See y'all tomorrow night for an open thread! #LakeShow

Lakers Weekly Roundup: All-Star Week Edition

*Some NSFW language*

With all the trade drama unfolding before the All-Star weekend, all I can say is I'm glad the NBA moved the trade deadline before All-Star weekend so that all this don't clout what should be a fun week for the league, its superstars, its players, and above all, the fans. With teams making moves for a playoff run and a run for the championship, one that stands above all was the shitstorm that went down in the Big Easy surrounding Anthony Davis and the Pelicans' trade dilemma. I've seen this shit way too many times since the fall of the glorious Purple and Gold after the 2012-13 season. Star players use the Lakers as a bargaining chip that if their demands aren't met, they'll bolt their team to play for the Purple and Gold.

And despite all them smoke and mirrors, nothing happens. The Anthony Davis trade saga has been added to the long list of failed recruitment of a superstar on the Lakers' part. Well, with the exception of LeBron, but even LeBron is an elephant in the room that other superstars don't want to deal with it.

It turns out that the Pelicans' played with our emotions of Anthony Davis coming to LA. The trade was nothing more but a ploy to destroy the morale of the Lakers and create a rift among King James and the Laker youngins. It was evident considering how Dell Demps never answered any of Rob Pelinka's calls to discuss a deal. Or the fact that he actually listened to Gregg Popovich's advice not to give the Lakers any life. This isn't the first time the New Orleans Pelicans showed the middle finger to the Lakers. Remember the deal in 2011 that would've sent Chris Paul to the Lakers? This time, the NBA wasn't involved in vetoing the deal. The Pelicans did this to the Lakers on their OWN volition. Smells like negotiating in bad faith doesn't it?

But as I look at it more clearly, it shows a weakness of the Lakers that has plagued them for quite some time now: they can't groom their own superstars. They're more inclined to pry away superstars from other teams, but not develop their own. This is a statement of fact: you shoot for the sure-thing rather than on potential. That is the Lakers' mentality and who can blame them? Lakers fans have had it of 6 years of organizational ineptitude and want this team to get back into championship form right away. That in itself is a good thing and a bad thing. The Lakers were content on growing their young core. But in order to please the King, they have to scrap that. I've addressed this like four years ago? It dates back to the dilemma in Kobe's later years. The Lakers put themselves in a limbo of building for the future and winning now. You must commit to one or the other and not have a balance of both. And it seems that the Lakers have not learned from their history with the hole they're in now.

But enough of my rant. A.D. or no A.D., the Lakers have a season to finish up. And they have a steep hill to climb if they want to return to glory. Keep in mind, I merged this week with last week's because the Lakers only had one game to play this week and it was off to the All-Star weekend. Here is a special Lakers' Weekly Roundup - NBA All-Star Week Edition!

02/05: @ Indiana 94-136 [L] (27-27)

HIGHLIGHTS

This is the same Pacers team that just lost Victor Oladipo for the season. And the Lakers still get their ass kicked. To bring out some advance LeBron stats: this is the worst loss by any LeBron-lead team in history! There's my ESPN impression for the day with non-stop LeBron coverage. There's not much to gauge from this ugly loss. The Pacers were on fire from beyond the arc. The Pacers 2nd unit also brought their A-game on this. And to add insult to injury, the Pacers fans brought their troll game on, chanting "LeBron's gonna trade you" to Ingram or that McGee was "not worth trading." I wanted to do a "Days of Our Steelers-esque" segment with this loss, but I'd be stealing from UrinatingTree. This loss definitely created more tension in the internal civil war that was LeBron vs. the Lakers

Trades for Reggie Bullock and Mike Muscala

The NBA's "Hunger Games" has come to past at on Thursday, 3:00 PST. Despite the foiled Anthony Davis deal, the Lakers weren't going to stop making moves to get turn this team into a championship team. The Lakers deal Svi Mykhailiuk to the Pistons for Reggie Bullock and they acquired Mike Muscala from the Clippers in exchange for Ivica Zubac and Michael Beasley. These are moves championship teams aspire to make indeed. Seriously? There are two purposes when NBA teams make trades: 1) to free up some cap space or accumulate some draft capital 2) get a quality player in return with either 1 or 2 years left on his contract that could help the team to get where they want to be which is postseason or the finals. What the hell kind of moves were these? The Lakers get a guy who's pretty much Jodie Meeks with hair and another stretch 5 in Muscala. Truly Zubac was a sacrifice to up his trade value by breaking out during this stretch of the season and send him packing for another stretch 5 who may not see significant playing time. Isn't that the reason why they grabbed Wagner in this year's draft? These moves were definite head-scratchers. Perhaps the Bullock trade was justifiable. The Lakers need as many shooters as they can. Inconsistency will once again play a major issue.

