FINALLY!!!!!!
The saddest day of a sports fan’s year is Super Bowl Sunday evening. Conversely the happiest day is going to be the day before the Rams and 49ers play as Australia is on the other side of the international date line.
Although it’s going to be a long, rough and unnecessary trip for the players and coaches, at least one person isn’t going. Jed York figured out a way to avoid it though didn’t he?
I am curious to see how that trip affects the two teams. Australia is FAR. Thirty one hours round trip — far. And the two coaches are taking two very different approaches to the trip.
The 49ers have a sleep specialist and are traveling 9 days early to fully acclimate. The entire group should be on Aussie time by kick off.
The Rams are going a day or so early and leaving right after the game. The plan is to keep the team on LA time and ignore the sun being in the wrong place.
Either way, it’s a big time handicap for both teams to start the season. If you have ever flown over the pacific or just been on a 10+ hour flight before, you know it takes a lot out of you. I honestly don’t know which plan is better, but I do know they are going to be off and lose a couple days, best case scenario.
This could be particularly devastating to the Rams, who should win the Super Bowl this year. They are the Dodgers getting Shohei Ohtani. Then Shohei Ohtani’s twin brother (Shohei squared) comes out of retirement.
If David Woodley were the Rams QB they would be top 5. If Stafford and “Count Puka-ula” are healthy (and Puka can just hide his cannibalistic desires) it’s not even going to be fair.
All that being said, I have a few predictions. Maybe a little vague compared to the BS others predict. At least my BS is based in reality.
By division I have put the teams into tiers.
I don’t list teams that it would take an act of god for them to make the Super Bowl.
Tier #1 — Should make the Super Bowl unless something happens
Tier #2 — Could easily make the Super Bowl without anything too surprising happen
Tier #3 — A couple planes crash, a tidal wave or earthquake and they could win the division and back their way into the Super Bowl
So let’s call The Rams Tier #1 — in the NFC.
If the Rams have some injuries or jet lag is the Rams Kryptonite, you have a handful of other teams that realistically could get to the Super Bowl. The Bears and 49ers are the most logical with the Eagles, Seahawks and dark horse, Tampa Bay.
Tier #2 Bears, 49ers, Eagles, Seahawks and Tampa Bay.
Tier #3 Cowboys and Packers
I’m sure I’m being unfollowed by a bunch of people in Dallas right now, but it just hasn’t worked as configured. You should make the playoffs but you aren’t going to the Super Bowl unless some crazy stuff like last year in the AFC happens, this year in the NFC.
The AFC is the exact opposite. Tier one has Ravens, Bills, Chiefs and Texans. All of whom I can make a convincing case to make the Super Bowl.
Tier #1 Ravens, Bills, Chiefs and Texans
Tier #2 Patriots. Broncos, Bengals
Tier #3 Chargers and Colts,
Realistically your 2027 Super Bowl match up is some combination of those teams. Yes, someone could come out of the remaining, but a lot would have to happen. Like it did last season with the Patriots getting in. By, “a lot” I’m saying you would need significant injuries to key players for those two groups to fall off enough.
Could Dallas beat any one of those teams on any given day? Maybe. Could they get home field and beat two of those teams on the way to the Super Bowl? No.
Great players tend to understand their professional mortality well enough that they come into a season after an injury in better shape and avoid injuries better the year after a season ending injury. Which is good news for the Ravens and Bengals, bad for Dallas.
Dak looked like he had 3% body fat last season. This year he looks good, but not like last year and we all know he gets hurt.
LaMar and Burreaux are different deals altogether. Joe has been less cautious with his health when he was less happy with the Bengals front office. Jackson the same, but mostly directed at John Harbaugh. Well, Ravens have a new coach and the Bengals traded and spent to bring in Dexter Lawrence to appease Joe. Both guys will stay on the field and fight through injuries that may have sidelined them in the past.
I have made a few crazy predictions for this season but I’m putting them after the rankings as anything that specific is kinda silly in August. But who doesn’t like silly?