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Well….I think its worse than that, as you probly know.
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I know. But I think most of the discussion from the Greenwalds and the Dores is based on assumption about “how the investigation impacts” X, Y and Z. And they get that all wrong.
For instance, this didn’t cause the re-emergence of the neocons. They never left.
This didn’t cause the media to suddenly start loving the FBI, the CIA and the Intel community. When haven’t they backed them? The 1960s, perhaps?
This didn’t cause the media to suddenly start loving war, empire, and the whole rotten establishment again. When did they ever stop doing that? One has only to look back as far as the Iraq war to remember the media’s devotion to the drums of war, and all of those generals Bush trotted out on TV — with direct ties to the MIC.
The media are owned by the Establishment. When haven’t they be on its side?
Oh, and the critique of the media also avoids this: Trump is the Establishment. Trump is the most powerful person in the world. Fighting against people supposedly trying to bring him down isn’t fighting for the good guys. It’s not noble, virtuous, righteous fighting for the underdog, the oppressed, the poor, the downtrodden. It’s fighting reporters doing their job, uncovering his crimes, which are legion.
Who does this serve? No one. Does it feed a single hungry person? No. Does it stop a single bomb from falling? No. Trump has actually escalated ALL of our military ventures.
Who is this helping?
And, again, we only have Barr’s summary. We all need to be patient for a bit longer.
Topic: 5 best 5 worst FA signings
The Five Best and Five Worst NFL Free Agent Signings So Far
ANDY BENOIT
A few days into free agency, most of the big names are off the board. The MMQB has covered things from just about every angle, with grades on the biggest moves, early winners, best players still available and much more.
Here’s a quick look at the five best and five worst moves we’ve seen so far.
BEST
5. Rodger Saffold, LG, Titans – 4 years, $22.5M guaranteed
THIS is exactly what free agency is for. The Titans are built on an outside zone ground game. Their previous left guard, Quinton Spain, was a downhill mauler who lacked the lateral movement skills to consistently execute zone blocks. So, the Titans invested in Saffold, who garnered All-Pro votes each of the last two years playing in the Rams’ outside zone scheme. Yes, Saffold tailed off a bit late last year (by his standards), which is concerning for a player who turns 31 in June. But it wasn’t a steep enough decline to forebode an imminent collapse. With Marcus Mariota under center, Tennessee’s offense must start with the ground game, which makes left guard a critical position.
4. Adrian Amos, S, Packers – 4 years, $12M guaranteed
Amos played in a predominantly 2-deep safety scheme under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in Chicago and now must transition to a predominantly 1-deep scheme under Packers coordinator Mike Pettine. But that’ll be a small challenge, and Amos was always sound when the Bears did employ 1-deep coverages. More importantly, Fangio’s and Pettine’s schemes are predicated on matchup zone principles. Amos has the vision and spatial awareness to solidify Green Bay’s matchup zones, which wobbled too often last year as young players shuffled from position to position, due to injuries and lineup-tinkering. Another way to view this: Instead of re-signing Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, one of football’s most physically gifted but least reliable safeties, the Packers filled that spot with a quality starter from their rival Bears. (And later saw those Bears sign Clinton-Dix, no less.)
3. Breshad Perriman, WR, Buccaneers – 1 year, $4 million guaranteed
Perriman, who last season came on strong late with the Browns, originally agreed to this “prove it” deal with Cleveland but wisely backed out after the Odell Beckham Jr. trade. With Beckham aboard, Perriman, who is purely an outside receiver, would have likely been relegated to the No. 4 spot, giving him little chance to prove anything. In Tampa, he’ll likely be the No. 2 or No. 3 receiver, ensuring he’ll see a majority of the snaps. Those snaps will feature aerial designs that suit him, as he’s adept on the deep and intermediate perimeter routes that define new Bucs head coach Bruce Arians’s passing attack.
2. Earl Thomas, S, Ravens – 4 years, $32 million guaranteed
Was it a bargain? Not really. But the safety position is more important to the disguise-oriented, blitz-intensive Ravens than it is to any other defense. Thomas will only be 30 come Week 1. For a free safety, who endures contact on fewer than half the snaps, that’s not old, even for a guy who had a rod inserted into the leg he fractured last October. Plus Thomas isn’t only a free safety…in passing situations as a Seahawk, he came down into the box to have a greater impact in coverage. That versatility is crucial to Baltimore’s approach. With Thomas and seventh-year pro Tony Jefferson, the Ravens have football’s best safety tandem.
1. Tevin Coleman, RB, 49ers – 2 years, $8.5-10.6M total (depending on incentives), $3.6M in Year 1 with penalty-free team option in Year 2.
The contract terms are unbelievably team-friendly, and Coleman is an instant difference-maker. Long-striding speed makes him football’s most explosive pure outside runner, and his flexibility in the passing game is perfect for Kyle Shanahan’s scheme, especially alongside Jerick McKinnon and versatile fullback Kyle Juszczyk. Shanahan loves to put multiple backs on the field because, with more run possibilities to account for, the defense is rendered into a predictable coverage. Shanahan then exploits those coverages with QB-friendly route combinations.
Coleman can run most of the route tree. He is such an outrageous bargain, in fact, that you wonder if there’s something negative about him that teams know but we don’t. But if that were the case, he likely would not have been signed by Shanahan, who was Coleman’s offensive coordinator in Atlanta. After the 2016 season whispers around the NFL were that Coleman, despite backing up star Devonta Freeman, was Shanahan’s favorite Falcons back.
WORST
5. C.J. Mosley, LB, Jets – 5 years, $51M guaranteed
The Jets paid top dollar for a guy who unofficially ranks somewhere between 6-12 at his position. Look: That’s the nature of free agency; every year there are two or three signings like this. The Jets, with more cap space than every team except Indy, could afford to splurge. And Mosley is a fine player who stabilizes the run defense and enhances the blitz packages that new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams loves. So we’re not going to rip this move. But paying above sticker price on a monster-sized deal will always land the team and player on lists like these.
It’ll be interesting to see how this goes. One thing to watch is New York in Cover 2. When Williams is not calling blitzes, Cover 2 is his favorite look. Its zone structure often has the middle linebacker run with an inside receiver downfield (making the coverage “Tampa 2”). The Ravens did this a lot under defensive coordinator Dean Pees in 2017 but got away from it under new coordinator Wink Martindale in 2018. One reason for that may have been the team grew leery of Mosley covering deep down the middle, as he doesn’t have great speed.
4. Justin Coleman, slot CB, Lions – 4 years, $17.9M guaranteed
Great fanfare surrounded this one. Report: Lions set to make Justin Coleman the highest-paid nickel corner in history! Congrats to Coleman—he played well as a Seahawk. But if it’s slot help you want, why not go after Bryce Callahan, who had an All-Pro caliber season in Chicago? Yes, the Bears ran a zone scheme and Matt Patricia prefers man-to-man. But in Chicago’s zone scheme, the slot corner often has man-to-man type duties, playing to help over the top. Patricia’s scheme has similar demands, only with your help being inside. It’s a subtle difference that Callahan would easily pick up. Oh, and besides: The Seahawks scheme that Coleman thrived in the last two years often asked the slot corner to play true zone coverage, with very few man-to-man elements. So not only would Callahan, who remains unsigned, presumably have been much cheaper than Coleman, but his recent experience is more applicable to Patricia’s system. It should be noted, however, that Coleman spent his first two NFL seasons with Patricia in New England. But that tenure was uninspiring, which is how Coleman wound up in Seattle.
Overall, the Lions paid a premium for Coleman, but his appearance on this list is more about who the team passed over. Callahan so outshines Coleman on paper that you wonder if the Lions (and other teams) have bad, unreported news on Callahan. He fractured his foot and underwent season-ending surgery last December…is everything OK there? If it is, this move is hard to understand.
3. Devin Funchess, WR, Colts – 1 years, $10M (with another $3M available in incentives)
Even before last season ended, multiple reports said there was a “0% chance” Carolina would re-sign Funchess. His production over the final six weeks: 3 catches, 33 yards. Total. We’ve seen other disappointing receivers, including 2018 Pro Bowl tight end Eric Ebron, thrive after joining Andrew Luck, and Funchess is only on a one-year deal. But many would argue that late-bloomer Breshad Perriman is a better prospect than Funchess, who moves like a moderately swift tight end but is only equipped to play out wide. Perriman was signed for just 40 percent of what Funchess got. How much better is Funchess than Dontrelle Inman, who had 8 catches for 108 yards and 1 TD in the postseason for Indianapolis and remains unsigned?
2. Latavius Murray, RB, Saints – 4 years, $7.2M guaranteed
In some respects, this is less about Murray and more about Mark Ingram, a vastly underrated between-the-tackles runner who also did wonders for New Orleans’s backfield screen game. Murray is less agile, less patient and a lot less powerful than Ingram, who signed with the Ravens for just under $1.5 million more on an annual average than Murray got. The Saints are in “win now” mode and downgraded significantly at a position that has become important in their high-volume offense. And let’s not forget new Niner Tevin Coleman’s deal, which is also not much more expensive than Murray’s. Coleman and Murray are different types of runners, and Murray, if we’re purely talking style, is a better fit in New Orleans’s scheme. But that’s like a Hollywood producer saying Emelio Estevez is a better fit for a leading role than Bryan Cranston because the character should be 5’7”, not 5’11”. At some point, raw talent must rule the day. Ingram, and especially Coleman, have a lot more of it than Murray.
1. Ja’Wuan James, RT, Broncos – 4 years, $32M guaranteed
Privately, some people close to the Dolphins waited to see who signed James with the same eager anticipation with which you wait to see who sits on the seat with the whoopie cushion. They believe a rude surprise awaits that GM. Turns out the GM is John Elway. He won’t hear the whoopie cushion until later down the road, but the Dolphins are already laughing. You can understand why Elway made the move; right tackles are hard to find, and playing with a bad one can significantly hinder your scheme. But the belief by some in Miami was that other teams wouldn’t know just how much energy was spent each week gameplanning ways to hide and help James. He’s not quick or nimble enough to get out in space in the screen game, and he’s prone to breakdowns (both physical and mental) in pass protection.
Recently, many of my patients have been asking about a ketogenic diet. Is a ketogenic diet safe? Would you recommend it? Despite the recent hype, a ketogenic diet is not something new. In medicine, we have been using it for almost 100 years to treat drug-resistant epilepsy, especially in children. In the 1970s, Dr. Atkins popularized his very-low-carbohydrate diet for weight loss that began with a very strict two-week ketogenic phase. Over the years, other fad diets incorporated a similar approach for weight loss.
What is a ketogenic (keto) diet?
In essence, it is a diet that causes the body to release ketones into the bloodstream. Most cells prefer to use blood sugar, which comes from carbohydrates, as the body’s main source of energy. In the absence of circulating blood sugar from food, we start breaking down stored fat into molecules called ketone bodies (the process is called ketosis). Once you reach ketosis, most cells will use ketone bodies to generate energy until we start eating carbohydrates again. The shift, from using circulating glucose to breaking down stored fat as a source of energy, usually happens over two to four days of eating fewer than 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day. Keep in mind that this is a highly individualized process, and some people need a more restricted diet to start producing enough ketones.
Because it lacks carbohydrates, a ketogenic diet is rich in proteins and fats. It typically includes plenty of meats, eggs, processed meats, sausages, cheeses, fish, nuts, butter, oils, seeds, and fibrous vegetables. Because it is so restrictive, it is really hard to follow over the long run. Carbohydrates normally account for at least 50% of the typical American diet. One of the main criticisms of this diet is that many people tend to eat too much protein and poor-quality fats from processed foods, with very few fruits and vegetables. Patients with kidney disease need to be cautious because this diet could worsen their condition. Additionally, some patients may feel a little tired in the beginning, while some may have bad breath, nausea, vomiting, constipation, and sleep problems.
Is a ketogenic diet healthy?
We have solid evidence showing that a ketogenic diet reduces seizures in children, sometimes as effectively as medication. Because of these neuroprotective effects, questions have been raised about the possible benefits for other brain disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, sleep disorders, autism, and even brain cancer. However, there are no human studies to support recommending ketosis to treat these conditions.
Weight loss is the primary reason my patients use the ketogenic diet. Previous research shows good evidence of a faster weight loss when patients go on a ketogenic or very low carbohydrate diet compared to participants on a more traditional low-fat diet, or even a Mediterranean diet. However, that difference in weight loss seems to disappear over time.
A ketogenic diet also has been shown to improve blood sugar control for patients with type 2 diabetes, at least in the short term. There is even more controversy when we consider the effect on cholesterol levels. A few studies show some patients have increase in cholesterol levels in the beginning, only to see cholesterol fall a few months later. However, there is no long-term research analyzing its effects over time on diabetes and high cholesterol.
Key takeaways from a ketogenic diet review?
