NFC Divisional Playoff: San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers​

For the fifth time in the last three seasons, the 49ers and Packers are set to meet — this time two wins away from the Super Bowl.

These last three years have featured matchups between mentor and mentee as Kyle Shanahan's team took the two games in the 2019-20 season — including a win in the NFC Championship Game — before his protégé Matt LaFleur won the last two — including a Week 3 come-from-behind win this season.

As a quirk of the NFL's schedule, all four games were home for the 49ers, so playing in sub-freezing weather at Lambeau Field on Saturday night will be quite the changeup. And these long-time rivals have plenty of other narratives in a game that has the largest spread of the Divisional Round.

For one, there may be bad blood between the teams since the 49ers reportedly tried to lure Aaron Rodgers back to his native Northern California. At least an awkward exchange between the head coaches after the September game insinuated as much.

If this game is anything like their most recent meeting, the league and fans will be in for a treat. Especially after so many blowouts on "Super Wild Card Weekend." In Week 3, the 49ers pulled ahead on a Kyle Juszczyk touchdown with 37 seconds left, only for Mason Crosby to hit a 51-yard field goal as time expired for the 30-28 win.

Can the 49ers get revenge and propel themselves back to their second NFC title game in three years? Or will the Packers return to the NFC title game for the third straight season, in search of their first Super Bowl in more than a decade?

NFC Divisional Round: San Francisco (11-7) at Green Bay (13-4)

Kickoff: Saturday, Jan. 22 at 8:15 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Spread: Packers -6

Three Things to Watch

1. Can Green Bay stop the run for once?

The Packers rank 11th in run defense this season (109.1 ypg), but that's largely because they've been ahead of teams so often that opponents rarely can run. On a rate basis, they rank 30th at 4.7 yards per carry. Advanced metrics are only slightly better — 26th in adjusted line yards (4.61) and 18th in run-stopping win rate (30 percent).

This is going to be a crucial test against an offense that ranks seventh in rushing offense (127.4 ypg) and has gone over 150 yards six times in its last 10 games.

Green Bay already stopped San Francisco once this season when the Packers held the Niners to 67 yards on 21 carries in September. But that game was without leading running back Elijah Mitchell, who finished eighth in the league in rushing (963 yds.) despite missing six games.

The Packers also will have to contend with Deebo Samuel, whom the Niners have been using a lot more at running back since they once played. San Francisco was able to run all over the Cowboys last week (169 yds., 2 TDs) and will be looking to do the same against Green Bay. If they get ahead early, it could be difficult for the Packers to come back against the 49ers.

2. Can Jimmy G step up if the Niners fall behind?

But if the 49ers do fall behind, they're going to have to lean harder on Jimmy Garoppolo than they'd probably prefer. Yes, Garoppolo has played better in the second half — 104.0 passer rating and 8.69 adjusted yards per attempt vs. 93.5 and 8.23 — but he lacks the accuracy and quick decision-making of other elite passers.

Just look at the last time these teams met. Garoppolo was only 25-of-40 for 257 yards with two scores and an interception. While he led what appeared to be a game-winning drive before Crosby's field goal, he fumbled in Green Bay territory with five minutes left the drive before.

That interception leads to a crucial stat: The 49ers are 3-6 when Garoppolo throws an interception this season and 7-0 when he doesn't.

The Packers tied for fifth in the regular season with 18 interceptions, and they did that for much of the season without Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander, who is likely to return after last playing a full game in Week 3 when he had a pick and three passes defended. Green Bay also could return linebackers Za'Darius Smith and Whitney Mercilus.

Garoppolo's health is only adding more questions to his effectiveness. He entered the playoffs with a bone chip and torn UCL in his throwing hand that will require offseason surgery, and then he suffered a shoulder injury last week. He's been limited in practice this week, which could mean more appearances from rookie first-round pick Trey Lance, who has not looked ready for the playoff stage.

3. Can Aaron Rodgers continue his flawless play?

If there was any doubt that Rodgers was going to win his fourth MVP, he put it to rest by throwing 20 touchdowns and no interceptions in his final seven games. This kind of turnover-free play is nothing new, of course — for the fourth straight season, he's the only qualified passer with an interception rate below one percent.

But if Rodgers has had one flaw, it's been his postseason play. His interception rate is up to a still-impressive 1.7 percent, while his passer rating, completion percentage, and yards per attempt are all a tick below his regular-season averages. Yes, he's facing tougher competition in the playoffs than when he plays the Lions in the regular season (and sample size remains an issue), but since winning that Super Bowl, the Packers are 1-6 in the playoffs when he throws an interception and 6-1 when he doesn't.

The 49ers have a fearsome pass rush, but that pressure hasn't led to many turnovers. In fact, only four teams have fewer than their nine interceptions this season. If San Francisco can't force a turnover, it at least needs to keep up the heat after registering a season-high 20 pressures last week since Rodgers' numbers nosedive more than most under duress.

Injuries will once again play a role here, and it benefits the Packers. Nick Bosa, the Niners' most productive pass rusher, has been in the concussion protocol, and his effectiveness will be in question if he does play. Furthermore, Green Bay will be getting a boost with the return of linemen David Bakhtiari and Billy Turner, who have missed a combined 20 games this season.

Final Analysis

It's stating the obvious, but it's cliché because it's true: this game will come down to turnovers. These are both Super Bowl-quality teams. San Francisco has to hope it can go up early (perhaps choosing to receive instead of deferring if it wins the toss) so that it can eat up the clock and not have to depend on a big Garoppolo game. As Green Bay showed in their September matchup, the Packers will loom large as long as Rodgers is under center.

Prediction: Packers 27, 49ers 23

AFC Divisional Playoff: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tennessee Titans​

After securing their first postseason win since 1991, the Cincinnati Bengals head to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans, who stand as the final obstacle between the Bengals and their first trip to the AFC Championship in more than 30 years. A win for Tennessee, on the other hand, would return the Titans right back to the conference championship where they fell short of Kansas City just two seasons ago.

