RAMS @ SAINTS: NFC TITLE GAME PREVIEW: INSIDE THE INNER SANCTUM OF THE SUPERDOME / THE BANKABLE SEX APPEAL OF SEAN MCVAY / THE SKULL OF SEAN PAYTON / THE STORMIN MORMON TAYSUM HILL

   

 The NFC Championship game on Sunday will be a rematch of the 45-35 Week 9 regular season meeting between these two teams and in the same building.
      The cauldron of the New Orleans Mercedes Benz Superdome is the setting and the stage for this highly desired and anticipated battle between two phenomenal teams.
      Both the Saints and Rams possess fantastic coaching staffs, all detail oriented and motivating....professional, without being flat; thorough without being obsessive; and aggressive, yet in control. The Rams and Saints aren't exactly who you think they are:
      They do have Jared Goff on one side, throwing bombs all over the field and at such a scary good young age, then there's the grizzled veteran, Drew Brees  (I guess we can't use the term 'grizzled veteran' unless he's got a beard, but oh well) who has a date with a forgotten destiny. We see two great quarterbacks and receiving corps and we immediately think of the passing game.

      Though, the blueprint for these teams all season has been balance: the Cowboys running game was all we heard about last week before the Divisional Playoffs in LA, yet the Rams had almost the exact same amount of rushing attempts on the season as the Cowboys. And we all know how the tandem of Todd Gurley and virtual unknown (but year-long contributor) C.J Anderson attacked them for a franchise playoff record in rushing, with both eclipsing 100 yards and both scoring.
      As for the Saints, They proved against Philadelphia that they can ground and pound with the best in the league when they absolutely wore the Eagles front 7 to pieces through the legs and power running of Mark Ingram and the fast silk of Alvin Kamara; They caved the Eagles front to the point we saw Fletcher Cox (among a host of others) fleeing to the sideline as if Bountygate had been restored.

