You all know that I’m not a sportsketball guy. I don’t follow any teams or sports, or players. But sometimes, you have to at least pretend you know what’s going on.
So here is a list I found of the 10 players you need to know about:
1. Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald. This is the main matchup to watch. Donald has been sacking EVERYONE this year. If he dominates . . . and he’s in Brady’s face all game . . . the Patriots offense is in trouble.
2. Tom Brady. This one is self-explanatory. If Brady is classic Brady, L.A. is doomed. And even if the Rams are able to pull ahead, no lead will be safe.
3. A three-way tie between Patriots center David Andrews, right guard Shaq Mason, and left guard Joe Thuney. These are the guys who line-up in front of Brady, and they’ll be responsible for keeping Donald at bay.
6. Rams defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Again, the game will probably be dictated by the battle up the middle. If the Patriots double-team Donald, then Suh has to take advantage if the Rams are going to slow down the Patriots run game.
7. Rams running back Todd Gurley. If you played fantasy football this season, you know that he was an absolute MONSTER for most of the season, before being slowed by a knee injury over the past month or so.
He had a rough game against the Saints two weeks ago, but he’s supposedly healthy now.
8. Rams quarterback Jared Goff. Belichick might focus the Patriots’ defense on the run, and force Goff to beat them in the air. But Goff was able to come through against the Saints when the Rams couldn’t get anything going on the ground.
9. Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore. He’ll be asked to shut down Rams receivers Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods. It’s unclear if Belichick will put him on just one of them, or move him around. Either way, it’s a tough assignment.
10. Patriots running back James White, who also often works as a receiver. Hopefully, the Rams have a plan to cover him, or he can go wild in the pass game.
(If you REALLY want to get your research in, USAToday.com has a bigger rundown of the 25 most important players in the game.)
