Fitness » How We Got HereThrough sixteen reg

ular season games Dante Fowler Jersey , one divisional round and one conference championshipour Los Angeles Rams will face off against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII for a chance to host the Lombardi Trophy.Long ago, I attended the first Super Bowl held in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum between the NFL and AFL. I’ve attended each and every Super Bowl played in Los Angeles since then and watched all 52 of the games.If you would have told me that the Super Bowl would become what it has after Super Bowl I, I would’ve laughed. But the NFL’s dominance over the AFL changed when the New Jets QB Joe Namath, despite being 18 point underdogs, guaranteed his team would beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. The year after that the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs duplicated the Jets performance by stunning the highly favored NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. The game has never been the same since.This isn’t just a game anymore, its beyond being a spectacle or an extravaganza. The entire country shuts down when the game is played. There’s some much hype that it’s hard to take, especially when your favorite team is playing in the big game.What I’ve Learned About The Super Bowl Over The Years:The one thing I’ve taken away over the years about the game is that favorites don’t always win. The pseudo football experts - whether in print, radio, or television - will provide us with a boat load of reasons why they’re picking one team over the other. Sometimes they’re right, sometimes they’re wrong.In this game, your guess as a fan is a good as theirs. This is because each conference is different C.J. Anderson Jersey , turnovers are never part of evaluation process and no one can say with certainty who is going to win. The game can be as predictable or unpredictable as you want to make it.The New England Patriots DynastyTom Brady and Bill Belichick are the GOAT. If you’re a football fan, not recognizing this coming into the game is a huge mistake. To be playing their ninth Super Bowl in the modern area where the parity rules of the league are designed for greater competition among the teams is remarkable. It will never be duplicated.Respect it, but don’t fear it.The Los Angeles RamsThe 2018 Los Angeles Rams are the new kids on the block, quite the opposite from the old school style of football played by the New England Patriots. Emblematic of this new era is the Rams head coach, Sean McVay, who In just two short years has guided the 4-12 Rams into the Super Bowl utilizinga wide open offense designed to take advantage of the favorable passing game rules. The Los Angeles Rams have a storied history themselves going back to their days to Cleveland. In 1947, after winning a NFL Championship in 1945, the team moved to Los Angeles where they won a NFL Championship in 1951. The team then packed their bags in 1993 and headed to St. Louis where they won Super Bowl XXXIV. In 2016, the team moved back to Los Angeles.The Rams haven’t won a NFL Championship as the Los Angeles Rams since 1951. I’ve been rooting and watching this team play football since 1958. I’m biased when it comes to my Rams and it’s my opinion that my long suffering nightmare of frustration will come to an end this Sunday.Last Words of Wisdom From the ProfessorThis is our team’s final exam. Back on August 29, 2018 I said this about the journey ahead: “Get ready for a season the likes of which Los Angeles Rams fans haven’t seen since 1951.”Nothing I’ve seen during the course of this season since then has made me change my opinion coming into this game. This is where the journey ends. GO RAMS! All-Pro kick returner Pharoh Cooper will be placed on the Los Angeles Rams' injured reserve list after he severely sprained his ankle in the season opener at Oakland.Cooper will need surgery to repair his ankle, coach Sean McVay said Wednesday.The injury throws an early obstacle into the path of the Rams (1-0) Eric Weddle Jersey , who won the NFC West last season with four Pro Bowlers leading their nearly flawless special teams units. All four returned this season, with All-Pro kicker Greg Zuerlein and All-Pro punter Johnny Hekker alongside Cooper and long snapper Jake McQuaide."What a great competitor and a tough guy," McVay said about Cooper. "It's unfortunate, but I think if there's anybody that's going to respond the right way and just do what he can to get back sooner than later, it's going to be Pharoh."Cooper emerged as an elite kick returner last season, his second with the Rams. The South Carolina product easily led the NFL with 1,331 combined yards on kickoffs and punt returns, also finishing first in the league in yards per kickoff return (27.4) and second in yards per punt return (12.5). He also returned a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown early in the season.Cooper also caught 11 passes for 84 yards as a depth receiver for the Rams during the worst-to-first transformation of their offense. But his outstanding season ended on a mediocre note in the Rams' home playoff loss to Atlanta when he muffed a punt and fumbled on a kickoff return in the first half, directly leading to 10 points by the Falcons in their 26-13 victory.With Cooper's ostensible backup, Michael Thomas, also dealing with injuries Austin Blythe Jersey , the Rams' primary kick returner on Sunday is likely to be JoJo Natson, McVay said. Natson was re-signed by the Rams on Wednesday, 12 days after being waived in their late roster cutdowns.Natson, who is also a receiver, appeared in seven games last season as a rookie with the New York Jets, returning 16 kickoffs and 16 punts after starting the season on their practice squad. He signed with the Rams in July.He spent the past several days back home in Florida after missing out on a spot on the Rams' roster despite having a solid, occasionally exciting preseason. Natson got the call from Rams special teams coach John Fassel on Tuesday and jumped on a plane to the West Coast a few hours later.Natson watched last weekend's games on his couch, but he'll be in uniform when the Rams open their home schedule against the Arizona Cardinals."I didn't expect for the turnaround to be this quick at all, but I'm just thankful for the opportunity to come around again," Natson said. "It's a tough process at first. It was always my dream to play in the NFL, but when things don't go my way Sean Mannion Jersey , I just keep pushing on. I just stay positive."Natson knows he is small by NFL standards. He lists himself at about 153 pounds and 5-foot-7, or "5-8 on a good day.""It's light, but you know, you can't hit what you can't catch," Natson said. "I just go out there and just try and play with my heart, because that's what I live off, my heart, and everything else takes care of itself."NOTES: With a short week of preparation following their Monday night game in Oakland, the Rams held only a light workout Wednesday and concentrated on the mental aspects of preparation. McVay plans to hold a regular Thursday practice as they get back into standard game preparation. ... LB Mark Barron still isn't practicing while he attempts to return from an ankle injury. ... Thomas also missed practice with a hip/groin injury.