Team LeBron Assembly

LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo held their respective drafts for their All-Star teams last Thursday. Let's get a look at LeBron's roster. Such names include: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Bradley Beal, Ben Simmons, etc. Notice a pattern here? This is not just picking an All-Star team. This is LeBron's sales pitch to get these players to come play for him in LA. Only hindrance is the salary cap.

02/07: @ Boston 129-128 [W] (28-27)

HIGHLIGHTS

Forget the records. Forget which team is better at the moment. Forget that the Lakers just got blown out the other night by 42 freakin' points. This is the Lakers and Celtics we are talking about. The NBA's best rivalry right here. Don't be surprise if this comes down to the wire like all games do whenever the Lakers play at the TD Garden as of late. But the Celtics got a off to a hot start, leading as many as 13 at the half. Just like in Indiana, the Lakers' morale is broken with all the trade rumors and they could never recover. But a light shined upon the Purple and Gold as the King rode to battle on Kuz Control. The Lakers caught fire late lead by James and Kuzma. Final seconds ticked. No timeouts. The Celtics took the lead off a Kyrie Irving layup. Let's be honest, the Lakers rarely get it done in the final seconds with the ball in their hands nowadays. *Rondo hits game-winner* YEAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!! RONDO BABY!!!!!! SCREW YOU CELTICS!!!!! WE'RE BACK!!!!!!  Poetic justice indeed as Rondo comes back to Boston to break the hearts of his former-team. Let's be honest, the Lakers needed this win to boost the morale of the team. As the saying goes, winning cures all and what better way to bounce back against a perennial rival. Take notes Dodgers and Rams on how to beat a team from Boston.

02/10: @ Philadelphia 120-143 [L] (28-28)

HIGHLIGHTS

To ease all wounds sustained from the trade drama, Magic Johnson decided to fly over to the team and "hug-it-out." Everybody get in a circle, sing "Kumbaya" or whatever. Let's put this behind and start playing as a team again. However the Philadelphia 76ers could care less about the trade drama getting in the Lakers feelings. KuzMania ran wild for the Lakers in the first quarter. But, that was the only positive as the 76ers commenced the ass-whooping process. Lead by their new Big 4 with the acquisition of Tobias Harris, Philly Philly took care of some business. After an inspiring win, the Lakers outside Kyle Kuzma fell flatter than LeBron James' defense on a Ben Simmons dunk this game. And also, why the hell did Luke Walton thought it was a good idea to insert Reggie Bullock into the starting lineup immediately? To quote Rob Pelinka "teams should fear the Lakers in the playoffs." Well, there goes that statement after this blowout loss. It was just one game Rob. Just one game.

02/12: @ Atlanta 113-117 [L] (28-29)

HIGHLIGHTS

Rewind back to December of 2018, the Lakers despite having the superior talent were taken to the limit against a Hawks team that's in rebuilding mode. The difference was a game-saving block by Tyson Chandler to win it for the Lakers. That seemed like eons ago when the Lakers were among the Top 5 teams in the West. The Lakers play the Hawks and my goodness are they playing down to their level again. This team isn't even that good and yet you still stoop down to their level. The 4th quarter was as bad as NBA basketball can get as both teams missed shots and were playing sloppy basketball down the stretch. But, this one will go down as a gut-wrencher. You're playing for your playoff lives and you lose to the Hawks among all teams. Shame. Shame. Shame. Hello sub .500 my old friend.

Pelicans GM Dell Demps Fired

Karma works in mysterious ways. Prior to All-Star Weekend, the Pelicans announced that they've parted ways with longtime GM Dell Demps. The major factor of course was how he handled the Anthony Davis trade saga. And now AD is hurt. Well, that part is unpredictable. You can never predict when an injury might occur. But it was at that moment Demps should've known he f'd up. Could've had the entire Lakers roster. Then again, the Lakers are glad to have their roster in tact and not have to deal with the "Bayou Shitshow" anymore.

