Tale of the Tape: Super Bowl LIII Los Angeles Rams vs. New England Patriots
February 3, 2019The most important Sunday of the year is finally here. Teams have duked it out over the course of the last five months vying for a spot in tonight’s big game. Two teams with vastly different 2018/19 campaigns have punched their ticket into Super Bowl LIII and meet for the first time this season. In a Super Bowl XXXVI rematch, the star-studded Los Angeles Rams take on the experienced New England Patriots.
Superbowl LIII is all about the old versus the new. Will acquiring star players in free-agency be the new championship formula or is the “system above individuals” mantra still the ultimate blueprint? Will we have the Super Bowl’s all-time youngest or oldest championship coach? Will the youngest 1st overall draft pick quarterback win his first ring or will we have the oldest QB win his sixth?
Many questions will be answered following tonight’s matchup but, just like every year all of America and beyond will be tuning into find out the answer to the biggest question of them all; Who will be this year’s best football team in the world?
The Fan Verdict brings you Superbowl LIII’s tale of the tape ahead of tonight’s hugely anticipated matchup to help you decide on a verdict (Let us know you verdict down below):
Super Bowl LIII: New England Patriots (13-5) vs. Los Angeles Rams (15-3)
Offense: LA Rams vs. NE Patriots
The Rams and Patriots have two widely different approaches when it comes to offensive personnel.
The Rams are loaded with big name players and high-caliber talent including the likes of the league’s highest paid RB in Todd Gurley, former Patriot and current Rams’ WR, Brandin Cooks, WR Robert Woods and veteran Left Tackle, Andrew Whitworth. The Rams had the second highest offensive yards and points per game averages this season. They were also top 5 in the league in both average passing and rushing yards per game. This combination of superstar power and creative offensive ingenuity has proved to be deadly in the regular season and may cause problems for the Patriots.
Besides an old Rob Gronkowski, an aging Julian Edelman, a rookie RB, Sony Michel and some others, the Patriots lack marquee players. But, what the Patriots offense does have is an extreme attention to detail and an ability to buy into a system. This “Patriot Way” resulted in the fourth highest scoring offense and the fifth highest yards per game average in the league. These players on their own may not stand up to the stars they will go head to head against on paper but their ability to buy into a system, lack of making mistakes and ultimately their effective performance collectively as a team is why this offense can keep up with the high-powered Rams.
Although it is a mistake to understate what cannot be seen on paper with the Patriots offense in terms of preparation, attention to detail and experience, you cannot ignore the firepower that the Rams possess. Superior talent mixed in with a creative offense makes it difficult to defend the Rams. Los Angeles has the slight edge in this matchup in what should be an extremely fun offensive battle to watch.
Advantage: Los Angeles Rams
Defense: LA Rams vs. NE Patriots
Just like their offense, the Rams and Patriots have two extremely different defensive roster builds.
The Rams defense is loaded with big-time players such as Defensive Player of the Year and one of the league’s highest paid defenders, Aaron Donald, budding defensive star, Dante Fowler Jr., and veteran studs, Ndamukong Suh, Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters. There is no question the Rams defense has the high-caliber players to make championship plays, ranking 3rd in the league in causing turnovers. However, acquiring this superstar filled lineup did not come without cost, sacrificing depth for a stacked lineup up-front which may prove to be a problem. Regardless, they have the weapons to make Brady uncomfortable and get pressure on him that no team in the playoffs has yet to do, the perfect counter to beating Brady and the New England Patriots.
The New England Patriots strength on defense is depth and versatility. They have the ability to interchange players, allowing them to get creative on defense and limit player fatigue for the entirety of the game. They can create defensive looks that may be new to Goff while being able to keep consistent pressure with fresh players on the field. They also instill a Patriots classic “bend not break” defense allowing the 12th most yards but the 7th fewest points in the league which may work against a Rams offense that was 18th in the league at scoring touchdowns in the red zone. They do have shut down power on the back end with Pro Football Focus’ 2nd best secondary in the league with the likes of Stephon Gilmore and company. The Patriots have the right formula to slow down the high-caliber Rams offense which they will have to do to give Brady and their offense a chance.