Cincinnati had made the playoffs seven times between 2005 and 2015 — including five straight years from 2011 to '15 — but lost in the Wild Card Round all seven times. The Bengals brought the franchise's 31-year drought to a long-awaited end on Saturday, however, getting past the Las Vegas Raiders in a 26-19 win at Paul Brown Stadium. Las Vegas jumped out to a 3-0 lead after a Daniel Carlson field goal, but the Bengals rebounded with 13 unanswered points en route to a 20-13 halftime lead. That seven-point edge turned out to be the difference, with both sides mustering only a pair of second-half field goals as the Bengals were able to hold on for the win.

Tennessee, meanwhile, will take the field after its bye week during the Wild Card Round, extra time that allowed for plenty of rest and recovery. Crucially, that means the return of Derrick Henry, who missed the Titans' final nine regular-season games after suffering a broken foot in Tennesse's Week 8 win over the Colts. A healthy Henry's on-field presence — let alone his contributions — will be vital for the Titans offense and quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who will certainly leverage Henry's playmaking ability in both the passing game and the rushing attack.

AFC Divisional Round: Cincinnati (10-7) at Tennessee (12-5)

Kickoff: Saturday, Jan. 22, at 4:30 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Spread: Titans -3.5

Three Things to Watch

1. Can Henry return to his pre-injury form?

Henry's health and readiness to get back on the field will undoubtedly be one of the key factors for any success that Tennessee can have this postseason. His pre-injury output of 937 yards and 10 touchdowns on 219 carries may have been slightly below his per-game and per-carry pace from when he led the league in 2020, but he had by far the league's numbers before the injury, to the point that he remained on top through Week 9.

After initial reports suggested that Henry might be unable to return at all this season, later insights concluded that he could possibly return to action in 10 weeks if his recovery proceeded well. Thanks to the extra week in the regular season and the Titans' first-round bye, Henry has had even more time to continue his recovery.

His recent time on the practice field seems to indicate that he's nearing a return, as his ability to wear pads and face contact in practice is a major hurdle that he's been able to clear. Even if Henry ultimately starts, look for him to be joined in the run game by D'Onta Foreman and Dontrell Hilliard, who together have combined for 916 yards and five touchdowns over nine games to do their part in making up for Henry's absence. But the pair's recent experience combined with Henry's dynamic and explosive playmaking ability will certainly make this trio one to watch on Saturday.

Running backs don't have the value they once had in this pass-happy league, but Henry is one of one. Without him, the Titans' scoring dropped from 28.4 to 24.0 ppg. And crucially, opponents didn't have to worry about the run as much and cut Ryan Tannehill's passing yards from 229.5 to 197.8. They were held to 20 points or fewer in five of the last nine games and under 200 passing yards in seven of the last nine.

2. How will Ja'Marr Chase match up with Kevin Byard and the Titans' secondary?

Chase started his rookie season on a bit of an up-and-down track, catching five of his seven targets for 101 yards and a second-quarter go-ahead touchdown in his NFL debut in Week 1. But he eclipsed the century mark just twice between Week 2 and Week 15, led by an eight-catch, 201-yard game in Week 7.

But the last month, though, has been much more consistent and productive for the Pro Bowl-bound rookie wideout. Chase followed a seven-reception, 125-yard effort in a Week 16 win over Baltimore with a monstrous game of 11 catches on 12 targets — his only game with 10-plus receptions all season — for 266 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-31 comeback win over Kansas City.

But lurking in the Titans' secondary is All-Pro safety and fellow Pro Bowler Kevin Byard, whom Pro Football Focus ranks as the highest-graded player in the NFL when in coverage against receivers. Byard has grabbed five interceptions in 2021, tied for second-most in the NFL and right behind Buffalo's Micah Hyde (six). Byard anchors the back end of a Tennessee defense that has allowed just only three teams to surpass 300 yards passing all season — and which has held four of its last seven opponents to collect fewer than 300 total yards, with three of the other four being limited to under 200 yards. That kind of stingy coverage will be crucial against a Cincinnati team that has averaged 385 yards passing over its last four games and which has lost just once this season when passing for more than 300 yards.

3. What kind of role — if any — will penalties play down the stretch?

The Chase-Byard matchup will certainly be a factor here as well. Cincinnati was called for the NFL's second-fewest penalties in the regular season, with just 72 penalties accepted. The 620 penalty yards associated with those flags were the fewest in the NFL. Tennessee, meanwhile, was called for 103 penalties for 973 yards, placing them right in the middle of the league for penalties called but 10th highest penalty yardage in the NFL.

Well over half of the Bengals' penalties for the season were against the offense, with 31 of the 72 coming up front thanks to false start and holding calls. The Bengals were called for seven penalties in the Wild Card Round win over the Raiders — well above their per-game average (4.24) for the regular season — but most were, encouragingly, only of the five-yard variety.

Tennessee has also had 30 (15 each) false start and holding penalties called against its offense, but the Titans are among the league's most penalized teams on defense, thanks to a tie for the fourth-most unnecessary roughness penalties (eight) and a tie for the third-most defensive pass interference (12) penalties in the NFL. Against a high-flying attack led by the Joe Burrow-Chase connection, the Titans will have to shore up their back-end defense in order to avoid big plays — be they receptions or penalties.

Final Analysis

The Bengals have come out on top in three of their last four meetings with the Titans, though they haven't won in Nashville since 2011. These two franchises haven't met in the postseason since January of 1991, however, when the Bengals topped the Houston Oilers 41-14.

What's so notable about that game? Since Cincinnati fell the following week to the Los Angeles Raiders in the Divisional Round, that win had stood as the Bengals' last playoff win until just last weekend.

Now, with the opponents reversed, Cincinnati has a chance to rekindle the joy from its victory over the Raiders last weekend and clinch its first trip to the AFC championship in more than three decades. Henry and the Titans' offense, however, will be tough for the Bengals to stop after they've allowed five of their last six opponents to rush for at least 100 yards.

Prediction: Titans 31, Bengals 27

I haven’t really seen anyone talk about the play of Travin Howard he’s finally healthy and his coverage and playmaking skills will be big against the BUC tightends. If Jones can go I hope we see a lot of them. I just think Reeder would be a huge liability in this game

Cooper Kupp’s Approach to Greatness​

An offseason spent in a kind of scientific exploration of what drives great receiver play led to a historical year from an unlikely superstar.