Lakers Weekly Roundup (02/03): Hell Week 1

The past week was dedicated to the buzz in downtown Atlanta as it built up to Super Bowl Sunday. But like always, the NBA just has to find its way to steal the thunder of the NFL and make headlines. Such that the NBA trade deadline is near. One blockbuster trade after another, the Lakers' quest for Anthony Davis continues to dominate headlines. The Lakers made competitive offers by giving up the entire roster outside of LeBron to get AD. But the Pelicans front office wouldn't budge due to outside sources telling them not to give him to the Lakers. Hmmm, why aren't they fined for tampering? There's no question, it is deal or no deal for Purple and Gold Royalty down to the final few days before the deadline. Especially it comes at a crucial time when they face their toughest stretch yet that blocks them from returning to glory. As trade talks swirl for now, the Lakers take center stage in this week's Weekly Roundup.

01/29: vs. Philadelphia 121-105 [L] (26-25)

HIGHLIGHTS

Talk about a breakout performance from Brandon Ingram as he exploded on this game with 36 points on 16-20 shooting. Good stuff B.I. But, that is irrelevant considering Philly's "Trust the Process" movement moved in and took what they wanted in LA. LakeShow's Delicious Turnovers were in business early on this game as the Lakers murdered themselves to death by their own turnovers to start. The 76ers were definitely the best customers for the night as they capitalized for points off turnovers. If it helps us sleep at night, the 76ers manhandled the Warriors at Oracle on Thursday.

01/31: @ LA Clippers 123-120 (OT) [W] (27-25)

HIGHLIGHTS

The Lakers are one more loss away from being at .500 and they are a few games back behind the Clippers for the 8th spot in the West. And still there's no sight of LeBron nearing a return as he's also ruled out for this-*sees headline that LeBron is back.* Never mind, it's the return of the King baby! "LeBron ex Machina" is going to come save the day and lead the Lakers back into contention! The Lakers get another big boost with the return of KuzMania! They're just missing Zo, but this team is good enough to compete at the least. We have LeBron back! Back in December, the Clippers beat a LeBron-less Lakers. Now, it's time to pay them back and show them who's the real LA team! The Lakers ballooned the lead in the 2nd half. Only to watch it squander in front of their faces. Ah even with King James' return, it's good to see that some things don't change, such as the Lakers blowing a big lead in the 4th quarter and heading into OT. Both teams tried to hand each other W's at the end of regulation, but they pulled the trigger on each other a little too soon with some boneheaded plays off timeouts. Fortunately, the Clippers showed that they are still the Clippers as their top free throw shooters miss some key free throws down the stretch and Tobias Harris threw up some bricks. Even at near full strength, the Lakers are in deep trouble if they teams like the Clippers hang around. This is why we can't have nice things.

02/02: @ Golden State 101-115 [L] (27-26)

HIGHLIGHTS

Before we dive into this game, LeBron James was healthy scratch for this. The reason? Load Management? That's the actual DNP for LeBron. Gregg Popovich did this a few years ago when he gave Tim Duncan a DNP because he's "old." But, load management? Why? Is it because simply saying "DNP - Rest" too mainstream? Understandably so, LeBron came back after significant time off. And they played until overtime the previous night against the Lakers. So that urged the Lakers' coaching staff to monitor him to ensure he gets back to 100%. Abandoned by the King yet again, the Lakers arrive to Oakland to challenge the Golden State gods in the Trial of Oracle. The Lakers fought valiantly, eventually building an 11 point lead in the third quarter against the Golden State gods. Even better, Steph, the god of Rainbow Threes lost his touch. Rarely do we see that. All was going well until the DeMarcus, the Emotional Lesbian god struck KuzMania in holy baptism. Thus, the Golden State gods decided they had enough and disposed of the Lakers easily in the fourth quarter. At least we can cling onto the fact that the Lakers blew the Golden State gods out by 27 on Christmas Day, which is still the largest margin of victory by either team head-to-head this season.

