PREGAME Pregame Thread: Patriots at Rams
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Injury Report 12/9: Cam Akers and Michael Brockers good to go, Matt Gay questionable for Rams-Patriots
Rams running back Cam Akers (shoulder) and defensive lineman Michael Brockers (neck) are officially good to go for Thursday night's game against the Patriots at SoFi Stadium (5:20 p.m. PT, FOX/NFL Network/Amazon Prime Video).
Both players do not carry a designation on the final injury report and were estimated as full participants Wednesday.
While outside linebacker Terrell Lewis (knee) also does not carry a designation and was estimated as a full participant, Rams head coach Sean McVay indicated they may take a precautionary approach and rest Lewis against the Patriots with 10 days between their Week 14 and Week 15 games.
"We might lean towards being smart with him, giving him a little bit of extra time even if he is able to go," McVay said during a video conference Tuesday night. "But he is feeling better."
Rams kicker Matt Gay (shoulder) was added to the injury report Wednesday as a limited participant and is considered questionable.
Below are the final injury reports for both teams. For the Rams, Monday's participation is an estimation based on a full practice. Tuesday and Wednesday were also estimations based on if a full practice practice had been conducted since the Rams held a walkthrough each of those days.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Rams running back Cam Akers (shoulder) and defensive lineman Michael Brockers (neck) are officially good to go for Thursday night's game against the Patriots at SoFi Stadium (5:20 p.m. PT, FOX/NFL Network/Amazon Prime Video).
Both players do not carry a designation on the final injury report and were estimated as full participants Wednesday.
While outside linebacker Terrell Lewis (knee) also does not carry a designation and was estimated as a full participant, Rams head coach Sean McVay indicated they may take a precautionary approach and rest Lewis against the Patriots with 10 days between their Week 14 and Week 15 games.
"We might lean towards being smart with him, giving him a little bit of extra time even if he is able to go," McVay said during a video conference Tuesday night. "But he is feeling better."
Rams kicker Matt Gay (shoulder) was added to the injury report Wednesday as a limited participant and is considered questionable.
Below are the final injury reports for both teams. For the Rams, Monday's participation is an estimation based on a full practice. Tuesday and Wednesday were also estimations based on if a full practice practice had been conducted since the Rams held a walkthrough each of those days.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
| Player | Position | Injury | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Game Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Brockers | DL | Neck | DNP | Limited | Full | - |
| Cam Akers | RB | Shoulder | DNP | Limited | Full | - |
| Terrell Lewis | OLB | Knee | Limited | Limited | Full | - |
| Brian Allen | OL | Knee | Full | Full | Full | - |
| Matt Gay | K | Shoulder | - | - | Limited | Questionable |
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
| Player | Position | Injury | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Game Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ja'Whaun Bentley | LB | Groin | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| Adam Butler | DL | Shoulder | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| Byron Cowart | DL | Back | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| Kyle Dugger | DB | Toe | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| Nick Folk | K | Back | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| Lawrence Guy | DL | Shoulder | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| Ryan Izzo | TE | Hamstring/Hand/Neck | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| J.C. Jackson | CB | Hip/Knee | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| Jakob Johnson | FB | Knee | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| Jonathan Jones | CB | Neck | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| Shaq Mason | G | Calf | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| Cam Newton | QB | Abdomen | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| Matthew Slater | WR | Knee | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
| J.J. Taylor | RB | Quadricep | Limited | Limited | Limited | Questionable |
Fine article in this morning's Los Angeles Times about Todd Gurley's return to Los Angeles to play his first game at So-Fi against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Listen guys: My linking skills are about as good as my Predict The Score Skills so would someone kindly provide a link to the article. I'm certain that Ram fans would love to read the article.
TexasRam
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This might be one game where I like having Reeder in the middle.
We have to stop the power run game up the middle.
I wonder if Jalen comes in that star role and plays run support all game.
And for the love of the Rams, can we not have Ebukam and Hollins as our edge guys in this one.