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Last spring, before Cooper Kupp turned this season into an argument for NFL history, he moved to a Portland suburb and transformed a backyard tennis court into a barn that doubled as a football laboratory. The goal: Explore the science that drives elite receivers. Dive to subterranean depths. Examine his job, and how to excel even more at it, through analytical concepts of movement. Like dynamic organisms. And uncontrolled manifolds.
In Kupp’s latest football experiment, the dynamic organism was … him. Hence the barn, the space covered and enclosed, the design created by a Rams wideout moonlighting as an interior designer. Kupp had turf put in by the same expert local sports teams used. He added a “curve” treadmill for speedwork; a “timing gate” that measured in seconds and miles per hour, with 20 mph serving as his benchmark; and what’s called a “towing unit,” which he wore while sprinting to add resistance (typically 50% to 75% of his 208 pounds). He didn’t overly complicate this lab with technology, only what he needed, everything deliberate and precise. Like him.
Plan in place and barn constructed, Kupp drilled into as many movement options (wiggles, cuts, stutter steps) as he could develop or hone. The uncontrolled manifolds approach is not just a collection of those movement options, but how his body chooses them—ideally, through subconscious calculations performed by his central nervous system. All must be deeply ingrained so that he can access and deploy them instantly, at any moment. He would take variables—alignments; schemes; skills, weaknesses and body language of defenders; weather; playing surface; and equipment, like which cleats he wore—and input the data he gleaned into an internal calculator.


Kohjiro Kinno/Sports Illustrated
Kupp would go on to lead the NFL in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947) and touchdown catches (16). But while the numbers he amassed were borderline historic, what he did mattered far less to him than how he did it. En route to exactly the right place, at precisely the right time, his central nervous system acted like a computer processor, shuffling through his repertoire of movement options. More choices and higher efficiency made Kupp more shifty and more adaptable. When his mental processing sped up, the game slowed down, as he beat not just defenders but entire defensive schemes—and not just with speed, strength or smarts. He upended them through manipulation, with movement, his choices dictating their response.
Start there to understand how Kupp became only the fourth wideout since 1970 to seize the “triple crown” and how he built a plausible argument—one that he himself would never make—for the best season at his position in NFL history. Just don’t define his magical year by the numbers most would slap onto social media alongside a #humbled or a #blessed.
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Although he had toiled, Kupp doesn’t view this season as 17 happy accidents born from a tireless work ethic. Although genetically gifted, he didn’t overwhelm double teams with physical prowess alone. Although brainy, he refused simple categorization, in particular the notion that he’s “crafty,” a backhanded compliment laced with the implication that he needs to be. There’s truth in every overdone element of his story. Teammates describe him as borderline brilliant. He was discounted; he did run a glacial 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine, his time of 4.62 seconds matching that of a speedy punter, Pat O’Donnell of the Bears. But those factors don’t paint Kupp in total.
Instead, his approach—clinical, surgical, endless, compounding, efficient and nerdy as all hell—guided Kupp’s ongoing football evolution. As he transformed from undersized, overlooked prospect to FCS star to mainstay for a perpetual playoff team, it’s how he defined himself, while others consistently mischaracterized him. He needed his science and his natural athletic gifts to morph from a great player into something more.
That’s why Kupp visited Ryan Baugus—founder of Headquarters Wellness—in Wilsonville, Ore., last spring. Why they diagrammed movement options inside a gym, plotting a path toward, Baugus says, “doing something special.” Which explains not only Kupp’s season, but everything he channeled into it.
The journey to Kupp’s slice of NFL history began with a single step, although not an obvious, or metaphorical, one. No, Kupp winnowed his focus to one actual step, his first off the line of scrimmage—football’s most critical movement option.
Kupp also arrived at that specific emphasis last spring, with an assist from Erik Jernstrom, the director of sports performance at EForce Sports in the Portland area. They created an “athletic profile” through a battery of test results and GPS info from the Rams. The data revealed that Kupp reached max velocity sooner than most elite receivers—closer to 25 yards down field, or roughly five yards faster than the norm. They compared how many yards he covered in any one game with how many of those yards he traversed at various percentages (70%, 80%, 90%) of his max velocity. For Kupp to reach top speed sooner and cover greater distance at all percentages, that one small step for one (not-small-anymore) man figured to yield enormous gains.
Then they tailored his training program to address that specific movement, and not for every day or every session, but for every rep. Jernstrom viewed Kupp as a “phenomenal accelerator,” quick, fluid and “aggressive in his bursts.” To upgrade “phenomenal,” they turned to drills, sprints and an ancient Chinese military treatise, The Art of War. The book highlights one relevant combat strategy, the concept of space—creating your own or decreasing your enemy’s—whether applied to the Battle of Normandy or an NFL play. Kupp could create separation, or decrease the cushion cornerbacks desired, if he knew where to go, how to get there and how to deceive them. Which led to the OODA loop, a four-step approach, developed by U.S. fighter pilots—observe, orient, decide and act—to make decisions under extreme pressure with clarity and decisiveness.


Kohjiro Kinno/Sports Illustrated
Long before Kupp elevated into the rare air breathed by some of the most accomplished receivers in NFL history—marquee names like Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin and Calvin Johnson—he designed his experiments to ensure he would be nothing like them and exactly so. Kupp would never match Rice’s pedigree (“greatest of all time,” he says), Irvin’s competitive nature (“incredible”) or Johnson’s superhero athleticism (“dude is a cyborg, jumping over three people without planting his feet”). But if Kupp dreamed beyond logical expectations, conducted the right tests, worked assiduously to improve and timed everything perfectly, what seemed impossible to most appeared quite possible to him.
After playing the word-association game for three Hall of Famers, Kupp does the same for himself. “I just want to do my job,” he says.
That his job is the same as their jobs never altered Kupp’s ambitions. He simply needed to take a different, well, route to the same place. How else would he approach the game-changing authority of someone like Johnson, who is three inches taller, almost 30 pounds heavier and—no offense to the Kupp family—genetically more gifted in every way?

