Are there any fans of this sport in ROD land?

I watched all last season and have watched the first three rounds of this season and find it entertaining.

http://www.fiaformulae.com/

Yup, smoking a cig and I wonder if that's a beer at his feet.

LOL times have changed.

I was going to wait until after the upcoming Senior Bowl, but decided to get this in now as there are apt to be several pre & post-Combine changes anyway.

IMO, it will be near impossible to fill our eventual need for a LT to one day replace Whitworth in the first round, the best are likely gone where we pick, much like the CB's, so look for a combined developmental LT and potential swingman for 2018 depth. CAP cutting Austin, Barron & Quinn adds over $21mil. to our already previously scheduled $45mil. of available CAP, and all of of these positions can be improved upon for far less money. Extending Saffold now also saves CAP in 2018 as well as preserves a top Lineman for our team's future as we look towards 2019 when both Havenstein & Brown could enter free agency. I offer 3 names for consideration as our #1 CB, all of whom will cost less than what TruJo has for the last two years. Finally, Tremaine Edmunds looks like the prototypical pass rushing OLB college prospect we all desire with excellent speed and great length. Cappa is my only question going into the Senior Bowl, being whether he can manhandle the big school kids like he was able to at Humboldt. I added Rogers to the 53 for his additional pass catching skills and would love to see strengthened blocking for our RB's.


CAP Cut : Austin, Barron & Quinn.
Extend : Donald & Saffold.
Re-sign : Watkins, Joyner, Sullivan, Robey-Coleman, Easley (if healthy) & McQuaide.
Re-sign vet minimum and possible camp cuts Tyrunn Walker, Cornelious Lucas
Tender all RFA's (Longacre, Hill, D.Williams, M. Brown, Lynch)

Let walk - Tru Johnson, Connor Barwin, Lance Dunbar, Derek Carrier, Cody Davis

Free agency signings :

CB - Prince Amukamara (Chicago) - 28; Malcolm Butler (N.E.) - 27 ; Bashaud Breeland (Was.) - 25
I'd be good with any one of the above CB's joining our defense, may come down to money, although Breeland is well known to McVay.

ILB - Todd Davis (Denver) - 25
NT - Justin Ellis (Oakland) - 27
A combination of Davis & Ellis should just about end our previous problems dealing with the interior rush.

2018 Draft :

1-23) OLB - Tremaine Edmonds, VTech
3) OT - Alex Cappa, Hum.St. (My surprise small school long shot)
4) RB - Mark Walton, Miami (change of pace outside threat, Austin replacement)
5) FS - Armani Watts, Tx. A&M (replaces Cody Davis)
6a) OG - Wyatt Teller, VTech
6b) QB - Kurt Benkert, Va.
6c) CB - Brandon Facyson, VTech
7) CB - Devontae Harris, Il.St.

The 53 :

Offense (25) :

QB) Goff, Mannion, Benkert
RB) Gurley, M. Brown, Walton
FB) Rogers
WR) Watkins, Woods, Kupp, Cooper, Reynolds, Thomas
TE) Higbee, Everett, Hemingway
LT) Whitworth, Cappa
LG) Saffold, Teller, Blythe
C) Sullivan, Blythe
RG) J.Brown, Teller
RT) Havenstein, Lucas, Cappa

Defense (25) :

LDE) Brockers, Easley, Fox
NT) Ellis, Walker
RDE) Donald, Westbrooks, Fox
LOLB) Ebukam, Sickels
ILB) Davis, Hager
ILB) Ogletree, Littleton, Lynch
ROLB) Edmonds, Longacre
FS) Joyner, Watts
SS) John Johnson, Isaiah Johnson
CB) Amukamara, Webster, Robey-Coleman, Hill, Facyson

Special Teams (3)

K) Zuerlein
P) Hekker
LS) McQuaide

PS :
For those conspiracy theorists, the three draftees from VTech was accidental.

Jokes, info, bulletin board stuff, random stuff relating to the upcoming "big" game.

As much as I absolutely dislike/hate/despise the Pats, Philly fans have just recently wormed their way into my heart as the worst fans ever and will be even worse if they win a Superbowl. The F%#* Millie banner did it for me, hating on that 100 year old Vikings fan. Also, attacking the Vikings bus, finding the Vikings hotel to try and keep them awake all night and overall, just being out of control jackasses. There is a lot of negative karma in their corner right now. That fan base does not deserve anything but a swift kick in the groin. It's like my two least favorite teams getting together and no matter who wins, I lose.

Wanted to discuss the relative position strengths in the draft and FA vs our needs. In the draft of course one guy sliding is all it takes to dictate what you need to do, particularly when you draft 23 overall. And the Rams should of course jump on that option if it happens, as BPA is best for the long-term benefit of the team.

All that aside, I do think we can see the depth of certain positions in this draft right now, as well as FA, and I also think we have a pretty good handle on needs even if some of the cut options aren't completely clear. So let's kick it off with establishing needs and take a look at them vs the FA and draft options for filling them.

Team Need Priority:

1. CB. Have to start with CB due to the fact that even with bringing back NRC and Joyner in the secondary we go into the draft most likely with a hole at one primary position at a minimum. I consider Trumaine to be gone, only question for me is whether they lock up NRC as expected. But even with him returning, Web is iffy at best with injuries this past season and inability to play the ball, dude is a stop-gap player IMO.

Free Agency does have one option for upgrade in Malcolm Butler. He will be the top name in FA, though, so he's a high dollar signing to get him in here. I think he's unlikely for that reason. Also there are rumors that Talib will be cut, if so I do think the Wade connection provides for them bringing him in potentially, but that's very much up in the air.

Now for the remainder of the FA class there are guys the Rams might bring in to soften need preparing for the draft, guys like Melvin (Colts), or Breeland (Skins) who I've seen bounced about by Rams fans on different boards. But I don't think these types really affect their plans in the draft.,

Draft is where the options are countless for the Rams to address CB. It's a deep class, with plenty of fits for the defense from our first pick into midrounds. My guess is that the Rams enter the draft planning on using one pick from their round 1/3/4 picks on the CB position.

2. ILB. Our problems here are twofold. First, Tree is playing in the wrong spot due to being paired with another weakside/chase/coverage type in Barron. Second, Barron had trouble holding up on the inside, he had trouble getting off blocks (he basically could not get off them period), and I suspect he had gap/fit probs too in the scheme. Tree just got paid and is our QB of the defense, he's going to stick around and slide over to the weak side where he's best suited. Barron will be cut or traded, and that elevates this need very high. What I don't know: what they think of Littleton, i.e. is he at least a short term answer in there that allows Tree to move over.

FA class for ILB has some stop-gap types that can help us. There is an upgrade available, but I doubt the Jets let him hit FA and with money in Tree I doubt they allocate more for the position. Might see them add a stop-gap guy but it will not affect the draft plans IMO, where they'll probably pounce on an ILB they like.

Draft class for ILB is superb. There is a reasonable chance the Rams are looking at a very nice solution at 23 who has top value for the group on the board, but as the draft goes on there are more guys there too that could help. I think this position has a very high likelihood of being drafted or heavily addressed with a pack of UDFA types brought in on top of a stop-gap type.

3. OLB. Defense struggled in the contain and pressures off the edge all season. Our starting ROLB and primary rusher notched a respectable sack total, but also struggled quite a bit and carries a high cap hit. Our starting LOLB is a FA and struggled on the contain as well. While both got better as the season went on, it's pretty clear we need to get younger, faster, and better on the edge to be an elite defense. Only reason this is listed as our third greatest need is the fact that they might keep Quinn and it's possible Barwin signs an affordable deal given his affinity for playing for Wade.

This position is interesting because there's a chance both our starting OLB are gone this offseason. If that happens this likely becomes the #1 need.

I am not a fan of the FA options for OLB and in general don't believe signing your pass rusher on the open market is the best way to go.

OLB in the draft is well represented. I think the position will have value at every stop in this draft, from 23 on. Very high chance the Rams address OLB in this draft.

4. NT/DL. Wade doesn't run a typical run stuffing nose position in his under scheme, but then again he also tends to adjust his scheme to fit players. Whatever else happens this offseason, it's clear the Rams need to upgrade NT. And their depth behind 3T and 5T will probably be looked at too.

Free agency help at NT is available, but of course what's messed up is that the Rams have a $#!T ton of cash tied up in their 3T & 5T positions and maybe $12M or more to come when Donald is signed. Are they willing to put more into the position to address the nose? I'd like to say this is unlikely, but the depth of options keeps me from doing that. I do think it's possible they bring in a NT in the FA period, due to a ton of options.

NT in the draft, like the rest of our defensive needs, is well represented, from round 1 on. While I think Vea goes top ten, chances are the Rams can get value there at 23 or their later picks no problems.

5. TE. Many here don't share my opinion on this being a need, but it's a big one. We have a TE with two years under his belt who has improved in run blocking but who has untrustworthy hands in Higbee. And another who we all expect to make a jump and add some RAC to the offense. Also have another big athlete type in Hemingway. But who can you trust? IMO Sean is not done with this position, it's a need.

Free agency offers good options that can help us, as well as some options for stop-gap types to take the edge off. IMO the Rams will chase some of them the moment FA opens, to include some of the top options.

The draft does of course have guys who can help the Rams, but I think the time required to develop, along with relative value of defensive needs, lessen the chances they draft a TE until maybe the later rounds. I mean I have to admit I imagine Andrews lining up as a WR in some 12 personnel looks, giving Goff a nice target he can trust, but generally with TEs things don't turn out the way you want in the rookie season. And I positively love Schultz too, just seems like a luxury in this particular draft.

6. OT/OG. Listing this as OT/OG because I think the Rams are going to prioritize a project type OT who can start off on the inside as a depth option. This gives them potentially some flexibility with 2019 (when Saffold/Brown/Havenstein all hit FA), but also improves depth now.

FA offers only interior options in Norwell & Pugh (who are gonna get paid) as legit upgrades, but obviously that is unlikely. Would the Rams consider either to be a shrewd signing now vice locking up Brown or trying to keep Saff in 2019? Doubtful, but I suppose it's possible. More likely is they bring in a depth signing if anything on the OL and I don't see them looking OT on the market.

Draft has options but when would they pull the trigger? Well the answer is anywhere that someone they love is there. We have to assume they are concerned with Big Whit's age so even there at 23 is an option. They could also move up if the concern is great enough.

Summary:

Now this is where you start to look at the biggest needs and compare them against a lineup of draft picks that look incapable of meeting all their needs. The Rams have 6 needs to my eye, with 3 picks in rounds 1-4 where I like their chances best at finding starters. So how are the Rams going to solve this problem? Two ways IMO.

