball twice in a row? that was the best of the offense looked in the second half because there was the one time he wasn't getting the shit kicked out of him. And that's when you have to do like breaking cases of emergency draw plays to keep our quarterback from getting killed, that's when you know you're in trouble. So if you're looking at an offensive plan for the Bengals in the off season, everything you have to go get two or three starting offensive linemen, right? Riley Reef is a free agent.

He was hurt, obviously, which was dinged them in a big way. But it's not like he's coming back next year. So you have Jonah Williams, and that's really all you have. All those other four starters, I believe Spain was on a one-year deal. Hopkins is, it's been a rough year for him. I think he's been dealing with a little bit of an injury, possibly. Their right guard situation, Jackson Carmen was a second round pick. Hopefully he could start playing next year, but they didn't feel comfortable playing him in these types of moments.

And then their right tackle situation is in question. So they could turn over most of that line if they want to this offseason, depending on how much they want to spend on it. That has to be the priority. Number one, no questions asked. Let's try to rebuild that line with all the resources we have. On defense, don't get sucked into this idea that we have our defense. Like, let's just go status quo.

Let's bring everybody back. That defense, if you look at it, they finished 17th in defensive DVOA. There is solid defense that was very well built for the postseason because they're smart. They play hard and they're flexible. They're malleable. You can have these game plans where, all right, let's just build the system in one way for one game and we can do that. But over the course of the entire year, it's not like this was a top eight defense. They need a couple splash playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, maybe in one more corner in that Eli Apple spot.

Can you go get a linebacker or possibly just drop a little bit of talent into that defense and kind of refresh what you have? because the core of it and the way they built it with some of those veterans is very good. But don't get sucked into this idea of, oh, the defense is set. The defense will be okay. That's not how any of this works. Yeah, exactly. They need a dynamic playmaker. 100%.

Just as an offense does, just as you go and get a Jamar Chase, you need that on defense. It doesn't matter where it is. Like it's just like you said, just influx is an influx of talent no matter where it is. Okay, find the best highest rate of guy, BPA. We already got our skill guys. Most teams get suckered in to like drafting receivers too high. I think that's always the position where it's like, oh, flashy skill guy. And I think what's nice for the Bengals is in this draft, upcoming draft, where they're picking late 31.

It's like, just fun best football player, O line or defense. All right, just find them. And no matter what, it's going to be an upgrade. That's kind of a nice position. If you do it right, I know losing in the Super Bowl is not great, but it was a great year for them. But it's kind of nice what path. We already know everybody in their mom knows what it is. It's, you know, offensive line help.

and maybe get a name on defense. It's very tempting after you watch the season that they had. And also, Okunjoba is a free agent and BHA Hill is a free agent. Bringing a little like splash defensive tackle potential next to DJ Reader. Just something like that. Like let's just have like defensive playmaker on our mind. They have $57 million in cap spaces currently sits right now. Like this is a team that absolutely can make some upgrades.

Yeah. It's very tempting. And they have Hendrickson still. Yes, he's a very good player. is a good player. The core is very good on defense, but as a Bengals fan, just keep reminding yourself, like, just bringing back the band,

that's not, it doesn't work that way, especially on the defensive side of the ball. So when you look at this and you look at the core players and you look at the season that they had, it's very tempting to say, well, they'll be back. You know, Joe Burroughs a star,

and Joe Burrow is a star. You get him a little bit of protection. That guy is going to be really good for a really long time. But it's hard, even if you feel like you're a little bit of having a, a schedule, even if you feel like this was a magical season, which it undeniably was. I can't even imagine. It was cool being in the building today.

It was a ton of, ton of Bengals fans. Like, they were clearly just, it was awesome. The energy was amazing. And they should be, right? I know. What a season. What a run. Yeah.

But it's, and it's so tempting to be like, oh, we'll absolutely get another shot at this. We got a second year quarterback. This guy's going to be really good for a really long time. There's a little bit that kind of hurts. because they could have won the game. They could have won the Super Bowl. And now you're walking back into a world where Mahomes is still there. Justin Herbert's still there.

There are Josh Allen's still there. Josh Allen. There are a lot of all in your same conference. The AFC is a gauntlet, man. And it's going to continue to be a gauntlet. I feel very good about, again, the core of players that they have. I think that I would like to see a slightly more dynamic offensive plan from them moving forward, I guess is what I would say. I think that there are certain elements of their offense that are a little bit frustrating to watch.