Rice sprinted up towering hills and caught bricks to harden his hands. Irvin lifted weights in full uniform, helmet atop his head in 100-degree heat and a heavy vest secured around his torso. Johnson partook in Navy SEAL–like drill sessions. To match them, Kupp decided: He would become a dreamer, a transformer and a football scientist, defined not by one part of his approach but by the totality of it. At that point, he needed to answer one question above all: How?
Kupp doesn’t view his improbable season as improbable at all. Instead, he sees more than a dozen factors that coalesced into something greater, just as he intended. Some elements, like work ethic and film study, were standard; others, like first steps and uncontrolled manifolds, scientific; others, like his complete and wide-ranging skill set, developed over seasons, or decades.
The first factor that pointed Kupp toward NFL lore is perhaps the most central of all—and the most unexpected for a football scientist. He grew up in Yakima, a city of 93,000 people roughly 140 miles southeast of Seattle. While best known for apple orchards and wineries—and sometimes jokingly referred to as the Palm Springs of Washington—Yakima can also present a limited view of future possibility, with pockets of gang violence, gunshots that interrupted football practices, a median household income of $44,950 and a poverty rate that has climbed over 20% in recent years. Add in Yakima’s remote location relative to major cities, and it’s rare for anyone to see a future as bountiful as Kupp did.
He can thank his paternal grandfather for that.
Jake Kupp grew up on a farm. With money tight, his mother insisted that he read, because she wanted Jake to visualize far-away worlds and transport to them, hoping to broaden his outlook beyond, Jake says, “what my ‘normal’ capacity would be.”
On hot summer days, when the harvesting concluded, he settled under a peach tree. Lying down and looking up, he visualized an impossible future: playing baseball for the Yankees. He would manifest those visions, transform his body and transcend the limits of his circumstances. He did become a professional athlete, although in football, where he played 12 seasons for four franchises, earning a Pro Bowl nod while with New Orleans.
Jake returned to Yakima and passed the dream gene to his son, Craig, who carved out his own NFL career, as a backup quarterback with three NFL teams and for two World League franchises. Both created an incubator for young Cooper, while he crashed into the now-dented fence in the backyard of his family home or sidestepped the sandbox into an end zone marked off by a garden hose stretched across the grass. Jake read him The Little Engine That Could. Craig told Cooper he could do anything he wanted.


Young Cooper Kupp, wearing the sling on the right.
Courtesy of the Kupp Family
For a future football scientist obsessed with objective data, Cooper could have looked at his size (way under 150 pounds entering high school) and his prospects (no Division I scholarship offers) and the small number of white NFL receivers and come to an obvious conclusion: He held, at best, infinitesimal odds. Instead, his family taught him to see beyond.
Cooper’s aspirations grew in lockstep with his body. He watched film of legends: Rice, Irvin, Johnson, Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss. But rather than see what he could never be, he dreamed of something else: his future.
One morning before his sophomore football season, Cooper cornered his coach, Jay Dumas, in the weight room that doubled as his peach tree. Did Dumas think he could play in college? Yes. Maybe. Could. “In the back of my mind, I thought he’d probably play at Central Washington,” Dumas says, referring to the nearby Division II program.
Cooper asked: What about the NFL? Dumas stifled his laughter, laid out percentages that screamed no and kept his true thoughts—that’s not realistic—to himself. But Cooper wasn’t done. He confessed to another goal, his loftiest. He wanted to enter the … Pro Football Hall of Fame. Dumas waited for the punch line that never came. Even if Cooper achieved his “normal” capacity, his “do anything” landed in outer space. Let him dream, Dumas decided.
Karin Kupp ran marathons, taught fitness boot camps and competed in extreme endurance races. There’s a picture of her in the family basement hurtling through actual flames. Cooper sometimes tagged along and, in his teens, he completed a mini-triathlon alongside her. His parents snapped a picture: Cooper lying on the ground afterward, exhausted, unable to move. They alternately loved and worried about his determination. They wanted Cooper to harness what drove him, to find a proper equilibrium, a notion made prominent by the ulcer he developed in sixth grade. With little else to explain the diagnosis, they wondered whether Cooper cared too much, whether what fueled his plan had flooded his digestive tract with acid.
Cooper never stopped pushing, and not in the cliché sense, like a bad answer to the what’s-your-greatest-weakness job interview question. His pushing-pushing-pushing could add risk he might have otherwise avoided. Cooper played basketball to develop agility and yet inevitably ended up near the basket, elbows flying, taking on opponents who doubled his size. Yes, he tipped in a shot that kept alive the season when Davis High won the state championship. But that same fearlessness led to a broken collarbone on the football field, stoking concerns over a dogged approach that was admirable and questionable. Admirable because nobody worked harder, looked deeper, tried more approaches. Questionable because no matter how hard he pushed, his odds would remain low, his dream just that. Cooper had to weigh a risk-reward calculus, had to answer: At what cost?
Did he really need to wear ankle weights all day long? Did he absolutely have to befriend the school’s custodian so he could access the weight room at all hours, dumbbells clanking each morning before sunrise?
Cooper uncover

It's not a popular game plan, but hear me out.

- The Bucs are elite against the run.

- But have given up over 4k passing yards and 26 passing TDs

-Wanna tee off on Tommy boy and that injured line? Score early, fast, and often.

-Then unleash Sony and Cam.

Simple stupid win.

Not good. We will win anyway.
Brady will get rag dolled all game.

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2022/01/21/rams-roster-joseph-day-henderson-rochell-return-ir/

The Los Angeles Rams are just two days away from facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but there’s a chance they’ll have three former starters back on the active roster for this matchup. On Friday, The Rams designated Sebastian Joseph-Day, Darrell Henderson Jr. and Robert Rochell to return from injured reserve. All three of them were starters at one point this season, making them key players to have available.
They still must be activated by Sunday in order to play against the Buccaneers, but they’re now able to return to practice. Sean McVay indicated that Henderson could have a chance to play against the Bucs, like Ernest Jones, but he’s been less optimistic about Joseph-Day and Rochell recently.

McVay told reporters on Tuesday that Joseph-Day and Rochell “haven’t been a part of the conversation” to return yet.
“It’s a little bit different circumstances with them, so don’t have any true updates on those guys,” he said.


