Best of The Herd

It’s Tuesday, I’m still floating, feet barely on the ground, and yes, Disneyland is still the happiest place on earth. I heard all day that Sam Darnold didn’t do anything in the Super Bowl, and that’s the point: no panic, no giveaways, smart checks, and timely scrambles is exactly how you win when the roster is loaded, while the late-yardage fireworks went the other way and the internet shouted rigged because folks hate admitting they were wrong about him.

Football isn’t a math class, it’s controlled violence, and intimidation and momentum never fit neatly on a spreadsheet. Seattle punting on fourth and five before halftime was a no-brainer with New England stuck in mud, and when your defense is suffocating you play field position, cash your kicks, and strangle the game like recent champs who picked their spots instead of chasing every fourth down.

Way-too-early five up, five down: up are the Giants and Commanders with strong lines, cap room, and a chance to flip all those close losses, the Lions set to climb back with a sharper offense and core stars locked in, the Chargers shifting into an offense-first identity with health and an elite play-caller, and the Chiefs bouncing back after a luckless run in one-score games. Down a notch are Houston as the division stiffens and turnovers creep in, New England facing a brutal slate after a cushy ride, San Francisco juggling age and health on its stars plus receiver questions, Dallas stuck in a cap and roster allocation mess, and Philadelphia dealing with too much headset churn and an aging line while the book tightens on its quarterback.

It’s a sharp list, and you still crack me up with the eternal Herbert-fix saga, but I am surprised you didn’t bump Baltimore or Cincinnati up. Why leave them off the risers?

Big quarterback deals open holes, and the AFC’s getting healthy again, so you can be great in a lot of places but you can’t be awful anywhere. That reality keeps them steady rather than surging.

The Patriots feel headed for a reality check because the schedule flips from soft to punishing and those road trips get nasty fast. They can be good for years, but next season gets choppy.

You all pushed me into the Darnold corner, but if he and Purdy both hit the market, front offices would chase Sam’s traits after a month of mistake-free playoff football. People swear I’m biased, so you take the swing.

You’ve earned a victory lap because you never bailed on this version of Sam while most did. For the next few years in the NFC it’s Stafford on pure talent but aging, then coin flips among Darnold, Hurts, Goff, Dak, Love, and the kids, and what separated Sam in January and February was dodging the one back-breaking throw even after that first pass looked scary.

We gush over McVay and Shanahan because we can see the motion and the visuals, but defense is tougher to spot on TV; take Andy Reid out and ask if those guys just met their match in Seattle’s Mike Macdonald.

Macdonald’s defenses crush young quarterbacks on first look, but the buzz skews offense and East Coast, which is why Vrabel’s halftime practice story got more ink than Seattle’s weekly chokehold. If Mike were in Washington, he’d already be treated like a rock star.

Lakers fans know it’s defense, but do they grasp the size of the wrecking ball this roster needs, and how to make a graceful exit with LeBron and the Bronny storyline? I like JJ and think Luka is special, but this needs hard choices, not window dressing.

LeBron will likely finish the deal and leave in free agency, and the real sin is the years they punted at the deadline chasing cap space in a league where stars just force trades. With prime Luka in house they still didn’t load up on stoppers, so this version needs to score in the one-thirties to beat good teams, and that’s not a title formula.

I told my buddy in New York that Seattle’s got cap room, picks, a nasty defense, a team-friendly deal at quarterback, and only a few holes to fill, so the next two years look bright. Even if they lose a coordinator, the roster and front office are strong, and slinging Sammy D is coming back.