Super Bowl LIII

Well it's Super Bowl week (finally).

Side note: Anyone else remember when the Super Bowl didn't have the week in between. Would love to go back to that.

I digress. Anyone and everyone who watched the Championship games knows we should be watching Chiefs vs. Saints instead of Rams vs. Patriots*****. It is what it is, but not what it should be. This is the hand the NFL and their officiating crews have dealt us.

Here's my top 5 story lines to watch on Sunday:

1. Officiating. The stories ramping up the regular season and cursing the post-season is the officiating. Will they be fair. Will roughing the passer on Brady be the same for Goff? Will Pass Interference actually be called, and if so, will it be legit? Will it be ticky tack for one team (cough, cough, the Rams) and not called for another (cough, cough the Patriots*****)? Do officials even know what a false start is?

2. Rams defensive line. The front 4 will need to provide pressure on Brady for a full 60 minutes. If you don't believe me, then go back and watch the SB vs. the Falcons when their front 4 ran out of gas.

3. Patriots***** front line. It seems they show up just in time to save Brady's arse. In the run through the Chargers and Chiefs, they did a great job of protecting Brady. They'll need to be on overdrive to keep him safe against a Rams front 4 to the likes the Patriots***** haven't seen a lot this season.

4. Rams back 7. The Rams linebackers and defensive backs will need to be aggressive and loose to beat the timing of the Patriots***** offense. They'll need to keep their emotions in check, as well as Gronk and Edelman. Along the same lines, they can't get beat by the run game either (Rams ranked 23 against the run). It's a big task at hand.

5. Patriots***** run defense. They ranked 11th in the regular season but in a few games they look suspect to the run game when the team they were playing had good WR corp. The Rams have a two headed monster in the backfield with Gurly and Anderson and it's equivalent to White & Michel for the Patriots*****.

IMO, the Rams will need to establish themselves quickly on the offense and keep Brady off the field while being able to score frequently. They'll need the run game to do this. I think this will certainly put stress on McVay to create the perfect storm of opportunities to keep the Patriots***** defense off kilter. The Patriots***** are who we thought they are. They take advantage of officiating, and make the best of every situation.

I'm hoping the Rams put together the perfect game on both sides of the ball and destroy the Patriots***** defense early while limiting Brady and the offense. Seeing Brady hit the turf a half a dozen or so times would be pure entertainment as well.

Super bowl. What Superbowl? Sorry truck. I agree with your breakdown but I have this thing. If the Patriots* are in the SB I don't watch the SB. I just hope next day when I check that they LOST!!!

I honestly think I'm skipping the game. I hope the Rams whoop Shady and Belicheat's asses, but this just reeks of a fix to get Brady his 6th ring.

It seems like they are hellbent on placing Marsha in a category all by himself for sure.Why I don't know.
Whether we like it or not the NFL has become nothing more than entertainment IMO. We watched Jerome help win a SB in his home town then ride off into the sunset. We didn't care that that might be nauseating to non-Steeler fans. We didn't care either. I suspect N.E. fans feel the same way except for 1 major difference. We Didn't Cheat to get there. We're just screwing the pooch going in the other direction.
Here's a short clip of how the Bus saw it

https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/video/1433825347733?utm_campaign=team_page&utm_medium=fscom&utm_source=main_content&utm_content=highlights

I like two things about this game. The first one being the Rams always playing man coverage, which as we know is very important against the Patriots*. And the second one: in the most betted game of the season more than 80% of the money is on New England so far. Come on Vegas, use your influence

Stella Nation wrote:

I like two things about this game. The first one being the Rams always playing man coverage, which as we know is very important against the Patriots**. And the second one: in the most betted game of the season more than 80% of the money is on New England so far. Come on Vegas, use your influence

Well then it's simple. Rams (and Vegas) will win. I'm good with that.

You don't see Brady misread like that often.

And the Rams O looked less than impressive that drive.

Rams offense needs to do something.

Pretty uneventful Superbowl so far. Hope the Rams can pick something up here.

I think Patriots* offense starts to open it up soon. Rams D cannot keep shutting down them forever.

Pats* just blanked one of the highest scoring offenses in the NFL. Wow.

Spongebob at the halftime show is a reality!

Edelman cannot be covered.

You can't tell me this bullshit isn't fixed. It takes 4 quarters for a TD to be scored and it just so happens to be the Patriots* with 7 minutes left? Bullshit

And that is the end of the Rams.

Way to fucking go Goff.

The Patriots* are simply a perfect team. They can't be beat.

I wish someone would just cut Brady's head off, literally. I'm tired of hearing about him, and I'm tired of hearing about the Patriots*.

Saints should've been there. At least they would've given us a game. Fuck Brady and all those cocksuckers. God I hate that team

I'm making my 2019-2020 pick. Patriots** vs. NFC team. Patriots** win for #7.

I'm seriously considering giving up football for good. Because of this team. It's not even fun to watch anymore.

offensive play calling wise Josh McDaniels took Matt LeFleur to the woodshed and beat him with a big stick. that was the difference in the game to me.

Brady > Big Ben, because Brady play within the offensive system as Ben wants to chuck the ball down field all game.

Congratulations Patriots*****, you're now 2-5 in Super Bowls where there wasn't a scandal involved with the game.

Couple of observations:

• Pats*** had pressure on Goff literally every single play. Goff didn't have time to even set his feet. Rams had pressure on Brady, but it dropped off as the game went on.
  
• Goff was overmatched. The stage was too big. His reads were late.
  
• Pats*** defenders were camping in the Rams WR's routes.
  
• Gurley shows just why you don't invest 15m in a RB. And why didn't they lean on him more? Injury? I think so. Romo speculated that it was his knee, the name knee that was injured in college. Wonder if it is much worse than is being let on?
  
• For an offensive mastermind, McVey looked really bad.