   New Orleans and LA are deceptively physical, punishing sides and the speed of their passing attack, the power and thrust of their running games tends to leave the opponents scrambling in panic mode and forced into abandoning the run game far earlier than they would've liked to: This is what we've seen the Saints create an institution out of, nearly every season (except for the two or three out of the playoffs) since Sean Payton became head coach and Drew Brees destroyed his shoulder, left San Diego in disgrace and went to New Orleans. And it's exactly what gave the Saints the victory in the Week 9 meeting between the two teams, with the Saints blasting out of the gates to a 35-14 lead before LA could even blink.
       Rams sexgod head coach Sean McVay, The young, offensive genius who cut his teeth on Mike Shanahan's Redskins coaching staff in the early 2010s (one of the most innovative coaching staffs in the last 15 years, which had nothing to do with Shanahan himself) is from the same school of thought as Sean Payton: tough but fair, young though he is wise, energetic and still  patient...he isn't just a great offensive mind and sexy face for the cameras: if you wanted that, go hire Cliff Kingsbury.
      There's a reason every team is trying to find "the next Sean McVay": He's a thoroughly awesome head coach.
       In an interview with Colin Cowherd, former Redskins all pro corner DeAngelo Hall explained how an even younger McVay was soaking up knowledge from all players, coaches, video techs, camera men, equipment staff....basically everyone back in 2011 in Washington.
       This humility combined with McVay's brilliant mind establishes a true leader in a locker room full of big time stars, young talents and high draft picks. It commands respect from players and assistant coaches of all ages when you humble yourself and listen, something McVay has learned and taken with him to LA and he has built something special out on the West Coast.
       And as for his team, The LA Rams have every chance of beating the Saints on Sunday. Not only are they an astounding 13-3 on the road under Sean McVay (a staggering statistic), they've got the depth to accomplish it and most of all, they've experienced the intensity and volume of the Superdome already this season, a big factor in the last playoff game vs Philly, as the Eagles lost their way when the crowd noise surged around them, the Super Bowl champs looking like they were in Vietnam 1968.
       LA will have to establish the run to quiet the crowd, like most predictors and pundits have said, however, the biggest factor in shutting up that crowd is through the play action passing game.
      Half of the Rams passing plays against Dallas were in play action and those plays are incredibly effective when they've  already got the opponent on the ropes and guessing, with their offensive line wearing the opponent down like Rod Stewart's sex drive. And since the Saints are without stalwart defensive tackle and run stuffer Sheldon Rankins (who tore his achilles vs the Eagles), there's a good chance for the Rams to get some sustained action in the run game, which is huge: LA is 17-0, under Goff, when they rush for 120+ yards.
       Now they have two players capable of rushing for 100+.....
      There's also every chance that the offensive line who's played the most together in the last two seasons of any offensive line in the NFL, the Rams line, will look to double on Cam Jordan (now that they don't have to worry about Rankins up the gut) and hopefully give Goff more time in the pocket.
      And if they do, receivers Brandin Cooks and the most complete wide-out in the game, Robert Woods, will be feasting.
        Though it's not just Cooks and Woods who are making plays for the Rams passing game: Goff has thrown 4+ touchdowns to 5 different receivers, with 3 more players having 2+ touchdowns, including their aforementioned powerhouse duo of receivers, Gurley with 4 and tight end Gerald Everett is averaging 9.3 yards a reception. Everett or fellow TE Tyler Higbee could be a factor in this game in 3rd and long situations for Goff.
        Yards after catch will be play a big role in these two teams' offensive strategies as the game moves along, with both sets of weapons being able to blow a defense up and take it to the house on just about any play.
       Everything is set up for this game to be explosive, intense and divisive as the teams have a shared hatred boiling just below the surface.
      To aid the case of a high octane game, the Saints and Rams are 5th and 7th respectively in penalties per  game, so expect a fast paced, player dictated game with fireworks galore.
      Brees will look to put the pedal to the metal on Sunday,  with firm memories of the success they had through the air against these same  Rams: in Week 9, Brees absolutely torched the Rams secondary through Michael Thomas, with the receiver nabbing 12 catches and 211 yards, nearly the numbers he achieved last week vs the Eagles. But with Rams cornerback Aqib Talib back healthy, the Rams should switch from zone coverages to more man-to-man in hopes they can disrupt the short passing routes of the Saints and line Talib up against Thomas, something the creative motion game of Sean Payton's offense will look to confuse and deceive.
      Talib, the fantastic veteran presence in the naive, but talented LA defense, will be needed to hold the edge on the run game,  with Kamara and Ingram definitely capable of breaking through tackles, or making men miss and getting to the second level.
      The Rams defense has been ridiculed and criticized just as the Chiefs' D experienced in the media all year and perhaps unfairly, too, as they were 5th in total defense. Cory Littleton leads the team in tackles, while linebacker and former Alabama stud Mark Barron isn't too far behind, having a solid season.
     Their personnel has talent all over the field: corner Marcus Peters (who was burned by Thomas in Week 9 and made a vow concerning his vengeance and some "gumbo" to meet the Saints again); they've got Aaron Donald, the first defensive player since J.J Watt to be firmly considered for the MVP such is his game-altering abilities; Michael Brockers, another high draft pick from LSU and the once forgotten, now resurgent and crazed N'damukong Suh are gigantic run stopping specimen, who's grinding work usually goes unheralded when Aaron Donald makes huge plays on the back of their relentless pressure up the middle.           
      Elsewhere, the linebackers are interesting: Dante Fowler plays tough, but can be spotty, but most importantly outside linebacker Samson Ebukam must have a better game than he did against Dallas: his inconsistency in coverage has cost the Rams in the passing game and his meager 2 tackles against the Cowboys must be improved upon. He's forced 3 fumbles, grabbed one pick, deflected 1 pass and has sacked a quarterback only twice this season, numbers that must be improved upon if he's to hold his own in the middle against Brees. Barron, as good as a run stuffer as he can be, is also susceptible in the passing game, with only a single deflected pass and 0 interceptions on the season.
        Look for Brees to take advantage of the spaces Barron and Ebukam leave behind them when blitzing, with crossing routes and slants over the middle to expose the soft area in the Rams D.
         So we know about the Rams defense, The arsenal of high draft picks and talented stars in their own right in nearly every position, regardless of their lackadaisical play during the season, they can turn it on when it matters.
        We understand the Rams running game through the two-fer of Anderson and Gurley and how devastating that tandem can be on a defense. We know about Sean McVay and his nuanced offense, led by the young gunslinger, Jared Goff.
        We know they'll utilize the "sugar huddle" to exclude the crowd noise the best they can: McVay has a placeholder play quickly called, with 35 seconds still on the play clock and the young coach in Goff's ear telling him about the coverages, blitzes.... The movement.
       That will come in handy against the Saints crowd noise, although look for the New Orleans to have planned for that in advance.
       This game comes down to one player and one person only: Drew Brees.

       That's an obvious one, although he took a subtle back seat in the come from behind victory against the Eagles last week,  he turned it on when he needed to. He dictated the Eagles defense after 2 bruising quarters with direct efficiency, almost like an assassin.
             Who are we kidding? He is one.
             Will he have enough time against Brockers, Suh and Donald?
             Will he get into an early rhythm and potentially a quick lead with Kamara and Thomas in the screen game?

             Will he throw another interception early in the game and cave under 3 AND OUT CITY (remember, the Rams were brutally efficient in defending the Cowboys on 3rd down, only allowing one conversion the entire game and the Saints sputtered on offense until late in the 2nd). Though this isn't Dak Prescott and his propensity to hold on to the ball for long periods of time. This is Drew Brees: quick-draw McGraw, fast-fire McGyver...this guy is on a mission.
           And watch out for the stormin' Mormon, Taysum Hill, who can throw the ball, run it for 1st downs on fake punts as he did last game and even catch the ball. Hill can be a huge weapon for the Saints if utilized. The Saints are 10-0 when Hill takes part in at least 10 snaps.
            There is no stat, no preceding indication of what the outcome may be....we just have the players on the field, the ball and a few referees trying to get the hell out of the way. The coaches will have their men prepared, schooled and ready for the complexity of either team's offense and mixed up defensive schemes.
            Now, it's down to the players to execute.
            And due to the Rams secondary being raw, naive at times in their ability to get sucked up to the line of scrimmage and the devastating impact of the Saints short passing game setting up the long ball and finally finished off with a healthy dose of the ground game through the power of Ingram and the smooth agility of Kamara, I see the Saints and Drew Brees holding off a vicious, hungry and dedicated LA Rams team, but only just.
       




PREDICTION:
SAINTS 38
RAMS 32


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