A ketogenic diet could be an interesting alternative to treat certain conditions, and may accelerate weight loss. But it is hard to follow and it can be heavy on red meat and other fatty, processed, and salty foods that are notoriously unhealthy. We also do not know much about its long-term effects, probably because it’s so hard to stick with that people can’t eat this way for a long time. It is also important to remember that “yo-yo diets” that lead to rapid weight loss fluctuation are associated with increased mortality. Instead of engaging in the next popular diet that would last only a few weeks to months (for most people that includes a ketogenic diet), try to embrace change that is sustainable over the long term. A balanced, unprocessed diet, rich in very colorful fruits and vegetables, lean meats, fish, whole grains, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and lots of water seems to have the best evidence for a long, healthier, vibrant life.
I was initially disappointed in McVay. I thought this was a game where McVay gave up on the run too early. Romo’s comments in the first half about the Pats needing to stick with the run so that Brady isn’t forced to throw the ball 40+ times only reinforced my frustration with McVay’s play calling while watching the game.
Even if TG was injured he still looked pretty good at times–the Pats certainly didn’t shut him down. I was curious to take a closer look at some plays and see if my feelings about McVay would change.
Anyways here’s some plays that stood out to me and made a big difference in the first half.
1st play of the game: Gurley runs between Saffold and Whitworth. There’s a nice hole between Whit and Saffold, but the DE manages to stick his leg out and trip up Gurley. This could and probably should have been a nice 6-7 yard gain on the ground to open the game.
3rd play of the game: 3rd & 7. Goff throws short of the first and low to Reynolds who can’t make the catch. On replay, it looks like the safety is clearly shifted towards Robert Woods side of the field, leaving Everett one on one with #27 Jackson. Everett is running up the seam and it looks like he has a step on Jackson. A good throw here from Goff could have been a big play.
Prior to the super bowl, I saw an ESPN vid where Mangini criticized Andy Reid for not attacking Jackson with Kelce until the 2nd half in the AFC championship game as Beliceck shifted the secondary’s focus to Hill. The Rams should have come out looking for that matchup as well.
2nd Possession 3rd & 3 from Pats 42. Goff flat out ignores a wide open Cooks. Lined up behind Reynolds, Cooks is able to break outside is wide open as Gilmore gets caught up in the traffic as Reynolds goes straight down field. Woods is on the same side of the field and is open at the hash mark until Chung crashes in from his safety spot and knocks the ball. Nice play by Chung but Cooks is wide open.
3rd Possession 2nd and 5 after a nice 5 yard run from Anderson deep in the Rams own territory. The refs call a false start on Havenstein that is almost impossible to identify. I thought it was a curious call while watching the game and I still can’t tell if Have moved early after re-watching the play a ridiculous number of times.
It probably wouldn’t have mattered as the pre-snap penalty wiped out a nice play by the DE who whipped Higbee and clotheslined CJ in the backfield.
4th Possession 2nd and 7 from NE 46. Sullivan whiffs on Danny Shelton who nails CJ for a 3 yard loss. This looks like it could have been another nice run if not for Sullivan’s whiff.
5th Possession 2nd and 5 from the 50: This is the only thing that I’ve seen that makes me question Gurley’s health. I thought he looked pretty much like he has all year during the super bowl. It looks like he could have broke this outside to his left and picked up some nice yards if Everett is able to make any type of block on Van Noy. Gurley, however, stayed patient and banged up the middle for two. Was this a case where Gurley lacked the confidence to cut and go? Or was he just being patient? Gurley did make a similar cut to his left later in the game on the nice run that was called back on Sullivan’s holding.
Last possession before halftime 3rd & 2: Goff throws low to Woods. Everett, on the other side of the field, runs a fantastic route and cleanly beats Jackson. I wonder if this could have been a match-up the Rams could have exploited. Everett ended the game with zero targets. He’s a young guy but I like what he offers.
Taking a closer look makes me feel more confident about next year. This is a tough offense to defend. There’s talent all over the field on offense. A combination of guys on the oline getting whipped, Goff making the wrong guess where to throw the ball and two weeks of preparation for Beliceck led to a shit game.
Topic: Film: Un Traductor
Saw a sweet little film. Its set in Cuba in 1989. Child-Patients from the USSR were brought to Cuba for medical care after the Chernobyl disaster. Un traductor means ‘translator’.
When Atlanta Last Hosted a Super Bowl…
There was an epic ice storm, a dancing dot-com chimp, a nail-biter of a game and an All-Pro’s arrest on murder charges. Super Bowl XXXIV, at the turn of the century, was something else. Perhaps that’s why it took the NFL so long to return to Atlanta.
By Ben Baskin
January 24, 2019This story appears in the Jan. 28, 2019, issue of Sports Illustrated. For more great storytelling and in-depth analysis, subscribe to the magazine—and get up to 94% off the cover price. Click here for more.
On Feb. 3 the Super Bowl returns to Atlanta for the first time in 19 years. The last go-round? Well. The Rams and the Titans clashed in what would be one of the most thrilling championship games ever—but the event is remembered for other reasons. Two historic ice storms racked the region in the lead-up. And the Monday-after watercooler talk centered on the over-the-top dot-com commercials and the overnight arrest of one of the league’s biggest stars. As the city prepares to rewrite its hosting history, we look back at the last Big Game in the ATL.
I. THE BIDGo back four years before the game, to Oct. 31, 1996. All 30 NFL owners gathered in a New Orleans ballroom and voted anonymously on which city would host Super Bowl XXXIV, in January 2000.
JIM STEEG (NFL executive director of special events, 1979 to 2005): Atlanta was up for the bid against Tampa Bay. Commissioner [Paul] Tagliabue had, in effect, promised Tampa: If you build a new stadium, we’ll play a Super Bowl there.
RICH MCKAY (Buccaneers GM, 1995 to 2003; current Falcons CEO): We had gotten the vote to build [Raymond James Stadium], done our politicking and kind of knew the votes.
STEEG: The Glazer family [which still owns the team] thought pretty strongly the game was theirs.
MCKAY: Then Atlanta made its case: Rankin Smith was ill.
STEEG: Taylor Smith made the argument, “My father is dying, why don’t you give this game to him as a reward for being a loyal [owner] for 30 years.” The vote came down and the game was awarded to Atlanta. (Rankin Smith died a year later, at 72.)
MCKAY: [Malcolm] Glazer did not take that well.
STEEG: The Glazers literally went crazy.
MCKAY: Tagliabue, who was always the smartest guy in the room, figured a way to save a bad situation. He asked if we’d be willing to have the next Super Bowl vote right then.
STEEG: So we awarded two games that day. Tampa got 2001 as a consolation. And Atlanta would host in 2000.
II. THE BUILDUPFast-forward four years. The 1999 season kicked off on Sept. 12. Neither the Rams nor the Titans were seen as contenders. In the NFC, St. Louis was coming off a 4–12 campaign, but for years its front office had been hoarding offensive talent, culminating in ’99 with the first-round selection of N.C. State receiver Torry Holt and the fortuitous signing of Arena League QB Kurt Warner. The Rams added to that mix offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who would create a scheme unlike any the league has ever seen.
MIKE JONES (Rams linebacker, 1997 to 2000): We were the worst team in the NFL the year before that. We couldn’t find a way to win.
HOLT (Rams receiver, 1999 to 2008): When they drafted me, I was like, “I don’t want to go to this s—– team.” But then I got there and saw all the talent and . . . Oh, my God.
JONES: First it was the trade for [running back] Marshall Faulk [from the Colts, in April]. Then the Kurt Warner story.
ISAAC BRUCE (Rams receiver, 1994 to 2007): And Mike Martz.
MARTZ (Rams offensive coordinator, 1999): I was in Washington with Norv Turner [in ’97 and ’98] and he made a comment in a meeting that we had such good third-down plays, and we didn’t often get to use them. We kind of laughed. Then I went to the Rams . . . .
DICK VERMEIL (Rams coach, 1997 to ’99): When I brought Mike here, I told him the offense would be his baby. Neither he nor I anticipated it’d be as explosive as it was.
MCKAY: They suffered the injury at the end of the preseason to their starting quarterback [Trent Green], and now here comes Warner . . . .
WARNER (Rams QB, 1998 to 2003): My first thought was: This system is perfect for me.
HOLT: I remember looking at the pages of plays and how vertical everything was in the passing game.
WARNER: We were going to throw it down the field, and we were going to try to score on every play.
BRUCE: I like to compare it to when Muhammad Ali first came on the scene.
WARNER: A lot of people didn’t believe we would be able to sustain that.
MARTZ: It was the antithesis of the way the game was being played at the time. We said, “If you can cover everybody, God bless you. But I bet you can’t.”
WARNER: It was the perfect storm. We had a collection of talent that was ridiculous.
HOLT: We were pretty damn good, man. We were the Greatest Show on Turf.
The old Oilers had rebranded and relocated to Tennessee. After two 8–8 seasons in two temporary homes, their first year at Nashville’s Adelphia Coliseum, in 1999, was spectacular, with a star quarterback-running back tandem and a tenacious D.
AL DEL GRECO (Oilers/Titans kicker, 1991 to 2000): When I got to the Oilers we were a pretty good team. It went downhill when [QB] Warren Moon left, in ’93.
BRUCE MATTHEWS (Oilers/Titans, 1983 to 2001): [Owner Bud] Adams announced in ’95 that we’d be moving. Those next four years sucked.
DEL GRECO: The last season in Houston there was a “Save the Oilers” rally at City Hall. There were about 38 people.
MATTHEWS: We were a lame duck team. We’d had seven years in a row in the playoffs. Then, all of a sudden, there’s 17,000 fans in the [Astrodome]. Everything about the move was billed as, “Wait till ’97! We’ll play in Memphis the first year, but they’ll embrace us!” That wasn’t the case at all.
EDDIE GEORGE (Oilers/Titans running back, 1996 to 2003): We couldn’t give away tickets in Memphis. Playing in front of 16,000 fans, the majority cheering for the opposing team . . . . It wasn’t conducive to winning.
MATTHEWS: The ’98 season they said, “We’ll play at Vanderbilt Stadium [in Nashville]—then we’ll really start experiencing what it’s all about!” That sucked as well.
KEVIN DYSON (Oilers/Titans receiver, 1998 to 2002): [In ’99] we move again, finally, to Nashville. But now it’s, What’s our name going to be? What are our colors going to be? When they finally made that announcement, it was a special moment. We knew who we were.
MATTHEWS: There was newfound optimism. New uniform, new name, new stadium . . .
DYSON: Now we are home.
DEL GRECO: We’d been building, adding bits and pieces. Eddie George. Steve McNair was coming into his own.
GEORGE: The key piece was finding a dynamic pass rusher, a game changer on the defensive side. We drafted Jevon [Kearse in ’99], and Day One he made his presence felt as the freak of nature he was.
DYSON: He changed our team. We were championship-caliber.
The Titans went 13–3 and entered the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 4 seed.
JEFF FISHER (Oilers/Titans coach, 1995 to 2010): We were built well. We were built physically. It wasn’t a fluke that we got there.
GEORGE: Most teams weren’t built the way we were, hadn’t gone through what we had. We were mentally, physically and emotionally tough.
MATTHEWS: And we beat the Rams earlier in the year. We matched up well with them. We really felt like, “This is going to happen.”
GEORGE: [Going into SB XXXIV], everyone was giving it to the Rams. It’s going to be a blowout; it’s not worth watching. We embraced that.
St. Louis also went 13–3, breaking records with an offense that changed how football is played and earning the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
MARTZ: We had been [6–0] when we played the Titans earlier that year, and they beat us 24–21. They had us down 21–0 at half.
JONES: After that first game we knew that if we got them on a neutral site we could beat them.
DEXTER MCCLEON (Rams cornerback, 1997 to 2002): It was definitely revenge.
HOLT: We wanted to get that ass back.
III. THE STORMA destructive ice storm—hundreds of car wrecks, including one 47-car pile-up; $48 million in damage—was certainly not the way the NFL wanted to usher in its biggest event, but that’s what it got in Atlanta one week before the game. Locals called it a 100-Year Storm—and then, two days before kickoff, a second one hit.
FISHER: The Super Bowl fell immediately after the conference championship games. One week. That made everything more difficult.
MCCLEON: When we got there, there was ice all over Atlanta.
MARTZ: It was hanging from the trees.
DAVID RATCLIFFE (Georgia Power CEO, 1993 to 2003): It was one of the worst ice storms we ever had. We had 350,000 to 400,000 people out of service.
STEEG: Those were the days before practice bubbles. The Titans were at Georgia Tech, the Rams were at the Falcons’ practice facility. Both were outside.
TODD HEWITT (Rams equipment manager, 1986 to 2001): We planned like it was Green Bay in late December. All the players had thermals. Coaches had gloves, stocking caps; everyone had hand warmers.
HOLT: It was still cold as all get-out.