Quest For Six Complete: Patriots Defense Stymies High Flying Rams

Welcome in to the full recap of Super Bowl LIII featuring the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams as the Patriots, behind their defense, wallop Goff and the Rams' offense 13-3 to secure their 6th Vince Lombardi trophy in franchise history.

Well, I just woke up from a power nap after that game. I'm kidding, no I didn't as I commented throughout the whole game. Just by that score alone, you'd think that this was a Week 1 NFL game. But no, this is the final score in a Super Bowl. The lowest Super Bowl score since its inception. Definitely that was an unexpected outcome. I'd thought both teams would come out of the gate swinging and ultimately, the Patriots would come out on top. This football game was like a game of chicken. Both defenses wouldn't budge for three quarters in the game. But in the end, the Rams were the first to break. Let's be real here, they were on the field too long as the Rams' offense was just shut out throughout. But I should save that for my full analysis below.

Los Angeles Rams

(+)

Defense (for three and a half quarters). If there's any defensive unit that gives Tom Brady, Josh McDaniels, and Patriots offense all kinds of fits, it's gotta be a defensive unit coached by Wade Phillips. It's been evident since 2015 as they've held them to really low scores. Wade Phillips' defense never shows their hand that easily. He did a great job tonight mixing it up with man and zone, confusing Brady at times and the D-line was able to get some penetration. The defense did just enough to win. It's too bad they couldn't get any help from their offense who've been staggered all game long.

Brandin Cooks, 8 receptions, 120 yards. Life must suck right now for Brandin Cooks. He was traded to the Pats last year. The Pats lose to the Eagles in SB52. He gets traded to the Rams, his team loses to the Pats. But, that's the unfortunate part in sports. In my post in the first half, I said the Rams have to find this guy more to open up opportunities for Woods and Reynolds in the passing game. They did just that in the 3rd quarter to tack on some points. He had a couple of would-be TDs. The first one he was wide open. Busted coverage by New England's secondary. Goff didn't find him on time. 2nd time, Goff's throw was right on the money and Cooks just couldn't hold on for the game-tying TD. Nonetheless, getting him involved gave the Rams offense a little bit of a spark.

(-)

Offense. Well, you can break this negative down into subsections because the Patriots' defense just made their life a living hell. This side of the ball is the strength of this Rams team. I would assume they were prepared for any kinds exotic looks Bill Belichick would throw at them, just not at this magnitude. They running game was taken away from them. All the bootlegs and playaction, they couldn't execute. And that turned them into a one-dimensional team. We saw shades of 2016 Jared Goff as the Patriots D took away what he did best and force him to beat them in the pocket. Perhaps, the biggest headscratcher is the touch distribution between C.J. Anderson and Todd Gurley. Without question, that has been the strangest headline as Gurley has been intentionally taken out of the game plan for C.J. Anderson to get more touches. Not sure if it's the injury that Gurley, but he was non-existent until he broke a few runs in the 3rd quarter. They got away with it in the NFC Championship, but it didn't work against a team like the Patriots. Hopefully, we get more insight on the behind-the-scenes there about the lack of touches that Gurley has gotten this postseason. It's one of the strangest ways to sabotage your team's key strength.

New England Patriots

(+)

Defense. Might as well make this a rehash of what I said about the Rams' offense being a negative this whole game. This is a classic example of this defense playing as a unit rather than relying on a game-changing individual to get their defense going. And that is the work of Bill Belichick right there. He stresses this unit to stay disciplined and he shadows their inefficiency to get after the quarterback by taking away the opposition's strength and implement all kinds of exotic looks to confuse the quarterback. No question, they confused the hell out of Goff with exotic looks and a lot of disguise blitzes to strengthen the pass rush and add opportunities to get a sack, which they did a couple of times.

Julian Edelman, 10 receptions, 141 yards. I swear, I thought Edelman had more yardage than that considering the Rams' defense had no answer for him and allowed him to gain chunk yards. As I said in my preview, the Patriots missed this guy last year and he could've been a difference maker against Philadelphia if he hadn't gotten injured. It was a tough road for Edelman this season. Suspended the first four games. Wasn't involved in the offense much to start. But along the way, he found that chemistry with Tom Brady again. He was unstoppable in the AFC Championship on 3rd down. This game was no different either. Edelman's performance tonight was the one that proved to be the difference. And unequivocally, he was the Pats' MVP tonight.