Although the Rams lack of depth on the defensive side of the ball is worrisome and could get exploited by the Patriots, it seems they have the key to beating the Patriots offense in possessing weapons to pressure Brady. With the likes of Suh and Donald, who are potentially the scariest threat the Patriots have had to face all post-season, the Rams have the stars capable of making championship plays. There’s no question that the Rams defense is more talented, but execution will be key. Nonetheless, it is hard to bet against a defense that has the best defensive player in the game on top of many other big-time players.
Advantage: Los Angeles Rams
Coaching: Bill Belichick (NE) vs. Sean McVay (LAR)
Nothing symbolizes the old versus the new quite like the coaching matchup in this year’s Super Bowl.
This will be Coach Bill Belichick’s ninth Super Bowl as a head coach and third in the last four years. Out of those nine Super Bowls he has won five of them. Not to mention he has two more championship rings as a defensive coordinator. It’s not far-fetched to say that Belichick knows how to prepare and coach on the biggest stage. Belichick has an ability to not only scout and successfully find opposing teams’ weaknesses but his ability to self-scout and prevent his opposition from capitalizing on his team’s flaws is football coaching artistry at its finest. He game plans to win but more importantly, he game plans to not lose. With discipline and an extreme attention to detail, a Belichick coached team will not beat themselves. On the NFL’s biggest stage, mistakes prove to be costly and Belichick ensures his players don’t make them. At the age of 66, he has a shot at becoming the oldest coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl, passing Tom Coughlin who brought a title to New York at age 65 (Super Bowl XLVI) coincidentally against the Patriots. Belichick’s experience along with his attention to detail and preparation is unmatched by any other coach in history. He is unquestionably the greatest coach of all-time.
In only his second year as an NFL head coach, Coach Sean McVay, looks to take over as the NFL’s next great football mind. He has gotten every team that needs a head coach looking for someone like him. Well, there is no coach like Sean McVay. He is the youngest to ever win coach of the year honors, he turned a struggling Rams franchise into back to back NFC West champions and the list goes on. His creativity and innovativeness on the offensive side of the ball has revolutionized the league and provided the Rams with success. He will have a chance to bring home Los Angeles’ first Lombardi Trophy in the Super Bowl era (albeit the St. Louis Rams won Superbowl XXXIV in 1999/2000). At the age of 33, McVay has the chance to become the youngest coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl passing Pittsburgh Steeler’s Mike Tomlin (Won Super Bowl XLIII at age 35). He may not have the hardware yet to show it, but he sure has the football mind to match Belichick.
There is no better candidate than Sean McVay to go head to head against the greatest coach of all-time. But, due to his unprecedented experience in preparing and coaching on the big stage the edge has to go to Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots.
Advantage: New England Patriots
Quarterback: Tom Brady (NE) vs. Jared Goff (LAR)
The quarterback matchup is a true reflection and an on-field extension of their respective coaches. Another reminder of the old versus the new. In Super Bowl LIII, a 41-year-old Tom Brady takes on a 24-year-old Jared Goff, the largest age gap in Super Bowl history.
Tom Brady’s legacy speaks for itself. Brady making a Super Bowl is more likely than flipping heads in an overtime coin toss. He’s played for 17 years and has appeared in the Super Bowl a total of nine times. Like his head coach, football’s biggest stage is not so big for him. In fact, the Super Bowl is no less familiar to him than a typical Thursday Night Primetime game (The Patriots have played in more Super Bowls (9) than Thursday Night Primetime games (7) during his career). At the age of 41, he may become the oldest quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl. He has seen his fair share of clutch moments and game winning drives on the big stage. There is no such thing as pressure when it comes to Brady and the Super Bowl. Although he may not be at the same performing level as his younger self, his mental advantage only grows with time.
Jared Goff, the 2016 1st overall pick, in only three seasons removed from the draft is the fastest number one pick to reach the Super Bowl. Like Brady 17 years ago, Goff is at the start of building his legacy with many arguing that his success is more of a product of Sean McVay’s play calling rather than his playing ability. Some may say that the same was said about Brady when he appeared in his first Super Bowl 17 years ago. Regardless, