Sez Me …
The preseason experts, who, come to think of it, are no more expert than in-season or postseason experts, have the Rams winning the Super Bowl.
In fact, they have become overwhelming favorites to hog the Big Dance floor all by themselves.
And you know what that means? They probably won’t win it all. This is the NFL, which lives well, but day-to-day. You can think so, but can’t know so.
Despite definitely winning the offseason.
They brought in Chiefs corners Jalen Watson and Trent McDuffie (who’s this close to being the best). And now they’ve brought in the best.
I’ve said it before. But what the heck, I’ve said many things before. Forgotten most of them. But not this one.
Myles Garrett is the best football player on this blue ball known as Earth.
The problem with Myles is that he’s excelled in closeted anonymity as a defensive end for Cleveland, gathering 125 1/2 sacks. The Browns are a moribund, bad team that few people other than those who risk severe burns sailing on Lake Erie know anything about.
In any event, Garrett, who will be 31 in December (with no sign of slowing down), has been traded from one of the NFL’s worst teams to perhaps the best.
Garrett’s new franchise is giving up some stuff. Going to Cleveland from the Rams will be Pro Bowl pass rusher Jared Verse, LA’s first-round pick in 2027, second-round pick in 2028 and third-round pick in 2029.
Quite a haul. Still, all but Verse (7 ½ sacks last year) are untried. I have a major problem with teams, regardless of sport, giving away great players for the I-can’t-be-sures.
There’s no chance — zero — the Rams’ No. 1 will have the skills of Garrett. Plus, they won’t be drafting high.
In 2025, Garrtett had an NFL-record 23 sacks on a team that lost six games by at least 14 points. He’s in a much better position now. If he is himself, L.A. won this trade. By plenty.
The Rams are playing for the moment. Garrett, if he can stay healthy, makes them better, and they already were good.
But, despite being the favorites (and the championship will be played in their own yard), L.A. still has ifs, although it still has managed despite getting rid of many first-round draft choices.
No. 1 is at quarterback. Matthew Stafford may be The League’s reigning MVP, but he’ll turn 39 just prior to the Super Bowl.
Stafford was bothered by a herniated disk in 2025, to the point the organization considered putting him on injured reserve at the start of the season.
He’s really good, but just one hit away from untested (15 starts at Alabama) rookie Ty Simpson taking the saddle. I like Ty, but he isn’t handing them the Lombardi Trophy.
The Seahawks, in the same division as L.A., won February’s Super Bowl when not even their cadre could have expected it going into 2025.
And why? They got lucky. They were good, but also healthy.
That’s the thing about the NFL. Luck, which translates to health. It’s why I can’t stand all these preseason prognostications.
Everything depends on what happened last year, where even the super-smart oddsboys should realize it basically means nothing. All this strength-of-schedule crap.
Play the damn game without worrying about all that swami stuff. I can’t believe the Lions will be as bad as they were last year. I can’t believe the Bears will be as fortunate as they were last year.
But they still have to play.
So do the Rams, who should be better with the best player. But he can get hurt. So could many other important Rams. Garrett doesn’t play by himself. Nor does Stafford.
But it means something. The good are getting richer off the ineptitude of the downtrodden. …
I hate baseball analytics. So does Manny Machado. But they don’t matter when you can’t hit what you see when you get on the scale. The impossible Padres are possible, hopeless — and weightless. …
Most boring Padres, who have quite a boring history. …
Will Aaron Donald come out of retirement at 35 and re-join the Rams? Even if he’s a portion of what he was, he’ll be as good as any defensive tackle. …
Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson, who has a $130 million contract, said he won’t go to the Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals because the tickets are too expensive. They are. If I want to see traveling, I’ll go to the airport. …
At last, the Eagles have received permission from Diana Russini and traded ace receiver A.J. Brown to the Patriots for a No. 1 in 2028 and a fifth-rounder in 2027. They can help get you there, but receivers do not win Super Bowls. Their importance is incredibly overrated, their salaries bloated. …
Russell Wilson is finally leaving the NFL — for a job as CBS sports analyst. A Hall of Famer? No. …
Ben Hogan once said Mickey Wright had the best golf swing he’d seen. So that means Hoover High School, which produced Wright and Ted Williams, can claim the greatest swingers in two different sports. …
UCLA is proof that, if you bet on baseball, you have a problem …
What good does lying about your medicals do? Well, it makes the ignorant, including the liar, feel healthy. So there are millions of people feeling healthy. …
In a recent poll judging colleges with the most attractive students, San Diego State finished No. 1. But can they block, tackle, run, throw and catch? …
RIP, Raymond Berry. Football hasn’t known a more precise receiver. …
Christian Watson, who has never caught more than 41 passes in a season, has signed a $110.5 million deal, with $31 million guaranteed, with the Packers. Berry never made more than $18,000 a year. …
RIP, Rick Adelman. A good player with the San Diego Rockets, and a Hall of Fame coach. …
“I wish I had an answer to that. I’m tired of answering that question.” — Yogi Berra. …
After a four-year hiatus to sell things, Serena Williams (44) is returning to tennis. My son plays pickleball. What’s the big deal? …
Aaron Rodgers says he was “on the right side of history” not getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Why, because he’s still alive? …
Micah Parsons won’t return to Green Bay until at least mid-October. Question is: Will that torn ACL/meniscus affect his explosion? It happened to Shawne Merriman. …
The PGA Tour will return here, under new sponsorship (Sentry Insurance). This will be its seventh sponsor. With so many national eyes on Torrey Pines, it shouldn’t need that many. …
A fan who ran on San Antonio’s court to get a selfie with Wemby during the NBA Finals has been banned from all Association activities for life. Is that all you have to do? I’m next. …
Broncos linebacker Jonathan Cooper (eight sacks in 2025) has been booked by police on domestic violence charges. Look for the usual nonviolent slap on the wrist. …
D-Day, June 6, isn’t ordinary. We recently visited Normandy. A remarkable experience, one of the strongest of my life. It can be felt. D-Day should be a national holiday. Out of respect, when 2,501 American heroes died on French soil, MLB canceled all games.