Bill Plaschke’s latest column in the Los Angeles Times opens with a declaration that could only be described as exuberant—or, perhaps, a touch over the top: “The Rams are going to the Super Bowl. There, I’ve written it, I can’t believe I’ve written it, but I’ve written it, right here, first paragraph, in fanboy-living color.” From the very first line, Plaschke positions the Los Angeles Rams’ season as not just promising, but inevitable.
Rams Super Bowl Hype? Bill Plaschke May Be Getting Ahead of Himself
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Plaschke urges readers to “Bet the over. Bet it big. They will win 11 games and a weakened NFC West and a soft NFC and then… The Rams are going to the Super Bowl.” There’s little room for nuance in this vision. Stafford’s back? The offensive line? The sometimes shaky secondary? All dismissed with the wave of a wand: “Don’t succumb to the fears about Matthew Stafford’s back. Don’t listen to the worries about the fragile offensive line. Embrace the ascending young defense. Love the bolstered receiving corps. Trust the brilliant coach.”
Throughout the piece, Plaschke leans heavily on narrative over analysis. He recalls last season’s divisional-round heartbreak in Philadelphia—the snowy, frozen nightmare where Stafford was sacked for a nine-yard loss—and declares, “That’s not happening again. Not this season.” The fixes, in his telling, are already in place: Davante Adams replaces Cooper Kupp, Coleman Shelton anchors the offensive line, Poona Ford arrives to “stop Saquon Barkley and anyone like him.”
Every potential problem is reframed as a solved puzzle. Stafford’s 37-year-old body? “He’s tough. He shows up. And since returning to the field recently, he’s looked great. And when he looks great, the Rams are great.” The schedule? “Relatively easy… only three legitimately tough opponents.” The coach? “All because they have the league’s best coach in McVay.” Plaschke even frames McVay’s previous playoff disappointments as a guarantee of future success: “The last time they lost in a divisional playoff? They won the whole thing the following year. Hmmm.”
It’s impossible to read the column without sensing Plaschke’s enthusiasm—or his willingness to suspend skepticism. His writing is colorful, confident, and undeniably fun. But it’s also starry-eyed, a mix of fan perspective and narrative flourish that leans toward prophecy rather than measured assessment. Optimism is fine; certainty in the NFL? That belongs in locker-room pep talks, not a major daily newspaper.
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