First, I think there's a good chance they trade down from their spot at 23 and add a 3rd round pick. Snead is well connected, a willing trader, and the value of guys in round 2 at the Rams' positions of need line up. They can trade down, and still get OLB, ILB, CB, NT, etc.

This would net them 4 picks in the first four rounds with reasonable expectation to fill needs and get value.

Second, I think they fill a couple needs in FA. But which positions? Probably TE and ILB. I think TE ends up being their "splurge on an upgrade" position, and ILB ends up being their stop-gap signing position, with whomever it is competing with Littleton and a robust class of UDFAs that Snead brings in.

It's possible they also splurge on OG. That would relegate Brown to depth and/or another competition with Havenstein on the edge, and eliminate one concern for 2019 FA.

Either way, my best guess leaves OLB, CB, NT, and OT as the positions they address in the first four rounds, after a trade down.

http://www.fbschedules.com/nfl-18/2018-los-angeles-rams-football-schedule.php


2018 Los Angeles Rams Schedule
Date Opponent Time/TV Tickets
Date TBA Arizona Cardinals
LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA Green Bay Packers
LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA Kansas City Chiefs
LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA Los Angeles Chargers
LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA Minnesota Vikings
LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA Philadelphia Eagles
LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA San Francisco 49ers
LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA Seattle Seahawks
LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA at Arizona Cardinals
U. of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA at Chicago Bears
Soldier Field, Chicago, IL Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA at Denver Broncos
Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, CO Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA at Detroit Lions
Ford Field, Detroit, MI Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA at New Orleans Saints
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA at Oakland Raiders
Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA at San Francisco 49ers
Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA Time TBA
TV TBA
Date TBA at Seattle Seahawks
CenturyLink Field, Seattle, WA Time TBA
TV TBA

Jared Goff had a pretty good season considering his "little bitty hands" that only span 9".
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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ize-season-again-and-josh-allen-has-big-ones/

It’s hand-size season again, and Josh Allen has big ones
Posted by Darin Gantt on January 23, 2018


Getty Images

Josh Allen is willing to try to turn the Browns around. It’s a big job. Thankfully he has the hand size to handle it.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time of year, when we determine whether quarterbacks are able to play in the NFL by the span from their thumb to their pinkie finger.

According to Josh Norris of NBC Sports, Wyoming’s Josh Allen came in at a healthy 10-1/8 inches. That’s the biggest of this year’s crop of Senior Bowl quarterbacks. Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com has all the measurements, and the guy everyone will be asking about later is Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph, who isn’t playing in the Senior Bowl and not just because he has 9-1/8-inch hands. (He actually has a foot injury, no word on his shoe size.)

Hand size is an actual quantifiable thing, and it has an actual football application. The bigger your hands are, the easier it is to grip the ball (especially in bad conditions) and throw it accurately and well.

But it also takes on a life of its own this time of year, when NFL scouts log every bit of information possible and the internet dissects it to a ridiculous degree.

The Rams moved up and drafted Jared Goff even though he had little bitty hands. Some guys with tiny hands even go to get them stretched, so they don’t feel inadequate when they get to the Scouting Combine.

Is it ridiculous? Sometimes. But that’s never stopped scouts, or us, from talking about it.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/02/25/jared-goff-always-thought-he-had-normal-sized-hands/

Jared Goff always thought he had normal-sized hands
Posted by Darin Gantt on February 25, 2016


Getty Images

Jared Goff might have small hands, but he at least has a sense of humor about it.

The Cal quarterback, who might be the first one taken in this year’s draft, joked about the perceived digital deficit he’s facing, after his hands measured at 9 inches.

“I just heard about that yesterday,” Goff said at the Scouting Combine. “I’ve been told I have pretty big hands all my life.

“I’ve never had a problem with that.”

Honestly, it might not be that big of a problem, though Cleveland coach Hue Jackson admitted he looks closely at hand size when he’s evaluating quarterbacks, as the ability to grip a football and “spin it” in adverse weather conditions is easier if you have larger mitts.

But at least he isn’t trying to stretch his hands the way some other prospects are, comfortable with the way he’s been able to throw the ball for years.

And as he goes through the evaluation process, the size of his hands might matter less and less. While the Browns are likely considering him and Carson Wentz with the second overall pick, there’s a general sense that Goff’s the more ready to play immediately of the two. Of course, that might just be because Goff went to a Division I college, while Wentz played at FBS North Dakota State.

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 http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2016/02/22/why-quarterback-hand-size-matters-to-nfl.html

Why a quarterback's hand size matters to the NFL
By Bruce Feldman/February 22, 2016

It's Combine week, and hundreds of NFL evaluators will be watching closely to get better gauge on everything. Pretty much every player in Indy has gone to various Combine training places to improve on, among other things: their 40s, their shuttle times, their vertical jumps, the amount of times they can bench press 225 pounds and how well they can present their football savvy in a classroom setting.

Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen has worked diligently on all those things at a camp in South Florida. In addition, he's also worked on something else -- trying to increase his hand size. Well, more specifically, his hand measurement.

The size of a quarterback's hand has gained increased attention in the past few years. For my book "The QB: The Making of Modern Quarterbacks," I spoke with Tom Rossley, who was the Green Bay Packers' former offensive coordinator and later recruited Johnny Manziel to Texas A&M when he was the Aggies' quarterbacks coach.

Rossley said one of the first things they looked at when they evaluated quarterbacks in Green Bay was how big their hands were, "because of how Brett was and how well he could play in cold weather," said Rossley. "That's such a key with handling the ball, controlling the ball, and with the snap coming out. The size of a quarterback's hands is even more important than his height."

Favre's hands were measured by the NFL years ago (from thumb tip to pinkie tip) at 10 3⁄8 inches. For comparison's sake, Tony Romo's hand was measured at 8.88 inches. Anything bigger than 9 1⁄2 is considered large for an NFL QB prospect.

At the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., last month, Allen's hands were measured at 8 1/2 inches -- the smallest of all the QBs there.

"It's obviously something I can't control," Allen said, before adding that as part of his draft training process, the masseuse who helps the athletes with recovery has also been working twice a week on stretching out the QB's hands "to maybe get another 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch here or there because the muscles in my hands were really tight and this can loosen them up. I have long fingers.

"It's worth a shot."

***

While many may figure the biggest issue with small hands manifests itself in fumbling, the coaches and personnel people FOX Sports spoke with say it's really more about being able to grip and throw the ball in inclement weather.

Allen, Arkansas' career touchdown passes leader with 64, actually had decent fumble numbers in college. In 2015, he had four fumbles and lost one. For comparison sake, that's the exact same numbers that Cal's Jared Goff had. Mississippi State's Dak Prescott, who played in the same division as Allen and had some of the biggest hands at the Senior Bowl at 9 7/8, fumbled nine times and lost four in 2015.

Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas, who has some of the biggest hands for a QB that NFL personnel people have measured in years -- 10 7/8 inches -- fumbled nine times in his final college season, losing three of them. Check the NFL totals on the guys who fumble the most and it's hard to draw much of a parallel to hand size.

Drew Brees, who has very big mitts, fumbles at almost the same rate as Tony Romo. Russell Wilson, another guy with very big hands (10 1/4), has fumbled at a much higher rate than Alex Smith (9 3/8 inches) has over the past three seasons.

***

Two years ago one of the hottest topics in the run-up to the NFL Draft was the supposed dismal performance Teddy Bridgewater had at his pro day. The former Louisville star had opted not to wear a glove on his throwing hand even though he wears one when he plays.

That triggered even more focus on Bridgewater's hands, which were measured at 9 1/4 inches, the smallest of any of the top QB prospects that were coming out for the draft that year. At the time ESPN researched that since 2008 there had been 39 quarterbacks who had been measured with a hand size of 9 1/4 or smaller; less than one-fifth of them had even gone on to start half a season in the NFL and none had made a Pro Bowl.

Bridgewater, who completed 68 percent of his passes and had a 14-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio on third downs at Louisville, lasted until the 32nd pick of the first round. The Vikings drafted Bridgewater, who won Rookie of the Year honors and was selected to the Pro Bowl in his second season.

Despite the fact that he was drafted by a team that plays in a lot of cold weather, Bridgewater's small hands haven't seemed to be an issue. In fact, according to the Star Tribune, in the two coldest games at TCF Bank Stadium, which also both rank among the 10 coldest in franchise history, the Vikings defeated Carolina 31-13 in 2014 when the game-time temperature was 12 degrees and beat the Giants 49-17 in 2015 when the game-time temperature was 13 degrees.

In those two games, Bridgewater was a combined 30-for-46 (65.2 percent) with three TDs and no interceptions while the two opposing QBs, Cam Newton and Eli Manning, were a combined 33 for 64 (51.5 percent) with a TD and four INTs.

***

Tony Romo's become the poster child for the small-hands QB. The Wisconsin native and played in college at Eastern Illinois but he has struggled going 1-3 as a starting NFL QB in games played at 32 degrees or colder, according to ESPN Stats and Info data. Romo's individual stats, however, don't look that bad: He's completed 60 percent of his passes with an 8-4 TD-INT ratio in those games.

Brandon Allen didn't play in anything close to an Ice Bowl in college. He did play well though in two games that were in less than ideal weather. Against Miss. State when the temperature was in the mid-30s, he went 30-of-43 for 406 yards, throwing seven TDs and zero picks in a 51-50 loss. The other game was vs. Mizzou in sleeting rain, and he went 11-of-17 for 102 yards without a TD pass and one INT in a 28-3 Razorbacks win.

Former NFL GM Phil Savage is both the Alabama Crimson Tide radio color analyst and the Senior Bowl executive director. He's seen plenty of Allen and is impressed by how much the 6-2, 220-pounder has improved over the past three seasons. In 2015, Allen actually led the country in QBR rating at 87.8 and was tops in the SEC in passer rating at 166.48 despite playing a chunk of the season without three of the Razorbacks' top four receivers.

Savage said Allen's hand size is "problematic for the teams that play in (cold weather) conditions," Savage said. "However, I've been a Brandon Allen fan. He did some pro-style-like things at Arkansas with play-action passing. He came through for them in his senior year when they won close games. I thought he had some solid practices and had a really good game, going 7-for-10 (in the Senior Bowl). I think he fits a team that runs the traditional West Coast offense because he's got quick feet. He's got a quick arm and I think Brandon has quick eyes as well.

"Like I tell players all the time, you don't have to convince 32 teams. All you have to do is convince one team, and I think he can do that."

Allen, the son of a former Arkansas defensive coordinator Bobby Allen, who has been on the Razorbacks coaching staff for almost two decades, shrugs his shoulders at this hand size talk.