GEORGE: It felt like we were practicing on sheets of ice.
HEWITT: I ordered blowers. The sidelines looked like a street corner, a bunch of guys huddling by the heater.
BRUCE: If you were looking for Isaac Bruce, I was right next to the heater.
STEEG: And there wasn’t enough room in the hotels. We had to put a tent in the parking lot for [Titans] press conferences.
FISHER: Players didn’t want to go in there for interviews, it was so cold. And cold in the South is different—it’s a wet, bone-chilling cold.
STEEG: It was so cold the orange juice we put out for everybody literally froze.
MCCLEON: Everything was ice. All the roads were frozen. The buses couldn’t move.
STEEG: But by midweek we were thinking, O.K., we’ve blown through this and we don’t have to worry about it anymore.
RATCLIFFE: Then the second storm comes. It was like, Can we get a break here?
HEWITT: On Saturday we didn’t even go to the stadium for practice, because of the weather. We had a walk-through at our hotel.
MARTZ: Cars slid off the road. It was a nightmare. It created havoc.
STEEG: You know when Hartsfield Airport closes down it’s reached a really serious point.
VERMEIL: I had family members that almost didn’t get there. It was a disaster.
STEEG: The NFL had its big party scheduled for Saturday night. Three or four thousand people. They canceled it because nobody could get to it.
HEWITT: We ended up taking our kids to Hooters instead.
BRUCE: Still, I don’t think the weather dampened the whole mood. We knew on Sunday we were playing in the Georgia Dome.
MCCLEON: Guys were so excited. We could have been playing in Alaska.
GEORGE: There could have been a tsunami and I wouldn’t have noticed. We were in the damn Super Bowl.
IV. THE BROADCASTIt was the start of a new millennium—no, the world did not end on Jan. 1, 2000—and American industry was embracing the digital revolution. Riding this wave, a whopping 25 (mostly unknown) Internet companies paid exorbitant fees to purchase 30-second ads to air during what would come to be known as the Dot-com Bowl.
MIKE ZAPOLIN (Tech entrepreneur): This was the year that made the commercials part of what the Super Bowl is.
STEVE JOHNSON (Chicago Tribune TV critic): Through the ’90s this was building as a cultural phenomenon, but that 2000 game really cemented the feeling.
ROBERT LACHKY (Anheuser Busch CMO): We had become known as the ultimate advertiser in the Super Bowl. Ten years in a row of dominance. Then, all of a sudden, the buzz was the dot-coms.
ZAPOLIN: The frenzy of investment [in dot-coms] was overwhelming. You’d go to your dentist and your dentist was like, “Oh, yeah, I have a startup fund. I have an incubator.”
GEORGE: I was getting approached by entrepreneurs. Everybody had a dot-com . Somebody knew somebody that had an uncle . . . .
JOHNSON: People were throwing billions of dollars around, right and left. And all of that led to this ridiculous onslaught of ads. That and the phenomenal success of a really great Monster.com commercial the year before.
ZAPOLIN: Monster.com had a successful Super Bowl ad, and now they had a billion-dollar market cap. I owned Computers.com and I said, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to do a Super Bowl ad to launch this thing?” . . . . We approached ABC. They said, “We can sell you one of Pepsi’s ad spots, but you have to pay $2.75 million.”
STEEG: The ad rates went up dramatically that year, to [an average of] $2.2 million, a new high.
ZAPOLIN: It was an arms race. But the commercials had to be crazy.
JOHNSON: They were all determinedly wacky.
ZAPOLIN: Cyberian Outpost had an ad where they shot gerbils out of a cannon. It was insane.
JOHNSON: The E-Trade ad was two guys and a dancing chimp. Onscreen it said, “Well, we just wasted $2,000,000.” Basically you had the sense that a bunch of companies were just spending all their venture-capital money on this one shot. And in many cases blowing it spectacularly.
JONATHAN BEAMER (Monster.com CMO): For a lot of these companies, the world wasn’t quite yet ready for them.
ZAPOLIN: Only a few months after the game, the bubble burst. All the funding stopped. Then it all crashed.
MCKAY: Within four years, half of those companies didn’t exist.
HOLT: But it’s still so fitting that the Internet was the new wave, revolutionizing the world. And the Greatest Show on Turf was a new wave. We were creative, we were innovative. We were the Internet of football.
Bill Frakes
V. THE GAMEDespite the ice storm (and a bomb threat that came about 45 minutes before kickoff), the game went on. Faith Hill belted out the national anthem and at 6:25 EST, on Jan. 30, 2000, the Titans kicked off to begin Super Bowl XXXIV.
MCCLEON: Our game plan was to stop Eddie George and keep Steve McNair in the pocket.
JONES: Eddie was the center of their offense. He set everything up.
HOLT: I had never seen a running back that big [6’ 3” and 235 pounds]. I was enamored and in awe of his size.
MCCLEON: And Steve was like an extra running back. Even if you got your hands on him, he could shake you. The Titans were dangerous in many ways.
MATTHEWS: We struggled early. Offensively, we weren’t playing very well in the first half.
GEORGE: We got out of our element. We were wide-eyed and got away from our game plan.
FISHER: We got caught up in the Greatest Show on Turf and tried to throw the ball all over the yard. We were not about that.
GEORGE: It was like we were playing in quicksand. But [the Rams] weren’t scoring either.
HOLT: We were moving the ball up and down the field, but we had problems in the red zone.
MATTHEWS: We were very thankful our defense held them to field goals.
DYSON: It gave us a fighting chance.
BRUCE: I don’t think the Titans had a Hall of Famer on that defense, but they played so well together.
MARTZ: Their whole deal was pressure. It seemed like they blitzed on every snap.
HOLT: They had Kearse. The Freak, man. The Freak.
MARTZ: He was going nuts. Nobody could block him
VERMEIL: They were knocking Kurt down. He got whacked.
HOLT: He took a beating. You could hit a quarterback back then. And they were hitting the quarterback.
MCCLEON: We led 9–0 at halftime, played about as well as we could on defense. But you knew those guys were going to get it right at half.
BRUCE: Field goals weren’t going to beat this team. Not the Tennessee Titans, led by Steve McNair. It just wasn’t going to happen.
John W. McDonoughBut first, the halftime show: Phil Collins! Toni Braxton! Christina Aguilera and Enrique Iglesias! Giant puppets! And fireworks!
STEEG: The halftime show was important in history because ABC broadcast the game, and Disney had just bought ABC. Now, for halftime, you basically got the production company of the network broadcasting the game. That begot CBS two years later wanting [its Viacom partner] MTV to do the halftime show for their Super Bowl, which a couple years later begot MTV doing the Janet Jackson show.
BRUCE: Walking back on the field, the smoke from the halftime show settled right at the top of the dome. It had no exit.
HEWITT: It looked like we were in a fog bowl, or like there was a fire.
MCCLEON: Our offense took it right down the field to start the second half. You couldn’t ask for a better start: 16-0. We thought we had the game in hand.
HOLT: We got the rhythm now. Here comes the Greatest Show on Turf.
JONES: When we got up on teams, they usually didn’t come back.
BRUCE: But the Titans had different plans, man.
GEORGE: They felt like they’d won the game. Jeff Fisher said, “They’re celebrating. What are you going to do about it?”
DYSON: We looked over at the Rams celebrating and it was like, Let’s calm down and do what we do. If we go out doing what we do, we can live with that.
VERMEIL: They just started pounding it. They were patient. They didn’t play as if they were behind 16–0.
MATTHEWS: We went back to what had gotten us to that point.
DYSON: Hand the ball to Eddie George left. Hand the ball to Eddie George right. And let Steve McNair make some plays. We beat them down and wore them out.
HOLT: Eddie had two physical touchdown runs to bring them back. More powerful, physical runs that I had seen in quite some time.
JONES: Before we know it, we look up and a 16–0 game is now tied 16–16.
GEORGE: The possibility of us pulling off this magical season was within our grasp. We felt like we were destined to win.
MCCLEON: They had the momentum at that point. Martz was thinking, We need to do something to get it back real fast.
MARTZ: With two minutes and 12 seconds left, we thought we’d take a shot.
VERMEIL: I said, “Mike, this corner is about five and a half yards off Isaac Bruce and they are playing one-on-one. He can’t cover Isaac Bruce one-on-one.” And Mike called the play.
BRUCE: Twins Right, Ace Right, 999 H Balloon. I knew immediately I was getting the football.
HOLT: It was an All Go.
BRUCE: Four receivers spread out, they all run down the field, try to take the top off the defense. And I had a free release.
HOLT: Kearse was closing on Kurt. Kearse hit him and took a little bit of juice off the ball.
GEORGE: He came within an inch.
MCCLEON: But Kurt just took a chance.
BRUCE: After that it was me and the defensive back running stride for stride . . . then the ball dropped out of the sky, into my hands [for a 73-yard catch].
VERMEIL: Bang. Touchdown. But we scored [to make it 23–16] too fast.
GEORGE: We looked at the clock and said, “Oh, we got plenty of time.”
MATTHEWS: There was no doubt we were going to drive down and take this thing to overtime.
BRUCE: One minute and 48 seconds left, and we’re playing Steve McNair? Oh my goodness. Here we go.
DYSON: We started on our own 11.
GEORGE: And that’s when 9 went to work.
FISHER: It was a drive for the ages, what Steve was able to do.
BRUCE: I think a legend was introduced to America on that drive.
HOLT: I’m seeing him move the ball. I’m in awe. It was beautiful to sit there and watch him show his mastery of the position.
MCCCLEON: We were looking at that clock like, Please run! We went like 30 straight plays against Steve. That was one of the toughest things I’ve ever been through on the football field.
BRUCE: I didn’t want to see him succeed, but I felt helpless at that moment, watching his greatness.
MCCLEON: We got them to third down [with 22 seconds left]. Steve was scrambling around; it looked like we had him bottled up a couple times.
VERMEIL: [Defensive end] Kevin Carter had him in his grasp and was spinning him around.
JONES: Then Steve takes off. He whirls around.
BRUCE: He had two defensive linemen—about 600 pounds—hanging on him.
HOLT: Two of our biggest guys, he’s shedding them off.
BRUCE: It’s a true example of what we call “country strong.”
DYSON: Steve extended the play and I found a crease in the zone, and he delivered. I caught it [at the 10] to set up the final play.
HOLT: That’s when I was like, S—.
DEL GRECO: This stuff doesn’t happen unless we are supposed to win.
MCCLEON: They called a timeout with six seconds left. Time for one play.
BRUCE: I was getting my mind right to play the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.
GEORGE: If it went into overtime? They didn’t have a chance. They were exhausted.
VERMEIL: We were worn down from chasing McNair, tackling Eddie George.
HOLT: That’s what Super Bowl moments are all about. The two best teams in the National Football League going one on one against each other and it all comes down to one moment, one play.
GEORGE: The play that everybody remembers.
MCCLEON: We had a combo call [on defense]. 77 Blast. Cover 7 on both sides
DYSON: When I saw they were in zone, I knew the ball was coming to my side.
JONES: I [was covering] the inside. So as I’m running with [tight end Frank] Wycheck I’m looking at Kevin Dyson the entire time.
DYSON: Frank was pushing vertical, extending Mike. I’m coming underneath Frank to force that linebacker to make a choice.
JONES: Kevin comes underneath. I see him plant his foot in the ground to come back for the ball, and I come with him. I don’t think he sees me. I think, I’m going to kill Kevin.
DYSON: I saw him, but I didn’t think he was in position to make a tackle. I thought I could run through his arms into the end zone.
JONES: He catches it, and when I wrap him up I have my arm around his right hip. He tries to extend.
DYSON: I remember seeing the yellow paint of the end zone and thinking I had it.
JONES: Then I bring my left arm around and I catch his knee right as he’s going up. He falls like a tree because he can’t keep his balance.
DYSON: As I’m going down, I do that one last extension. If I could just get the nose of the ball across. . . . Then I see the blue and gold confetti coming down.
DEL GRECO: They call that The Tackle, I guess.
HOLT: Talk about moments. Mike Jones had his moment.
LACHKY: Mike Jones, God bless his soul.
HOLT: I want to hug him now.
GEORGE: I recall looking up at the clock to see if there was more time left. It can’t end like this.
DEL GRECO: There has to be more time.
MATTHEWS: To this day when I watch it, I’m thinking we’re going to find a way to win this thing.
DEL GRECO: You wonder what that party would have been like if we won.
HOLT: We partied like s— in the locker room. I ended up going to different parties in Atlanta that night. Next thing I remember, I was on top of a truck, bobbing and weaving in St. Louis.
VI. THE MURDERAt approximately 4 a.m. outside one of those parties—in Buckhead, seven miles north of Georgia Dome—two men died in a stabbing incident. Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, in town for the festivities, was arrested and charged with double murder. The news broke Monday morning.
