Super Bowl 53 Early Scouting Report: Los Angeles Rams

I couldn’t help but jump into some Rams research this morning, as much as I’d like to bask in the glow of the win in Kansas City forever. With just one opponent left to beat there is total clarity and the Rams were just sitting there waiting for me.

Scariest thing about the Rams is they’ve got the Patriots’ Super Bowl kryptonite — the dopey white QB.

— Mike Dussault (@PatsPropaganda) January 22, 2019

Yes, Jared Goff has that certain nothing that Eli and Foles had, but what is more scary is the Rams have the kind of interior defensive line those Giants and Eagles teams did.

Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh are easy nightmare fuel for a pocket passer like Tom Brady. Add a fast and aggressive defense around them and this Rams has all the pieces needed to slow down the Patriots attack.

Let’s dive into some other initial impressions of the Rams.

— Watching the successful fake punt by the Rams against the Saints, I wonder if they’ll learn the lesson the Eagles made so obvious in Super Bowl 52. You can’t hold anything back to beat the Belichick/Brady Patriots. You need 60 minutes of unwavering smart, aggressive play. And even then you still might need a fourth down stop. Will Sean McVay coach that kind of fearless gameplan that Doug Pederson did last season?

— Todd Gurley scares me the most because I think the Patriots will effectively disguise their coverages to strip Goff of McVay’s headset help. Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks are both talented receivers but the Patriots can match up.

— I know that making Gurley the focal piece, with underneath passes and screens that force the Patriots’ linebackers to run to the sideline, is what I’d do. CJ Anderson has given the Pats problems before, when he was 20 pounds lighter in Denver. But it’s Gurley that should make or break the Rams offense just as Melvin Gordon broke the Chargers.

— The low end matchups are the most interesting — Tyler Higbee, Josh Reynolds and Gerald Everett will need to make tough catches against Chung, J-Mac and Crossen. It’s always where Pats win or lose these games.

— Donald and Suh cannot blow up the game. That’s really the first and easiest place to start. The secondary closes and tackles, playing aggressively in Wade Phillips’ scheme. Much will be made of Phillips’ performance in the 2015 AFC Championship, a game he threw a curveball at the Patriots and had the dominant pass rushers to exploit a depleted Patriots offensive line. More than scheme, what matters is that Suh and Donald are talented enough to win regardless. See Von Miller 2015, just as much as Phillips.

— Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib are ideal man corners and they play aggressively as you’d expect. We know firsthand with Talib. I know if I was Wade my first priority is to take away Julian Edelman. Matching him with Talib on critical third downs makes a lot of sense. They can’t use Nickell Robey-Coleman on Edelman.

— But how to divide up covering Gronk and White? Mark Barron is a safety/linebacker hybrid and he’s a better option that the Patriots have for covering backs. How well Barron holds up against the Sony Michel–James Develin 21 and 22 personnel packages could be where the Rams live or die.

Overall I think the Rams definitely have the pieces to beat the Patriots. Let’s face it, no matter what the Super Bowl matchups have ever been, they’ve always come down to the very end. Every single time. Why should this one be any different?

I will say the Rams scare me less than the Eagles did last year. And my biggest worry is if the Rams play as crazy aggressive as the Eagles did. But facing a pocket passer who relies on a key running back and I like the Patriots chances to executing an effective defensive gameplan.

For the offense, it’s just a question of whether they can continue to run the ball with such effectiveness. If not, they’ll be one-dimensional enough for the Rams to severely limit them. Donald and Suh are most effective in third and longs and those must be avoided at all costs. If Michel is getting 8-plus on first and second downs, look out.

This Patriots team has certainly peaked in the playoffs playing their best team football of the entire season, looking every bit like the strongest Patriots teams. If they turn in another solid game, with a red-hot start they’ve gotten in two-straight, there might be no stopping the 2018 Patriots.