But they're going to be a relevant team probably for as long as Joe Burrow is there. But it's not as if we can just sit there and say, oh, they'll be back in the Super Bowl next year or the year after or whatever. The AFC is going to be a tough, tough road. It is going to be tough, tough sledding here for the next few. few years. And that's why it's like, oh, we fucking could have had it. We absolutely could have won this game. Yeah, empty the chamber. It's, man, they had their chances. When that sequence in the second half started, the play action to T. Higgins where they didn't call the penalty and it was like T. Higgins just went up and dunked on it. It was like, okay. And then the pick first play

coming out, it was Scars Guard, of course, too. And I was like, oh, that's right. Obie J's out. Oh, yeah. No way. This is all bangles. Like team of destiny all the way. That's what it felt like right then and there. That's what it felt like. And it really did. It did. It was like, this is what this is what it is what you're saying is it's like, man, we almost had it. And now we have to answer all these questions. But they, I like, I agree with what you say on offense. This offense always, it's frustrating in a lot of senses. They run a lot of plays I like, but it always just feels so disjointed, like nothing ever works off of something else. Not that you always have to have that perfect type of offense where when we went Gaga with McVeigh a couple years ago, all the

jet motion. Every formation looks the same. It's like you can you can do a greatest hits offense if you have the skill guys for it. And they do. You can totally do. And they do. But the thing is when you play better teams, they start adjusting and they start going like, well, if they're in this formation, they run this or this. If they're in this formation, they run this or this. They really just use rock a lot. And it's like now they got to start getting some paper and scissors into their into their lives a little bit. So it's like, okay, it's a three-prong attack. That vertical to Evans was a nice designer play. But as the game went along, the gun run to Perrine is like kind of like sums it up they try to go for a tendency breaker there but that the fact that they had a tendency breaker and like I had to do that so much hey we're in

the gun and we got to hand it off it's like you can tell they're not like used to it because they're so heavy under center run and they can't get into that world like they just don't have that type of team so yeah I agree a better offensive game point it just sometimes feels like it's very she'll had the one frustration a few months ago when we're doing the pick segment he's like man they do three places a row. It looks fantastic. And then it's like you don't hear from them for three drives. Can't have that again.

They have to be more consistent just overall, week to week and game to game. Not the greatest day for Sean McVeigh in terms of the game plan on offense and how rough some of the first down success was and everything else. But this is still a situation where a 36-year-old coach has been in two Super Bowls in his first five seasons, just won a Super Bowl, has won, I believe 10 games in four of his five years, has been to the play. office pretty much every single year. You know, we're already talking about whether he'd be ready to walk away because of everything he's accomplished and how in demand he would be. But this was not just the all-in moves this off-season. And all-in, we know, we say it as kind of a bucket term.

But they've done a great job of the great gains and the Ernest Joneses and just all of the kind of smaller guys that they've developed as part of this plan. Jordan Rod Rogen and I, when we talked about it on last week's show, one can't exist without the other. If you're going to trade all these first round picks away, you're going to need to start hitting on these third and fourth round picks and the Jordan Fullers of the world. Obviously, he didn't play today because Eric Freaking Weddle started in a Super Bowl after having

played a month. Cool to see Eric Weddell get a ring. Cool to see a lot of those guys get a ring. Yeah. This was the culmination of not just those moves, but I think a culmination of the driving forces that have defined that Rams organization. You know, the idea that you can have all these offensive coaches hired away. Their offensive coordinator is getting hired away again.

Their defensive coordinator, who coordinated the best events in football last year, got hired away last offseason. They bring in Rahim Morris. He throws fireballs over the second half of the game in the Super Bowl against Joe Burrow and the Bengals. Their ability to kind of have this ecosystem of production and keeping this thing fresh and keeping this thing going. every single year. That's been the most impressive thing to me is that whatever that is and it's McVeigh

and it's Les Need and it's Kevin Demoff and it's just the organization in general. They become such an incubator for ideas and about where the league is and that's why people are trying to steal it. They're not stealing an offensive system.

They're stealing whatever the way of life. Yes. That's what it feels like. And this was this was the kind of the flourish, the final flourish for that way of life. That's what this felt like tonight. It's like, this team has been one of the defining teams in the NFL for the last five years.

They have done so much to influence the way that other teams play, what other teams look for, and their ability to kind of keep that going over all this time, this was it. Like, this is what they were working toward that entire thing. And I think that even if he didn't have the best game today, and when you look at what Sean McVeigh's resume looks like, after his first five seasons and what this team has been and how relevant they are. I mean, it has been a resounding success. It's pretty unbelievable. And having kind of some foresight on where are the league's going and being willing to embrace

kind of modern ideas. Like when they started out, no starters are playing preseason or they're not playing at all. Oh, not even a quarter, not even a serious, not at all, nothing. No, we're not playing any of them. I mean, that was like four or five years ago and people kind of freaking about it still. And then now it's, everyone does it. You might see a guy for one series. How they practice throughout the season is very notable.