If Henderson is able to play, he’ll join a backfield that already features Cam Akers and Sony Michel, who both played well against the Cardinals.
Joseph-Day’s role is less clear now than it was before he got hurt thanks to the emergence of Greg Gaines, who has been a star as the starting nose tackle.
When Rochell returns, he’ll provide depth as the third or fourth cornerback in a rotation with Dont’e Deayon and David Long Jr.
Henderson has been out since injuring his knee in Week 16. Rochell has been sidelined since Week 13 with a chest injury, while Joseph-Day hasn’t played since Oct. 24 when he injured his pec.

Deaths are just rolling in now. F cancer.

Daniel Kreps

Louie Anderson, beloved stand-up comedian, actor, and game show host died Friday at the age of 68.

The comedian’s death was confirmed by Anderson’s rep, noting the cause of death as complications from cancer; earlier this week, it was revealed that Anderson was being treated in a Las Vegas hospital for Diffuse large B cell lymphoma.

“Born in St Paul Minnesota, the three-time Emmy Award winner was one of the country’s most recognized and adored comics,” his rep added. “His career spanned more than 40 years. He was a bestselling author, star of his own standup specials and sitcoms.”

Anderson notably overcame what he described a tough childhood in Minnesota, the 10th of 11 children in a poor household with a loving mother but an “abusive alcoholic father.” “We had to decide whether we would shut off the gas or the lights, because we could only pay one of them,” Anderson told Conan in 2019. “We always shut off the lights because my mom had a thousand candles.”

A giant in the comedy world, Anderson began his career as a writer for stand-up legend Henny Youngman before breaking out on his own in 1984 with a show-stopping appearance on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show:


Throughout the Eighties, Anderson made brief but memorable appearances in films like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (as a flower deliveryman) and Coming to America, with Anderson reprising the role of lettuce-washing McDowells employee Maurice in Coming 2 America earlier this year.

The following decade, Anderson’s childhood served as the inspiration for the animated series Life With Louie, as well as the short-lived sitcom The Louie Show. Anderson was also recruited to serve as host of Family Feud from 1999 to 2002 and was a stalwart on Hollywood Squares during the same period.

While never out of the spotlight, Anderson enjoyed a career renaissance in 2016 with his acclaimed role in the Baskets, playing Christine Baskets, the mother of Zach Galifianakis’ twin characters. Anderson received an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for the role.


Anderson based his portrayal of Christine Baskets after his own mother, a frequent inspiration and subject in his comedy. “It’s a great part,” Anderson told CBS Sunday Morning of the role in 2018. “Christine Baskets is everywoman. There’s a whole bunch of Christine Baskets in the world, and nobody’s representing them, and I am.”

Soon after, Anderson would appear in shows like Search Party (as a bumbling lawyer) and Young Sheldon.

All year long a lot of “experts” haven’t had a lot of faith in our rams and now today a lot of squawking heads are picking the rams over the goat. Even the wise Skip Bayless, who doesn’t believe Aaron Donald is anything special, is entertaining the possibility that the rams win. If all these idiots are picking the rams what are the chances they don’t have a clue as usual.

As much as I HATE saying that(!). I will be rooting for the 49’s tomorrow when they play the Packers! I would just much rather see the Rams play at home against San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game than going to Green Bay to play the Packers!!

The circumstances of his death were not released. He was a rock opera icon.

HATED seeing Day go down, But when #91's number was called he stepped up in a way that
put a smile on every Ram fan's face.
I, like many knew he could play, but he raised the bar of many of our expectations. Wow what a year
for the fastest, slow looking dude in the NFL. Running down Qb's none of us thought he could catch. lol.

Also want to give props to A'Shawn who here recently is playing some of the best football we have seen him play.



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The schedule is below.

What do you see? Any games you are looking forward to?

Wild Card Round saw 4 of 6 games not very competitive. All of these matchups look pretty good.

Divisional Round​

Saturday, Jan. 22

• (4) Bengals at (1) Titans, 4:30 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+). The Bengals are in the divisional round for the first time in 31 years and they'll be playing a Titans team that will likely have Derrick Henry on the field for the first time since October.
• (6) 49ers at (1) Packers, 8:15 p.m. ET (Fox). Aaron Rodgers gets a chance to beat the one team he hasn't been able to knock off in the playoffs. The Packers quarterback is 0-3 all-time in the postseason against the 49ers, but he did lead Green Bay to a 30-28 win over San Francisco back in Week 3.

Sunday, Jan. 23

• (4) Rams at (2) Buccaneers, 3:05 p.m. ET (NBC). Tom Brady and the Buccaneers will get a chance to avenge one of their losses from the regular season. Back in Week 3, the Rams beat the Buccaneers 34-24, but the big difference in that game is that it was played in Los Angeles, while this game will be played in Tampa, where the Bucs are 8-1 this year.
• (3) Bills at (2) Chiefs, 6:30 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+). In the most anticipated game of the divisional round, we'll be getting a rematch of last season's AFC title game. Although the Chiefs won that one, the Bills won the most recent game between these two teams when they won 38-20 in Kansas City back in Week 5.

I can't recall where I heard this 2021 season game stat on Matthew Stafford, but it was within the last few days.

Stafford No Interceptions
Won-Loss Record 7-0

Stafford 1+ Interceptions
Won-Loss Record 6-5

That is a very telling stat. No interceptions equal Rams wins. 1+ interception(s) and the Rams are in for a dogfight.

Stafford had a beautiful game Monday night. Only 17 throws, but that's perfect. And, no Interceptions!

Unlike his years in Detroit, he has a full "team" built around him now. It's not "all" on him.

McVay came out running that ball...finally. With Michele and now Akers, how can he not run first? What a 1-2 punch between the two of them. I can't recall a potentially better combo of a two-headed monster than these two.

The run game allowed Stafford to relax. He didn't have to carry the team like in Detroit. And, he relaxed and threw some great balls, all 17 of them. Highest QB Rating in a playoff in Rams history. That's amazing!

This needs to be the Rams game plan going forward. Run the ball, thereby setting up the pass, and Stafford throwing those darts.