"I didn't even know it was even a thing till this year," he said, pointing out that he felt like he had more zip on his passes than other guys at the Senior Bowl.

Allen didn't realize how big or small his hands were till he measured them before the season while he was at a youth football camp.

"I've never dropped a ball or never had fumbling problems. I don't think it's really a factor."

Like most things you'll hear in Indy, hand size matters because, well, everything matters. Kinda. How much it matters depends on whom you ask.

View: http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Woods-Reflects-on-First-Season-with-Rams-/e416396d-48ac-4094-a07f-743dc13eeec6

Woods Reflects on First Season with Rams
Kristen Lago

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVttm6WhHO0

Wide receiver Robert Woods returned to his hometown in 2017 and delivered in a big way — becoming one of the Rams standout leaders on and off the field.

In his inaugural season back in Southern California, the former USC standout caught 56 passes for 781 yards receiving and five touchdowns. Not only was he a significant contributor on the field, but he also developed into a leader in the team’s receiving room.

“He’s been great,” head coach Sean McVay said of Woods. “He’s been everything and more than what we had hoped when we got him in free agency. Just the way that he’s goes about his daily work, his daily business, I think he’s influencing his teammates in the right way.”

The Rams acquired the wideout in early March, when Woods signed a five-year contract as a free agent after spending four seasons in Buffalo. And though Woods’ postseason ended a bit earlier than he thought it would, the receiver said he still “had a lot of fun with this team and enjoyed going to work everyday.”

“Exciting, just a very fun season,” Woods said recently. “Had a lot of fun with these guys on the field, off the field, in the locker room and just even in meeting rooms. We had big goals and big aspirations for this team, [but] it doesn’t stop, we just pick it up next year.”

Woods spent the year as a steady offensive contributor, starting with the season opener against the Colts. He quickly developed into one of the club’s most productive wide receivers — an integral piece to a team that finished the season No. 1 in scoring. The receiver also recorded several of the team’s standout plays of the season — including a 52-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-33 against the Giants, and a 94-yard touchdown in the victory over the Texans.

“He’s been huge, he’s been as big as anybody on this team,” quarterback Jared Goff said. “I think even if you take away everything that he does on Sunday’s, it’s been truly impressive seeing him day in and day out — the way we he works and brings guys along. I’m happy to have him, and I know he’s happy to be here.”

Woods’ season took a hit when he suffered a shoulder injury in Week 11’s loss to the Vikings, but he still came up big for the club down the stretch — especially during Wild Card Weekend when he recorded a team-high 142 yards receiving.

Overall, the receiver averaged 13.9 yards per catch through 12 games this year and recorded the most productive season of his five-year career.

“I just go out there and play,” Woods said of his production. “If the ball finds me, it finds me. But every time I go out there, I’m working. Always trying to be that No. 1 that makes plays for the team, for the quarterback. I work to be the No. 1 every time.”

And as the Rams offseason kicks off, Woods said he was eager to continue building next year.

“It’s our first year and I think it’s a good start — a great start — but just keep building,” he said. “Went to the playoffs, got knocked out first round, but everybody has this feeling of wanting to work and get better. And it’s just a start. McVay changed the culture around here, players bought in, and it’s just the start of something great.”

What would you do?

Explain... and BE HONEST!

If I'm honest, I think I might rationalize... (I feel dirty now)

I'm still mourning the result of the AFC Championship, so I decided to cheer myself up with a mock! Hope y'all like it.

Cut:

Mark Barron
Tavon Austin.

(No explanation necessary for Austin. Barron might cost too much to trade.)

Re-sign:

Aaron Donald - six years
Lamarcus Joyner - five years
Nickell Robey-Coleman - five years
Jake McQuaide - two years
Cornelius Lucas - one year
Troy Hill - ERFA
Malcolm Brown - ERFA
Matt Longacre - RFA


(All fairly obvious. Donald signs a deal that makes him the highest paid defensive player, and we also get Joyner and NRC to lock in the defense. Lucas can play both tackle spots, McQuaide is essential in our special teams, Brown and Longacre are no-brainers, and Hill has earned a stay of execution for now. Unfortunately, this - like @jrry32 's mock - assumes that we can't re-sign Watkins or Tru.)

Free Agents:

Paul Richardson - four years
Weston Richburg - five years
Kyle Fuller - one year
Tahir Whitehead - three years

(Like Jrry, I do like Richardson. I also love Richburg, and I think that the concussion scare will help us afford him. I love Whitehead as a run-stuffing inside linebacker next to Ogletree. Fuller is on a one-year prove-it deal because of injuries, but he's extremely talented.)

Trade:

Robert Quinn to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 2018 second round pick and 2018 third round pick.

(Tampa Bay has absolutely nothing at defensive end. Enter Quinn, who immediately makes their pass rush better. In return, we get a couple of high picks to play with.)

Ethan Westbrooks and 2018 seventh round pick to the Denver Broncos for 2018 fourth round pick.

(With the addition of our first round draft pick, we have little need for Westbrooks. We get a pick for him.)

Sean Mannion to the Washington Redskins for a conditional 2019 fourth round pick.

(We can afford to deal Mannion because I have a quarterback in mind for the draft.)

2018 first, 2018 third (Tampa Bay), 2018 fifth (Redskins) and 2019 second to Green Bay for #14 overall.

(Green Bay tends to trade down a fair bit, and my target is in the higher range.)

Draft:

1st (Green Bay) - Vita Vea, NT, Washington.

(Here we are with the man who will make this defense really stand out. Vea is a load at 6'5", 345 lbs., and he carries that weight well. He's ridiculously powerful, has great hand usage, and is a surprisingly great pass rusher. Think Haloti Ngata, but as a better pass-rusher.)

2nd (Tampa Bay) - Dorance Armstrong Jr., OLB, Kansas.

(Armstrong may be a Jayhawk - gag - but he's a great pass-rusher who should benefit from NFL talent surrounding him.)

3rd - Marcell Frazier, OLB, Missouri.

(Frazier might seem like a homer pick, but he's honestly a good rusher off the edge who should fit perfectly into Wade's scheme.)

4th (Broncos) - J.C. Jackson, CB, Maryland.

(Jackson has off-the-field concerns stemming from an armed robbery arrest at Florida that got him kicked off the team, but he's been clean at Maryland. On the field, he's great in man coverage, and he has rare athleticism at 6'1", 200 lbs.)

4th - Martez Carter, RB, Grambling State.

(Carter can be our Tarik Cohen, our Tyreek Hill, what Tavon Austin was supposed to be. Fast, cat-quick, and he can catch the ball well.)

5th - Folorunso Fatukasi, DE, Connecticut.

(Fatukasi is another mountain of a man who can use sheer brute strength to dominate at the line of scrimmage.)

6th (Lions) - Frank Ginda, ILB, San Jose State.

(Ginda led the entire FBS in tackles. I think he could be a solid backup ILB for us, battling it out with Hager for a spot on the team.)

6th (Bills) - Dane Cruikshank, CB/FS, Arizona.

(Cruikshank - whom, by the way, has an awesome name - really stood out at the East/West Shrine game. He doesn't have a lot of speed, which is why I'm putting him as a free safety. But his coverage is outstanding. He simply blankets receivers and tight ends, and he's a good tackler in open space as well.)

6th - Nic Shimonek, QB, Texas Tech.

(Shimonek also opened some eyes at the East/West Shrine game. He was easily the best quarterback on either squad, he has a live arm, and he looks like a good developmental quarterback to groom behind Goff and potentially gift us with a trade for a high pick.)

Be sure to let me know your thoughts!

Depending on what happens in the Super Bowl, somebody's going to want him to start for their team.
I'm not sure the Eagles can resist the temptation to get a high draft pick for him.

There's just simply not enough starting quality quarterbacks out there to be had.

Mac's other thread with the most watchable movies listed needed a companion thread. Namely, list your most disturbingly unwatchable movies. Not really going after a list of unwatchably bad movies, but those movies which freaked you the fu@& out!
1. Fatal Attraction- Number one on the list for me. The character that Glenn Close played was disturbingly different than the soft, caring character that she played on the Big Chill. She is the worst nightmare for a married guy who fools around, which in this case was a psycho that wouldn't be "ignored" by Michael Douglas' hoped for one-night-stand. This movie scared the shyte out of men in the 80's.
2. Wolf Creek- Wow, this movie was hard to take also...It's an Australian made/based movie in the Australian Outback. A serial killer lures in sympathetic vulnerable people who are the main characters, but it doesn't take long to know that the people you think normally make it out alive in normal horror flicks, don't in this one.
3. The Ring- I used to be a big horror movie lover, and I can normally separate in my mind scary movies from the truly I-can't-watch-it-again response. Something about this movie creeps me out, as the little dead girl moves out of the well in unnatural movements toward her victims.
4. The Passion of the Christ- Disturbing to see the way Jesus was actually tortured and later crucified. Not for the weak of heart. No mas.
5. Super Bowl 36- This isn't a movie of course, but it was the most disturbing sport's moment for me and it's not close. This team was probably the best Ram's team I have ever seen, and should have beaten that Patriots team for a lot of different reasons. I felt like that whole fabulous season was stolen from me, and it is now treated like the crazy aunt in the attic that no one talks about. Max Q is a phrase that is never mentioned, when it was the signature thought that season...I can't watch the tape of that game.

This list is much smaller list than the other for me, because I normally can handle movie horror magic, but not with this list...

View: http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Jared-Goff-Named-to-2018-Pro-Bowl/ee9e6341-2f47-40bf-b237-b76d72bc13aa

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Jared Goff is going to the Pro Bowl
Posted by Josh Alper on January 22, 2018

Getty Images

There wasn’t any need to wait to see if the Eagles advanced to the Super Bowl before replacing quarterback Carson Wentz on the NFC Pro Bowl roster because Wentz’ torn ACL means he wouldn’t play regardless of what happened in the NFC Championship Game.

The league did wait before naming a replacement, however. It will be Rams quarterback Jared Goff, who was selected one pick ahead of Wentz at the top of the 2016 draft.

Goff spent the first half of his rookie season on the bench and then saw his production skyrocket with the arrival of Sean McVay as the Rams’ head coach in 2017. Goff completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 3,804 yards, 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions while leading the Rams to the NFC West title.

Five Rams were on the initial Pro Bowl roster, but defensive tackle Aaron Donald and kicker Greg Zuerlein will not participate in the game. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth and long snapper Jake McQuaide join Goff as more recent additions to the team.

These are excerpts. To read the whole article click the link below.