Sony Michel, 18 carries, 94 rushing yards, 1 TD. Michel punched it in for the first TD of the game and he broke out a couple of big runs to put the game out of reach in order for the Pats to secure that 6th trophy. The rookie has been outstanding throughout this postseason and the Patriots may have just found their bell cow back going forward.

Ryan Allen, 5 punts, 43 yard avg. Hey, punters are people too! Allen had the Rams offense pinned inside the 20 three times. It's no wonder the Rams couldn't get any good field position to start since Cory Littleton's INT.

(-)

Score more? It's technically not a negative, but Tom Brady and the Pats offense could've tact on more points with the way they controlled the clock for the majority of the game and they were able get into Rams territory a couple of times.

Conclusion

Well Steelers, make some room because the Patriots just moved in with their brand new sixth Lombardi trophy to tie you for the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history. Without a doubt, I hate the Patriots. Many other NFL fans hate the Patriots. But, their recipe for success is something to behold. As mentioned, many have tried to replicate the Patriot way. And many have failed doing that. It is a trade secret only accessible if you're within the organization itself. It starts with a head coach in Bill Belichick and a quarterback in Tom Brady. Their resume is already impressive. They didn't need to win another one to cement their legacies. But to secure a sixth Super Bowl win for one franchise in the span of 20 years, that is greatness personified. In the case of the Rams, there's nothing to be discredited about their impressive season this year. Well, except for one no-call that should've been P.I. and we would've gotten a HOF Super Bowl between Brady and Brees and Belichick and Payton. But still, it was a great season for them. They'll definitely be back. But their window is coming as they have to think about extending Jared Goff's contract and their salary cap. They locked up Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald, etc. A lot of decisions have to made by GM Les Snead and considering the Gurley situation fizzled out, don't be surprised if we see a shocking transaction in the offseason. They'll have to make some tough decisions as this was their window of opportunity to win it all. That said, the Patriot dynasty still reigns. Thank you for following my coverage of Super Bowl LIII. I'll see you guys in March yet again for the incoming offseason and free agency.

Congrats New England Patriots Super Bowl LIII Champions!

(Seriously, this dynasty needs to end eventually!)

SUPER BOWL LIII: NE Patriots vs. LA Rams 2nd Half Open Thread

2nd half of Super Bowl LIII after Maroon 5 and friends' performance! As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q4

NE 13 LAR 3

Welp, there goes the Rams' chances of a miracle. There wasn't even a chance to begin with considering the Pats had a scored a TD. The Pats D was lights out the whole game. There was some life from the Rams, then Goff throws a pick to pretty much seal the game. In a game that was shadowed by great defense. You just knew that the Pats would find ways to win. No matter how much you envy this franchise, their success over the past 2 decades is just unrivaled. Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, they didn't need this Super Bowl since their legacy is already cemented. But, leading the Patriots to their 6th Lombardi just adds more to their credentials. For the Rams, this is going to be a learning experience after a successful 13-3 season. They just ran into arguably the greatest franchise in the NFL right now. 20+ years and counting. More to come in the full recap.

Q3

NE 3 LAR 3

At this rate, this game is gonna go down to whoever has the ball last and can get their team within field goal range. After being shut out for 3.5 quarters, the Rams finally got something going on the last drive. They mixed it up with Gurley and Anderson in the run game. Brandin Cooks finally gets involved. It opened up the Rams' playbook to do what they do best. Momentum was there, until Goff took a costly sack. Lucky, they had Greg Zeurlein's big leg to bail them out to tie this game up. Definitely, Patrick Chung's injury early on made an impact there as the Pats found themselves in all kinds of trouble with some busted coverage down field. But, the Pats are gaining momentum back as they've started ramming down the the teeth of the Rams' defense with big runs from Sony Michel.

SUPER BOWL LIII: NE Patriots vs. LA Rams 1st Half Open Thread

Come on in for Super Bowl Sunday as TrueRaiderLaker is ready to take you through Super Bowl LIII featuring the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams! Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the Big Game.

