CALI CLASH
The defending Super Bowl champion’s biggest challenge will come from its old nemesis up north
THE CAULDRON of competition that is the NFC West produced the Super Bowl winner last season, and, at least from an internal perspective, the Rams’ biggest obstacle to repeating may be their age, given that their best players on both sides of the ball (quarterback Matthew Stafford, 34, and defensive lineman Aaron Donald, 32) are on the wrong side of 30.
But Los Angeles, as it has shown, is resilient as well as talented. Last year the Rams withstood a devastating midseason injury to receiver Robert Woods and the mid–super Bowl loss of his replacement, Odell Beckham Jr. They had to wrangle safety Eric Weddle out of retirement for the playoffs. But led by coach Sean Mcvay, they made it work.
This offseason, L. A. brought in some fresh, if not necessarily young, reinforcements. It poached Bobby Wagner, 32, a six-time All-pro at linebacker, from the Seahawks, and signed former Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson, a 29-year- old contestedcatch specialist who could thrive with Stafford, as Kenny Golladay did in Detroit. With Cooper Kupp frequently drawing double coverage, Robinson could feast now that he’s a complementary receiver for the first time in his career.
The Rams’ biggest external obstacle is the 49ers, who had beaten them six straight times until L. A. won the NFC title game, 20–17. San Francisco was once again Super Bowl–caliber on the defensive side of the ball last year, with coordinator Demeco Ryans blitzing aggressively. This year’s addition of former Chiefs cover artist Charvarius Ward should solidify the cornerback group, a must given Ryans’s approach. On offense the Niners’ unique rushing attack, keyed by all-world left tackle Trent Williams, and a bevy of catch-and-run receivers, should have Kyle Shanahan’s scheme humming—but the wild card is the quarterback. This should be the season the coach hands the keys to Trey Lance, whose big arm and mobility are prototypical for the modern NFL, and the reason that the Niners traded up to take him third in the 2021 draft. But is Shanahan ready to put his trust—and his realistic Super Bowl hopes—in the hands of the
22-year-old after making it to the NFC title game last year with a competent but unspectacular veteran in Jimmy Garoppolo?
The Cardinals, despite making the playoffs last season, seem shaky. Arizona f lew out to a 7–0 start in 2021 but was playing with an efficiency that it couldn’t sustain. After a 4–6 finish, it looked overmatched in a 34–11 wild-card loss to the Rams. In an offense that uses the most four-receiver sets in the NFL, it’s a particular problem that All-pro Deandre Hopkins will be serving a six-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, while Christian Kirk left for Jacksonville, with Marquise Brown the only notable addition to the receiving corps. And how will a defense that lost its most important player, edge rusher Chandler Jones, to free agency recapture its early-season dominance?
For almost a decade, the Seahawks could bank on the trio of coach Pete Carroll, quarterback Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner to keep them in contention. Now only 71-year- old Carroll remains. Underwhelming veterans Geno Smith and Drew Lock will compete to replace Wilson under center, while on defense, Seattle will be lining up a number of unproven and mismatched parts where the Legion of Boom crews smothered opponents. Especially in this division, the going for the Seahawks will be awfully tough.