No gifs or any attempts to ridicule Peter King this time. He's a biased reporter who apparently has no shame over that, yet I read and post his column every Monday morning. So he wins. Further down in the column he does mention how young the Rams are.
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https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/01/22/eagles-patriots-super-bowl-52-nick-foles-tom-brady-peter-king-mmqb

‘We’re Going to the Stinkin’ Super Bowl’: Eagles, Patriots Punch Ticket for Minnesota
Peter King

PHILADELPHIA — Tom Brady, Nick Foles. Goliath, David. Just the way the Eagles like it.

The Philly locker room had no Jalen Ramseys on Sunday night, no mouths writing checks their play won’t be able to cash in Super Bowl 52. This was an admiring place, almost grooving on the fact that they were going to get a shot to knock off the dynasty that simply will not die, led by Bill Belichick and Brady.

“I was eating Tom’s meals all offseason,” said backup quarterback Nate Sudfeld, who must have gone heavy on the avocados.

“We’re playing the greatest quarterback of all time, and probably the greatest coach of all time,” owner Jeffrey Lurie said.

“People doubt Tom,” said defensive end Chris Long, “and he just goes out there and rips people’s hearts out. That’s what we’re up against.”

The Eagles will take their Kombucha-drinking backup quarterback, and their don’t-worry-be-happy head coach, and their dog masks (two players wore the badges of underdogness in the post-game locker room), and they’ll take their chances against the team playing in its eighth Super Bowl in 18 years in Super Bowl 52 in Minneapolis on Feb. 4. “I think we got the stones to hang in there,” said Long.

The Patriots have been at this thing for so long that, while New England was playing in the first three Brady/Belichick Super Bowls, Doug Pederson was Brett Favre’s backup quarterback in Green Bay. And no one was wiping the smile off Pederson’s face in the locker room Sunday night. There would be time for game-planning and logistics early this week.

Now, though, glee.

“We’re going to the Super Bowl,” Pederson said. “We’re going to the stinkin’ Super Bowl.”


ABBIE PARR/GETTY IMAGES

THE INEVITABLE
One game was a 31-point snoozer that still drove the home crowd so crazy fans were doing back flips on the streets outside the ballpark—Philadelphia 38, Minnesota 7. The other game was filled with gasps and dramatic turns and huge plays down the stretch—New England 24, Jacksonville 20.

You’d figure the five-time Super Bowl champs, with the presumptive MVP quarterback, would be on the right side of the snoozer. Not so. It was Foles who engineered the rout, with some Dan Fouts-like deep balls thrown perfectly on the mark. And it was Brady who had to fight for his life, bum hand and all.

How many times do you have to see the Patriots in one of those games you’re sure they’ll lose, and then you keep watching Brady make plays the other quarterback can’t, and you think, Is this game actually 70 minutes long? As Long said, “He just goes out and rips people’s hearts out.”

You’ll think of so many plays, some late in Brady’s two-touchdown-pass, 158-yard fourth quarter against the best rush he’s seen this year. I’ll think of this one: Jacksonville up 20-10, 10:49 left in the game, third-and-18 from the New England 25.

If the Patriots have to punt here, it’s not impossible they’d get the ball back twice in the last, say, eight minutes. It’s quite possible. Just not certain. The Patriots, though, felt an urgency here for sure—and the play-call by offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was perfect.

Jacksonville held back seven men in coverage and rushed four. Four had quite often been enough to pressure and hit Brady all day, and so the Pats kept tight end Dwayne Allen in to chip on the right side, with running back James White chipping on the left before leaking out into the flat. Three receivers—Brandin Cooks and Danny Amendola on the left, Phillip Dorsett on the right.

All three wideouts ran verticals past the first-down line. White got two Jags to chase him. Bad move by Jacksonville. Amendola ran a deep in-cut in front of free safety Tashaun Gipson, and no one doubled Amendola. Brady threw a laser, low, and Amendola snared it just above the carpet. Gain of 21.

That play doesn’t show up on the huge ones of the day. It should. Without it, New England punts, and Jacksonville gets the ball back with 10-and-a-half minutes left at its 30 or so, up 10. There’s a very good chance Jacksonville wins the game. The Patriots scored two minutes later to make it 20-17.

That's the greatness of the Patriots. In the clutch, Brady converts a third-and-18, then goes no-huddle on the next snap and gains 31 on a flea-flicker pass to Dorsett, and scores three plays later. Remember in the Super Bowl last year, when the Patriots calculated how many possessions they’d have in the last 22 or 23 minutes, and knew that down 25 they’d have the ball enough times to have a real chance?

Same thing here. That’s why they needed the conversion so badly—if Jacksonville was efficient, there’s a chance New England could have but one possession the rest of the way.

* * *

THE TEST
“Looks like an ACL,” one top Eagles official told owner Jeffrey Lurie on a sunny Los Angeles afternoon six weeks ago. It wasn’t too sunny for Lurie that day, when he heard his franchise wunderkind, Carson Wentz, stunningly was lost for the season. The Eagles found a way to finish off a win over the Rams. But navigating the future? “I was heartbroken,” Lurie said on Sunday night. “The injuries we had—Darren Sproles, Jason Peters, Jordan Hicks, Chris Maragos, and then the pinnacle, Carson. It was so much to bear. But in this business, you’ve got to be resilient. And we had Nick.”

Nick Foles. He played fine against the Giants, awful against Oakland and Dallas, and then the Eagles’ game plan last week in the playoff win over Atlanta mostly hid Foles. So what would we see Sunday? Who knew? In Foles’s breakout 2013 season, he threw 27 touchdown passes and two picks; in parts of four seasons since, he’d thrown 28 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. He seemed to lose confidence. “When people doubt you, you can feel it. We’re all human and I’m keeping it real. When someone doubts you, you know,” Foles said.

On Sunday, Foles and Sudfeld, the backup, met at the Eagles facility across the street from the Linc around 1 p.m. “We did the hot and cold tubs, contrast,” said Sudfeld. “We just talked about life, just took some deep breaths before this game and talked. Then we got Kombuchas and drove over here. Nick was relaxed.”

He played that way. Beautiful downfield throws—a couple of them pushed, but two were perfect: the 53-yard TD strike to Alshon Jeffery to put the Eagles up 21-7, and the 41-yard fourth-quarter insurance bomb to Torrey Smith that made it 31-7. “He’s not a panic guy,” Long said. “For him now, the preseason’s over. Somebody sits for so long, and then he plays a couple games and it’s 4 degrees out there, it’s not an ideal way to come into the lineup.”

It sounds absurd to put Brady and Foles on the same level entering the Super Bowl. They’re not. But it’s quite likely that Philadelphia’s defense will terrorize Brady much more than the Patriots will hit Foles in Minneapolis. The Eagles converted 71 percent of their third downs on Sunday, against the team with the NFL’s best third-down conversion defense.

The Vikings allowed but 25 percent of third downs to be converted. Foles led scoring drives of 75, 76, 60, 75 and 88 yards in the title game. It’s convenient to say he can’t do it twice in a row, or that the big Super Bowl stage will freak him out. Maybe. “I’m around him all the time,” Sudfeld said. “He’s an anchor who doesn’t get moved by all the waves around him.”

THE COMPLETE TEAM
New England 24, Jacksonville 20.

Jags ball. Fourth-and-15 at the New England 43, 1:53 left in the game.

If Brady can convert third-and-18 to save the Patriots, maybe Bortles figured it was his time to take that next step in his professional life: a dagger into the five-time Super Bowl champions. Needing a conversion, Bortles went for more. He stepped up in the pocket, saw rookie Dede Westbrook sprinting from the left slot straight for the right pylon, with New England cornerback Stephon Gilmore a half-step behind.

From Foxboro, Gilmore, the rich free-agent whose play hasn’t always reflected his salary in his first year in New England, picks up the story.

“I kind of anticipated the play,” Gilmore said. “We saw it, I think, twice earlier in the game, so it’s a play they like to run. I have [Westbrook]—that’s the guy the coaches wanted me on. The one thing they tell us a lot here—Coach Belichick, Matty P [defensive coordinator Matt Patricia] and [cornerbacks coach] Josh Boyer—is, ‘Don’t worry about the receiver. Worry about the ball. You be the receiver.’ I trust my technique and ball skills. So at the top of his route, I see the ball. I reach up [with his right hand], and I think I’ve got a good shot to get it and I just knock it down.”

The stunning nature of the pass-breakup was made more significant because it looked like Gilmore stretched his entire body, with his right hand reaching for the sky, to get a piece of the ball. It’s a beautiful defensive play, if there is such a thing, and it made the Foxboro crowd go bonkers.

“You think it would have been a touchdown if you don’t deflect it?” I asked.

“I wasn’t letting him catch it,” he said.

Early in the season, Gilmore, the Buffalo transplant, struggled with communication and his confidence in the Belichick defense. He’s come a long way, and his play, plus one more New England first down, ended the game.

“I’m going to the Super Bowl,” Gilmore said. “That’s the big reason why I came here. It’s pretty great.”

The Patriots get guys like Gilmore and James Harrison and Phillip Dorsett to make plays to win games like this one. New England has won them regularly for 17 years. One day the clock’s going to run out. Right? Right?

* * *

THE QUESTIONS
In 2001, 2003 and 2004, the Patriots began their run of greatness by winning Super Bowls. Could they cap the run identically? With Tom Brady quarterbacking, Bill Belichick coaching, and Super Bowl victories in the 2014, 2016 and 2017 seasons?

Would Belichick walk away if so? Or would he want one more major challenge: winning big again without the two men who have coordinated the offense and defense—Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia are bound for NFL head-coaching jobs—for the past six seasons?

New England came back from 25 down to win the Super Bowl last year, seven down to beat Tennessee in this year’s divisional game, 10 down to beat Jacksonville. Can Philadelphia and a coach hired to coach modern athletes get a lead against the toughest and most talented star/coach duo in sports today, and maybe ever?

“We’re in it to win it,” Lurie told me on Sunday night. I don’t doubt that. In the long history of sports in Philadelphia, beating the big, bad, unbeatable Patriots would be the best sports win here. Ever.

* * *

THE BASICS
New England (15-3, first seed, AFC) vs. Philadelphia (15-3, first seed, NFC), Sunday, Feb. 4, 5:30 p.m. CT, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, NBC. The Eagles will feel right at home as six-point underdogs to New England. It’ll be the third straight playoff game (Falcons by 2.5, Vikings by three) in which Philly won’t be favored … The biggest injury question will be Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski’s concussion; he was in the league’s protocol after a hit in the first half on Sunday. Thirteen days off should help …

You never know how teams will respond to Super Bowl pressure. But there shouldn’t be any on New England, not after having veterans who have played in multiple Super Bowls with a quarterback who has played so well in huge games. I’d say the Eagles would be vulnerable to the pressure, but they sure didn’t look uptight in the NFL title game … The Patriots will practice at the Vikings’ facility in Eden Prairie, south of the city. The Eagles will work out closer to downtown, at the University of Minnesota practice facility …

Rookie pass-rusher Derek Barnett of the Eagles strip-sacked Vikings quarterback Case Keenum on Sunday, a huge play in the first half leading to a Philadelphia touchdown. Interesting twist to the story: The Eagles traded quarterback Sam Bradford to Minnesota on the weekend before the 2016 season began, and Philadelphia got a 2017 first-round pick in return.

