Lots of valid criticisms
This one only hurts this bad because of how close we were.
Should we have been? Was this
After trading for Stafford in '21 the Rams started kicking the leagues ass out of the gate. They went from good to great at QB and upgraded a very good roster with lots of contributions from young udfas and late picks but unlike this years or last years team, they also had some bona-fide absolute badasses and proven vet studs spread out across all three units. McVays O with Stafford and Kupp and Whitworth lead the way but the defense had the best player at an position in his prime and an all-pro corner. Shit, even the STs featured pro-bowl caliber vets at Kicker and Punter. They didn't stop there, adding Von Miller and O'Dell Beckham in Nov.
I know it's long and nobody needs a history lesson but I'm getting to my point, I promise.
That 21 team needed every one of their star players and vet studs to come through in big moments and even with all the talent on that team, every one of those games were a baby door hair away from a loss.
Weren't we supposed to be rebuilding? That's why our defense is the lowest paid and our ST have been ignored. They haven't had much cap room or premium draft picks over the past few years to speed up the process of restocking the roster. Last years team was much better than it should've been. We weren't supposed to be in the conversation but we outperformed expectations and we just picked up where we left off from last year.
Yes, getting that close and knowing we could've won another ring is tough, but perspective matters and the saying "playing with house money" comes to mind.
Because of great coaching and drafting and the best QB+WR duo in the league, we've been making the post season and even winning playoff games while we're rebuilding.