They don't go to the Combine. They don't go to the Senior Bowl. They don't do any of the things. All of these things that they've done, I mean, I think a lot of teams are going to sit back and be like, all right. You know, how should we be doing this? And kind of bringing it all back around. You said, like where the league is going, kind of having that foresight. That Stafford trade to me is one of the most important instances of that foresight.

right when you think about what their season looked like in those first few years under McVeigh and when golf got there i remember having conversation with someone the organization last summer so not the summer of 2021 the summer of i guess it went in the summer of 2019 because we i didn't go to any training camps in 2020 but the summer of 2019 they were having joint practices with the raiders and i was up in napa for the joint practices and i was talking to some when we were talking about I think the golf extension. And how when Sean started working with Jared, he's like, I would be willing to commit to him. Like, we can win with him.

And why wouldn't you after what their offense looked like in 2018? I mean, this was, I talk about this game all the time, but that game against the Vikings on that Thursday night when they just burned the Vikings down in a national TV in prime time. It's just like, this is it, man. This is the truth. These guys are going places. And then obviously the Chiefs game happens that year on Monday night. And it made total sense that they would commit to Jared Gough in that moment. But as they hit a wall with that system and as teams started taking things away and they had to put that offense and the box got too small.

And as the box got small, I think they understood it. And the willingness to say we have to have a quarterback who can make that throw to Cooper Cup, that no look throw in that moment that can create something. that is beyond what the offense gives him. We need that. That is a necessary part of how we're going to take that next step. They don't win this game without Matthew Stafford or a quarterback of Matthew Stafford's stature. Like, this is, that was it. That was the final flourish that they needed.

And that understanding and that realization to say, we can't keep going on this path. That's been the most impressive part of this is that he's seen the next turn, right? He's seen around the corner and around the bend in so many different instances. The foresight to say, I need that fan geo defense. I need my version of that in the building and going to get Brandon Staley. And then that being the foundation of what the defense looks like this year. Just all of those different little tweaks they've made while having the same bones of the offense throughout it. But just everything else kind of revolving around it and just changing just enough evolving.

Just evolving, right? The DNA is that. the same, but the evolution of it over the last couple years is what ultimately brought them to this place. Yes. And why you trade for Stafford, too, is it's all these moves. We're going to, of course, remember the Super Bowl moments and who stood out when, but it's getting there matters so much.

And why you get a Stafford of the world is the Bucks game as well. Yes. He hits the big throw at a cup. And it's, those are moves in that game. I mean, their offense is incredible. somebody that add up. So many that add up. And it's, it's having to foresight to know what your weaknesses are. It's just like having a lot of reflection. I think one of the worst things you could ever say is why we do like this. And it's because that's how we've always done it. If that's someone that's your answer, it's that's terrible. It's like, no, no. What's thinking? Let's look at that a little bit. So I think their status quo. They're always trying to find how to improve the 1%, how to improve 7%. How did it like Stafford's case, maybe like 15% better than the last move we had. Um, I've, mentioned before, like going from below average to above average is sometimes great. Like they're trying to find a million of those.

Okay, we're going from poor to below average. Just a couple tiers. You know, it doesn't have to go from below average to excellent, but you could just do a little tear bump, you know, and they just try and find it as an organization. It's a, it's, you mentioned that. You're saying like the last half decade, the Hall of Fame happening kind of made me think of it. You can't tell the story of the NFL without, you know, these players. That's kind of what the basis of the Hall of Fame is. with this McVeigh offense,

this feels like this is like the team that kind of really epitomized this era. I don't know if that's the best way to put it. Like there's been a lot happening in the last five years in football. It's pretty great. But just the player movement stuff that's happening now, just how teams are treating picks,

teams are being more analytically driven. Scheme-wise, it's got so much more varied, but it's also returning to its roots in a lot of ways. And like McVeigh and the Rams' evolution has kind of been like the team to like speak to all that. Just think about going from Wade Phillips

old defense coordinator to, you know, and then just also realizing, like you said, I got to change it up and get a new blood in here and something to go for a new idea. Having a nice awareness about it and just like self-awareness about that, which is a nice trait to have. Just think about how many different coaches have been on that staff and what the staff looks like now compared to what it looked like the last time they won the Super Bowl when McVeigh got there. I mean, their staff when McVeigh got there. It just so many different tweaks and they've still been relevant.