That pick, 14th overall, was the one used by Philly to take Barnett … The Patriots will have to do better than 19 rushing attempts for 46 yards (their total Sunday) to have a good chance to win the Super Bowl.

* * *

‘I THINK HE MIGHT BE BILL COWHER’
That’s what one club official told me during the coaching searches of the past three weeks, referring to the latest hire on the NFL coaching scene: Mike Vrabel as head coach in Tennessee. Vrabel continues a trend of hires and moves and interviews with Bill Belichick’s fingerprints all over them.

As a first-year defensive coordinator in Houston, Vrabel oversaw a defense that finished dead last in points allowed and was 20th in yards allowed; that’s a bit misleading because of the early-season losses of J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus. But the numbers are the numbers.

It was his commanding presence, and his pedigree as a player, that helped him get hot this month. He played five years as a linebacker and special-teamer under Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh, then moved on to play linebacker and some offense for eight years with Belichick before finishing his career with two seasons in Kansas City.

It’s been an amazing January, actually, if you consider what a tribute it’s been to Belichick and the Patriots. Other than Jon Gruden to the Raiders, seven teams that have shuffled or are shuffling coaching staffs or front offices have Patriot tributaries.

• Arizona: Cards have interviewed Pats linebackers coach Brian Flores, a 10-year Patriots’ assistant under Belichick. Last job open.

• Detroit: GM Bob Quinn, who worked for seven years in personnel in New England under Belichick, is on the verge of hiring Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. Quinn also interviewed Vrabel, who impressed the Lions by quizzing Matthew Stafford the night before his interview.

• Chicago: Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, a Belichick aide for 14 years, interviewed for the Bears job that Matt Nagy won.

• Houston: Coach Bill O’Brien, five years an assistant with the Patriots under Belichick, took the power with the Texans as GM Rick Smith stepped away to deal with his wife’s illness. An O’Brien choice, Brian Gaine, will be the new GM, and now O’Brien will have significantly more say in personnel matters. Belichick, of course, owns personnel calls in New England.

• Indianapolis: The long-time Patriots rivals are close to naming McDaniels their new coach. He’s the longest-serving mentor to Tom Brady and likely the most trusted assistant to Belichick since he became Patriots coach in 2000.

• New York Giants: Interviewed both Patricia and McDaniels and liked Patricia quite a bit.

• Tennessee: GM Jon Robinson talks openly about the debt he owes to Belichick and ex-Patriots personnel czar Scott Pioli for enabling him to run an NFL team, and Robinson brought in an eight-year Patriot as his first major hire as GM. Vrabel has always extolled the physical style of play that Robinson likes.

He’ll also bring with him the Belichick freshness in game-planning and personnel. But Vrabel didn’t get the universal seal of approval. Seth Payne, the 10-year NFL vet who now does Houston drive-time radio, said on Twitter after the hire: “Vrabel is a very good linebackers coach. Beyond that, I don’t have a clue … It’s hard to find anyone who is upset that he’s leaving.”

The Arizona job is still a mystery, and I don’t know if Flores has a real chance there. But if he gets it, that will be four former Belichick assistants or players getting open coaching jobs.

* * *

THE AWARD SECTION

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Tom Brady, quarterback, New England. The numbers: 26 of 38, 290 yards, two touchdowns. Twelve stitches, too. Add it all up and it resulted in the 54th comeback win of his career, the 40-year-old's 8th AFC crown. But as usual with Brady, the numbers don’t matter as much as the on-field results. Playing without tight end Rob Gronkowski for the second half, Brady and the Patriots offense still found a way to overcome a two-score deficit to beat a more-than-game Jacksonville team. Now, Brady chases another number: Super Bowl win No. 6.

Nick Foles, quarterback, Philadelphia. Since Carson Wentz went down, the focus on Philadelphia has been on Nick Foles and whether the team could continue to win games almost in spite of the backup quarterback. On Sunday they won because of him. Foles was brilliant in completing 26 of 33 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns. Now, the underdog Eagles, led by Foles, will again try to stun the world against a team making its eighth Super Bowl appearance under the same coach and quarterback.

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Patrick Robinson, cornerback, Philadelphia. His pick of a Case Keenum interception at midfield wasn’t the big play. His return was. The 50-yard runback midway through the first quarter negated the Vikings’ early 7-0 lead, and the return was one of the best plays of the day, in either of the championship games.

Robinson could have taken the ball and pushed forward at the far left side of the field, where he picked it, but instead, he gamboled across the field, pointed to the one guy—Minnesota running back Jerick McKinnon—who could have roadblocked him around the 15-yard line, waiting momentarily while cornerback Ronald Darby blocked McKinnon. (That’s polite—McKinnon wrecked Darby, but the temporary speedbump that Darby created was crucial.) And Robinson sneaked in next to the right pylon for the touchdown … the first of 38 straight points by the rampaging Eagles.

Stephon Gilmore, cornerback, New England. The single most athletic play of the day saved the Patriots, as you no doubt have seen 10 or 30 times since Sunday at dusk. On fourth-and-15 from the Patriots’ 43-yards line, Blake Bortles sent a beautiful arcing pass toward the hands of wideout Dede Westbrook.

Gilmore leaped and raised one hand high enough to bat the ball away. “No need to try for the interception on fourth down,” he told me. “You just bat it away and Tommy gets it back.” Exactly. Gilmore had five tackles and one other pass defensed, but it’s the one he knocked away from Westbrook that will live in Patriots’ lore forever.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Danny Amendola, punt-returner/wide receiver, New England. On a day (and night) of middling special-teams play, Amendola made two plays in the last five minutes that sealed the game. At the five-minute mark, he took a Brad Nortman punt at midfield and sprinted 20 yards up the left side, giving Tom Brady—as if he needed it—ridiculous field position, at the Jags’ 30-yard line.

Five plays later, Amendola, trolling the back of the end zone, caught a Brady highball a foot inside the end line for the winning touchdown. No Edelman. No Gronkowski, for 70 percent of the game. No problem. Teammate Dion Lewis summed it up thusly: “Amendola is a f---ing animal. I'm cursing, I don't care. He's a beast, man.”

COACH OF THE WEEK

Bill Belichick, head coach, New England. Eighteen seasons in New England. Eight Super Bowls. That is all.

* * *

Stat of the Week

The youth of the Rams’ offensive attack is downright incredible. Consider:

• The coach and offensive brainiac of the Rams, Sean McVay turns 32 on Thursday. The offensive coordinator, Matt LaFleur, is 38.
• Average age of McVay/LaFleur: 35 years, 1 month. Age of Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth: 36 years, 1 month.
• The nine Rams offensive players who touched the ball in their playoff loss to Atlanta are all 25 or younger.

That last one blows me away. But let’s look. The quarterback who handled the ball on every offensive snap, Jared Goff, is 23. The other eight men with their hands on the ball either in the running, receiving or return game:

Player /Touches/ Age
RB Todd Gurley/ 18/ 23
KR/PR Pharoh Cooper/ 10/ 22
WR Robert Woods/ 9/ 25
WR Cooper Kupp/ 8/ 24
RB Malcolm Brown/ 2/ 24
WR Sammy Watkins/ 1/ 24
TE Gerald Everett/ 1/ 23
TE Tyler Higbee/ 1/ 25

Average age of the nine players who touched the ball for the Rams in the wild-card game: 24 years, 4 months.

* * *

THINGS I THINK I THINK

1. I think these are my quick thoughts on Championship Sunday:

a. No wonder Tom Brady doesn’t want to retire.

b. What was the sure thing out of the NFC game? You turn it over, you lose. Eagles got 14 points off a Case Keenum pick and a Case Keenum fumble off a strip-sack, and it was 24-7 at the half. Ballgame.

c. Keenum picked a bad time to have the world fall on his head.

d. Amazing to me that Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz didn’t get more of a run in the post-season coaching search.

e. Arizona GM Steve Keim: You’ve got the field. You can wait. Remember the last time you had a coach to pick? When you got “stuck” with Bruce Arians after he won coach of the year as an interim? That worked out pretty well. I’d have a second chat with Schwartz.

f. Josh Lambo, acing a 54-yard field goal like it’s a driving-range 3-wood on a lazy summer afternoon.

g. Re the fourth-quarter confirmation of the fumble call on the field by Dion Lewis of the Patriots: I don’t like a ruling of a fumble when the player never loses the ball, his knee hits the ground, and he still hasn’t lost control. He doesn’t have a vice-grip on the ball, but he is controlling the ball enough so that it’s not on the turf.

h. Great inside blitz by Myles Jack to stun Brady and force him to throw it away with six minutes left in the game. The great thing is, Jack didn’t give it away; Brady didn’t know it was coming until too late.

i. Sixty-year-old James Harrison, just when the Patriots needed him, at the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter, with the Jags driving for the winning touchdown, with the strip-sack of Blake Bortles, making it third-and-19. Too big a hill to climb for the Jags.

j. Blake Bortles: I’ve got a lot of respect for you. It’s taken me, and America, a long time to say that, but good for you, playing at this level, nose-to-nose with the great Brady.

k. “WHO IS THIS GUY!” Tony Romo yelled late in the first half, as Bortles was motoring the Jaguars down the field for the third time of the half. Good question. Apparently, this guy was playing the game of his life. At the half, Bortles was 13 of 15 for 155 yards, and excellent on third down.

l. If Stephon Gilmore doesn’t make the play of his life, who knows? Maybe Bortles gets Jacksonville in the end zone.

m. Important, smart read from Rick Gosselin, longtime Pro Football Hall of Fame voter, on how so many cases of so many deserving players don’t get heard (or heard enough) by the 48-person Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee.

n. Gosselin is one of the most conscientious and faithful people I’ve met in any line of work. His points should be heard from one end of the NFL to the other.

2. I think anyone’s first reaction would be to fire Jets wide receiver Robby Anderson, after he was arrested for driving 105 in a 45-mph zone in Florida and reportedly saying he would sexually assault the officer’s wife. The Jets usually give good players a lot of leeway, though, and I’d expect they’ll do the same with Anderson after his semi-breakout season in 2017. But Anderson is already facing one resisting-arrest charge after an incident last March, so he’s almost certain to be in last-chance territory if the Jets decide to keep him.