5 man fronts in needed. Lots of these guys:
Robinson
Brockers
Seabass
Gaines
Fox
Donald
We have to stop the power run game up the middle.
I wonder if Jalen comes in that star role and plays run support all game.
And for the love of the Rams, can we not have Ebukam and Hollins as our edge guys in this one.
5 man fronts in needed. Lots of these guys:
Robinson
Brockers
Seabass
Gaines
Fox
Donald
BonifayRam
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This Patriots Mismatch Could Be X-Factor In Thursday Night Rams Showdown - NESN.com
This Patriots Mismatch Could Be X-Factor In Thursday Night Rams Showdown
Don't sleep on special teams
by Zack Cox
Last week, the New England Patriots exploited their opponent’s deficiencies in the kicking game to make life easier for their offense.
That’s a pattern they’ll look to repeat Thursday night.
The Los Angeles Rams, New England’s Week 14 opponent, boast a weapon-laden offense and one of the NFL’s top defenses, but few teams have been worse in kick/punt coverage this season.
Through 12 games, the Rams rank 30th in both yards allowed per kickoff return and yards allowed per punt return. They surrendered a 54-yard kick return last week and a 49-yarder three weeks earlier. Miami’s Jakeem Grant burned them for a 45-yard kick return and an 88-yard punt-return touchdown in Week 8.
“Clearly, there’s some things in the kicking game that we have to get better at,” Rams coach Sean McVay said earlier this week, via TheRams.com. “That’s not a secret to anybody from (Sunday).”
They’re more competent on special teams than their SoFi Stadium housemates, the Chargers. But not by much. Add in their placekicking issues (Matt Gay is their third kicker this season) and their own return-game troubles (25th on kickoffs, 22nd on punts), and the Rams rank 30th in Football Outsiders’ special teams DVOA, which measures overall efficiency. And that’s despite fielding one of the NFL’s top punters in Johnny “The Weapon” Hekker, a longtime favorite of Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Patriots special teams rank third in DVOA, trailing only the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens. They’ve been solid in kick/punt coverage all season — led by the elite trio of Matthew Slater, Justin Bethel and Cody Davis — and recently have become incredibly productive on returns.
More:
Patriots-Rams Betting Preview: Trends, Props, Pick Ahead Of NFL Week 14 Game
AFC Special Teams Player of the Week Gunner Olszewski totaled 145 yards on three punt returns in last Sunday’s 45-0 rout of the Chargers, including a 70-yard touchdown and another 61-yard runback. Devin McCourty also returned a blocked field goal 44 yards for a touchdown in that game.
Against the Arizona Cardinals one week earlier, Olszewski had a 58-yard punt return (downgraded from an 82-yard touchdown due to a penalty) and Donte Moncrief delivered a 50-yard kick return.
That succession of big plays, coupled with New England’s superb defense against young quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Justin Herbert, has helped fuel the Patriots’ current two-game winning streak by creating favorable field position for their run-heavy offense.
And they’ve needed it.
In the last two games, the Patriots have started eight possessions inside their own 35-yard line and scored on just one of them (their 75-yard opening drive against the Chargers). They’ve started 10 drives at or outside their 35 and gotten points on eight of them, scoring five touchdowns and three field goals.
Drives starting inside own 35, Weeks 12-13:
Interception
Punt
Punt
Interception
Touchdown
Punt
Punt
Punt
Drives starting at or outside own 35, Weeks 12-13:
Touchdown*
Field goal*
Touchdown*
Punt
Field goal
Punt
Touchdown
Touchdown*
Field goal*
Touchdown
* = drive started inside opponent territory
The Patriots’ Cam Newton-led offense isn’t built to consistently stage long drives against capable defenses. Doing so will be even more difficult this week against a Rams D that ranks in the top five in nearly every category, including fifth in points allowed, second in yards allowed and first in passing yards allowed per game and per attempt.