This is the team Stafford was brought in for. He needs to take advantage of it, as he did against the Cards. There's no reason for him to force plays and throw high, off target balls we've seen him throw. No reason any longer to force a play and cause a pick, as he has on some occasions this season.

Stafford was brought in to win the big games. He's got the team he needs. If he can duplicate the Cards game 3 more times, with NO Interceptions, he'll most likely be a super bowl champion.

So, Stafford. Keep tossing your beautiful passes, but dont; don't toss interceptions and it will be all roses!

Go Rams!

Rams snap counts: Akers is RB1, Weddle plays 19 snaps in return vs. Cardinals​

​

Cameron DaSilva

January 18, 2022 11:50 am PT

Cam Akers and Eric Weddle both made remarkable returns in the last few weeks, going on to contribute in the Rams’ 34-11 win over the Cardinals in Monday’s wild-card game. Akers came back from a torn Achilles in less than six months, while Weddle came out of retirement after two years away from the game.

Both players were on the field for a good portion of the Rams’ win against Arizona, particularly in Akers’ case. Looking at the snap counts, it’s easy to see that he’s emerged as the No. 1 running back in Los Angeles and may not let go of that role for years.

Here’s a breakdown of who played how much in Monday’s win.

Offense​

Seven players on offense played every single snap, and only four of them were offensive linemen. Tyler Higbee never came off the field, nor did Cooper Kupp or Matthew Stafford. Andrew Whitworth was the lone lineman who didn’t play every snap, missing about 30 plays due to a knee injury suffered on the first play of the game. Joe Noteboom replaced him on those 30 snaps, and also came in as a sixth lineman for three plays.

Akers vaulted Sony Michel for the No. 1 running back role, out-snapping Michel 32 to 24. Michel remains an important player on offense and got the start at running back, but Akersis the more explosive runner and better receiver.

Odell Beckham Jr. and Van Jefferson were WR2 and WR3 once again, though only one snap separated the two. Their playing time was slightly on the lower side because the Rams used so many different personnel groupings, using heavy packages with six linemen and also putting multiple tight ends on the field together.

Kendall Blanton and Brycen Hopkins played 12 and 11 snaps, respectively, mostly contributing on running plays. Neither of them was targeted by Stafford.

Defense​

Nick Scott stepped in as the primary safety in place of Jordan Fuller and Taylor Rapp, never coming off the field. Darious Williams played every snap, as well, while Jalen Ramsey played 48 of a possible 56 snaps on defense. Dont’e Deayon is the third cornerback still, though David Long Jr. played 19 snaps before injuring his knee in the first half, so the coaching staff is high on him, too.

Terrell Burgess played a season-high 37 snaps as the No. 2 safety, staying on the field two-thirds of the time. He played well, too, which has fans wondering why he didn’t get a shot earlier in the season. Weddle was the rotational third safety, playing 19 snaps (34%) in his return from retirement. If Rapp comes back next week, Weddle’s role is likely to shrink.

Greg Gaines played more snaps than any of the Rams’ defensive linemen, edging Aaron Donald out by four plays. A’Shawn Robinson played 57% and stood out with a team-high seven tackles. Marquise Copeland played 15 snaps, and both Bobby Brown and Michael Hoecht got in the game down the stretch when the score was lopsided.

Troy Reeder wore the green dot as the defensive signal caller and played all but seven snaps. Travin Howard shined in his increased role, playing 30 snaps in the win over Arizona.

Leonard Floyd and Von Miller made a big impact in this game and played more than half the snaps, getting a little bit of time off late during the blowout.

Ryan Leaf hosts the Rich Eisen show today and makes his Bucs-Rams prediction.

Leaf has his reasons and believes Brady's Bucs beat the Rams on Sunday.

Many of us don't agree with Leaf's opinion, but his take is what he believes.

Our Rams are a small underdog, and this game has the ingredients of a classic finish.





Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8DdI6_-cM4&list=RDCMUCqMtxjKnR7ySbEZSs2N-v0Q&start_radio=1

The poster’s handle is stlramz. You may have seen his work before.

it is long but worth every syllable, trust me.

Enjoy!

Here’s stlramz…

I recall seeing a piece from NFL films years ago when the KC Chiefs were playing the 49ers in San Francisco I believe in the year 2000. The game wasn’t remarkable for anything other than a pass play that otherwise would get no notice. A pass was thrown to HOF TE Tony Gonzalez. The pass, pattern and subsequent late hit were such that it drove Gonzalez far out of bounds.

The play didn’t mean a whole lot to that particular game and was only notable because Gonzalez collided with a cameraman whose “misfortune” had him standing in the one place that the play would carry all of Gonzalez’s 249-pound frame. The collision caused the cameraman, named Mickey Pfleger, to suffer a concussion severe enough to cause him to be transported to San Francisco General Hospital. A CT Scan revealed not only the concussion but the early stages of what would have otherwise been the cause of his death. A painless tumor slowly growing in his brain.

In the normal course - that tumor is such that when it reaches the size to become discoverable, it is too late to save the patient. So what otherwise would have been considered a 1 in a 100000 chance of bad luck by getting hit on the sideline now becomes a 1 in a 100 Trillion chance that your tumor, which would otherwise have killed you, gets discovered in time to save your life because you were run into hard enough by Tony Gonzalez during an NFL game – a game that you were not playing in -- that you are transported to the hospital to get your head examined.

If one engages in the what ifs about that situation, it becomes mindboggling.

What if the Chiefs called a run, what if the Camera guy moved a half step to get a better picture, what if Tony Gonzalez gets bumped at the line, what if a better pass was thrown, what if the QB checks down, what if the DB doesn’t commit a late hit, what if . . . .

What if Rodney Harrison doesn’t go low on Trent Green?

You see, until the story is fully told, we really don’t know where the journey is taking us.

Why am I talking about this?

What if the Rams, who have never won a truly outdoor cold weather game (they beat Dallas in 1983 in Texas Stadium which is their only “cold weather” win in a fake outdoor stadium) weren’t going to beat the Packers in Lambeau? Or what if they needed the Packers to go through an extremely physical contest the week before the Rams meet them in the NFCCG to make them not only vulnerable, but actually causes them to get beaten down by the Rams? How would this come to fruition?