3. I think I always consider the Senior Bowl the start of draft season, and the first practice for the North and South teams is Tuesday in Mobile, Ala., with likely every head coach and GM in attendance (save the Super Bowl teams). I find it odd that the North team has the three best quarterbacks in the game—Josh Allen (Wyoming), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma) and Luke Falk (Washington State), along with a fourth passer who could be a mid-round pick, Tanner Lee of Nebraska.

(The South QBs: Kurt Benkert of Virginia, Mike White of Western Kentucky, Brandon Silvers of Troy and Kyle Lauletta of Richmond.) I’ve long respected the opinion of 30-year NFL scout Greg Gabriel, now an NFL analyst for Pro Football Weekly. Despite the media love of this quarterback class (including Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen), Gabriel is skeptical. “Last year people said the quarterback class sucked,” Gabriel said. “I said, no, it’s pretty good. Three are going in the top 10. I wrote that in the 2016 season.” Mitchell Trubisky (three), Pat Mahomes (10) and Deshaun Watson (12) came close.

• Gabriel, on the meaning of the Senior Bowl: “It’s changed. Four quarterbacks on each team—how many reps can each one of them get? You hear guys are going to separate themselves in practice. That’s hogwash. Three or four years ago that might have been so. But they’ve cut out the Monday practice; now they practice full on Tuesday and Wednesday and then a lighter practice Thursday and a walk-through Friday.”

• On the QB class of 2018: “It’s an average class, based on their production. You look at a lot of things when you’re evaluating quarterbacks, not only looking at the production, but the offense he’s in, and what he’s been asked to do. Does he have a half-field read, or is it an RPO [run-pass option offense]. Sam Darnold [of USC] … You expected Darnold to have a really good year after his 2016 season. He’s got the weirdest throwing motion, a semi-sidearm, in between over the top and in between. Can the coaches fix that? Or do you just leave him alone? I think he’s the most talented guy, based on level of comp, leadership, his flashes.

I’m not a Josh Rosen [of UCLA] guy. His mechanics are so good, but I’m not convinced about his arm strength. [Wyoming’s] Josh Allen: I can’t buy into him. When he goes up in competition, his numbers fall off. Look at his Iowa game this year, his Nebraska game, his big games. [Against his three biggest foes—Nebraska, Oregon, Iowa—Allen had an NFL passer rating of 31.0, with one TD and eight interceptions.] He doesn’t feel the rush well. He’s a retreater. Great arm, great size, great athlete. Nobody with as low a completion percentage as him in college [56.2 percent] has had great success in the NFL. He should be seven, eight, 10 percent higher.

• On his advice for GMs who need quarterbacks: “I say it’s average, but at the same time history says you overdraft these guys. Four teams in the top seven—the Browns [picking one and four], Giants [four], Broncos [five] and Jets [six] have a pretty big need. Buffalo’s picking 21 and 22; they’re gonna take one. But the veteran quarterbacks will have a huge impact. Kirk Cousins, Alex Smith, Case Keenum—what happens to them? How do they impact the rookies? I think Cousins gets a lot of money. Smith will too.”

Last point on that: Smith has a $14.5 million salary in 2018, his walk year, with a $2 million roster bonus due in training camp. So the Chiefs have a little time to figure out what to do with him. It’s likely if he’s dealt (Cleveland? Arizona? The Jets? Denver?), it would be before the draft.

4. I think the Raiders can certainly say they complied with the Rooney Rule in interviewing tight ends coach Bobby Johnson and USC assistant Tee Martin. But come on. That’s tokenism at its finest. Here’s what the Raiders should have done.

They should have told the league they’ve been trying to hire Jon Gruden for years (true) and instead of doing a couple of sham interviews after knowing Gruden was their guy, they should have said this: In the spirit of Al Davis, the biggest champion of minority coaches in NFL history, we’ll donate $500,000 to fund 10 coaching fellowships so that good minority coaching prospects can have a full season to develop at college or pro programs. And good for the Fritz Pollard Alliance for calling out the Raiders for this sham job.

5. I think this is the way a smart beat writer does his job. Take a bow, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In summing up the woes of a talented but troubled team, Bouchette writes about one of their biggest stars, free-agent running back Le’Veon Bell:

“Bell performed as well as expected in 2017 and made All-Pro again. But he also threatened to sit out the year if they put the franchise tag on him for the second time. That tag will be 20 percent higher than last year’s $12.12 million, so make it $14.57.

It’s probably an idle threat, but the Steelers have to be reaching a point where they ask, is he worth it? He turned down their offer last year of a contract that would have paid him more than $12 million on average per year and more than $30 million in the first two. The next highest-paid backs earn $8.5 million per year. His agent wanted to take it, Bell did not.

“So what’s to make anyone think they can come to terms on a multiple-year deal this time? If they can’t, using that franchise tag would stress their salary cap because it all would count against it in 2018. Over The Cap pegs their cap room at $2.7 million, pending a rise in the cap, for their top 51 contracts (the only ones who count in the offseason). That does not include Bell.

If they do reach the breaking point, they could use that $14.57 million elsewhere—or not make moves to find the room—and draft another halfback in the first or second round. If Bell leaves as a free agent, the Steelers would receive a compensatory draft pick in 2019, perhaps in the third round.

“It’s possible Le’Veon Bell will not play for the Steelers in 2018.”

6. I think, as I wrote the other day, the Steelers will not be firing Mike Tomlin. Can’t emphasize this number enough … The Steelers have had three coaches over the past 49 football seasons. The seasons and winning percentages of all three:

Mike Tomlin (11 years), .649
Bill Cowher (15 years), .619
Chuck Noll (23 years), .572

7. I think it’s possible that I have heard more calls from Steeler fans to fire Mike Tomlin (26-10 in the last two years) than I have heard from Browns fans to fire Hue Jackson (1-31 in the last two years). People, please get a hold of your collective self.

8. I think I am just sick about the suicide of Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski. I didn’t know him, and I know nothing about the circumstances of his death, but I just keep thinking of the intense emotions you feel about a lot of things at age 21, and all I can do is wish someone was with him when his life got so dark.

I remember being on a treadmill back in September watching the ESPN highlights one morning, and I’ve always been taken with Mike Leach’s offense, and I have a vague recollection of one of those crazy comebacks by a western team long after I was asleep—and now I come to find out it was backup quarterback Hilinski who engineered it, bringing Washington State back from a 31-10 deficit against Boise State with eight minutes to go, tying the game late and winning it in the third overtime with a Hilinski touchdown pass.

Then this week happened. And then I saw the photo of him carried off the field in jubilation by the home crowd after that comeback against Boise State. Excellent job on the grief in Pullman in this Facebook post by Eric Johnson of KOMO TV.

9. I think, truly, that Bruce Arians would be terrific on “Monday Night Football,” if anyone at ESPN is listening. He’s through coaching. He’s irascible. He’s highly opinionated.

Philly getting to the bowl and taking a dump on Minnesota should be perspective for some that are quick to criticize Goff after every loss and critique the Rams for not selecting Wentz. I've seen some even point to Goff as a system QB. Well, the Philly system took Nick Foles to the SB, and a 350 yard game w 3 TDs in the NFC title.

Maybe it takes a whole team to make a young QB look elite. Philly is superior to the Rams across the lines and defensive front 7. Their coaching is elite, like ours. Looking at Snead and mcVay to fix those personnel deficiencies.

Also, Keenum nut huggers can calm down. Guy looked like a backup QB today after falling behind.

Yet another Super Bowl appearance for the hated Cheatriots. People tell me they're good, which I will never admit because I am genetically unable to do so. But the fact is they are there almost every year in recent years. They supposedly made it impossible for dynasties like this to form, via free agency. I am sure all of the bandwagon Patriot fans and home grown ones will watch this game. Iggles fans will too, of course....

But seriously, I have no desire to ever watch another Super Bowl if the Patriots are in it (unless the Rams are in it, of course). I know from the other thread that many here won't watch it. There are other reasons that I won't go into here that have all been discussed for decreased NFL viewership. I bet that fewer will watch it this year as compared to last year. Thirteen teams in the NFL have never won a Super Bowl, of which the Eagles are one. This will be the 52nd Super Bowl, and about 41% of NFL teams/cities have never won it.

You can tell me that the losers just have to manage better, draft better, and be coached better. After 52 years, those answers get old and are unsatisfying. I have no answers or even suggestions as how to fix it. But as other sports become more popular with kids whose parents won't let them play tackle football due to CTE issues, the NFL can't afford to leave +40% of the NFL team's fan bases, constantly frustrated, year after year.

Yeah. I’m beyond done with the Pats shitshow.

I don’t care about them and can’t stand the “coincidences” that lead to victory.

That late PI after they let them play all game?

Same shit and I don’t feel like wasting my snack money to lose my appetite watching that mess.

Time to start focusing on the draft. Don’t care who wins the NFC as they have zero chance.

Moving on...

Growing up in northeast Montana, every week we were force-fed Viking games via the TV station we received from North Dakota. My brother was a Viking fan and I was a Rams fan. This game was one for the ages. Although we lost, I still remember all of those players from both teams. Those were the good old days when pregame shows didn't last five hours and feature ego-driven ex-players and coaches playing Pictionary.

To pass the time until the games start later today, check out this replay of the game (complete with commercials) called by Vin Scully. Enjoy. Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTm-Viq96vk

NFC Championship: why the Vikings match up so well against the Eagles

The No. 1 seed Eagles (14-3) and No. 2 seed Vikings (14-3) have been working toward their matchup in Sunday's NFC championship game all season. Despite the attention they're getting for arriving with Nick Foles and Case Keenum as their quarterbacks, the teams have won big because of the basics.

The Eagles and Vikings ranked 1-2 in run defense during the regular season. The Vikings were No. 1 in both total and scoring defense; the Eagles were No. 4. Offensively, the Eagles had the No. 3 rushing offense, while the Vikings ranked No. 7.


That means, down to the QBs, everything is pretty even with a trip to Super Bowl LII on the line. Will the Vikings "bring it home" as 3 1/2-point favorites, or will the Eagles hold serve at home for a second consecutive week?

Here's a breakdown of how the teams stack up against each other.

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP: Picks, predictions, odds for Vikings vs. Eagles

When Eagles have the ball
Running game
The Eagles' rushing attack will try to fare better than the Saints' vaunted one, which was held to 80 yards on 24 carries against the Vikings in the divisional round. They're better off sticking with their base one-back, three-wide receiver, one-tight end set instead of trying two-tight to run the ball. When the Vikings go into nickel to counter, they take out a pretty good run defender in weakside linebacker Ben Gedeon.