But with shaky special teams and a quarterback in Jared Goff who’s prone to turnovers (six interceptions and four lost fumbles in his last five games), the Rams could give the Patriots the short-field opportunities they crave.
This Patriots Mismatch Could Be X-Factor In Thursday Night Rams Showdown
Don't sleep on special teams
by Zack Cox
Last week, the New England Patriots exploited their opponent’s deficiencies in the kicking game to make life easier for their offense.
That’s a pattern they’ll look to repeat Thursday night.
The Los Angeles Rams, New England’s Week 14 opponent, boast a weapon-laden offense and one of the NFL’s top defenses, but few teams have been worse in kick/punt coverage this season.
Through 12 games, the Rams rank 30th in both yards allowed per kickoff return and yards allowed per punt return. They surrendered a 54-yard kick return last week and a 49-yarder three weeks earlier. Miami’s Jakeem Grant burned them for a 45-yard kick return and an 88-yard punt-return touchdown in Week 8.
“Clearly, there’s some things in the kicking game that we have to get better at,” Rams coach Sean McVay said earlier this week, via TheRams.com. “That’s not a secret to anybody from (Sunday).”
They’re more competent on special teams than their SoFi Stadium housemates, the Chargers. But not by much. Add in their placekicking issues (Matt Gay is their third kicker this season) and their own return-game troubles (25th on kickoffs, 22nd on punts), and the Rams rank 30th in Football Outsiders’ special teams DVOA, which measures overall efficiency. And that’s despite fielding one of the NFL’s top punters in Johnny “The Weapon” Hekker, a longtime favorite of Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Patriots special teams rank third in DVOA, trailing only the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens. They’ve been solid in kick/punt coverage all season — led by the elite trio of Matthew Slater, Justin Bethel and Cody Davis — and recently have become incredibly productive on returns.
More:
Patriots-Rams Betting Preview: Trends, Props, Pick Ahead Of NFL Week 14 Game
AFC Special Teams Player of the Week Gunner Olszewski totaled 145 yards on three punt returns in last Sunday’s 45-0 rout of the Chargers, including a 70-yard touchdown and another 61-yard runback. Devin McCourty also returned a blocked field goal 44 yards for a touchdown in that game.
Against the Arizona Cardinals one week earlier, Olszewski had a 58-yard punt return (downgraded from an 82-yard touchdown due to a penalty) and Donte Moncrief delivered a 50-yard kick return.
That succession of big plays, coupled with New England’s superb defense against young quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Justin Herbert, has helped fuel the Patriots’ current two-game winning streak by creating favorable field position for their run-heavy offense.
And they’ve needed it.
In the last two games, the Patriots have started eight possessions inside their own 35-yard line and scored on just one of them (their 75-yard opening drive against the Chargers). They’ve started 10 drives at or outside their 35 and gotten points on eight of them, scoring five touchdowns and three field goals.
Drives starting inside own 35, Weeks 12-13:
Interception
Punt
Punt
Interception
Touchdown
Punt
Punt
Punt
Drives starting at or outside own 35, Weeks 12-13:
Touchdown*
Field goal*
Touchdown*
Punt
Field goal
Punt
Touchdown
Touchdown*
Field goal*
Touchdown
* = drive started inside opponent territory
The Patriots’ Cam Newton-led offense isn’t built to consistently stage long drives against capable defenses. Doing so will be even more difficult this week against a Rams D that ranks in the top five in nearly every category, including fifth in points allowed, second in yards allowed and first in passing yards allowed per game and per attempt.
But with shaky special teams and a quarterback in Jared Goff who’s prone to turnovers (six interceptions and four lost fumbles in his last five games), the Rams could give the Patriots the short-field opportunities they crave.
BonifayRam
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Patriots vs. Rams line, prediction: New England the pick (nypost.com)
Patriots vs. Rams prediction, line: New England on the rise
By Dave Tuley, VSiN
December 10, 2020 | 12:02pm | Updated
This week’s “Thursday Night Football” game (8:20 p.m., Fox) gives us two playoff contenders with the Patriots visiting the Rams.