What if the Rams, who had a 99.6% chance to beat the 49ers last Sunday with under two minutes to play, actually fail to do so – causing the 49ers to NOT be eliminated. And what if this loss allows the 49ers -- who shouldn’t be even be in the playoffs -- to qualify and go to Dallas. And what if by going to Dallas, a 49ers win sends them to Green Bay? And what if the 49ers, a team that ran for 300 yards against the packers a few years back in the playoffs, were the only team in this tournament that could beat the Packers in Green Bay or do enough damage to an otherwise well rested team to make them beatable the following week?

And what if the Rams could never win 10 in a row but could win 4 in a row if they could just break their 5 game winning streak prior to getting into the playoffs?

And what if the end of the 49ers winning streak versus the Rams came not at the Season finale but at the NFC Championship game from . . . SOFI FIELD?

If any of that were true, it could make the Rams loss to the 49ers maybe one of the single luckiest events in Rams history. Can something like this happen to the Rams? An event so freakish that it ends up being the critical missing piece to the Super Bowl run?

It would be like finding an undrafted free agent former grocery store clerk who looked so unremarkable in the final game of the 1998 season that the Rams left him unprotected in an expansion draft only to remain undrafted and to then lead them to the Super Bowl the very next year and becoming the league and Super Bowl MVP.

I mean that’s impossible isn’t it?

What are the odds?

Again, until the story is fully told, we simply don’t know if our journey is taking us where we want to be.

That is why, for as long as I can remember, I have always fervently believed that one must embrace the journey in addition to the destination.

It is why, for me, the 1989 season still remains one of my all-time favorite seasons even though that team didn’t end up winning it all. That team was fun, that team had heart, that team had talent and that team had soul. Teams like that can take us on amazing journeys and if your only focus is the destination, you miss the ride.

For me, since January 12, 2016, the ride has been nothing short of spectacular.

Its sad really, that some don’t see it.

How many organizations can say they haven’t had a losing season since that time? During the last half-decade How many organizations can say that they are in the conversation each year to win it all? Throughout this year we have lost RB1, RB2, RB3, RB4, TE2, DT2, LT1, LT2, OLB2, ILB1, CB2, WR1 (or 2 depending on how you rate Woods at time he was injured), S1, S2 and PR1, KR1 -- we play in the toughest division BY FAR in the NFL and yet, here we are, NFC West Champs.

Let me say that again: HERE WE ARE - WE ARE NFC WEST CHAMPIONS.

How many organizations do you think can do this under those circumstances in THAT division? How many do you think can do this after losing players like Troy Hill, JJIII, Morgan Fox, Gerald Everett, Michael Brockers, carry a boat load of dead money, change OL coaches, and lose their DC who engineered the #1 statistically ranked defense the year before?

I’ll tell you how many: NOT @#$%& MANY!

But to some, we are DOOMED! To some we have NO CHANCE. To some we are too soft, too weak to be relevant.

You want to enjoy life more? Change your perspective:

When I hear things like “they could have lost that game”, to me that means “we won that game!”

When I hear that my team “backed into the playoffs”, what I hear is my team is “IN THE PLAYOFFS”.

When I hear the Rams are hosting the first ever Playoff game at SOFI, I hear “We are going to Sofi!”.

It is with this heart that I went to Sofi realizing that the best way to clear that bitter taste from the previous week out of my mouth was to demolish the Cardinals.

A “W” in the first ever playoff game at SOFI and being a mere 2 games from the Super Bowl sounded pretty good to me.

The funky last-minute scheduling, the Monday Night slot, coupled with a team that does not “travel” well in the Cardinals all contributed to SOFI being nothing less than spectacular Monday night. A sea of blue with very few spots of red. No silent counts for the Rams this week folks.

I still have my foam noodles from those 1999 and 2001 playoff years. I remember being in STL and watching those noodles being shaken in the air and how beautiful a sight that was as the crowd blew the roof off of the Transworld Dome.

Here I was 20 years later, with my entire family, spinning beautiful yellow towels emboldened with the word CHAMPS in all CAPS just under the words NFC West Division. A division that had not one, but 3 teams represented in a 14-team tournament from 8 divisions. Winning that division ain’t no joke – you can’t be weak and you can’t be soft to stand atop that division after 17 games.

No way. No how.

Just ask the Cowboys, who on Saturday fulfilled the second leg of the Mickey Pflegler miracle by dropping to the 49ers – the third-place team from our division!

Now our turn.

During warmups, I noticed both Cooper Kupp and OBJ throwing the ball – A LOT. At first, I told my son that they are going to run some kind of gimmick with either Kupp or OBJ throwing the ball. But after about 10 minutes of them CONTINUING TO THROW THE BALL, I thought they have to be messing with the Cardinals – I mean they were straight telegraphing that they were going to throw it during the game. Nope, I conclude, this is a ploy, it will be their former HS All-American QB Cam Akers that is going to throw the ball (I didn’t see him throw one during warmups by the way).

OBJ even attempted about a 30 yard field goal during warms ups. Ugly as all get out, but it split the uprights. By the way, what kind of organization gets OBJ and Von Miller midseason?

All pomp and circumstances of playoff football aside, they dimmed the lights in the stadium and here comes Michael Buffer to kick off the game with his “LEEEEEEEEETSSSSS GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEE!!!” firing up the crowd. Towels spinning, crowd rocking. This ain’t 1999 or 2001, but if I can paraphrase the late, great Jim Hanifan, the Rams crowd Monday night was “Pretty @#$%& good!” and damn well good enough to cause a ton of problems.

And then a really interesting thing happened.

That Ram team that showed up for the first 28 minutes of the 49ers game – the one that absolutely manhandled the 49ers for 28 minutes, re-appeared, EXCEPT MORE PISSED THEN EVER and without any real let down for a full 60 minutes.

From the first defensive play, when A-Shawn slams their RB to the ground, to the first offensive play where Sony Michel busted a 35-yard run, to Johnny Hekker’s first punt downed inside the 10, each unit set its own tone – the tone that says, its serious now – don’t @#$%& with us.

