Mike Freeman's 10-Point Stance: Perfect Fins Offer Path out of Despair for Rams

The Rams could learn a lot from the 1972 Dolphins, Patrick Mahomes has the NFL nervous (and not just because of his football skills) and will L.A. ever embrace the NFL? All that and more in this week's 10-Point Stance.

1. A teaching moment

As humiliating, as devastating and as historic as the Rams' Super Bowl loss was to the Patriots, there is hope. Specifically, in moving forward, the Rams should look back to the year 1971.

That was the year the Miami Dolphins were humiliated by the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl VI. The parallels between that Miami team, and this Rams one, are eerie and can almost serve as a roadmap for how the Rams can rebound.

The Rams were the first team since those Dolphins not to score a touchdown in a Super Bowl. After that game, as the legendary former Dolphins coach Don Shula has recounted to me several times (and I'm paraphrasing some of what he's said below), it was one of the more humiliating moments of his career.

Shula decided to take immediate action after the game to begin reversing the ugliness of that loss. He told the team—guaranteed it, really—that not only would Miami be back in the Super Bowl the following season, but it was also going to go undefeated.

Dolphins players in the room that day initially thought Shula was blowing smoke. Yet that statement built a trust between the coach and his players that lasts to this day. The next year, of course, the Dolphins went unbeaten and won the Super Bowl.

This isn't to say Rams coach Sean McVay and his players should plan to go undefeated next season, but there are a handful of lessons they can follow from the Miami experience:

• Don't try to erase the loss.

Shula made the Dolphins watch the '71 Super Bowl loss twice in training camp. He wanted players to remember the pain so they'd work to never feel that pain again.

• Heal rifts.

Shula felt he needed to make sure that the Dolphins players had no issues with how he handled coaching in that game and that the players had no issues with each other.

This is crucial for McVay. Running back Todd Gurley said after the game he was fine with how McVay split reps between him and backup C.J. Anderson. There is no way Gurley actually feels that way. There isn't a single star in the NFL who would.

• Know exactly who you are.

Shula felt he coached too conservatively in the Super Bowl against Dallas. He vowed to never do so again. Shula made sure the next season he stayed true to the team's identity: be physical, make smart plays and force your opponents to make mistakes while keeping yours to a minimum.

The Rams in the last part of the season (minus the second half in New Orleans during the NFC title game) didn't resemble the team that dominated large swaths of the regular season. (Check out Jared Goff's passing stats and Todd Gurley's inconsistent production.) It left the Rams looking a little like a team with multiple personalities.

No matter who the Rams were trying to be Sunday, they lost. And much like Shula and those Dolphins of '71 told me, the Rams may be feeling a sense of utter devastation. But Miami found a way to make a loss a lesson. Maybe the Rams can, too.

2. The Rams' Gurley problem

There are two main possibilities when it comes to the struggles of Todd Gurley, who had just 35 yards on 10 attempts in Super Bowl LIII:

• He's far more injured than he or the team has let on;
• Teams have started to figure ways to slow him down.

I've written before it's door No. 2. And not only have teams found ways to slow Gurley, but the offense has also run better through C.J. Anderson.

If you don't think this presents a major challenge to the Rams, you're dead wrong. The Rams have a massive amount of money invested in Gurley. They've made him the centerpiece of their offense.

The Rams must fix Gurley. They went 7-0 when he rushed for at least 100 yards; they were 6-4 when he didn't. That's the difference between a great team and a run-of-the-mill one.

3. Live and learn

One more to-do item for the Rams this offseason, and it has to do with the other key piece to their offense—Jared Goff.

Fair or unfair, the view of Goff from several team executives was that he was a system player who could be easily rattled. After looking all but helpless Sunday, those views have only strengthened. 

Some of the issues may sort themselves out now that he has the experience of this year's playoff run, but the notion that Goff can be rattled will not go away until he makes it go away. And his success in doing so will play a huge role in the determining the future of the franchise.

4. Invitation to trouble

How many Patriots players will skip their seemingly annual visit to the White House to celebrate another Super Bowl win?

So far two Patriots players—defensive players Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon—have publicly said they will skip the opportunity for some hamberders. (And a third, Jason McCourty, said it was doubtful he would go either.)

This number likely will grow. Dozens of black NFL players have told me privately and publicly how much they despise President Donald Trump (for a host of reasons we don't need to recount, many of which are obvious).

