NFC Championship: Rams at Saints

[CGI_Ram]

Game Day Thread

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Go Rams!

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[CGI_Ram]

https://athlonsports.com/nfl/nfc-ch...s-los-angeles-rams-vs-new-orleans-saints-2019

NFC Championship: Los Angeles Rams vs. New Orleans Saints :baghead:

The Los Angeles Rams make their second trip to the Crescent City to battle the New Orleans Saints :baghead: this season as the top two seeds meet in the NFC Championship game on Sunday. The Rams (14-3) and Saints :baghead: (14-3) find themselves one victory away from a spot in Super Bowl LIII after taking care of business at home last week in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

Los Angeles trampled Dallas 30-22 out on the West Coast last Saturday. The Rams' tandem of C.J. Anderson and Todd Gurley piled up 238 rushing yards and three touchdowns while averaging more than six yards per carry (on 39 total attempts). Los Angeles controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage, limiting Dallas to just 50 rushing yards, and dominated time of possession (36:13 to 23:47).

New Orleans stumbled through the first quarter of its game this past Sunday against Philadelphia. Drew Brees threw an interception on the first play from scrimmage and the Eagles jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead. But a Marshon Lattimore pick of Nick Foles started to turn the tide, as the Saints' :baghead: offense found its footing and the defense shut Philadelphia out the rest of the way. After a shaky start, the Brees-to-Michael Thomas connection got going as New Orleans went on to score the final 20 points of the game.

These two teams met in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome back in Week 9 as the Saints :baghead: won a high-scoring affair 45-35. The offenses combined for 970 yards with Brees (346 yards, 4 TDs) and Jared Goff (391, 3) both filling up the stat sheet. Thomas (211 yards) also made his presence felt as New Orleans handed the Rams their first loss of the season. That game ended up being the tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

NFC Championship: Los Angeles at New Orleans

Kickoff: Sunday, Jan. 20 at 3:05 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Spread: Saints :baghead: -3.5

Three Things to Watch

1. Michael Thomas vs. Rams' secondary

Last week against Philadelphia, Thomas hauled in 12 catches for 171 yards and a touchdown. The receptions were his highest since Week 9 when he went for 211 and a score on 12 grabs against the Rams. Will the All-Pro continue to have success against Los Angeles' defense?

The Rams' secondary will include a key component who was missing from the teams' previous matchup. Starting cornerback Aqib Talib will start this Sunday after missing half of the regular season (Weeks 4-12) because of an ankle injury.

How much of a difference will Talib make? In the nine games (including last week's playoff win) Talib has played this season, Los Angeles is giving up 206.3 passing yards and 17.7 points per game. Without him, those numbers jump to 272.6 and 30.8.

Additionally, no one should forget about the on-going squabble between Rams’ cornerback Marcus Peters and Saints’ :baghead: head coach Asshole Face. Those two bantered during the first meeting in November. The feisty rhetoric continued this week. Despite what Peters mentioned, it seems unlikely that these two will sit down together to enjoy some gumbo. Will the Saints’ :baghead: receivers go out and back up their coach's trash talk?

2. Todd Gurley/C.J. Anderson vs. Saints’:baghead: front seven

Gurley’s production dipped toward the end of the regular season as he dealt with a knee injury that caused him to miss the last two games. Before that he failed to gain 50 rushing yards in Weeks 14 or 15, but he did remain a factor in the passing game (combined 13 catches for 106 yards).

But the positive for the Rams was that Gurley's absence opened up an opportunity for C.J. Anderson, who the team signed following his release by Carolina. The former 1,000-yard rusher showed he was still capable of carrying the load, as he went for nearly 300 yards in the final two games of the regular season and then led the team with 123 in the Divisional Round win over Dallas. Not to be outdone, Gurley showed he was plenty healthy by going for 115 and averaging a robust 7.2 yards per carry against the Cowboys.

The duo will look to keep things going against a New Orleans defense that finished second in the regular season vs. the run (80.2 ypg). In the first meeting, the Rams managed 92 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries with Gurley responsible for most of the damage (68 yards, TD, 5.2 ypc). Anderson wasn't with Los Angeles then but you can pretty much expect head coach Sean McVay will call on both of his backs on Sunday.

3. Saints’:baghead: offensive line vs. Rams’ defensive line

New Orleans has done a superb job of keeping Drew Brees upright. He took all but a small percentage of the snaps from center in 15 games during the regular season with opponents registering a total of 17 sacks. No other quarterback started as many games yet was sacked so few times this season. To put it another way, he was sacked during just 3.4 percent of his pass attempts. That's the second-lowest rate in the NFL even though Brees attempted nearly 500 passes (489, 16th).