MCCLEON: That was supposed to be the time we wake up as Super Bowl champs and it’s all about us on the news: the Miracle Rams. But the talk that morning was all about what happened in Buckhead.
FISHER: We made it back to Nashville on Monday, and all the headlines were about Ray Lewis.
GEORGE: We didn’t know if he did it, didn’t do it. We just knew two people were dead and they were accusing Ray of doing it.
HEWITT: Players were talking about it on the plane home [Monday], as we were getting ready to take off. Did you hear what happened? Where was it? It was right here!?
DYSON: I was actually at that same party. I left just before the incident and went to another party. It was surreal.
STEEG: I got a call Monday from the police telling us [Lewis] was under arrest. I had to go tell Tagliabue. He was at a chef’s table at the Hyatt. I got him, and I remember going back up the elevator trying to explain what little I knew: There was a murder investigation and Lewis was in the middle of it.
GEORGE: To wrap your head around him being involved in a situation like that was mind-boggling.
MATTHEWS: All I know is, I wanted him suspended for the next year’s playoffs. [He wasn’t.] Instead they beat us. The Ravens’ defense was just nuts.
STEEG: You go from Ray Lewis being arrested to, a year later, he was named MVP of [Super Bowl XXXV].
GEORGE: Certainly, it was a strange time.
Lewis ultimately pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice but was cleared of charges. He settled with the families of both victims.
From the SI Vault: Kurt Warner Was His Usual Stellar Self as the Rams Hung on to Beat the Titans in the Best Super Bowl Ever
VII. THE RETURNAfter two decades of unprecedented growth and the opening of the state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in 2017, Atlanta will host another Super Bowl. This time, city and league officials believe they’ll get it right. (Oh, and Tampa? The city is hosting again in 2021.)
GEORGE: I’ve heard people say Atlanta should never host another Super Bowl.
MCKAY: When I went to work for the Falcons [in 2003, as GM] we tried to make a bid for the Super Bowl in ’07. We were pretty confident we had a good bid. I think weather played a big part in us not getting that. [That game went to Miami.]
RATCLIFFE: All of us are hoping [a storm] doesn’t happen again. This is a huge opportunity for Atlanta to demonstrate the progress we made from 2000.
STEVE CANNON (CEO of AMB Group, which owns the Falcons): It’s interesting, when you look at that 19-year span, how Atlanta has developed as a city.
MCKAY: It’s a completely different Atlanta.
CANNON: In 2000, this wasn’t considered one of the most significant cities in America. It is now.
MCKAY: We as a city have really done a very good job in hosting a lot of big events over the last 30 years. There is one event that didn’t come off perfectly and that was the Super Bowl. We want to change that perception.
HEWITT: Now you just have to pray that the weather doesn’t drop.
MCKAY: If it happens, we are prepared for it. We spent a lot of time with the weather plan. The city is so much better suited to deal with inclement weather. We don’t want to host just this Super Bowl. We want to host Super Bowls. We want people to say: “This is as good a place to host a Super Bowl as any other place in the country.”
SCOTT JENKINS (Mercedes-Benz Stadium GM): If the weather cooperates, we are going to set the standard for what the Super Bowl is.
MCKAY: Bring a pair of shorts.s.”
AgamemnonRams Head Coach Sean McVay – January 17, 2019
(On how the team has maintained its level of concentration getting ready for Sunday despite the distractions surrounding the game)
“I think it’s just having been in somewhat similar experiences and, really, atmospheres earlier in the year where we had to deal with some of the things that went on in the community, dealing with the fires. Our players just seamlessly adjust and adapt to whatever circumstance we have to deal with. We talked about it today. We’re not going to allow the weather to be any bit of an excuse. We felt like this was a better option and alternative than having to travel somewhere else. So, we’ll get some good work in today. I trust that guys won’t be affected by it. Even though it’s not exactly like the environment that we’ll play in, being indoors, but we’re not going allow it to be a distraction. We know we’ve got a great opportunity to play against the Saints for a conference championship and that’s solely what our focus is on.”
(On how the veteran leadership on the team factors into that)
“That’s exactly right. I think that, to me, is as strong an influence on what we do as anything is those veteran players having the ownership, having the understanding to worry about things that we can only control. We can’t control the weather. We can’t control where we’re practicing just based on where we’re at. All we can control is having a great day of preparation.”
(On the way that RB Todd Gurley II has accepted the role of RB C.J. Anderson and if he had to have a conversation with him)
“(RB) Todd (Gurley II) knows he’s a special, unique football player. I think he’s very secure in himself so that he understands that (RB) C.J. (Anderson) helps us. Really, for Todd, just getting back in the flow, being able to kind of just get his wind back and be able to have as productive of a game as he did with him having really had a month off, I think, is a large credit to Todd. But, then, also his understanding and security to be able to be supportive of C.J. If there’s one thing that you hear about Todd that I think says as much as anything, any time that he’s asked about how we’re doing or the running game, he’s always quick to give credit to everybody else. He’s definitely recognized what a good job C.J. has done to help our football team. I think when your best players have that mindset, as far as, it’s about the team and it’s about how can we best win a football game. I think knows that being able to stay fresh while he’s still our guy, but also then giving C.J. an opportunity to make some plays is best for the team right now. I think that’s a large credit to our leadership and Todd being one of those key leaders.”
(On today’s plan for practice)
“Yeah, we’ll get outside. We’re going to try to get some of that work in that we try to do with some of the fast pace, up-tempo periods. If we feel like it’s to the point where we’re not getting as much out of it, just based on the field conditions – we had a tarp over the field. So, it seems like it’s in good shape right now, but worst case scenario, we can always bump right inside to that nice, big tent that you guys see out there.”
(On if the team explored going to other locations to practice and, if so, where were they considering and how quickly did the situation to bring in the tent come together)
“Really, when we looked at what the weather was going to be last week and then when you start to explore the options, to actually think about having to go off-site and have the players leave their families and their kids – and the coaches as well – earlier, we felt like that wasn’t going to give us the reward. We wanted to be able to keep our normal rhythm and routine, even if we did have to practice in the rain. The tent was a result of once we made that decision that we weren’t going to explore any of those other options. It would have to be so far that we would have to travel. I think the most important thing is keeping our guys in a normal rhythm and a routine. If there’s one thing that they’ve demonstrated, especially as you get this late in the season, it’s that they have the ability to be able to take a lot of mental reps, maximize some of those physical reps and then have it translate to the game. You don’t take for granted the importance of those physical reps during the course of a week, but if you said we’re going to supplement that to be able to stay here, get some more mental work as opposed to picking up and traveling and going somewhere else. We just felt like that was going to be best for our team to keep it in-house here.”
(On if there is a scheduled plan on how they’re going to rotate Anderson and Gurley)
“I think it’s more of a feel than anything else based on the flow of the game. Thought (Running Backs Coach) Skip (Peete) did a great job. We want to be able to get those guys both involved, but certainly, when Todd is rolling you want to keep him rolling. I think it’s more of a result of, ‘Okay, how is the flow of the game going, certain situations that come up.’ But, you do feel good about having two very productive backs and their ability to be able to kind of spell each other. Todd is going to go and he’s going to make a lot of different plays and he’s going to get a lot of opportunities. But, I do think with Todd having played basically almost 100 percent of the time prior to taking a little bit of time off with his knee, this has provided a good opportunity for us to say, ‘Hey, you’re still our guy, but now if C.J. comes in, he’s played productive football.’ I think that’s the biggest thing that gives Todd a quieted mind when he wants to come off. He’s such a team guy that he doesn’t want to come off because he doesn’t want to feel like he’s letting anybody else down. But I think as a result of some of the production that you’ve seen from C.J., he can feel good about getting his good work in, but if he needs a blow then C.J. is coming in and doing a nice job.”
(On if he is noticing defenses lining up a certain way when Anderson is in the game that is affording them to be able to do some things off of run action)
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that. We’ve only really had one game with those guys playing together. C.J. has made some plays in the screen game. He can catch the ball. The first week he was here he made a couple big-time, one-handed snags on some routes down the sideline and stuff. So, don’t sleep on him (laughs).”
(On if there was a particular shortcoming from the first matchup with the Saints that he believed they needed to commit to focusing on the rest of the way)
“I think, really, just our ability to kind of – we fell behind. They capitalized on some of the turnovers. We ended up not converting on a fake field goal opportunity. They’re so explosive and I thought they were so efficient in the red zone, they were so efficient on third downs. I thought there was a point in time where once we came out of the half, I thought getting a field goal at the end of the half to really cut it. (K) Greg (Zuerlein) hits a big-time one with our offense operating at the end of the first half. Then, you come out and you find a way just to creep back into it and you get it to 35 all before you know it because the defense started playing really well. But, I just think when you fall behind against such an explosive team, then they can start to dictate a lot of different looks defensively. They can speed it up or slow it down on you offensively and they’re so dangerous with their special teams and some of the things they present as well. Really, it’s just a matter of falling behind and then some of those situational things that we could do a better job of.”
(On how much of a challenge it is as play caller when you’ve seen this team in Week 9 and now on a stage of this magnitude)
“It’s a great challenge because they’re a great defense. I don’t think it’s necessarily exclusive to the fact that we’ve played them already. There’s been so much inventory and so many snaps that have taken place since we’ve played them dating back, so you’ve got a lot of different things that they’ve done. There’s a lot of different things that we’ve done and it’s about figuring out, ‘Okay, what’s the best way to put our players in situations that put them in spots to succeed, that accentuate their skill sets, but also gives us answers versus the defensive structures that they’re presenting or the offensive things that we expect (Saints Head) Coach (Sean) Payton to present to (Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) and our defense.’ I think, really, it is a great challenge, but it’s because it’s a great football team we’re playing, not necessarily because we’ve played them already.”
(On what QB Jared Goff improved with from the time he was struggling a little bit)
“Sometimes it can be just the fact of a ball bouncing one way or the other. The quarterback is under such a microscope with every single thing. Sometimes if you have a game where a play that you’re aggressive, you try to fit it into a window, two of those times where it gets tipped up and they end up getting picks on those plays where sometimes they go incomplete or you fit it in there for a completion – that’s the difference in somebody being evaluated as in a slump, out of a slump. So, I think it’s such a fine line. But, what he’s done a good job of, is the consistent decision making down-in and down-out. I think the ability to distribute the ball and get a variety of play-makers involved – whatever phase of our passing game that we’re operating in. I thought he did do some really good things in the Philly game. Then, we’ve talked about, really, going back to the Chicago (Bears) game – that was a collaborative effort and it started with me there. I think everybody wants to make a big deal of the way that he was playing. But, I think it large part, it’s because he was playing at such an elite level, he almost became a victim of his own success. But, he really didn’t fall off at all. I think it was just some of those things that bounced one way or the other. Then, defensive guys made some good plays. So, he’s settled in. I think he’s done an excellent job over the last month of the season and most importantly, I think our team’s in a good place. We had a little bit of a lull there where everybody was ready to press the panic button, except for everybody in this building. I think that’s what’s a credit to our players, our coaching staff – finishing up the season in the right way. Got a little bit of momentum having played the way that we did against a great Dallas (Cowboys) football team and we’re excited about the challenge for the Conference Championship this week.”
(On each of the last 10 Conference Championship games have been won by the home team and how much of an advantage it is for the New Orleans Saints)
“It’s definitely an advantage, especially when you look at the type of atmosphere that you’re going to have in New Orleans and having been there, you have a respect for that. We’d love to be at home, but it’s a great opportunity for us to go into their place, try to play a great game and see if we can break that 10-year streak.”
(On getting T Andrew Whitworth last season and if he’s ever seen a player at that age perform the way that he is)
“I think until you actually go back and – I didn’t know enough about him to realize what a special person he was. So, I think the appreciation that you gain from being around somebody like that, just increases as you’re around him more. Watching the way that he leads, watching the way that he’s made me a better coach. Just seeing the way that he interacts with his coaches, his teammates and what he’s meant to this organization. I don’t think you could really put a price on it, how instrumental he’s been with what he’s done and how he’s influenced and affected his teammates over the last couple years and really, this overall culture that you hear us talk about. The production has been incredible. I thought he played his best game of the year last week, too. He looked fresh. He looked healthy. He was explosive – finishing blocks in the run game. He was patient and used his hands in protection. It’s really incredible. If you look back at the numbers, it really hasn’t been – there’s only a few guys that have ever done it in the history of this league. For him to be playing at this level, for him to be able to lead the way that he does, that’s why games like last week were so special because you care so much about those guys and seeing them have success. That’s what you love about this game. That’s what makes you want to work that much harder. But, I don’t think you could put a price on how important that guy is. You can’t say anything else, but, I’m sure glad that he got here, and you love (T) Andrew Whitworth.”