Philadelphia also needs to stick more with Jay Ajayi, who got only 15 carries in relation to nine for LeGarrette Blount against Atlanta. Ajayi is the more effective back, inside and outside. Blount will be stuffed even worse against a Vikings front that can swarm his deliberate running style. Contrary to popular belief, Ajayi is better built than Blount to get the tough yards between the tackles when not much is there.

It's a no-brainer for the Eagles to run more to the right behind center Jason Kelce, guard Brandon Brooks and tackle Lane Johnson. That also means going away from Everson Griffen and Linval Joseph, where Brooks can dominate Tom Johnson and Lane Johnson can get the better of Danielle Hunter.

That two-tiered personnel plan will give the Eagles the best chance to have viability on the ground. But it will have limited success unless Foles can open up the passing game.

Passing game
Foles still needs to get the ball out quickly to stay in rhythm within coach Doug Pederson's West Coast offense. But the speed and closing ability of Vikings' linebackers and safeties means he needs to execute on some intermediate-to-deep passes downfield, too. Speedy wide receiver Torrey Smith will be covered well outside and is limited as a pure vertical threat. Tight end Zach Ertz also faces the team that was the best at covering his position this season.

So even with top wide receiver Alshon Jeffery likely shadowed by Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes, Foles can't be afraid to go there. Jeffery (6-3, 218 pounds) has the size, speed and leaping ability to beat Rhodes (6-1, 218 pounds) on occasion in what should be a fun battle to watch. The chemistry between the two hasn't been great, but the QB needs to target the WR more often after Jeffery caught four of his five targets for 61 yards against the Falcons.

Foles hasn't been called upon much to break out of his comfort zone, but he has to do so Sunday. He has to use his mobility to buy time and let the longer routes develop. He also needs to throw more often to his breakout playmaker in the slot, who also has the Eagles' best matchup.

Eagles' best matchup
WR Nelson Agholor vs. Vikings CB Terence Newman: Agholor was a big-play and red-zone scoring machine for Carson Wentz. But after one good first game with Foles against the Giants, he's been a non-factor, save for his inside rushing play against the Falcons.

Despite a great matchup in the divisional round, Agholor got only three targets — catching them all for 21 yards. Agholor, 24, has speed, quickness and youth advantages over Newman, 39. They are similar in size, but Agholor is a little bigger. The Eagles will not win unless Agholor is involved a lot more all over the field in the passing game.

Eagles' worst matchup
LT Halapoulivaati Vaitai vs. Vikings DE Everson Griffen: The Eagles haven't been haunted much by the loss of injured left tackle Jason Peters. In their most important game of the season, though, they are likely to feel Peters' absence over and over again.

Griffen is coming off a monster season with 13 sacks, and kept it going with a takedown of Drew Brees last week. Vaitai will be a turnstile and might force the Eagles to bring in tight end Brent Celek more at the cost of taking Agholor out of the game.

MORE: Top 52 players left in NFL playoffs

Eagles' offensive X-factor
RB Corey Clement: The Vikings shut down Mark Ingram easily last week, but they had trouble at times with Alvin Kamara, especially in the passing game. Clement isn't the talent Kamara is, of course, but he was busy as a receiver against the Falcons, catching all five targets for 31 yards.

Clement, like Agholor, provides an extra speed and quickness element in the red zone. He needs to get his chances to see what he can do in the open field.

Vikings' defensive X-factor
CB Trae Waynes: Once much maligned as the corner opposite Rhodes, Waynes has come into his own to be more of an asset than a liability. Because of Rhodes on Jeffery and the possibility of the Eagles needing to go more two-tight end, they are bound to test Waynes against Smith more than a few times, even if they shouldn't.

In that case, Waynes will be set up to make a game-changing interception.

When Vikings have the ball
Running game
The Vikings had flashes of success with Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon early against the Saints, as both scored touchdowns. But their overall ineffectiveness (29 carries, 95 yards) almost cost them late as the offense went into a shell with a big lead.

The Vikings' rushing attack is bound to face tough sledding against a better front seven Sunday. With an offensive line in flux and facing some difficult assignments against the Eagles' defensive line, the Vikings need some blocking support. They're better off going two-tight end over two-back, because second tight end David Morgan is a far better blocker than fullback C.J. Ham.

The Vikings need to stick with the run to open up downfield shots in the passing game, but they need to do it the right way, without an overcommitment. The challenge of striking a delicate balance falls on offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.

Passing game
The Vikings like to be aggressive with Keenum, which is the best way to attack the Eagles, anyway. Wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs were spectacular all season, and they kept it up against the Saints, down to the last miracle play. Tight end Kyle Rudolph wasn't a big factor in the divisional round, but big, athletic types like him have given the Eagles fits in coverage. Keenum has been in the zone spreading the ball to this top three targets, and Shurmur uses them well based on situation.

Thielen excels in the slot, but if the Vikings are going two-tight to run the ball, he has a better matchup outside against cornerback Ronald Darby. When the Vikings spread the field against the Saints, Jarius Wright resurfaced as a key No. 3 wideout. He gives them versatility in how they can line up Thielen from formation to formation.

Shurmur likely is getting the Giants' head-coaching job in part because of how good he is at deploying varied personnel. Look for him to also get the backs involved in the passing game to test the Eagles' linebackers in coverage.

Vikings' best matchup
WR Stefon Diggs vs. Eagles CB Jalen Mills: Diggs isn't done exploding after that 61-yard prayer that allowed the Vikings to advance to the championship game. Mills can't stay with Diggs and his game-breaking ability.

They are both listed as 6-0, 191 pounds, so they will see eye-to-eye, but Diggs will be hard to stop whether he's streaking downfield or setting up Mills for a double move. Diggs can easily match or surpass his production against the Saints to take over the game.

Vikings' worst matchup
RT Rashod Hill vs. Eagles DE Brandon Graham: The Vikings had to move Mike Remmers to left guard because of a season-ending injury to Nick Easton, which has pressed Hill into duty at Remmers' regular spot at right tackle. It's been an up-and-down year for the Vikings' revamped line overall, but Hill struggled mightily against the Saints' Cameron Jordan last week.

He likely won't get too much help in passing situations, because the Vikings' best lineman, right guard Joe Berger, will be busy with Fletcher Cox, and Rudolph will be needed to run routes. On running plays, Rudolph can help, but Hill will likely prompt the Vikings to run left more often behind Remmers, left tackle Riley Reiff and center Pat Elflein.

Vikings' offensive X-factor
RB Jerick McKinnon: The Eagles have had trouble covering speedy backs of McKinnon's ilk this season. Last week, the Falcons didn't use Tevin Coleman nearly as much as they should have in a receiving capacity. McKinnon has had a couple huge games as an outlet receiver for Keenum. He's a mismatch in open field to whom the Vikings need to throw at least a half-dozen times.

Eagles' defensive X-factor
DE Chris Long: He's trying to get back to another Super Bowl after the experience of winning it all with the Patriots last season. He'll have his chances for sacks against Hill, too, in obvious passing situations when the Eagles move Graham inside to tackle. Long has played well in a limited role, and his motor and motivation as a leader can lift another team into the big game.

Prediction
The defenses will make things tough on both offenses, but it's easier to trust Keenum and what's around him than Foles. The Vikings, fresh off a miracle, will be determined not to miss their date with destiny, flying to the ball and making the bigger plays on both sides.

Vikings 19, Eagles 16

http://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nfl/...rediction-analysis/1gpgb2d78jhrx1j29kb7l1xd00

AFC Championship; why the Jaguars match up so well

The Patriots will face a new challenger in their seventh consecutive AFC championship game Sunday. The Jaguars follow the Ravens, Broncos, Colts and Steelers in trying to get the better of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

New England is not invincible, given it has split the previous six trips, including a home loss to Baltimore as more than a touchdown favorite five years ago. Jacksonville is a nine-point underdog in 2018, but it's a team built mentally and physically to give the reigning champion a game.

The Jaguars won't be trying to out-scheme Belichick or fool Brady. Many of them are too young to care about the Patriots' mystique and won't come into the game intimidated. They'll line up and be confident that their immense talent on defense will win them another game.

Here's a complete breakdown of the Patriots-Jaguars matchup before they battle to advance to Super Bowl LII.

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP: Picks, predictions, odds for Patriots vs. Jaguars

When Patriots have the ball
Running game
The Patriots have embraced the identity of a power-rushing team. Their No. 10 ground attack against the Jaguars' No. 21 run defense is the key to opening up everything else in the offense. Even though Rex Burkhead is expected to return, Dion Lewis should keep dominating touches. Because of Lewis' much-improved work between the tackles and still-dynamic ability as an outlet receiver in open field, he keeps the Patriots at their most unpredictable and versatile.

The Jaguars have been much better in stopping the run since they acquired tackle Marcell Dareus at midseason. He'll be in there for base 4-3 sets. If the Patriots go two-back with fullback James Develin as a lead blocker for Lewis, it will help, but that would also limit the number of receiving options. Going more two-tight end to run the ball will mean there's both some strong edge blocking aid from Rob Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen and two targets who can stretch the middle of the field. To be effective running, the Patriots will need to have a mix of both alignments against the Jaguars' consistent Cover 3.

With the Jaguars being so strong at end in their base with Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue, and given the speed of outside linebacker Telvin Smith, it will be hard for the Patriots to get the perimeter running game going. Lewis will need to use his elusiveness to maximize yardage against a strong tackling opponent.

Expect New England to be patient about establishing power, because Brady will need it to keep the "Sacksonville" pass rush at bay early and wear it down late. Balance is critical for Brady to hit on any big pass plays

Passing game
The Patriots' starting wide receivers, Brandin Cooks and Chris Hogan, will struggle with the size and tight coverage of Jaguars cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye. When the Patriots go three wide, Danny Amendola doesn't have an easy spot in the slot, either, against underrated nickel back Aaron Colvin.

There's been buzz about Ramsey covering Gronkowski when the latter isn't in-line as a tight end. But don't expect the Jaguars to deviate from Ramsey and Bouye handling their thirds of the field outside, with safeties Tashaun Gipson and Barry Church toggling between deep middle and run support/blitz responsibilities. Brady won't be seeing multiple looks, but he won't be thrilled about the one he does see.

The Jaguars trust Smith and Myles Jack to cover anyone on the second level, and before Paul Posluszny exits for Colvin on third downs, he plays the pass better than you think. Amendola and the Patriots' backs were big factors against the Titans because they were so weak in back seven coverage. Jacksonville is the opposite of that, and it won't mind giving up plays to Gronk if it can shut down everyone else.

New England's best chance to move the ball through the air will be Gronkowski rumbling downfield — an out no other team has against the NFL's best pass defense. Brady will also try to facilitate his receivers with some hurry-up possessions to catch the Jaguars in the wrong personnel groupings.