And it's because he's been at the center of it. Aaron Donald has been at the center of it. You know, Cooper Cup and Robert Woods have been the center of it. Andrew Whitworth was there. You know, they've had this core of guys. And there's a chance that core of guys changes over the next couple of months. You know, we'll see what happens and we'll see where things go from there. But for now, in this moment, this was it.

This was the final step of this era of Rams football was to win a Super Bowl. And the Rams are Super Bowl champions. And that is our recap of the Rams Super Bowl. And that's all we got, guys. Thank you to everyone for what has been a really, really fun year. You know, I think that our first season, and we started the show right before the season started, I feel like we were kind of flying by the seat of our pants a little bit.

Last year, you know, it was a weird COVID year, and everything felt so different. And I really loved doing the five shows a week this year and kind of the show finding its footing and really growing. And I think a lot of people finding it, and it really meant a lot to me. It's not lost on me how lucky I am to do this. And even being there today.

I said this earlier today, but the Super Bowl week is very strange. You go, go, go, essentially until Friday, and then it slows down. And you kind of have some moments. You and I were hanging out on Friday night and just talking about it a little bit. And you have this kind of quiet as you get toward the weekend.

And you have a chance to really reflect on the season and where things are. And I love that moment. And I feel very grateful, especially grateful this year to have done this with you and to have everyone that's listened, continue to listen. It was daunting to start this podcast in a world

where there's so many NFL podcasts. And the fact that you guys have supported us just means so much. It's the coolest job in the world. I feel lucky to do it every single day. I hope that the enthusiasm we feel for, it is something that you guys can feel because it's very real. You know, when I was there today, I'm 34 years old.

It was my seventh Super Bowl and I'm just getting chills during the national anthem. I just think I can't believe I'm here. That's why we do this. And I hope that you guys appreciate that because we certainly appreciate you. Absolutely. This year has been unbelievably fun. Like you said, last year, it was just figuring out what we're doing. Like, just like, I guess this is what we do now.

And I think this year really seeing just the growth of not only just the show and what hopefully we put out every week. Everybody has been amazing. The feedback I get from all of you guys that listen, it makes my day. Every time you guys bring up a Scarsgar joke, honestly, you guys don't realize I might just like it. I might not reply on Twitter or something of that sort. But honestly, those make my day all the time. Anytime you guys refer to that stuff, because it's been really fun. It's been so much fun being able to do this with one of my really good friends and kind of like,

evolving the show in front of people, growing in front of other people. And I, this, this season was kind of schlocky in the best ways in ways as far as content for the NFL. And I think the Super Bowl was like a nice, like kind of like, yeah, this is kind of what the season was. Like, you know, there's some cool stuff, but it was like a little sloppy. But no matter what happened, you guys were always there. So I really appreciate everyone that's listening. There was a lot of fun year.

It was a lot of fun doing with you, buddy. I was fun to do with you as well, my friend. I want to thank Kent, who's, who's recording this podcast now at 1,8. am his time, 1.30, his time. Him and Marissa are always around. They do a fantastic job. And I am very, very grateful for all the work that they put in.

I sincerely appreciate it. And again, I sincerely appreciate you guys. We're not going away for very long. Right. We'll be back this week. I think Lindsay and I will do some sort of kind of off-season primer, take a look ahead,

what the next few weeks might look like. You know, Dane and Lance are going to have their show on Wednesday. We're probably going to take... Jeff season, baby. I'm going to take the next week after. that off. Dan and Lance will be in the feed, but we're two weeks from the combine. We're going to be back to it very soon. So I really appreciate you guys listening. I always do. Thank you so much for every bit of support you've given us. That's all we got. Please rate and review the podcast. If you've enjoyed it this season, I sincerely appreciate that on your podcast platform of choice. Please subscribe to the athletic. It was awesome being at the game today with all of my colleagues at the athletic. There's so much stuff that's going to be on the site.

Stephen Holder is writing about Cooper Cup. Lindsay Jones is writing about Aaron Donald. Jordan Roderick, who the only entity to have a better season than the Los Angeles Rams this year is the woman who covers the Los Angeles Rams for us. So please go check out the piece that I'm sure Jordan is sure to crush that will be available to you right now on the Athletic Daniel Popper with the Chargers writer writing up some stuff. So tons of stuff to get into. Sando is there. I'm sure he's going to do it great. job. There is no better place to read about, learn about, just sink into the NFL than the

Athletic. So if you do not have a subscription, now is the time to get one right as we get into draft season here at theathletic.com slash football show. We'll be back later this week, but for now, sincerely, guys, thank you very much. It was a fun year. We'll talk to you guys soon. This was the Athletic Football Show.