(On how he’s going to prepare for the crowd noise with practicing outside and how Whitworth has made him a better coach)
“So, the first part of it, we’ll have the speakers out, like we normally would. I don’t think you can truly mimic and emulate that noise that you’re going to have. So, that’s how we’ll do that as far as just kind of getting acclimated to the noise, specifically when our offense is operating. Then, I think, really, just the players perspective that Andrew gives you with regards to things that he might see because he has such a good understanding. I didn’t play offensive line, but some of the things – tips, tells or just based on his overall vantage point and experience that he’s able to give you that you don’t have unless you’re a player, make you more in-tune with some things as a coach. But, I think what you learn more importantly, is just how you lead in an authentic and genuine way. Watching him operate has definitely been one of the things that’s kind of changed the way that you view what true leadership is – the way I view it. I think it’s because it comes from such a just natural place because he’s got such an empathy for people and it’s an authentic way that he’s connecting. He doesn’t necessarily have to say it all the time, but he just does right all the time. He touches guys individually and it’s something that’s been really beneficial for our football team and to be able to see it, you can’t help but get better being around somebody like him.”
(On how he monitors himself so that he doesn’t get too conservative or too aggressive during the NFC Championship with fourth down conversions and fake plays)
“I think it goes back to the communication that exists amongst, really, our coaching staff and really kind of following our process. Then, there is an element where a lot of those decisions – I see the stats and different things like that, but so much of it is a product of a gut feel. The one thing I think, especially when you’re talking about football compared to some of the other stats where you use those numbers, you’re talking about 22 moving parts on every single snap – matchups that occur. I get what it says on the fourth-and-1 – here’s what the chart says – different things like that. But, if you feel like you’re getting good knock off, you’ve got confidence and a belief in your players to be able to execute – that’s more of a gut thing, then sometimes it is. Same thing with the QB sneak that we did in Seattle. So, I think we are an aggressive team by nature. I think that’s our mindset, that’s our mentality, but you don’t want to be reckless. So, there’s an element of making sure that that communication is amongst your coaches where you’re utilizing those resources around you. But, then there’s also a feel where, man, we feel real confident in our players ability to execute and we’re going to play not fearing failure, but to go attack an opportunity to go win a conference championship. I know they have the same thing – that’s what I respect so much about the Saints is that they’re aggressive. They’re down 14 from the two-yard line, they go for it and they deliver in a big way. That gets them back into it. You look back at the Baltimore game earlier in the year. So, I have a lot of respect and admiration for (Saints Head) Coach (Sean) Payton and the way that he calls a game to go win it – not being afraid of losing it. I’d like to think that’s something that we do at the Rams as well. We’re going to continue to do that going into this weekend.”
***
Rams Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips – January 17, 2019
(Opening statement)
“I have a history with this team also. It’s pretty much up all of them. These guys, obviously scored 45 points the first time we played them. They got two great running backs, all-time great quarterback and the leading receiver in the League. A really good offensive line, so it’s going to be a big challenge for us. But like I said last week, each game is its own entity. Everybody said, ‘You all can’t stop the run. You aren’t going to be able to run on them.’ All those things. Whatever happens this game is going to happen. I feel like we’ve been playing better defensively as the year went along and we played well last week, so that’s what we expect”
(On if he agrees with head coach Sean McVay that DT Ndamukong Suh played his best game against Dallas)
“I do. Especially with the head coach. I don’t want to (inaudible) with him. That’s why I’m here now.”
(On what made Suh so successful against the Cowboys)
“Well, he just played really well. He used his talent. He’s got great talent and he utilized it. Hopefully we put him in a position to make some plays, but, it’s the players themselves. I think he was really motivated to play well and he did. We were pleased with that and we expect more from him.”
(On how having CB Aqib Talib back changes the defense)
“Well it changes – as you can see, since (CB) Aqib’s (Talib) been back, we haven’t given up a lot of big plays in the passing game. He helps out there. He helps with communication, he helps with his talent and we don’t have to change people around to cover up for a guy that hadn’t been playing. It gives us a versatility that didnt have when he wasn’t in there and I think we’ve played better since he’s been in there.”
(On if it took a while to figure out how to best work Suh and DT Aaron Donald in combination)
“I think it’s the whole defense. That’s what you do, is try to get a feel for what they really do well and what their real strengths are, and if they have some weaknesses, try not to put them in those situations. I said earlier, I did that with (CB) Marcus Peters. I did a disservice to him in that first game because he didn’t have any help with the receivers. We learn as we go. I’m just about to get experienced enough to learn how to do it. That’s what our job is – try to get them in good position to make plays.”
(On having a fully integrated OLB Dante Fowler Jr. this time versus the Saints)
“Yeah, I mean (OLB) Dante (Fowler Jr.) was new with us last time we played. I think he’s a lot more comfortable with the defense. He’s made some big plays since he’s been with us. The more he learned, the more we were able to learn what he could do. We expect him to have a good game.”
(On Talib’s leadership)
“He’s a natural leader. He was that way in Denver, the same way. He was a real driving force in our playoff, championship and Super Bowl win as a leader, also. He played really well, but he was a big factor. There were a lot of things that came up in the locker room, all those things, him helping prepare the team just like coaches do.”
(On teammates naturally gravitating to Talib or is he proactive about it)
“He’s pretty proactive about everything. He’s a big personality so you can’t help but be drawn to him. I tell him he always takes the other side. Whatever side you take, well he’s going to argue the other side and those kind of things. You know, that’s him. He gets going, he gets excitable about a lot of things and he’s a lot of fun to be around. And he made me ‘drippin’ in the Super Bowl so that was nice.”
(On how Talib’s ability to be proactive help from a communication standpoint when facing Saints QB Drew Brees)
“(Saints QB) Drew Brees is not only one of the greatest of all time, he’s having an even better year than he had last year when he set the record for highest percentage of completions. He’s a tremendous quarterback. He knows what you’re in most of the time, so you got to be able to play whatever your technique is and play it really well when he does know what you’re in. We still try to disguise things and certainly we are going to move around on him, but it’s hard to catch him not knowing, basically, where the weakness of the defense is, or where his one-on-one situation with (Saints WR) Michael Thomas. If he sees that, well then he’s going to try to hope his guy can beat your guy – he knows that. It goes to him in those situations. If you double one guy, then he knows to go somewhere else. And if you’re playing zone, he knows the weaknesses and sweet spots of the zones are.”
(On similarities he sees between Saints head coach Sean Payton and McVay)
“Well the big things, obviously. They’re well-disciplined in what they do. They know what they’re doing and know how to take advantage of defenses. When they see something that you’re in, they come back with something that will hurt it – those kinds of things. Coach McVay is not only a really good offensive coach, he’s a heck of a head coach. He helps us on defense, too.”
(On what he recalls seeing from McVay that really made him believe that he wanted to coach on his staff)
“Well it was mostly my son, Wes (Phillips), who worked with him, you know, with the (Washington) Redskins. Wes told me all about him. I had met him (McVay) before, but Wes told me all about him, all the great things about him. Wes had already said he thought he was going to be a great head coach and he has great command of the room and all those things. So it was really from Wes. Wes is a young, offensive coach that knows Sean McVay, just if anyone is looking for a head coach. He knows him real well.”
(On his son, Wes, not being wrong about McVay)
“Oh no, Wes was absolutely correct, which he usually is, and that’s why he’s a really good coach.”
(On how tough of a matchup Saints RB Alvin Kamara is)
“Yeah, he’s a matchup problem. I go back to the old days, (Hall of Fame RB) Marshall Faulk was that way. He could run with the ball great and you could put him out as a wide receiver and he could run wide receiver routes or he could beat you out of the backfield. You know, it’s the same type of guy with great ability. I’m not going to put him in the Hall of Fame yet, but he has a lot of similar traits that are hard matchup problems for you.”
(On the challenges Saints QB Taysom Hill presents)
“They’ve utilized the ability he has, certainly. Special teams, he’s a good special teamer, but he’s got a lot of speed, he can throw the ball at quarterback. When you throw a guy in that can play tight end and all of the sudden he’s playing quarterback, he’s very versatile. It causes you to say, ‘Hey, you know if he’s playing tight end you do this, if he’s playing wide receiver you have to do this, if he’s playing quarterback you have to do this and even running back.’ It makes you prepare for a lot of different things and you have to be real sound in what you do. So, they utilize him really in that way.”
(On if he was surprised by all the talent acquired on defense – Talib, Suh, Peters – during the same offseason and how to get them all acclimated)
“That’s what (Rams GM) Les (Snead) and Sean do, is try to get talent. They go out and do a great job of it, obviously. We are 14-3 now, so we got a lot of talent. It’s not all coaching. They do a good of acquiring players and those two guys are veteran guys that have played really well in the league and are smart players. I think that bodes well for any team.”
Also against Chicago, they did not adjust to how defenses are playing them now. Defenses are subtracting the intermediate “chunk” passes they thrived on earlier, and then also both (1) attacking the OL and (2) gameplanning Donald out of the picture which means fewer dramatic defensive plays limiting the score.
One answer to the defensive strategy of taking away the 11-25 yard chunk plays is to develop a patient short passing game. They WERE doing that against the Eagles but then getting behind meant they had to junk that approach.
And when they junked the short passing game in desperation late in the game, they nearly came back.
Topic: what Chiefs fans are saying
collected/formatted by Prime Time
https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=318706
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Let’s talk about the Rams
yeah this might be a fun game
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I’m not overly worried – their defense looked more porous than Rocky Dennis in Mask.
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Interior line has to be stout in this one, the Saints were able to move the ball so easily because Suh and Donald were mostly taken care of with the OL.The biggest issue will of course be can the defense do anything because the Saints managed to turn the Rams into a passing team.
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Penalties
Chiefs 92
Rams 46Turnovers
Rams +7
Chiefs +5Defensive Coordinators
Chiefs =Sutton
Rams=Wade PhillipsWe’ll beat ourselves
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Seriously – The Rams ‘over the top’ help is garbage, their safeties may literally be worse than KC’s.
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This is our statement game. We lose to the Rams after losing to NE we’ll be paper tigers.
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Talib saw the writing on the wall and GTFO of Denver. He wants nothing to do with Mahomes
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We have NOTHING to worry about. This is going to be a glorified scrimmage.
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What we really need to talk about is the coin toss, we have to go offense first it could be a bad day
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Let’s Butt**** the Rams.
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Somebody even want to bother to tell me how you stop Gurley?I expect Sutton will drop everyone to slow down Goff and Gurley will give us the good ol’ Leveon Bell treatment.
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I sure wouldn’t.They live off of running the ball and using hard PA to get Goff clean pockets and easy throws. I’d send lots of pressure knowing that I’m not going to stop them much either way, but maybe you get some TFLs or big sacks/INTs that way.
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Pat is going to whip it out and Molly Whop their defense.I’m more afraid of golden retriever puppies than Goff. Little, fluffy, waggy, golden retriever puppies. Gurley will be nothing more than a receiver come the 3rd quarter.
37-31 Chiefs. Rams get the obligatory 10 in garbage time.
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Our defense still stinks bad. Forget stopping them, it wont happen. Just hope you get the ball last and have a shot for the win.
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We’ll play pure bend don’t break. They’ll move down the field easily so it comes down to if we hold them to field goals or touchdowns.
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The ram defense is good enough to get a few stops.Our defense will give up 6 TD’s. Their punter might not as well suit up.
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Rams defense is overrated IMOtheir d line is easily their biggest strength. Aside from that, I’m not particularly impressed. Just like our D, their biggest weakness is the middle.
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The Rams defense is a one man show basically. Two when Suh decides to give max effort.We can put up plenty of points on them IMO. Question is will KC be able to make a few big plays on defense or special teams.
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They’re not going to ‘stop’ Hunt either – especially if we run in the face of the exact opposite side you’d think, directly at the right side of Rams D line.
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We own the Lambs and will dominate them again.At least they can get some tequila and tacos after their loss.
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Sports Media really seems to be stroking on Goff’s knob, but I think they are blowing smoke up everybody’s ass. What real adversity has he faced? Has he ever came back from a deficit like Mahomes has?
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Toad’s keys to the Rams game
1) PP = Protect Pat
2) Limit penalties
3) Be special on special teams
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I’ve never been so unafraid of a team in my life.
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They ****ing suck!!!!!
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That stadium will be Arrowhead South by the time the game is over. An entirely new market down there will be stealing Chiefs jerseys and wearing them proudly.With Peters playing so badly and Talib out, I just don’t think that secondary matches up with our weapons at all. Their best hope is to pressure Mahomes into mistakes, but so far he has been historically amazing outside the pocket.
Chiefs have just as good of a running game as the Lambs. I think we can gash them on the ground by doubling Donald and getting to that second level. We know how Peters tackles.
Their offense is a handful, no doubt, and will put up 30 on us, but the Chiefs are built for a shootout. Mahomes can get us a TD in 12 seconds if we need one. As long as we don’t make a bunch of dumb penalties to extend their drives, I think we can get enough stops to still win by 10.
