Playing close to the cap, and expecting an ever increasing cap as though nothing can happen to derail it, is like the house of cards that is our national debt. Sooner or later the cards don't fall right, and then you pay a high cost for the folly.
A much lower cap than hoped for will affect teams very unevenly..... partly out of luck, partly out of being more conservative in the approach to the cap. I have no idea which team is which, but enough has been said on this board from people who I think know that it is going to hit the Rams pretty hard. They may not be as competitive next year as they were this year when the blood bath is over.