Los Angeles has a formidable trio that anchors its defensive line. It starts with Aaron Donald, the All-Pro who is the front-runner to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second straight year after racking up 20.5 sacks, 25 tackles for a loss, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in the regular season. Ndamukong Suh has done his part clogging things in the middle while Michael Brockers chips in as the other starting defensive end. These three have started all 17 games together and are tasked with making plays behind the line of scrimmage and getting pressure on Brees, even if it doesn't result in a sack. Their effectiveness will dictate how the linebackers are used by veteran defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.

Can the Saints' :baghead: offensive line hold up against the Rams' fearsome threesome? Three Saints’ :baghead: linemen were flagged for holding versus the Eagles. Andrus Peat struggled in particular, with two holding calls against him. He is expected to play Sunday in spite of his broken hand, which clearly hampered him last week. Considering that Donald leads the NFL in sacks and tackles for a loss, New Orleans cannot let him dominate a the point of attack and take over the game, even if that means double-teaming him.

Final Analysis

The NFC bracket held to form to give us a No. 1 vs. No. 2 championship game. As a result, fans will witness two evenly matched teams that are tied for the best records in the NFL. If the regular-season matchup foreshadows what will happen in this one, another high-scoring contest awaits.

But this game appears headed for a closer finish than what transpired back in November. The Saints :baghead: had a 21-point lead late in the first half before a field goal made it 35-17. The Rams battled all the way back to tie the game with less than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter only to watch New Orleans score the next 10 points over a three-minute span. Sunday's matchup figures to stay tight for the duration and may even need overtime to decide the winner.

https://larrybrownsports.com/football/10-key-questions-nfl-conference-championship-weekend/481400

10 key questions for NFL conference championship weekend

When we go to bed on Sunday night, we will know which two teams will contest Super Bowl LIII in two weeks. The New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints have been here before, while this is newer for the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs. Expect the weekend to feature a lot of offense, as it’s the calling card for these four teams much more than any of their defense.

What factors will determine the AFC and NFC champions? Here are 10 key questions to watch out for this Sunday.

1) Can the Chiefs get pressure on Tom Brady?

Long considered vital to the notion of containing Tom Brady is the need to pressure him and hurry him. The Chiefs, it could be argued, actually have a pretty solid pass rush. Chris Jones had 15.5 sacks this season, Dee Ford added 13, and Justin Houston contributed nine. Kansas City doesn’t necessarily have to sack Brady to be successful, but those three and their defensive teammates need to at least give him something to think about. The Chargers failed to do so a week ago.

2) How much will revenge be a factor for the Rams?

For Rams cornerback Marcus Peters, we already know the answer to this question. On Nov. 4, the Saints saw off the Rams 45-35 in a game that wasn’t even as close as it looked, handing the Rams their first defeat of the season and leaving a very bad taste in the mouths of some of their players. The chance to play in a Super Bowl is enough of a motivational factor for Los Angeles, but it’s pretty clear that Peters, at least, wants to get one over on New Orleans. Whether that ends up helping or hurting remains to be seen.

3) Will Eric Berry provide the boost Kansas City’s secondary needs in a tough matchup?

While the Chiefs really locked it down against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts, their secondary has struggled at times this season. Most of that has been without safety Eric Berry, who is expected to play at least some role in Sunday’s game. It’s not really fair to put too much on Berry. As good as he is, he’s barely played this season and is stepping in against the likes of Tom Brady. That said, it’s not unreasonable to expect him to offer a lift to the secondary that they’ll badly need against this sort of passing attack.

4) Can the Rams’ run defense produce a repeat performance against Ingram and Kamara?

The Rams’ occasionally criticized run defense locked down Ezekiel Elliott last week, a key factor in their win over the Dallas Cowboys. They’ll be faced with another difficult challenge in the pairing of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram of the New Orleans Saints. The Saints aren’t as reliant on the run as the Cowboys are, so there’s an argument to be made that the Rams have to play even better this week to contain the New Orleans offense, running game included.

5) Have the Chiefs learned anything from their first matchup with the Patriots?

On Oct. 14, the Patriots fought off the Chiefs 43-40 at Gillette Stadium in one of the season’s more dramatic contests. The Chiefs nearly came back to win from a 24-9 halftime deficit in that game, but it was hard to overcome the 500 total yards they gave up. Kansas City’s defense, in particular, has to take something from that game and perform better this time around if things are going to end better for them here. They’ll also have home field, which could be another key advantage that they didn’t have in October.

6) Was C.J. Anderson a fluke or the real thing?

Nobody was really expecting Anderson to run for 123 yards against the Dallas Cowboys, besting even Todd Gurley in terms of rushing yardage. The question becomes what the repeat performance will look like. The Rams may not want to rely on the run game as much against New Orleans, and Gurley will likely still get the bulk of the looks, but the Rams could get an enormous boost if Anderson once again contributes significantly on the ground. It’s an intriguing subplot, and a lot depends on whether the Rams discover New Orleans’ tells.

