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The reasons we lost the Super Bowl and where to go from here

First off, we didn’t lose to the better team. The Rams were a more talented team by far. We were OUTCOACHED, primarily. Let’s break this loss down into five distinct categories in order of importance.

1) McVay: Honestly unsure what he was doing for the two weeks leading up to this game. Didn’t see anything out of the box. Abandoned the run too early knowing our offense thrives on play action. When you play Bill, you have to throw a lot of new looks and plays at him. Judging by the box score, McVay didn’t do that. He took blame after the loss. And I’d say he deserves at least 60% of it. 3 points for an offensive genius is pathetic and embarrassing.

2) Offensive line: The offensive line seemed to give up pressure on 9 out of every 10 plays. Goff was always hurried. Hard to say with run blocking since McVay abandoned it so often and early. The offensive line woes that crept up several times this season can be traced to two specific players. Blythe and Sullivan. The Bears, Eagles, and Patriots were able to bring pressure up front attacking those two players and we lost all three games. Blythe and Sullivan are weak pass blockers and it shows when teams make a point to exploit it. Sully needs to go in the offseason for sure.

3) Jared Goff: I’m ranking him third which means the first two in this list had a big part in Goff’s poor game. Having said that, he missed open throws, took a few dumb sacks, and seemed to throw some lame ducks. It’s simple really. If you can pressure Jared up the middle, count on him throwing 50% or lower comp rate and a pick/fumble. As much as I like Jared, I find myself envious of Mahomes and Mayfield who I believe to have much more fire and will be the top two QBs of the future. This game wasn’t all on Goff. But he didn’t do much to help the case.

4) Receivers: With Kupp, I think we win this game. He means so much to this team. Cooks and Woods were manhandled most of the game and failed to get separation (as noted by Romo). Everett and Higbee didn’t do jack as usual. But that’s partially on McVay. I have to place at least 15% blame for this loss on Cooks. He gets outmuscled for balls too often. And he dropped two TD passes that would have likely meant a win in this game. Simply unacceptable. The Rams lack a bigger receiver (a la Alshon or Larry Fitz) that can box out DBs and make catches while covered. It hurt today and Cooks did Goff no favors.

5) Defense had no answer for Edelman: Edelman is really the only receiver on that offense that concerned me. It should have been priority to stop him first. Gronk is a shell of himself. But the defense didn’t stop Edelman all day. Having said that, the defense played great and made PLENTY of stops to win this game.

All in all, absolutely horrendous experience as a fan of this team. Worst offensive performance of the season since the Bears game. 3 measly points. And it’s no guarantee we ever make it back. History tells us it’s very unlikely we make it back to the Super Bowl next season. I’m embarrassed by how my team performed tonight. And I am sick to my stomach at how winnable this game was. Even with the utterly bullshit holding call on Sullivan (refs have been consistent trash all season). We are the team responsible for giving the Pats their sixth SB win. I am so sick of that football team and it makes this loss even harder to swallow. It’s good to be optimistic moving forward but this was our chance. And the team blew it. McVay blew it. Outcoached, outschemed, and outexecuted. We will now see who McVay really is. He either comes back stronger with a more versatile offense or teams follow the blueprint that’s been set next season and we falter. If Goff doesn’t take another step next season, it’s fair that we start to ponder if he’s worth top money. After the back quarter of season and tonight, I think that answer is muddled.

What we need in free agency/the draft: a safety to replace Joyner who is a downright liability and has zero playmaking instincts. O-Line players. Probably draft for depth and sign someone who we know is solid. We need another DB in the early rounds to groom behind Talib/Peters. Preferably a guy who can be physical and play man to man. Linebackers can be had for cheap. We need a bigger bodied guy who can help plug holes in the run game and lay the wood. TE possibly if we have a chance at a good one in the draft (definitely not top priority).

Goodbye to: Shorty Joyner. John Sullivan. Austin Blythe to the bench if possible. Suh if he demands too much. Mark Barron. Matt Longacre.

Oh and resign Fowler if reasonable. I like that dude’s tenacity and ability in the run stopping game. Anderson too if it’s for cheap. I’m not overpaying for anyone if I’m the Rams.