Why GMFB’s Jamie Erdahl Is Hesitant to Pick the Rams to Win the NFC

Jamie Erdahl has no problem with the Rams. Erdahl has a problem with knowing the answer in July.

Asked for a favorite in the NFC, Erdahl backed away from the obvious pick and admitted exactly why. "I really like to play devil's advocate. I just hate going chalk. I don't like being Captain Obvious. I feel like I don't want to pick the Rams."

The clarification came immediately, because this was not a shot at the roster. "Not because I don't like them. I respect the hell out of what they're doing. And I think they're wildly talented."

The objection is about timing and about fun. "I just don't want to know this early. That's what it is. I don't want it to be so obvious cuz then I get annoyed of it. I really I want it to be fun and a surprise."

The model Erdahl keeps coming back to is Seattle last season, a team that arrived by accumulation rather than coronation. "That was fun to watch cuz it was a slow burn, if you will." The alternative is a conference where the conclusion is written before the first snap. "The Rams and we're done. Why even play?"

So the search is on for this year's slow burn, and Erdahl floated a team everyone has already moved past. "I think we haven't paid enough mind to the Lions again. Come full circle, you know?" Erdahl likes what Isiah Pacheco can add, likes Aidan Hutchinson, and acknowledged the secondary has to get right before any of it matters.

Then came the funnier possibility. What if it is Seattle again?

The case is that nobody is looking. San Francisco brought in Mike Evans and has the annual assumption that this is the year everyone stays healthy. The Rams made all the big moves, with the added wrinkle that Aaron Donald might be coming back. Seattle sits in between, largely unmentioned, benefiting from a leaguewide shrug that repeating is simply too hard now. "So, it's like you just forget about. They could slow burn again."

The conversation then swerved into the LeBron James news of the day, and Erdahl found a personal parallel for it. Erdahl worked in Boston from 2012 to 2014, in the middle of a stretch where the city's four teams appeared to be competing with each other as much as with anyone else. The Bruins won a Stanley Cup, the Celtics answered, the Red Sox answered, and the Patriots kept winning. "It was just an absolute snowball effect."

The question was whether Philadelphia is about to run the same play, with the Sixers suddenly holding the city's attention and the Eagles potentially taking it personally.

Chris, a New Englander, was not interested in sharing the template. "Jamie, I'm a New Englander, so no, my answer is no."

Erdahl pushed anyway, arguing that if the Sixers start taking the city by storm, the Eagles might respond in kind. As for the Phillies, the read was that they were not great, then fired their manager, and have been awesome since Don Mattingly took over, with stars like Bryce Harper anchoring the lineup.

The verdict on Philadelphia came quickly. A big star sports town, and a new hotbed. Which, if Erdahl gets the wish stated at the top of this conversation, is exactly the kind of thing that should stay unpredictable for a few more months.