I saw the question posited by That’s Good Sports (video linked below), and the more I thought about it…the more it made sense.  Though nobody in LaLa Land may care (nah, who am I kidding, everybody wants to RRRRRRRRRRRAM IT!!), the front office saw a 2017 beastly offensive performance peter out in the playoffs.  And they decided to give Tubby Wade a few extra toys.

Shutdown corner?  Have a Marcus Peters.  Interior pass rush to take some pressure off stud Aaron Donald?  Have an Namukong Suh (which totes sounds like a type of shit you’d have after eating too-spicy Vietnamese food).  What, one shutdown corner ain’t enough?  Go get the best of the best, Aqib “Two of the Good Ones” Talib, a guy you love to hate unless he’s on your team (trust me, I’m a Donks homer).  Talib was a cap/coach pissing match casualty, and would only be traded to the P*ts or to LA to reunite with Tubby Wade.  Thank God this is what worked out.  Talib is a natural leader, on and off the field, and an invaluable asset in real life and fantasy.  Yeah, this ought be the high bid D/ST at your auction in a week or two.  They are gonna be.  Nasty.  As.  Fuck.

And what of the core that returns?  You still have last year’s real life (to Hippo, anyway) and fantasy MVP Todd Gurley, a retro “back for all occasions.”  As long as the heavy usage of 2017 doesn’t bring him down, he should be in line for another fine year in OKC bomber McVay’s wide open offense.  Speaking of, McVay was able to coax the Great Leap Forward out of Baby Buster (aka Jared Goff), and the progression looks real.  Don’t expect much of a junior year slump, if any.  Brandin Cooks is an actual, honest-to-goodness NFL calibre wideout to play opposite Cooper Kupp, which should allow the offense to click better when it has to get vertical.

Their biggest issues might be (1) the tough-as-nails division (coupled with a 1st place schedule); and (2) weight of expectations.  Both factors are very unusual things for RRRRRRRRRRRRAM IT!! to have to deal with.  Without doing a deep dive myself, adding this many vets in one offseason usually means “salcap jail” which could mean a very abbreviated contention window – especially with the Tomsulas close at their heels.  Still, I commend them for going for it.  Again, putting my Donks homer hat on, I got to watch one of the premier RBs of all time suit up for my team (TD), and you never know how long that specialness will last.  Make every moment of Gurley Man’s reign count, or live to regret it.

This is a fun team, and even with the League expecting their best shot week in and week out…I think they’re good for 12-4 or 13-3, the NFC West title and a trip to the Superb Owl.  Might a date with Odd Week Jaguras destiny await?

/checks with Tussionex bottle

//ask Hippo again later