Q2

NE 3 LAR 0

Well, if you expected some fireworks to start in this Super Bowl, you might as well just change the channel. But if you love defense, this is a rarity to behold. It's a tale of two stories for the Rams and the Patriots defense. The biggest difference? The Pats defense aren't just giving any room for Goff, Gurley and the Rams' high flying offense to get set. At first, it looked like it was jitters from the inexperience Rams team. But as time goes on, it's clear as day that the Pats are holding the fort. They're not letting the Rams do what they do best, which is catch defenses off guard with some bootlegs and misdirection, hence why Goff is having a tough time. Chess match between McVay's offense and Belichick's defense? So BB is winning that match. For the Rams' defense, it's a case of bend-but-don't break for them. They gotta be gassed for being on that field for too long in the first half. They gave up a couple of chunk yardage. Julian Edelman has been unstoppable. Rams D had no answer. Yet, they just held Brady and the Pats to just 3 points, which is a big win for Wade Phillips' defense. He's done a great job mixing it up with man and zone to confuse the Pats' offense. Rare enough, the Pats burned a couple of timeouts early on in the first quarter despite a great start. For sure, the Pats will come out as a different team in the 2nd half. How about the Rams? They have to get Todd Gurley involved more and mix it up in the backfield with C.J. Anderson. It's strange that he was able to muster 100+ yards in the divisional round, but only mustered a mere double digit yards. They also gotta take a couple of shots downfield. I don't think Brandin' Cooks has been targeted yet. He's gotta get involved to make Robert Woods and Josh Reynolds' jobs easier. The 2nd half will open up shortly after Maroon 5's performance.

Q1

NE 0 LAR 0

And just like that, the streak of the Patriots going scoreless in the 1st quarter of the Super Bowl extends. The Pats had plenty of chances. They came right out of the gate with a decent kickoff return by Cordarrelle Patterson. They ran the ball well. Edelman and Gronk are getting to work early in the passing game. The Patriots controlled the clock this quarter for most of the game. Unfortunately, it didn't result into points. First drive ended with an INT from Littleton for the Rams. The 2nd drive they had a legit chance to score and Gostkowski missed it wide left. The Rams are fortunate so far that their deference is paying off. Give credit to the Rams' defense. Wade Phillips knows a thing or two about mixing it up to confuse Tom Brady and the Pats offense. Let's see if Goff, Gurley, and the Rams offense can capitalize.

Super Bowl LIII Preview and Prediction: New England Patriots vs. Los Angeles Rams

*Some NSFW language*

Super Bowl Sunday is upon us! Welcome in to your Super Bowl LIII preview provided by yours truly. This year's matchup features the ever-dominant AFC champion New England Patriots vs. the new kids from Hollywood, NFC champion Los Angeles Rams. Like last year's Eagles-Patriots matchup, this is a rematch 17 years in the making. This matchup was what started the Patriots' reign of terror (technically, it was the "Tuck Rule" game that started it) as a young Tom Brady and an unproven Bill Belichick pulled off the upset against the then St. Louis Rams and the "Greatest Show on Turf" lead by Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, and Torry Holt in Super Bowl XXXVI. Now an old, yet wily Brady and proven Belichick square off against new blood in Sean McVay, Jared Goff, and a new Rams team all decked out under the bright lights of Hollywood. There's only one problem: nobody wanted this matchup. Obviously, their roads to get here were marred by a blatant no call on one side and a phantom roughing call on the other down the stretch. Both games made legitimate cases that the NFL is rigged and that the rules of what constitutes a penalty are wildly inconsistent. But enough of controversy, who doesn't want a Boston-LA championship rivalry to extend beyond the Celtics-Lakers rivalry of the NBA? This year's World Series featured the Boston Red Sox and the LA Dodgers. Now it's the NFL's turn, with the Patriots and the Rams. Can this Rams team avenge the pains of yesteryear? Will it all finally come full circle with the Rams being the Alpha and the Omega of the Patriots dynasty? Or will the Pats prevail again and continue their reign of terror across the NFL? I summarize both teams' road to the Super Bowl, keys to victory, and my final prediction of the outcome on Sunday! Let's roll!