Patriots' best matchup
LT Nate Solder vs. Jaguars DE Dante Fowler Jr.: When the Patriots go three wide, the Jaguars will put Campbell inside and bring in Fowler as a situational pass rusher. He has run hot and cold this season in getting to the quarterback. So while the Patriots' two best offensive linemen, center David Andrews and right guard Shaq Mason, work to keep Campbell from getting to Brady's face, he should know his blindside should be secure.

The Patriots should want to use this formation before third down so it gives Lewis, Burkhead or James White a better chance to make something happen running to the left behind Solder and left guard Joe Thuney. That would attack a bigger weakness of Fowler while also running away from Campbell when Dareus isn't in the game.

Patriots' worst matchup
Cooks and Hogan vs. Bouye and Ramsey: This is why the Jaguars won't mess with Ramsey vs. Gronk. Their duo can shut down Cooks and Hogan by themselves, because neither is Antonio Brown. Cooks has disappeared outside in several games. That forces the Patriots to work inside, where Brady will need to keep throwing into tight windows with a bunch of other defenders who can close in a hurry.

Ben Roethlisberger had the benefit of better wideouts overall — plus running back Le'Veon Bell — to make spectacular catches in tough coverage and traffic. The Jaguars still won with Brown and Bell going off, and they'll expect to be fine in the bigger picture even if Lewis and Gronk do some damage.

Patriots' offensive X-factor
TE Dwayne Allen: He has not been a big part of the Patriots' passing game, but he has been a great fit for their blocking, delivering on the level of Gronk in that capacity. It won't take more than, say, three catches for 30 yards for Allen to have considerable contributions to a few scoring drives.

Jaguars' defensive X-factor
DT Malik Jackson: Much has been made about Tom Coughlin knowing how to beat the Patriots with a strong front four. But on a team full of younger players with little playoff experience, Jackson is the one who's been on the field to defeat New England twice in the AFC championship game while in Denver.

Jackson was a beast in the games against Buffalo and Pittsburgh as Jacksonville's savvy anchor. Campbell and Ngakoue have the double-digit sacks, but Jackson can have a bigger overall impact vs. run and pass Sunday.

When Jaguars have the ball
Running game
On paper, this looks like a great advantage for Jacksonville's No. 1 rushing offense against New England No. 20 rushing defense. Leonard Fournette coming back from his ankle injury to finish a dominant game against the Steelers was a good sign after he was shut down against the Bills. So was the fact that T.J. Yeldon made big plays out of the backfield coming off the bench, as both a runner and a receiver.

The Jaguars will want to run inside to the left behind left guard Patrick Omameh and center Brandon Linder against the weaker right side of the Patriots' front. If they choose to run right, they'll have the benefit of the game's best run-blocking tight end, Marcedes Lewis, to supplement sturdy right tackle Jeremy Parnell. The kicker will be two-tight sets with James O'Shaughnessy. Against the Steelers, the Jaguars excelled at throwing out of running formations to O'Shaughnessy, fullback Tommy Bohanon and third tight end Ben Koyack.

The Jaguars have different ways to get a helmet on a helmet should the Patriots load up and try to force Blake Bortles to throw. Coach Doug Marrone and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett adjusted well coming out of the anemic output against the Bills. The running ability of Bortles and the change of pace from Yeldon also can keep the Patriots off-balance.

Seeing how New England has been gashed by top feature backs all season, Jacksonville will feel confident it can have more good running success by matching defenders with blockers. The Patriots are built a whole lot more to stop the pass up front and in the secondary.

Passing game
The Jaguars won't have much success in base two-wide packages. Patriots cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Malcolm Butler will make it hard for Dede Westbrook and Marqise Lee to separate. Other than a deep shot off play-action to Keelan Cole late in the game against Pittsburgh, Jacksonville kept it simple for Bortles with a ton of bootlegs and screens. New England will be in business, however, if it can force third-and-long situations.

Look for the Jaguars to use a few three-wide sets on early downs to keep the Patriots honest, but if they are forced to do that because of game flow or down-and-distance, Bortles will be in trouble. Jacksonville needs to stay ahead of the chains with Fournette and those short passes getting little chunks. New England needs a big performance from its linebackers in coverage.

Because the Patriots want to play to their strengths and hide their weaknesses, while also exploiting the Jaguars' weaknesses, they will do their best to squeeze on the short-to-intermediate routes and make Bortles beat them deep to soften up the coverage. That plan will only work, however, if they can consistently contain the running game.

Jaguars' best matchup
WR Allen Hurns vs. Patriots CB Eric Rowe: When the Jaguars spread the field for Bortles, he needs to avoid forcing it to Westbrook, Lee or Cole. This is a good week to get Hurns going in the slot, given another savvy possession veteran receiver, the Titans' Eric Decker, ripped the Patriots for six catches and 85 yards on seven targets last week.

It's been another injury-riddled year for Hurns, but Jacksonville can't hold him back from being a key part of the game plan against the overmatched Rowe.

Jaguars' worst matchup
RG A.J. Cann vs. Patriots DT Malcom Brown: While the Malcolm on the outside will contain Lee, this Malcom in the middle can be a huge force in blowing up the running game at the point of attack. There is a big drop-off from Linder and Omameh to Cann in Jacksonville's interior run-blocking for Fournette.

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP: Picks, predictions, odds for Vikings vs. Eagles

Jaguars' offensive X-factor
RB T.J. Yeldon: Yeldon was exceptional spelling Fournette against the Steelers, showing some burst when rushing and plenty of elusiveness to make big plays after the catch. A wrinkle the Jaguars should consider if the Patriots are successful in stopping Fournette early: giving Yeldon a few series to make them adjust to a different style of back.

Patriots' defensive X-factor
OLB James Harrison: Harrison got only 27 snaps in his Patriots debut against the Jets, and he logged two sacks and three other tackles. With 30 snaps against the Titans, he produced three tackles, two to stop power back Derrick Henry. He's New England's typical veteran defender who can "do his job" well and doesn't need to be out there much to disrupt Jacksonville's plans with Fournette and Bortles.

Prediction
The Jaguars fit the profile of teams that have given the Patriots trouble in the past, because they neutralize all their scheming with superior defensive personnel and simple offensive play-calling. This game isn't about Brady vs. Bortles, but Brady vs. a Jacksonville defense that brings together the best of what Seattle and Denver have had recently. Bortles and Fournette will do just enough against New England's defense to allow their team to shock the world.

Jaguars 23, Patriots 20.

I thought I'd make a few changes from my first mock off-season in case the Rams decide not to re-sign all of our big names.
Cut
WR Tavon Austin
ILB Mark Barron

I don't see anyone trading us anything for Austin. Barron played well for us, but we can find a better fit for our scheme at a cheaper price.

Re-Sign/Extend
DT Aaron Donald
CB Nickell Robey-Coleman
S LaMarcus Joyner
S Cody Davis
C John Sullivan
DT Tyrunn Walker
CB Troy Hill
HB Malcolm Brown
OLB Matt Longacre
LS Jake McQuaide

As you can see, we bring back quite a few of our guys, but we let Sammy Watkins and Trumaine Johnson walk. Both guys end up with asking prices that are just too high.

Free Agency
WR Paul Richardson
CB Bashaud Breeland
CB Aqib Talib
ILB Todd Davis
OLB Trent Murphy

Richardson steps in and replaces Watkins in the deep-threat role. Like Robert Woods, I think his best football is ahead of him. He's still young, and he took major strides this year as a player. I think we can get him at a much cheaper price than Watkins for the same role. At the end of the day, we spread the ball around a lot, so we don't need an elite #1 WR.

Breeland steps in to replace Trumaine Johnson at a cheaper cost. He's also young and has been a bit inconsistent. At his best, he's shown Pro Bowl ability. At his worst, he's been toast. IMO, he was held back by Washington's litany of bad defensive coordinators (sorry, Coach Berry). This kid is a physical, press-man CB. I expect Wade to get the best out of him. It also helps that Breeland played for Aubrey Pleasant in Washington.

The Broncos are almost definitely going to cut Aqib Talib. He has a $12 million cap figure this year and cutting him would save $11 million. Talib will soon turn 32, but I think he still has good play left in him. I see us signing him to a one or two-year deal. He played for Wade in Denver and excelled in a major way. He's a knucklehead, but he also was one of the best CBs in the game under Wade.

Todd Davis started for Wade during his last year in Denver. Davis is a young, ascending player who fills a major need for us. Luckily, thumpers aren't that valued around the NFL. Davis is a great run-stuffing ILB, but he's a mediocre ILB in coverage. That's just fine for us. We need a thumper who can fill gaps.

Murphy is a guy we bring in on a "prove it" deal. He played for Joe Berry in Washington and had 9 sacks in 2016. However, Murphy was suspended four games for PED use in 2017 and then tore multiple ligaments in his knee in August of 2017. Murphy is familiar with coaches on our staff, sees a team that should contend, and sees a defense with a lot of pass rushers. He recognizes that this is a great opportunity for him to rehab his value to get a big contract in FA next year.

Is all of this possible in terms of cap dollars? Well, it'll be a tight squeeze, but Demoff is a wizard.

NFL Draft
Round 1 Pick #23 - Da'Ron Payne NT Alabama
Round 3 Pick #23 - Josh Sweat OLB Florida State
Round 4 Pick #23 - Greg Senat OT Wagner
Round 5 Pick #23 - P.J. Hall DT Sam Houston State
Round 6 Pick #20 - Kalen Ballage HB Arizona State
Round 6 Pick #21 - Cody O'Connell OG/OT Washington State
Round 6 Pick #23 - Joel Lanning ILB Iowa State
Round 7 Pick #23 - Chucky Williams S Louisville

Projected Starters
QB: Jared Goff
HB: Todd Gurley
XWR: Paul Richardson
ZWR: Robert Woods
SLWR: Cooper Kupp
TE: Gerald Everett
LT: Andrew Whitworth
LG: Rodger Saffold
C: John Sullivan
RG: Jamon Brown
RT: Rob Havenstein

SDE: Michael Brockers
NT: Da'Ron Payne
DT: Aaron Donald
WOLB: Robert Quinn
WILB: Alec Ogletree
SILB: Todd Davis
SOLB: Trent Murphy
LCB: Aqib Talib
RCB: Bashaud Breeland
SLCB: Nickell Robey-Coleman
FS: LaMarcus Joyner
SS: John Johnson III

K: Greg Zuerlein
P: Johnny Hekker
LS: Jake McQuaide

Really good interview, they ask him some very good questions (dated 19th Jan):

http://www.espn.com/espnradio/losangeles/podcast/archive/_/id/2682382