The awkward part will be how the Patriots balance this delicate maneuver. Owner Robert Kraft, coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady are all, or have been, Trump supporters. But there are plenty of Patriots players who do not share their feelings

This isn't a new dynamic. Stephen Curry said he would vote that the NBA champion Warriors not attend (and was subsequently disinvited), and, most recently, the majority of black players on the Clemson national title-winning football team skipped their fast food-catered White House visit, according to The Root.

But that's college. Many of those players won't be together next fall. For a Patriots team that values togetherness, the White House visit could test those bonds (temporarily, at least).

5. Doubters beware

Last offseason, I tweeted that Adrian Peterson was done. He wasn't. This past season he rushed for 1,042 yards and seven touchdowns.

Peterson recently told TMZ he hopes to play another two or three years.  

This sounds far-fetched to me. He's 33 and has a tremendous amount of wear on his body. But after what he accomplished on the field for Washington, I'm done doubting him.

6. Turning the page in Miami

Now that the Dolphins have made it official and hired Patriots defensive play-caller Brian Flores to be their new head coach, some people around the league tell me they think the team's next order of business is moving on from quarterback Ryan Tannehill. They'll try to trade him first, those people say, but I'd guess Tannehill's trade value is somewhere between a Star Trek eight-track cassette tape and a Goff jersey right now.

In the end, Miami will likely release him, these officials think. This isn't a shock, even though some part of us wouldn't put it past the franchise to give Tannehill a 10-year, $800 million extension.

7. Risky business

Recently, you may have seen Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes displaying some solid skills during a pickup basketball game. It's not surprising he's an excellent athlete. He's an NFL quarterback.

What you may not know is how uncomfortable that video likely made the Chiefs after seeing it. I can tell you a few other teams I spoke to saw that video and felt uncomfortable. There was a lot of discomfort across the NFL, to be honest.

Mahomes is the future, not just for the Chiefs but also for the entire sport. In many ways, he's already the face of it, especially after being named MVP last weekend.

So, if you're the Chiefs, or an NFL suit, or just a fan, the idea of Mahomes playing against a bunch of rec league types in a meaningless pickup hoops game and possibly tearing his ACL while doing it is, well, uncomfortable.

Yes, players can get hurt while crossing the street. They can sprain something while watching Star Trek: Discovery.

But when an entire league is counting on you in one way or another, there's a need to minimize the risks. It may not be fair to him, but it comes with the job when you're the future.

8. Lost Angeles

The average overnight rating for the Super Bowl in Los Angeles was 44.6, according to Austin Karp of the SportsBusiness Journal (via Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith). That seems huge, but when you see that it's less than the 44.9 national number, it's a bit troubling, especially considering the Rams were in the Super Bowl. The Boston number, for comparison, was 57.4.

This is not a good sign for football in Los Angeles. What happens when the team gets ousted early in the playoffs, or doesn't make it to the postseason at all? Maybe time will allow a greater bond to form. But maybe time will show why L.A. has struggled to maintain a franchise from decade to decade to decade.

9. He may not be the Rookie of the Year, but he could be a lot more

One AFC West scout had an interesting opinion on who he thinks will be the next MVP.

"I think it will be Baker Mayfield next year and Patrick Mahomes the following year," the scout said. "You might see Mahomes take a small step back next year. Not a huge one. Teams will find ways to limit his effectiveness … and then in his third year as a starter, he'll put together a season like we've never seen. He might toss 60 touchdowns then. You can't fool Andy Reid for long.

In the meantime, the door is open for someone like Mayfield.

"Baker in a lot of ways is set up perfectly for next year," the scout added. "The big boy in that division [Steelers] are in decline, and I need to see more from that Ravens offense. We're used to making fun of the Browns, but I think [Mayfield] changes that now. He's going to be one of the biggest shocks of next year."

He's a damn funny guy, too.

10. The remarkable Patriots

Just when you think you've digested everything about the Patriots and their championship, something else comes along that makes you shake your head in disbelief.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, prior to the Patriots' win on Sunday, teams scoring 13 or fewer points were 0-19 in Super Bowls: 

With every Super Bowl win they engineer, the Patriots define just how unique their run of almost two decades has been—and continues to be.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter:@mikefreemanNFL.