New England Patriots

"FOR F*CKS SAKE, AGAIN!?!?!? CAN'T THIS TEAM JUST F*CKING DIE ALREADY!?!?!?" I'm sure all of us NFL fans are thinking the same way as the Pats make their way to their third straight Super Bowl. Make that their fourth appearance in five years and their fifth appearance in this decade. Let's be honest here, the Patriots are a guaranteed lock for the Super Bowl unless Brady retires, Belichick steps down, or both events happened. The latter happens to be the best case scenario. It also doesn't help that the rest of the AFC is full of incompetent trash and teams who are good, but not New England Patriots good. While the rest of the league is playing checkers, the Patriots are playing chess. Most teams try to implement the Patriots' system of long-term sustainable success and fail miserably. Truly, the Patriots' success is a trade secret that is only accessible by the organization as a whole and that gives them the edge over 31 other teams in the league. Nearly 20 years of dominance in one conference speaks for itself.

There have been many times that this team tried to tease their downfall to the media. Do not fall for it. But let's be clear here, the Patriots had a roller-coaster season this year as they had to stave off an overachieving Houston Texans team for the #2 seed. Most of the teams the Pats lost against were against teams that had the unlikeliest of chances to beat them. New England went 11-5 with five of those losses coming from Jacksonville (hungover after that game), Detroit (LOL), Tennessee (eliminated by Luck),  Miami (trying to get Gronk to defend a lateral, major LOL), and Pittsburgh (inconsistent and condescending AF). Tom Brady showed signs that Father Time was catching up to him. Gronk looked out of sorts in games and contemplated about retirement. This is the end of the New England Patriots dynasty as we know it. That's what they want you to think! Clearly, there are three things that only matter to the Patriots: postseason, Super Bowl, and championship. As long as they do enough to make the postseason and gain some home field advantage, they're in good hands to do some major damage and remind the league why they're still the gold standard. In their playoff games, they were expected to lose. The Chargers are a more complete team than the Patriots? The Pats completely shut down Philip Rivers and Melvin Gordon in a game that was essentially over in the first half. That and the Chargers have a chronic history of postseason chokes. The Chiefs have homefield advantage and an MVP in Mahomes? Meh, let's beat their suspect run defense to death with Sony Michel. The Chiefs defense couldn't even cover Julian Edelman on third down if their life dependent on it. Patrick Mahomes did enough to rally the Chiefs though. But, the defense let him down, which lead to the firing of Chiefs DC, Bob Sutton. And thus, the evil empire continues their long reign of terror over the National Football League.

Los Angeles Rams

Y'all just had to rob us from a Brady vs. Brees Super Bowl didn't you Rams? But, we won't let that game define the Rams. When the Rams moved to Los Angeles, they needed a fresh, young face to lead the team. Not some old hag like Jeff Fisher, whose best coaching days are behind him. The Rams found their guy, hiring 30-year old Sean McVay from the Redskins to be the youngest head coach in NFL history. Under McVay's 1st season en route to a Coach of the Year award, the Rams escaped from 7-9 purgatory to an improved 11-5 season last year. Todd Gurley posted MVP-esque numbers. Jared Goff caught major strides in his 2nd year and 1st under McVay's system. Aaron Donald was one of the top defensive players in the league, playing under a Wade Phillips defense. Unfortunately, they didn't get too far as their inexperience showed in the Wild Card round, losing to an Atlanta Falcons team fresh off of a Super Bowl appearance. This year, the Rams made some major moves to bolster their roster into a Super Bowl contender, such as trading for Brandin Cooks, Marcus Peters, and Aqib Talib, and signing Ndamukong Suh in free agency.

Right out of the gate, the LA Rams showed that they were the team to beat, starting out 8-0. Many teams have tried their crack at slowing down their high-powered offense and failed with a few exceptional teams. The Rams took the next step by finishing at 13-3 with those three losses coming against the Saints, Bears, and Eagles, all playoff worthy teams in their own right. Unfortunately, they were a tiebreaker shy from the #1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs due to the Saints loss. But it still was an impressive season nonetheless. The Rams took care of business, running all over the Cowboys in the divisional round. They then avenged their early loss to the Saints in the NFC Championship in controversial fashion. We can talk about the blatant no-call from Nickell Robey-Coleman on Tommylee Lewis. No question, Robey-Coleman triggered the contact before Lewis could get his hands on the Drew Brees' pass. That contact was also a little helmet-to-helmet. By all accounts, that should be Pass Interference. But, let's look at the game in a bigger picture, the refs didn't stop the Saints offense from scoring at-will and letting the Rams come back. The Saints could've kept calm from the no-call and and carry on to an OT victory. But, Brees threw a lame duck INT and the Saints threw their own chance at another Super Bowl away. Unfortunate, but a win is a win for the Rams and a loss is a loss for the Saints no matter how much the entire state of Louisiana wants a recall or wants to reverse the decision in a court battle (good luck with that).