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I hope they run press man like they ran vs the Saints. I’d love to see Peters try to jam Tyreek at the line. He’d be seeing deuces by the time he realized what was going on.Also, run right at Peters all game.
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I love the chiefs but I think this game will be like NE whoever has the ball last wins.
I believe the D is getting better but this is the best offense we can face without practicing against our 1’s so giving up some points wouldn’t be horrible.
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The only thing that could make this game like NE is if Mahomes comes out all geeked-up in the first instead of just taking command and playing his game.
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You have to know that with the criticism Peters has been taking he is REALLY NOT looking forward to this game.
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I’ll call it now; he’s getting pulled from this game. Pulled or ejected, one of the two.
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Time to take out the trash.
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Or if the refs are on the “LA Express”…which they already are. If you watched the Chargers game last week….the WR stepped out of bounds with half his foot and they still let the TD stand. It was a Patriots-level call…even Chargers fans were “WTF”.Like I said earlier…this game has implications for BOTH LA teams. It’s really the Chargers best shot at gaining a game on KC….then think of the ratings on that Thursday night game.
I dont see a fairly officiated game in either of those two…so KC is going to have to be humming.
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Rams will clobber us
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Rams > CardsWe better see a huge improvement over this week.
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Hopefully Andy has the team watch this week’s game, because the rams will copy it on defense. The difference is they are a lot better. Thankfully most teams are not that talented.
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Donald and Suh vs. a reclamation project at LG, a 3rd string C, and an undrafted FA practice squad signing 2nd year guy at RG.Yeah, I’m nervous.
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Is the Chiefs’ offense better than the Rams?I think Mahomes is way better than Goff, and the skill players are better, but their line is way better than KC’s.
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If the Rams commit to the run it’ll be a long day. Hopefully they aren’t smart lol.
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Going to be up to the offense to basically make them a passing team.
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Rams are front runnersLet’s talk about the Rams
If you can get stops early in the game, which are more likely to happen when players aren’t as tired…you have potential of getting 14pt swings at the end/start of the half if you play it right. At a bare minimum you possibly get 2 extra possessions your opponent otherwise you not get.
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We are going to need Dorian O’Daniel and our safeties to make good tackles on Gurley.Let that guy get some decent runs. Limit him in the passing game and we’ll win.
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Rams giving up to many yards for the clock to help that much.
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They’re trash. Will be on a 2 game losing streak that should be 3. That can’t beat anyone who can score.
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Does anyone besides the team the Rams are playing give a rat’s ass about the Rams?
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So the Rams had to sweat out a last second victory at home against a .500 ball club that is Russell Wilson and nothing else.Color me not afraid.
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Rams shut the Cards out at home 34-0 while Chiefs could not. Apples to Oranges.
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Something that hasn’t been talked about enough: Peters talking crap on Mahomes awhile back.I’d hate to be him next week.
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Here’s what’s scary about the Rams:Donald and Suh vs. our patchwork interior line.
Gurley vs. our crap run defense.
Literally nothing else scares me about them. But those two situations are enough to make me nervous.
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If I’m the Rams….all I would do is feed Gurley and dare the Chiefs to stop him.I don’t think they’ll be able to.
My fears are that Gurley goes full blown Clinton Portis on this D on a MNF stage.
My next biggest fear is that crappy field gonna cause an injury to a Chiefs player.
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We can win as long as we execute early and exploit peters early. Also eric fisher stop ****ing up.
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One thing I am hoping for is they get impatient and move away from the run. A quick lead could get them in that mode. 273 yards to seattle rushing Kareem is going to light it up.
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so it begins————
Over/Under opens at 63.5,I do believe that’s the highest ever for an NFL gameRams open as 2.5 favorite
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The SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas on Sunday opened the Chiefs-Rams over/under at 64, which, if it holds, would be the highest since at least 1986, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
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I think it should be 70. Rams and Saints put 80 on the board. I don’t think the Chiefs or Rams defenses are good enough to keep this one below 70. Heck, the crappy Mexico field condition might actually be the best defense in this game.
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Tyreek need to run go routes all night gas Marcus peters early. Also their pressure comes from the middle, they have ZERO outside pressure, Move the pocket roll outs etc
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Hill will rake his ass.
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Oh Andy if you are reading this, JET SWEEPS ALL NIGHT LONG
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I’m guessing this is a loss – which is fine, you’re gonna drop 2 or 3 games along the way even if you’re a great team.They are the best team in the league on offense and we’re one of the worst on defense. They have balance on offense, they’re a top team both running and passing, so we aren’t going to solve their offense with scheme.
Their defense is middle of the road at this point, but they aren’t especially weak against the run or the pass, they’re more or less balanced on that side of the ball too.
This is the kind of team you’d rather be in a big game, a team that’s not only a top team in some categories but one without a huge glaring weakness for another great team to attack.
Probably a track meet, so who knows. Maybe someone takes over the game or Goff doesn’t show up or something, but if we drop this game I’m not going to be too upset about it. This is the last of the three really tough opponents on our schedule and we should cruise to that home divisional playoff game from here.
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The Chiefs have the higher scoring offense.When we look at points allowed, LA has given up 231 and KC has given up 240. Both teams have played 10 games
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Every possession will have to be almost perfect. Our o-line will not stop the interior D-line of the Rams. Fisher will have a difficult time with Fowler thus he will need chip aid most of the night. It will be quick slants and outs all night to Hill and Watkins. No 5-7 step drops stepping up in the pocket that is for sure, BUT rolling out (bootleg) going after Peters will definitely off set the lack of pocket passing.[IMG]I think Hunt and Kelce will have a big night in the passing game because I don’t see the Rams defense able to cover them. I don’t see our o-line pushing the Rams interior d-line around opening holes for Hunt between the tackles.
BUT every possession will have to be almost perfect and the saving grace is that Andy knows exactly how to game plan against Peters and Peters knows what is coming and there is nothing he can do because Peters is still a coward and head case when it comes to hard nosed football still wanting to do his own thing and avoiding contact.[IMG] McVey and Phillips will be in his ear all week and it still won’t help.
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I get that, with playing against the Rams’ offense, the margin for error will be very slim.Isn’t that true for the Rams’ offense as well? They’ll be attempting to match pace with (arguably) the best offense they’ve seen all year.
This game is a coin flip at worst to me. One of the QBs will eventually miss a few throws. That’ll probably decide the game.
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a reminder that the Rams safeties are probably worse than ours.
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Talib doesn’t want anything to do with “The Freak” I assure you and why it is after Turkey day for his return.
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I expect a game similar to the one in New England, with turnovers being the difference.
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Chiefs need to feed, feed, and feed Kareem Hunt the football as much as possible.As much crap we give the Chiefs D for their inability to stop the run, the Rams happen to be just as bad.
We’re on CP discussing how Gurley might rape the Chiefs D next week, but I can guarantee you on Rams boards they’re saying the same thing about Hunt.
Keep Rams offense on the damn bench by feeding Hunt over and over and over again. He can handle the load.
Problem is…Reid is too much of a chickenshit to do something like that, and he’ll pass it 95% of the time and play right into the Rams DL game.
Hunt needs to have 25-30 touches in this game.
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Hmmm from what I have seen Rams fans are pretty damn cocky. I don’t think they have the self-awareness to be worried about that.
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They’re all cocky bandwagon shitheads who were probably Raider fans this time last year.I remember when the Chiefs played the St. Louis Rams the year after they won the Super Bowl. I was watching the game at a bar with some other Chief fans and there was a table of Rams assholes wearing brand new jerseys there who wouldn’t stop running their mouths about how badly the Chiefs would get killed.
Instead, the Chiefs beat the crap out of them. All those pricks were gone by halftime. It was beautiful.
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First to 50 wins.
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Chiefs 51
Rams 17
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I’m very nervous about injuries in this one. Suh is dirty. The field is terrible.I’d be happy losing the game if we don’t have any injuries.
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Robert Woods is pretty good too. They have a ton of weapons. Even if Gurley went down, they also have Malcolm Brown who is pretty damn capable in his own right.The Peter King article.
w
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“The key is Higbee,” Gurley told me at his locker after the game. That’s Tyler Higbee, the Rams’ Bavaro-like 255-pound tight end. “Higbee’s a beast.”On this play, Gurley is split left in the slot, and he runs out just past the line, then does a crosser to the right. The Packers’ precocious inside linebacker, Blake Martinez, spies Gurley and makes a beeline for him. But here comes Higbee. All he wants to do is “accidentally” knock the Gurley cover guy off his course. Higbee puts an “accidental” shoulder into Martinez, and suddenly, Gurley is wide open. Martinez, who would have been hopelessly behind Gurley, now covers Higbee, hoping one of his mates sees the legal pick play…..
…McVay, afterward, didn’t want to give away the store, but he did tell me, “That was by design.” Of course it was. So many things the Rams do are by design, ghost-like maneuvers you don’t see clearly but when they’re over, you wonder, “How’d that happen?”
At his locker, Gurley was almost sheepish about it, like his coach. “Their guy [Martinez] was off me a little bit,” Gurley said. “My job is just be patient and then go across, come underneath him. It was wide open. We were practicing this play for probably a month.”
“A month?” I said.
“Yeah,” he said. “Never called it once. Not in a game. Just in practice. In practice, our guys haven’t been able to pick it up, not one time in practice. We’re like, ‘Yeah, this is gonna work.’ “
“You mean the pick part of it?” I said.
“Yup,” he said. “It’s a natural pick. Higbee’s the best. He’s one of the best shift blockers in the league. He does a lot of great stuff that gets unnoticed on this team. He’s our sixth offensive lineman and he’s always doing great job in play action passes, everything. His work does not go unnoticed by his teammates—tell you that.”…see link
link:https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/10/29/rams-packers-todd-gurley-fmia-nfl-week-8-peter-king/?cid=rotoworldTopic: Placebo myths
Link: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/placebo-myths-debunked/
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Placebo effects are largely misunderstood, even by professionals, and this leads to a lot of sloppy thinking about potential treatments. This problem has been exacerbated by the alternative medicine phenomenon.Several decades ago, the proponents of so-called CAM promised that if only their preferred if unconventional treatments were properly tested medical science would discover how effective they are. “Effective” (or more precisely, “efficacy”) has a specific definition in medical science – it means that a treatment has been found to perform statistically significantly better than placebo in a blinded controlled trial. Several decades and thousands of studies later, the most popular CAM modalities (homeopathy, acupuncture, reiki, manipulation for medical indications, and more) have been shown to be no more effective than placebo. This means they don’t work.
Not to be deterred by reality, CAM proponents simply shifted the goal posts. Now many of them are saying that placebo effects are real, and therefore being as effective as placebo means that their treatments “work.” As part of this strategy they have promoted and amplified common myths about placebo effects. Let’s take a closer look at these myths and show why they are wrong.
Myth #1 – “The” placebo effect
The first and overriding myth about placebos is that there is one placebo effect (singular). This confusion is understandable, because scientists often refer to “the” placebo effect. However, they are referring to what is measured in the placebo arm of a clinical trial – that net effect (the difference between baseline or no treatment at all and a placebo treatment) is the placebo effect for that study.There are multiple placebo effects contributing to that difference, however. Anything that might give the appearance of an improvement will contribute to the measured placebo effect. These placebo effects include: Regression to the mean – when symptoms flare, they are likely to return to baseline on their own. If you take any illness that fluctuates in severity, any treatment you take when your symptoms are at their peak is likely by chance alone to be followed by a period of less intense symptoms.
Similar to this but distinct is the reality that many illnesses are self-limiting. If you have a cold, you will likely get better even if you do nothing – so anything you do will be followed by improvement. There is also bias in perceiving and reporting subjective symptoms. People want to feel better, they want to think that the treatment is working, and they may want to please the researcher or their physician. Further, researchers and doctors want their treatments to work.
There are also many possible non-specific effects just from the act of being treated. Hope can be a very positive emotion, and that alone may make people subjectively feel better. Subjects in a trial are also getting medical attention, and are likely paying more attention to their own health. They are likely to be more compliant with other treatments.
The treatment under study itself may have several components, some specific and some non-specific. Do people sometimes feel better after a session of reiki or acupuncture because they were laying down listening to music and smelling incense during the treatment? How much of a relaxation effect is at play? Does it matter if you actually stick the needles in alleged acupuncture points (the answer is no)?
Myth #2 – Placebo effects can cause healing
Because it is often believed that “the” placebo effect is one thing, that one thing is often believed to be a real mind-over-matter physical healing. There is no evidence to support this interpretation, however. In fact researchers looking for that real healing effect of placebos have only demonstrated that it doesn’t exist.Part of the problem here is that the term “healing” is vague. It does not have a specific definition, but the implication is that biological repair is taking place. In practice researchers distinguish objective vs subjective markers of improvement. Subjective just means that the patient feels better in some way, per their own report. They rate their own pain, for example. An objective outcome is something measurable, like blood pressure, survival, or tumor burden.
