There’s no such thing as stability in the NFL
Rams and Patriots defences gutted just 13 months after low-scoring Super Bowl
Remember Dorothy’s comment shortly after the tornado plunked her down in the merry old land of Oz?
“My! People come and go so QUICKLY here!”
She’d say the same thing if her house instead plunked down near an NFL locker-room.
Player turnstiles in the NFL spin fastest at this time of year. To keep the Wizard of Oz analogy going, it’s typically not because the GM or head coach believes any of these players has an Oz mentality — where they get up at noon and start to work at 1 p.m., take an hour’s lunch and then at 2 p.m. they’re done ( jolly old time).
The departed include marquee free agents who move on, cap cuts, the traded and, typically, a large handful of down-roster backups either not wanted back or who find a better opportunity elsewhere.
For those reasons, the defensive-side rosters of the two combatant teams in Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta — the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams — have been ravaged just 13 months later.
Both defences were so strong by that championship game that neither high-powered offence could do much all game long. The Patriots won in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever, 13-3.
Well, just over a year later each defence not only lost its coordinator (New England’s Brian Flores left a year ago to become Miami’s head coach and L.A.’S Wade Phillips was not asked back this year) but 16 of 28 players on each defence are gone.
The Rams no longer have a whopping 8-of-11 starters and 8-of-17 backups. The Pats no longer have 4-of-11 starters and 12-of17 backups.
Maybe a witch warned both sides to be gone, before someone drops a house on them.
These numbers probably are not outliers around the league, on both sides of the ball, especially on teams that have changed coordinators or systems since the end of the 2018 season.
Indeed, constant turnover isn’t just a description of a Jameis Winston-led offence. It applies to most NFL rosters, too.
We could keep going with such recent-roster hyper-inspection. The 2017 Jacksonville Jaguars, for example. The defensive roster of the near-afc champions was then teeming with young, super-talented players, who we all figured had collective years of greatness ahead. Now that defensive roster is as packed with must-have items as the pasta shelf at your local grocery store.
The take-away: Things can change quickly in the NFL. Not just for worse, but for better too.
If your favourite team was purging talent at the cap deadline earlier this week, don’t despair. If your team’s football leaders reassemble smartly it could be a playoff contender again in a couple of years.
And without anyone clicking his ruby-red heels three times and saying, “There’s no place like home.”
TRADES CONTINUE
Two more trades went down before Friday evening, if nowhere near blockbuster level:
■ Baltimore sent to Pittsburgh defensive end Chris Wormley and a 2021 seventh round draft pick, for a 2021 fifth round pick and, according to ESPN Baltimore’s Jamison Hensley, US$2.1 million in desperately needed cap space. It’s the first trade executed between these AFC North archrivals since 1997.
■ Denver sent to Cleveland fullback Andy Janovich for a 2021 seventh round draft pick. “He’s a schematic fit to what we want to be,” new Browns head coach and offensive-attack designer Kevin Stefanski said in a statement. “He’s as tough as they come. Fits the mentality of what we’re trying to be.”
FREE AGENT SIGNINGS
■ In addition to running backs Todd Gurley to Atlanta and Melvin Gordon to Denver, the next big signing saw tight end Eric Ebron move to Pittsburgh, on a two-year deal reportedly worth US$12 million.
■ Houston agreed to terms with former Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Jaylen Watkins, for US$3 million over two years, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
■ Tampa Bay announced it signed some offensive-line depth in front of Tom Brady on Friday, with the acquisition of ex-indianapolis T/G Joe Haeg.
■ Safety Andrew Sendejo left Minnesota for Cleveland, on a one-year deal for $2.25 million, per reports.
■ Cleveland signed linebacker depth in the form of B.J. Goodson, who spent his first four NFL seasons with Green Bay and the New York Giants.
EXTRA POINTS
A slew of transactions reported earlier in the week were officially announced Friday, including quarterback Tom Brady to Tampa Bay, wide receiver Deandre Hopkins to Houston and wide receiver Stefon Diggs to Buffalo … Free agent DE Everson Griffen said bye to Minnesota on social media, presumably to underscore he’s moving on in 2020 … Indianapolis re-signed G/T Le’raven Clark, and Jacksonville re-signed LB Lerentee Mccray.