Keys for the Patriots

If we can infer from the postseason, the Patriots run defense has shut down two of the top-tier rushing attacks in the league. In the divisional round, the defense held Melvin Gordon III and the Chargers' rushing attack to just 19 yards of total rushing yards. In the AFC Championship, the Patriots' run defense held the Chiefs to just 41 total rushing yards. They eliminated both of those teams' best strengths and made them one dimensional. Philip Rivers struggled getting in rhythm due to the pressure from the Pats' D-line. So did Mahomes as he was unable to scramble and do what he did best. The defense has turned it on in the postseason, rendering a scary sign. They'll need to neutralize Todd Gurley, C.J. Anderson and the Rams' top rushing attack and dare Jared Goff to beat them with the passing game. On offense, the Patriots are glad to have Julian Edelman back as Brady's go-to-guy. You look back at last year's Super Bowl against the Eagles and wonder what if they had Edelman who went down with an early season ending injury? Edelman's presence as a third-down threat helps take pressure off the receiving corps and it opens up some opportunities for Gronk to do some major damage down the middle. Gronk, of course will also be a major factor this game as well as his conditioning. Rookie, Sony Michel has been an outstanding bell cow back this postseason. But, he's gonna have a challenge against a tougher Rams' run D with Ndamukong Suh and Aaron Donald anchoring the middle. Look for the Pats to mix it up with him, White, and Burkhead for a change-of-pace in the back field.

Keys for the Rams

Obviously, leading the Rams to a victory will be contingent on how their homegrown star talent will dictate the game: Jared Goff  and Todd Gurley on offense and Aaron Donald on defense. Aaron Donald, without question, is the best pass-rushing DT in the NFL right now. He can wreck an opposing team's gameplan all by himself. Aaron Donald has to win his matchups inside to generate pressure up the middle against Tom Brady. Ndamukong Suh and Dante Fowler Jr. could be X-Factors to free Donald up and turn loose. This game against the Patriots could very well go down to one final stop and if the Rams' D is on that field for the final minute, look for #99 to be a game-changer and win the game. On offense, it's been a strange postseason for Todd Gurley. 115 rush yards in the divisional round against the Cowboys, but only 10 yards against the Saints. This game will be completely contingent on Todd Gurley's health (he battled some injuries down the stretch) as he's pretty much the engine that drives the Rams offense (with all due respect to Jared Goff). If Gurley's back to top form, it bodes well for the Rams and takes a lot of pressure off of Jared Goff. It also helps that the Rams signed C.J. Anderson late in the season to give themselves a 2-Back committee to relieve some pressure off of Gurley to do it all. As for Goff? He's played smart all season long, but he won't be afraid to take deep shots to Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods. He has to play turnover-free, manage the game, and mix it up in the passing game throwing to different receivers. If I'm Coach Sean McVay, I look at last year's Super Bowl where Doug Pederson threw all he can handle against the Patriots, even the kitchen sink. McVay's is as much of a risk-taker too. Look for him to throw every play, every sequence in the playbook against the Pats.

Prediction

As I mentioned countless times, if the Super Bowl didn't feature the New England Patriots, my pick would be a little more indecisive. As long as they represent the AFC in the big game, how in the hell can you pick against them? Whether they win or lose, the Patriots will always be the pick to win it all unless they start the post Brady-Belichick era a little too early than expected. Not to discredit the Rams, they have the talent to keep up with the Patriots and this game has the makings of an offensive shootout. The Rams have emerged as a future perennial contender. It's just not their time yet as Brady and the Pats will pull off some miracle in the final drive en route to a sixth Lombardi trophy. In conclusion: shootout, but the Pats D will make at least one key stop and set Tom Brady and the Pats up for a game-winning TD. They do have all of their clutch weapons back.

NE 28 LAR 24