Rams Draft USC QB Caleb Williams - By 'Organic Tanking ©'?
The 2023 NFL schedule is out and it does not require deep study to come to a conclusion about the uphill battle faced by the Los Angeles Rams, who went "all-in'' and "kicked the can'' and "mortgaged their future'' - to use all the familiar cap-related cliches - in order to win a Super Bowl.
And by God ... by the way ... it was worth it. But now of course comes the inevitable "paying of the piper'' (yes, another familiar cap-related cliche) and the aftershocks of the moves, with GM Les Snead unwilling to use the "R-word'' despite the writing on the wall.
That writing? An ESPN computer model is spitting out predicted win totals and it has the Rams projected to win 4.9 games this season.
Not that L.A. is required to oblige by what a computer says - football is a sport with a pointy ball, meaning predictions are but guesses and meaning that "tanking'' when your record is 0-0 is moronic - but there is a fast way to get back on the fast track ...
Once the Rams' 2023 fate seems fairly sealed - that is to say, once is does appear that this is a team destined to win 4.9 games - Snead and coach Sean McVay should allow it to happen. ... should allow temporary ineptitude to wash over them ... should embrace "Organic Tanking ©.''
And then should embrace owning the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to select USC QB Caleb Williams.
"Organic Tanking ©'' is a phrase I coined some years ago to describe the technique of reaping the benefits of being bad. It's not "losing on purpose.'' And it's not "throwing games.'' It is simply a poor team putting itself in position to be even poorer - the poorest - with subtle manipulations of situations that ensure a better chance at a higher draft pick.
You know, like exactly the opposite of what lame-duck Texans coach Lovie Smith did at the end of last season in pulling out all the stops to win an absolutely meaningless game, an easily losable game, and in beating the Colts cost Houston the No. 1 overall pick in the most recent draft.
The Rams aren't there yet. They aren't even close. Maybe quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp and defensive tackle Aaron Donald somehow shock the world and lead the Rams to respectability - or more. And that's fine; a team has to be truly bad to succeed at "Organic Tanking ©.'' But if at some point during 2023, "truly bad'' is an option? Embrace it, and get ready to ride a quick turnaround with a new QB billed as "The Next Patrick Mahomes'' in Caleb Williams. ... at which time a Super Bowl return won't be such an uphill battle.
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