A systematic review of cancer research, for example, found that placebo interventions resulted in minor improvements in subjective symptoms, but no improvement in the cancer itself.
Placebo effects break down into several categories. One category is illusory – the misperception of improvement through regression to the mean or biased reporting. The second category is non-specific effects, such as emotional comfort from a practitioner, relaxation, or improved self-care or compliance. This third category is comprised of effects which can plausibly result from psychological interventions only. These relate mainly to stress, depression, anxiety, and the perception of pain and similar subjective symptoms. There is a mind-body connection – it’s called the brain.
There is, however, no magical control of your brain over biological or physiological processes that are not networked with the brain through nerves or hormones.
Myth #3 – Animals and babies cannot have a placebo effect
This myth results from the false assumption that in order to have a placebo effect you need to believe that you are taking an active treatment. It is the belief that is causing the effect, and therefore it is a prerequisite. The logic then follows that animals and babies, who cannot know they are receiving a treatment, can therefore not have a placebo effect. Any improvement in this context, therefore, must be a physiological response to the treatment itself.It should already be obvious, however, that these assumptions are incorrect. There are many sources of placebo effects that do not depend upon the subject knowing they are being treated, such as regression to the mean, the self-limiting nature of many ailments, and non-specific effects or benefits from simultaneous interventions.
Further, however, someone has to determine that the animal or baby has improved. That person is vulnerable to biased perception and reporting, and will also contribute to any measured effect.
This means that studies of treatments in animals or babies still need to be properly controlled, and whoever is assessing the outcome needs to be properly blinded to treatment allocation.
Myth #4 – Fanciful or alternative treatments yield better placebo effects
Desperate to salvage a role for their preferred but ineffective treatments, many alternative practitioners will argue that their real expertise is in maximizing placebo effects. OK, sure, the scientific evidence shows that my treatment is no better than placebo, but placebo effects are real, and I am very good at eliciting them. This is the “placebo medicine” gambit.I have already debunked the first part of that claim. There is also no evidence for the second part, that alternative practitioners elicit more of a placebo effect. What the scientific evidence shows is that all interventions will produce some placebo effect, depending mainly on the outcome to be followed. The more subjective and amenable to variables such as mood, the larger the measured effect will be.
The existence of a placebo effect does not justify using inactive or pseudoscientific treatments. You can elicit the same effects from science-based interventions. Related to this is the notion of placebo effects without deception. This is certainly possible, if you include all the non-specific and statistical effects, but most patients would likely not be happy to be receiving a treatment that they were told was completely inert, just so it may bias their perception of their symptoms. All pseudoscientific treatments, even if they are justified through placebo effects, are given with a generous helping of deception, which violates patient autonomy.
The other variable that seems to be important, but requires further study, is the therapeutic relationship between practitioner and patient. Having a positive relationship may enhance the measured placebo effect, but that may be just another measure of bias.
In any case, anything useful about placebo effects can be had with a positive therapeutic relationship, using science-based interventions, and following the ethical requirements of informed consent and patient autonomy.
Q&A: Rams cap guru Tony Pastoors on offseason deals, the Jared Goff ‘high-class problem’ and ‘more work to do’
Vincent Bonsignore
There is a classic scene in the movie “Swingers” where Vince Vaughn’s character introduces Jon Favreau’s character as “The guy behind the guy behind the guy.”
Ironically, that line aptly describes most NFL front offices these days. The Rams included.
Out front, we always see general manager Les Snead or head coach Sean McVay or COO and executive vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff. And while the trio is largely responsible for the Rams’ undefeated start through the first six weeks of the season, there exists a guy behind the guy behind the guy, someone who largely operates behind the scenes without much fanfare or recognition.
But he’s just as important to the whole operation as Snead, McVay and Demoff.
Tony Pastoors — a quiet, measured 31-year-old former Dartmouth football standout — holds the title of vice president of football and business administration. And with a professional inscription as impressive as that, you can only imagine how wide and deep his responsibilities run.
But for the purpose of brevity, all you really need to know about Patoors is that he’s the Rams salary cap guru and their chief contract negotiator.
And while Snead and his staff are in charge of identifying and acquiring all the players and McVay and his staff are entrusted with coaching them up and Demoff and owner Stan Kroenke decide what the budget looks like each year, it is Pastoors who somehow makes it all work within the NFL’s incredibly complex and excruciatingly difficult salary cap.
So if you’re a Rams fan looking to thank anyone for the incredible offseason the franchise achieved in which it rewarded Aaron Donald (six-year $135 million extension), Todd Gurley (four years, $57.5 million), Rob Havenstein (four years, $32.5 million), added Ndamukong Suh for $14 million, acquired Brandin Cooks and gave him a five-year $34 million extension and traded for Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, then Pastoors is your guy. He made it all work under the cap.
And keep in mind Pastoors also preserved financial flexibility moving forward to take care of Jared Goff, who is creeping into that rarified air occupied by franchise quarterbacks and will need to get paid like one sooner rather than later.
With an eye on the present and the future, Patoors helped lock in the Rams’ incredible young core. He also left plenty of room to supplement it in such a way that, provided they keep making sound personnel decisions, it will leave the Rams as playoff contenders over an extended window.
“His job is to make sure that, ‘Hey, not only can we have Christmas but we can have birthdays and next year’s Christmas and next year’s birthdays and so on and so forth,’ ” Snead said.
Demoff, a fellow Dartmouth alum, brought Pastoors to the Rams in 2010 after he graduated. Pastoors’ role continued to grow and evolve until Demoff finally handed over contract negotiating responsibilities to him in 2015.
“I always knew I wanted to work in sports,” Pastoors said. “I’m a passionate sports fan and always loved the team aspect and being around a team. And wanting to help build a team.
“I don’t know that I ever dreamt about negotiating contracts. I think that’s just one of those things, it’s just how the world worked out. I had an unbelievable mentor in Kevin to learn from and over the years, kind of helped to take things off his plate more and more and more until one day he kind of looked at me and said, ‘Hey go for it.’ ”
Along the way, Pastoors has cultivated a much-needed calming presence in the often volatile and emotional world of pro football in which the desire to win now must be balanced with the bigger picture. What might look great today could cause major ramifications tomorrow.
“He’s a great compass,” Snead said. “Because he’s the one who will constantly remind us of our philosophy that was designed and put together during the calm moments and not during the storm when we’re irrational or emotional.”
“When all four of us are together he’s going to listen like 95 percent of the time,” Snead added. “But then when he does say something, it’s absolutely worth listening to.”Pastoors sat down with The Athletic to talk about his role, the Rams’ offseason and how things look moving forward.
In your role as the salary cap manager and contract negotiator, do you ever have to play the role of the parent having to tell the kids they might not be able to get that one big present they were hoping for?
I hope that’s never happened (laughing). No, honestly I think that’s probably a lot of Kevin’s role. At the end of the day, that’s big picture. And while I certainly do that, part of what I always strive to do is to make sure you never have to say no. And be in a position where you always have the flexibility to do those kinds of things. Now, I don’t want to say I’ve never said no. But certainly, and I think Les and Sean have an unbelievable understanding of all this, there are tradeoffs to everything we do. So yes, we may be able to do this, but we’re not going to be able to do this, this or this. Fortunately, to this point, we haven’t had to say no too much, but I think a lot of that is because of their understanding.
It would seem in your world with managing a salary cap that you’re constantly thinking one year, two years, five years down the road. Is that accurate?
That’s probably more of how I operate than say Sean and Les. Especially during the season, right? Coach lives in a week-to-week, so Sean is only thinking right now. And certainly Les goes right along with that. What do we need this week? Especially in season, they’re pretty focused on the now. Every once in a while you’ll be able to get Les out and have a bigger picture conversation. But if you want to talk about the future or planning right now with Sean, it’s probably not an ideal time. So yeah, it’s pretty much how I function. I have to look ahead.
I’m constantly trying to plan years out in advance and forecasting where we’re going to be. And obviously it looks nice right now, but realistically how much is it going to be that way? In a perfect world, it’s ‘Hey, this is what we’ll look like in ‘19, this is what we’ll look like in ‘20.’ But obviously, there’s hundreds of variables in between that will change all that. So at times you kind of feel like you plan ahead only to throw it all away anyway.
But, no, right now I’m not looking much at all at 2018. We’re done and gone there. We’re looking ahead to 2019, 2020 and 2021 and trying to figure it out and make sure we’re continually set up for success.You were front and center in an incredibly successful — and I’m sure stressful — offseason. Let’s start with the Aaron Donald situation, which for obvious reasons dominated the news. It took more than a year to get that done. As the person in the thick of those negotiations, can you shed any light on what the primary sticking point was?
There’s so many — especially deals of that magnitude — there’s just so many little nuances that go into it. Obviously, the dollar amount is what everyone will fixate on or the guarantee amount. But the structure and how the mechanisms in that contract work and when the guarantees fully vest and what does that mean from a financial standpoint for the club and things like that, all of those things get played into it. And since it had been a while since a top-notch defender was done like that, I think it further complicated things.
And so, trying to put Aaron in a position where he felt appreciated and he felt the contract was commensurate with his play and do it in a structure that we were able to actually deal with and handle today, tomorrow and two or three years from now — right? — you can’t just do a deal and say, “Hey, you’re the highest paid defensive player, great, let’s just move on.” I mean, that deal is going to, we’re going to feel that for years to come. And if he keeps playing the way he plays I don’t think we’ll have any issues with it, right?
But just making sure we’re set up for success because this is one of those games where it’s not just about that one guy. There’s always going to be 53 guys and so how do you manage all of that and, like I said, if things continue to progress and go the right way, hopefully, we’re looking at another big contract for a quarterback here soon. And so how does all that fit in? And how do we spread these things out and manage them over the years?Staying on 2018, it was a pretty active offseason with the trades for Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib and Brandin Cooks and adding Ndamukong Suh and extending Aaron Donald, Todd Gurley and Rob Havenstein and Cooks. It really could not have played out much better. What do you attribute the smoothness to?
I think it starts and ends with (Rams owner) Stan Kroenke. Players have taken note, right? And so, we had a pretty successful year a year ago and have an unbelievable young head coach who the players really, really respect and love and that gets around pretty quick. I think all of those things made the offseason much easier than it probably could have been.
Not to say it was easy by any stretch. It’s never easy getting some of those things done. But between Kevin and Les and Sean and the support we have around here, we were able to get things done. And we were fortunate we worked with some really good agents on the other end who were willing to work with us and, at times, were willing to be creative.
We’re not always the most simple “this is how we do things” (franchise). We have no problems looking at things differently and creatively. And so we were pretty fortunate in that sense.From the outside looking in, the perception is you guys were much more aggressive this offseason in adding players. Fair? And if so, what was the motivation?
I don’t know that we were more aggressive this offseason than we’ve ever been. I think it was just, probably, it just came across as a little different. And people probably pay a little more attention because you are 11-5 and you are in Los Angeles and you have Sean as your head coach and Les. And things are going the right way and people kind of sensed and felt that.
But with every move, there’s a tradeoff and so we’ve been fortunate in that we’ve had a lot of good players. And some of them left in free agency and so, OK, how do we supplement some of that? And we trade away players too, right? We acquired an Aqib Talib and a Marcus Peters, but we also traded away a former defensive captain and former first-team All-Pro.
So things went in and things went out. That’s where the notion that we were ultra-aggressive, it probably just manifested itself in a different way than it had before. But I think every offseason you go into wanting to try and better your team.
That said, even with all the moves you made, this wasn’t a one-and-done situation. The long range has been protected.
The notion that we pushed all the chips in and went all in (this year), I mean, I understand where it comes from. It’s just not how we’re set up at all.You mentioned the possibility of a big contract soon for your quarterback, Jared Goff. For whatever reason, there is a certain line of thinking that it’s so hard to build a Super Bowl contending team while paying a quarterback big money. It’s almost like some people think it’s impossible to do so. Where do you fall in that regard, especially as someone who manages the salary cap and negotiates contracts and who has a young, high-level quarterback who will eventually be paid as one?
I’m actually going through Super Bowl teams in my head and, aside from Russell Wilson on a rookie deal and, obviously, Philadelphia was different last year because of the quarterback injury. But aside from those two examples, I’m pretty sure they were all veteran quarterbacks or guys that were not on rookie contracts.
Matt Ryan was on a $20-plus-million contract when he played in a Super Bowl. Cam Newton, when he played in a Super Bowl, was on his second contract. Obviously, Peyton Manning was well-paid in his Super Bowl appearances. Ben Roethlisberger, aside from maybe his first one, was on a big contract. Eli Manning was on a second contract. Aaron Rodgers was on a second contract. Drew Brees was not on a rookie deal when he won a Super Bowl. And obviously, Tom Brady has been on a few contracts.