7) Will Patrick Mahomes go off in the playoffs?

Mahomes certainly wasn’t bad in his playoff debut by any stretch. He threw for 278 yards, but didn’t have to run much or throw for a touchdown to beat the Indianapolis Colts. That probably won’t be enough against New England. During their regular season meeting, Mahomes was electric against the Patriots, throwing for 352 yards and four touchdowns. A similar performance may well be required this week, and he’ll probably have to step it up and deliver a signature playoff performance.

8) Can the Michael Thomas-Drew Brees combination be stopped?

The Philadelphia Eagles certainly couldn’t control Thomas, who caught 12 passes for 171 yards in the NFC Divisional round. It’s safe to count on Thomas being Drew Brees’ favorite target once again, and against the Rams’ secondary, he has the potential to put up big numbers. It’s not really reasonable to expect the Rams to totally shut down Thomas, but they have to at least keep him contained and prevent him from doing serious damage on the offensive side of the ball.

9) Can Sony Michel keep up his torrid pace?

One of the biggest boosts the New England Patriots got in their win over the Chargers was a very productive running day from rookie back Sony Michel. He scored three touchdowns with 129 rushing yards and proved to be a potent weapon against a Los Angeles defense that seemed more focused on Tom Brady. It remains to be seen if Michel can do something similar against the Chiefs, who kept the Colts’ rushing attack locked down a week ago. If he can find success, the Patriots’ path to victory becomes a lot clearer.

10) Can Jared Goff match Drew Brees for production?

Goff hasn’t thrown for 300 yards or more since Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles, and he only completed 15 passes for 186 yards in beating the Dallas Cowboys thanks to the Rams’ rushing attack. The odds are that won’t get it done against Drew Brees and the Saints. Goff will need to go to the air and find success there and at least try to keep pace with Brees. If he can’t, it’s entirely possible that the Rams’ offense finds itself in a hole that it just can’t dig itself out of.

 

[CGI_Ram]

RamsOnDemand SportsBook wagers here:

https://ramsondemand.com/sportsbook/2018-week-20-los-angeles-rams-new-orleans-saints.2589/

 

[HX76]

I'm getting in early here. Massive massive game, great that we've got this far but we want to go further.
Lets stomp on all over these who dat fools. Come on you rip roaring, touchdown scoring, offence stopping RAMS!!

 

[RAMBUSH]

To Hell with the saints. Go Rams. Im ready right now.

 

[bubbaramfan]

Great Season, win or lose! Ball control with Rams two-headed monster. Force a couple turnovers and Rams will be Super-Bowl bound!

 

[RamsFan47]

Win the trenches on both sides of the ball and the Los Angeles Rams punch their tickets to the Superbowl!

#MOBSQUAD

:rockon:

 

[Boston Ram]

I have about 8 inches of snow to remove before today’s game. Thanks goodness because it is 8AM right now and I can not stop pacing around the house.

I am so amped up for this game right now lol.

 

[CGI_Ram]

 

[IBruce80]

The game is.on at 5 am here.
Monday is my day off work.

Gotta get up eary, but not sure if i can sleep...

 

[Classic Rams]

I T ' S- -H A P P E N I N G- -T O D A Y ! ! ! !

 

[El caliente]

Who Dat!

 

[Alaskan Ram]

LET'S GO!!!!

 

[Loyal]

My dream will come true...I dreamt that CJ Anderson would break the total rushing yard record for the first four games, by half time. We will wear out the Saints Dline, and Talib will care for Thomas and the Rams Dline will sack Brees multiple times.

This is our year.

 

[Loyal]

Today almost feels like we are collectively jumping from a plane, hoping our parachute was packed correctly...lol

 

[Ewe83]

I'm so nervouscited!! I'm gonna be praying hard in church this morning, let's gooo!!!

 

[JonRam99]

Who Dat!

Us Dat

 

[den-the-coach]

I have about 8 inches of snow to remove before today’s game. Thanks goodness because it is 8AM right now and I can not stop pacing around the house.

.

And I have 18 inches to clear and I will blow the snow away just like the Rams offensive line today...Go Rams and let's go Goff, tired of hearing he's the 4th best QB in the games today and the 2nd best QB in the NFC West.

 

[Loyal]

And I have 18 inches to clear and I will blow the snow away just like the Rams offensive line today...Go Rams and let's go Goff, tired of hearing he's the 4th best QB in the games today and the 2nd best QB in the NFC West.

Almost as much snow as Ft Worth had last night...

 

[den-the-coach]

Almost as much snow as Ft Worth had last night...

It's only a matter a time before I relocate to the Lone Star State, where Men are Men and Sheep are nervous.