You know what happens if a team that boasts Von Miller, AD, Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd, Greg Gaines, Darious Williams et al, all play to the best of their ability for the whole game? -10 yards after Q1 happens, a deer in the headlights QB happens, a short field happens, a pick six happens, a demoralized opponent happens, a dominant running game happens, a Raheem Morris smile which I could see from across the field happens and, for us in the stands, a stress-free game happens.

So many good things happened in this game it is hard to catalogue them all. Matthew Stafford playing SMART FOOTBALL, deadly from his empty sets (2 easy first downs dropped by Higbee and Kupp out of empty), smart with the ball, ran when he should, all but 1 or 2 balls were catchable. His pass to OBJ for the score was a beauty. Just really sound football. The type of football that if a streaky QB can play for 3 more games then all things are possible.

How about AShawn? That dude runs out of gas faster than a Toyota Chaser but man for a play or two each series, he was absolutely destroying the OL in front of him. Atta boy big fella, it’s the playoffs and we can use you in the rotation.

And then there was Cam.

Holy @#$%&!

The guy looked like he was being pulled from the opponents endzone by some invisible tractor beam. His entire body movement and lean was downhill and towards the endzone. I mean it literally looked like he was being sucked towards the opponent’s goal every time he touched the ball. His legs looked fresh, he looked quick and determined. As an old poster here on the herd mentioned on Twitter, Sony and Cam were Thunder and LIGHTENING!

Cam’s emergence and how it bodes well for our playoff hopes cannot be overstated. This guy is a superstar in waiting. Speaking of odds, what are the odds that a player with a torn Achilles five months earlier will not only be playing but absolutely explode into the open field and absolutely level one of the best safeties in the league ? That type of play, on a 5.5 month timeline from Achilles surgery has never happened before . . . ever.

It was too bad that Budda couldn’t get up because it affected the ability for the entire team to really enjoy the play in the moment. Regardless, that was the tone that was set and felt all night long.

How about Johnny Hekker? The forgotten superstar. His punts were on point. He was putting crazy spin on the ball so when the coverage wasn’t there, no balls were rolling into the endzone, but rather spinning out of bounds.

How about our entire special teams? Have they come together at just the right time? And while it feels weird screaming “LETS GO BRANDON!” before every punt return, let’s @#$%& go Brandon! The guy has solved our KR1 and PR1 problems for the foreseeable future and certainly for the playoffs. Plus, random BP Factoid, he and Stafford pounded the Pack in 2018 winning 31-0 and Powell had over 100 yards receiving at Lambeau.

They say to win playoff football you need to be playing your best ball at the end of the year. Can it be doubted right now that that was one of the most complete performances out of this team that we saw all year? But for the let down in 2H v. SF, a game they still had a 99.6 percent chance of winning, they haven’t been “beaten” since November.

This team is primed and dangerous and, in 1 week, when the third leg of the Pflegler miracle comes to fruition and SF is headed back to SOFI with their winning streak, pride and Super Bowl on the line. None of the previous losses will matter or even be remembered. What may have looked like a disaster a few weeks back, will look much differently then.

So let us enjoy this journey – at every step -- and while Tampa is showing decent weather for next Sunday, let us hope for a little thunder, a lot of Lightening and at the very end of the day -- a sacrificial goat.

We know Ramsey is ready...and Williams has upped his game to last year after a slow start this season. These two guys are easily HUGE KEYS to Sundays game.

I said in another thread Brady is gonna go hard at Evans and Gronk for the size mismatch in the secondary. Look at it:

Williams 5' 9"
Scott 5' 11"
Burgess 5' 11"
Rapp 6' 0"

*There's no talk of Rochelle even playing at this point and Rapp has to clear concussion protocol.

Tampa will no doubt try to hit these guys short to medium and force the Rams secondary to get them on the ground which will eat clock and help their running game.

The good thing about all the secondary is they're all physical and they hit hard...so the question will also be can Eveans and Gronk take the hits???

No doubt the focus for the Ram secondary will be to keep everything in front of them and make good tackles.

Brady is gonna pay fast to get the ball out of his hand...BUT...can the DLine along with good secondary coverage...make him hold the ball??? Phily was able to get 4 sacks on Brady.

We know it's gonna be alot different than Mondays game. Even with the OLine injuries Tampa has they'll put concerted effort into pass defense.

I really like the ballhawking skils of both Ramsey and Williams though Williams does tend to let guys get behind him sometimes.

It's gonna be interesting folks...how are you seeing this???

We cut the cord last year and so I am watching a lot of YouTube content creators, and sometimes I visit a Live Stream chat for an NFL game. It's like a quick chat that streams so fast, it's hard to keep up with comments, let alone responding to them. The whole set up is perverse to me.... I've visited Northwest Sports Fanatic (NWSF), run and hosted by a guy named Orion in Portland, OR Metro. He prides himself on knowing all 32 teams and being a fan of the NFL. He is also a big Buccaneers fan.

Talking about a game in progress, as Orion does, while answering questions is ok. Perverse part is the constant hawking for donations and hitting that "like" button. With every donation, a banner with the person's user name and donation amount appears with Orion expressing excitement for their "dono." It seems that it's a form of ego stroking by Orion, and confirmation of membership into the "NWSF Family." There is also attempted peer pressure about fans of certain teams not giving much of anything to support him, like myself. It used to be that $5 and $10 donations were the norm, but now there are fools dropping $100 at a time, which is friggin' insane, imo. He calls one girl "Holly Hundo" because she drops $100 donations once or twice a live stream, regularly. The weakness of people wanting to be virtually recognized by an internet guy, astonishes me. There are nights when Orion pulls in $500 for 3-4 hours of talking, while drinking beer and eating cannabis gummy bears. *smh, great work if you can get it.

Is my take on point, or am I screwed up somehow?

Things always change in the offseason teams rise and fall but this is based off our opponents 2021 record. Must be nice to be the NFC Least.

i want the 49'rs in the nfcc...

this bs has to end,,,

we have to get this agony (5 straight) overwith, and what better way to do then in the game that gets you to the superbowl...

let's get the monkey off our backs in the game that will rip the hearts out of this area.. (where i live)

i'm so tired of these fans around me and their arrogance...

go rams

slo