It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of an exciting offseason. That’s the case for media members, fans and the players themselves. Really, this time of year is the best time to get excited because it’s so easy to sell yourself on why your team can (or should) be great.
Of course, you don’t want to put your foot in your mouth and make a proclamation like Vince Young did about the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles when he called them the “Dream Team” during that offseason. Infamously, that Eagles team went
8-8 and missed the playoffs.
Why is this relevant right now for the Los Angeles Rams? A Kam Curl appearance on Up & Adams this past week, in which host Kay Adams asked him for one word to describe the L.A. defense:
“Right now, it’s early. It’s only what, June? But I feel like we’ve got a chance to be legendary,” Curl said. “Just the type of guys we got, the coaches we’ve got, we’ve got a bunch of experience back there. We’ve got some Super Bowl winners in there, we’ve got some Defensive Player of the Years. We’ve got some guys that, if we do what we’ve got to do, we can be one of the best.”
It’s a bold claim, but it’s a justifiable one. Look at the talent the Rams have added on the defensive side of the ball this offseason. Just with the three most high-profile move, they’ve added arguably the best defensive player in the sport on the edge, a multi-time All-Pro at cornerback and another surefire, above average starter across from him in that cornerback group. There are a lot of rings and awards coming to Los Angeles just from that trio.
Tack that triumvirate on to a defense that, featuring Curl, was fourth in defensive DVOA last season and you can sell yourself on an incredibly high ceiling with ease.
Curl didn’t say this just to say it, and wisely qualified his thought by mentioning how early in the process all of this is. Still, there’s nothing wrong with buying in to your team’s hype.
This isn’t an insane boast, it’s not wholly unrealistic, it’s just excited and confident without getting cocky. Many of us are taught for most of our lives that pride comes before the fall, don’t put the cart before the horse, etc. But some confidence is a good thing, even when for fans it’s easy to say that you don’t want to build expectations up too high before your team has even taken the field.
For what it’s worth, Adams went with “versatile” as her one word for the Rams defense. Accurate, but not quite as bold (or fun).