And so the notion of, your (only or best) shot is when your quarterback is on a rookie deal has been disproven regularly. And certainly you have the ability to do some things, and you try to stagger some of these things in how and when people are paid in preparation for assuming a quarterback contract.
That position is just different. That’s the one position in this game you can’t truly scheme away from. If the best pass rusher is on one end, well, you can run away from him. The best receiver, you can double cover him. The quarterback is getting the ball on every play, and there’s nothing you can really do to stop that. And certainly, there are defensive coordinators over the years that have shown ways to slow it down or maybe affect it. But you can’t stop — whether it’s Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers or whoever from getting the snap from center and doing what they do. And so that position is different. It’s paid what it is for a reason. And I don’t think it’s a hindrance to pay a quarterback.
If you’re paying a quarterback, it means you’ve got a quarterback. And if you’ve got a quarterback, you’ve got a chance. Otherwise, you’re looking for one. And we did that for a number of years. Some unfortunate injuries and (other factors), and so you were looking.
Obviously, Jared has demonstrated over the last year plus he is truly in command of this offense and what he’s done so far (this year) speaks volumes to who he is as a player and the work he’s put in and the relationship he has with Sean and the work they’re doing together. Really, that offense as a whole. But it’s a great problem to have. A high-class problem. Worrying about paying a quarterback? Great. That means we’ve got one. We can figure out the rest.Does having an owner with the resources of a Stan Kroenke help when it comes to managing the salary cap? The way you can structure contracts and pay them out?
Not really because there’s such parity in the NFL and you have the hard salary cap. In the NBA, you have a luxury tax in which the big-market teams can go above and beyond because of their local TV deals. Baseball you can do the same. But with it being a truly hard cap, it makes it a pretty even playing field across the board and between all the owners and the teams. With the CBA and the minimum spend thresholds over four-year periods and everything like that, we’re all pretty much living in the same world. And so, I don’t know that it gives us any sort of advantage.
I think the advantage we have from our owner — and I truly believe we have an unbelievable advantage having someone like Mr. Kroenke. I mean it’s right there on the wall (pointing to a wall-sized rendering of the new $4.5 billion stadium the Rams are building in Inglewood). What he’s doing here in Los Angeles — players and coaches and media and people are taking note. What he’s doing here is special and unique and it’s probably once in a lifetime. And to be able to be a part of it is pretty cool. I think our players see that every day and we’re fortunate to have a guy like Sean, but to me, it all starts and ends with Stan.You seem like a very laidback guy. But as someone who negotiates contracts, that can be a pretty volatile, emotional world. How would you describe your demeanor as a negotiator?
I try to be laidback. I’m not sure you’ve ever seen Kevin or Les on game day but … someone needs to be laidback. Or at least calm.
No, I think that’s, I think by nature I’m a little more tranquil, but I certainly can get excited at times. I think anyone can. But that’s something I’ve learned over the years and something I learned from Kevin. And certainly something you learn from Stan. I mean, he’s as even-keeled as they come. Obviously, those two have been pretty successful in what they’ve done, so you try to imitate some of that. And obviously, you see Sean on the sidelines in the way he handles himself.
I don’t know that getting into an argument is going to help either side. It doesn’t mean I always agree, but there are certain ways to communicate that in a respectful manner and not get everybody all up in arms.Sean McVay has talked about still evolving as a play caller. Do you feel the same way managing a salary cap and negotiating contracts?
If you’re not learning and evolving, you’re probably in trouble. I think it’s with everything we do. You want to look at it and go back and, “OK, what did we do well? What did we do not so well?” And for me, it’s always keeping an eye on what’s going on around the league. It’s not just our deals we look at, it might be others.
And I’m just a fan of sports and building and managing teams. No different than Sean being a fan of great coaches. I’m a big sports fan. So whether it’s the NBA or the NHL, MLB, NFL or even some of the soccer stuff now. You follow that stuff. You keep tabs on it. A big contract comes in, and how do these things get done? And so it’s always been interesting to me how things get done, how they’re put together and how do people build teams. Whether it’s this sport or another sport.
What the Warriors have done is really, really impressive. Being able to put that team together with, and while everyone talks about “Oh, they went and bought Kevin Durant in free agency,” but that team was essentially put together through the draft. And you kind of forget about that. Look, a few years prior to that, Oklahoma City with James Harden and Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant you kind of look back and go, “Whoa.”
And so, how do those teams get put together? How do you keep those teams together? And that’s the hardest part. And we have one here in the NFL that somehow does it year in and year out in New England. How do they continually have such success? So certainly you keep tabs on all that stuff and try to learn from them. And even in the business world. I mean, I look at that (the rendering of the new Inglewood stadium) every day, right? And how that came to be and everything that went into it.
That will make an unbelievable book someday. But just being able to see how that all came about, there’s so many different ways to learn.
Obviously, the CBA is incredibly complicated. Are there elements in there that would take you by surprise?There’s always going to be something. But you always want to continue to learn. And I would never say, “Oh, I’ve mastered the salary cap” and this is easy or anything like that. Because there’s a lot that goes into it and a lot of preparation for everything we do and a lot of planning and forward thinking.
And I think the other part of it is, while the salary cap — and people kind of get fascinated by it and talk about how teams manage it — but at the end of the day there’s real money behind it. And it’s not my money. So I will always be, probably, overly careful and overly cautious or at least try to be. Because you take very seriously the responsibility of taking care of, or spending, someone else’s money. And like I said, it begins and ends with Stan, and for him to give us these resources and allow us to compensate our players well, it’s a responsibility you don’t take lightly.With the NFL salary cap as hard as it is, does it get frustrating at times knowing you simply have to come to grips with making difficult decisions?
It certainly can be frustrating, but I think what you always want to do is set yourself up and set the organization up to be flexible to adapt. And you never want to disappoint anyone. Whether it’s the coaches or the players. But inevitably someone’s maybe not going to feel valued the way they think they should.
But we’re pretty fortunate, and at the end of the day you can always manipulate salary caps. And Kevin will tell you, it’s like a credit card, right? You can pay it all now or you can pay it over time and feel the pain little by little. And for the most part, we’ve always tried to take as much pain in the here and now. Now, obviously, when you do a deal like Aaron Donald or Todd Gurley you can’t exactly do that. And so, there’s some elements of where we deviated a little bit from how we’ve done things in the past.
But at times you have to be willing to do that for exceptional players like that. And when you have the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, you’re probably going to have to do that. And we’re unbelievably fortunate because of everything Mr. Kroenke allows us to do and the resources he gives and the support he provides everyone in this building. It really makes a lot of it manageable.Trades can happen in a variety of ways — quick process, prolonged — and as the salary cap guy you probably have to have answers quickly in order to give Les a sense of what can be accomplished or not. In the case of, say, the Marcus Peters trade, how did that play out?
That one actually came about pretty quick. But I think it was no secret to anyone that one of the places we looked at this offseason to improve was at cornerback. And we had a guy (Trumaine Johnson) who was on two franchise tags and we’re making a decision about financially how does it work potentially putting a third tag and what does his free agency number look like and all those different things.
You lean on the scouts as far as what does the draft look like? Where we’re picking, what are the chances we can get a guy who can come in and play right away? And we fill those things in. OK, if he’s not a right-away day-one starter and he’s a year or two away, what do we do this year? How do you fill that spot? So you’re looking at all these different scenarios and all these different ways to address it.
And so when Kansas City reached out, it was a pretty quick conversation. Les came over and said, “OK, what’s the contract look like?” And it’s a rookie deal. So you knew financially that it fits. Especially at that time of the year. And from there, Les and Sean sit down and go through the player and watch tape together and that kind of stuff. And all the while you’re trying to figure out what’s the ask. What do they really want? And what are we willing to give up in exchange for a player like this? And obviously a player like Marcus’ caliber, they don’t come cheap.
And then just finding a way to get that deal done — obviously not having a 2018 second-rounder, you had to look ahead to 2019. You put that deal together and you’re able to when Les and Sean and everyone kind of signs off and Les and we’re constantly bouncing off, “OK, what exactly does the compensation look like?” And when Les finally gets us to a place where we’re all like, “OK.” At that point, you just wait for the trade papers.But making a trade like you did for Marcus Peters, there are financial considerations looming in terms of his next contract. How much is that talked about?
Yes, you have to look at everything. You can’t just say, “Hey we’re going to make this trade and it’s all going to work out and life is good.” You have to look at: What does this mean a year from now? Two years from now? What’s the fifth-year option number? What does the franchise tag potentially looks like? How does that fit if that’s the road you have to go down? Are you able to actually do that?
And then for us, once that deal was done, OK, how do you address the other (cornerback) side? And credit to Les and credit to our scouts, they were able to scour college, pro, everything. And there aren’t enough guys on the planet that can go outside and play corner. There just aren’t.
So to be able to acquire two good ones (Aqib Talib being the other) in one offseason is a credit to those guys. And trying to figure out how to actually make it work, I’m just trying to hold up my side of it.And almost simultaneously, here comes a trade for Brandin Cooks for a first-round pick knowing he was set to become a free agent at the end of the year. Can you shed light, from your end of things, how that that all played out?
There was some interest last year. Obviously, he was traded to New England, so it’s a guy you kept tabs on.
When we went into free agency, we were unsure where we were going to end up with (Sammy Watkins), and when that got to a point where it’s just not looking good, it’s going to end up here, you kind of go back to work and say, “OK, what are our other options? What does the draft look like? Who are the other free-agent options? Who can you potentially trade for?”
And so you kind of talk through that list and then Les kind of reaches out to New England and obviously the whole story of Sean and Bill Belichick at a clinic together. Then it’s how does it all work? And the thing that made that one a little tougher is we were courting Ndamukong Suh at the time.
So, trying to balance, “Hey, where can we go on Ndamukong?” And … “if this is where Ndamukong’s number grows to or this is where that market heads, you can’t fit this in too.” And so if this is going to come, then Ndamukong has to be between this and this. And how does it all balance itself out?
And during the offseason when Sean’s not in game-plan mode — he’s in the office and he’s grinding on tape and doing all that kind of stuff — we’re constantly talking as a group. And Kevin will be here as well. And so what does it look like moving forward.
And so then, when you formulate all that stuff you kind of run it up the flagpole and get Stan’s perspective on it as well. Which is always invaluable. Especially this offseason, the support. Obviously, he was a major part of last season. He’s been a major part of every offseason but obviously this year incredibly so.It just seems like there was an urgency. Not to say there wasn’t one when you were making the climb up, but winning the division and the goal line being within arm’s reach, it just seems like there was an urgency during the offseason to close that gap.
Last year just felt different for everybody. And wanting to build on that and from the day the season ended, 11-5 was fun, it was great, but it’s not good enough. And so how do we take those next steps and Mr. Kroenke is a major part of that process with us.
And so, as we went through everything this offseason for him to be supportive and part of it and, really, in a lot of regards the driving force behind all of this, that’s where we have such an advantage with him. We wouldn’t get Suh if Stan is not a part of this. And that’s where it’s so awesome to have an owner like that.It almost seems like, at the beginning of Suh’s free agency you guys couldn’t be serious contenders considering everything else that was going on. But you stayed patient and it just seemed like his market eventually fell into your world.
Yeah, sometimes I think being patient is just fine. It’s not always hurry up so you get something done. And so you make decisions. And again, a lot of that comes from the guidance of guys like Kevin and Stan.
So while, yeah, it would have been great if we were able to get it all done a year earlier or six months earlier or whatever it may have been, the process had to play out.
It’s no different than players, right? Sometimes you’d love to, say, “I wish we would have done Aaron’s deal a year earlier.” It would have probably caused me a lot less stress and him a lot less stress and Les and Sean and our fanbase a ton less stress. But sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way. And being patient is never a bad thing. And sometimes things fall to you, sometimes things don’t. But I think people, players especially, they see and they know what’s going on here. And so sometimes we can afford to be patient and things work themselves out.
You don’t get any of these deals done, whether it’s trades or extensions or anything like that, without a buy-in from players. We can offer a lot of these guys whatever it is, but if this isn’t where you want to be or this doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not going to work out for anybody. And that’s something we’ve been extremely fortunate with.Do you give yourself a chance to celebrate or is it always onto the next one?
This offseason, it definitely felt like, “OK, we’re on to the next one.” But it’s exciting, obviously. And I don’t want to take away from that. To be able to extend a guy like Todd Gurley and keep him in a Rams uniform for a long time is really exciting for our fans and our coaches. For the city of Los Angeles. And so, I don’t want to take that away and I never would.
But I don’t know if it was last season, and kind of the mentality of this offseason, but we feel like we’ve got more work to do. There’s unfinished business. And so it was — it’s great to get those things done because I hope it sets us up for years to come. But at the same time, while an NFC West championship last year was a great first step, it’s not the ultimate goal.
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