Well, yes. Indeed.
Let's work your analogy out. What does "1st world problem" mean here?
- 1st world: elite teams competing for rings
- Problem: weaknesses potentially leading to playoff failure
The irony of the phrase "1st world problem" lies in failing to appreciate how good things are. And indeed we are in a much better place than, say, NYG or CLE. I am deeply appreciative that we are in a far, far better place than we were under Fisher. All of that is good.
But then, the NFL is a COMPETITION! The GOAL is to get to the top of the hill and hold it.
Getting 2/3 of the way up is nice. But it never satisfies anyone. I profoundly hope that the team was not satisfied last year. I hope it is not satisfied showing that it's better than middle of the table teams. Indeed, if we are going to get to our goal, we had better be BETTER than other playoff teams … our 1st world neighbors.
NO operates in the NFL's 1st world. And they proved on the field that they are a better team than we are.
If one is happy with the 2nd level, then this might be acceptable.
But if we want to aspire to rings … well, we better damn sure have the highest 1st world standards imaginable. After all, that's how champions think.