A month ago, this matchup didn’t look as appealing — as the Patriots struggled to start off the post-Brady era at 2-5 and well out of the AFC playoff race. But they’ve rebounded by winning four of their past five games to get back to .500 at 6-6 and on the cusp of a wild-card berth after routing the Chargers, 45-0, this past Sunday.
That last result certainly helped the Patriots improve their scoring average to 22.8 points per game — the Cam Newton RPO-style offense is still a far cry from the efficient passing game of Tom Brady — and reduce their scoring defense to 21.2 points per game.
The Rams have a more balanced team with Jared Goff spreading the ball around to a strong supporting cast of receivers and a complementary running game, though they’re averaging just 93 yards per game. The Rams are averaging 25.1 points per game while allowing just 20.2 with a defense led by defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
The Rams are the better overall team, but that isn’t always the best way to bet. The point spread has been as high as Rams -6 and has been bet down to 5. We believe the early money has been on the right side, as the line shouldn’t be this high between these two teams.
If we take the scoring averages, this comes to about Rams 23, Patriots 21.5, or Rams -1.5. And it’s not like we should be assigning anything for home-field advantage in this season with little or no fans in the stands — NFL road teams actually lead 99-90-2 against the spread on the season while home teams are only ahead 96-94-1 straight-up through 13 weeks.
Besides, the Rams lost at home to the 49ers two weeks ago and also failed to cover in a 17-9 home win vs. the Giants earlier this season, so it’s not like they’re always dominant on their new home turf.
The Patriots look like the play at anything more than a field goal. Both teams are 8-4 with the Under this season, but the total has already been shaded a little low by today’s NFL standards at 45 points, so that looks like a coin-flip.
The play: Patriots +5.5.
Patriots vs. Rams prediction, line: New England on the rise
By Dave Tuley, VSiN
December 10, 2020 | 12:02pm | Updated
This week’s “Thursday Night Football” game (8:20 p.m., Fox) gives us two playoff contenders with the Patriots visiting the Rams.
A month ago, this matchup didn’t look as appealing — as the Patriots struggled to start off the post-Brady era at 2-5 and well out of the AFC playoff race. But they’ve rebounded by winning four of their past five games to get back to .500 at 6-6 and on the cusp of a wild-card berth after routing the Chargers, 45-0, this past Sunday.
That last result certainly helped the Patriots improve their scoring average to 22.8 points per game — the Cam Newton RPO-style offense is still a far cry from the efficient passing game of Tom Brady — and reduce their scoring defense to 21.2 points per game.
The Rams have a more balanced team with Jared Goff spreading the ball around to a strong supporting cast of receivers and a complementary running game, though they’re averaging just 93 yards per game. The Rams are averaging 25.1 points per game while allowing just 20.2 with a defense led by defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
The Rams are the better overall team, but that isn’t always the best way to bet. The point spread has been as high as Rams -6 and has been bet down to 5. We believe the early money has been on the right side, as the line shouldn’t be this high between these two teams.
If we take the scoring averages, this comes to about Rams 23, Patriots 21.5, or Rams -1.5. And it’s not like we should be assigning anything for home-field advantage in this season with little or no fans in the stands — NFL road teams actually lead 99-90-2 against the spread on the season while home teams are only ahead 96-94-1 straight-up through 13 weeks.
Besides, the Rams lost at home to the 49ers two weeks ago and also failed to cover in a 17-9 home win vs. the Giants earlier this season, so it’s not like they’re always dominant on their new home turf.
The Patriots look like the play at anything more than a field goal. Both teams are 8-4 with the Under this season, but the total has already been shaded a little low by today’s NFL standards at 45 points, so that looks like a coin-flip.
The play: Patriots +5.5.
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Posted it for you,just not here because it's off topic in this 1.
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Don’t be Gay Matt! Let’s go put a long overdue beat down on this bitch.
Mackeyser
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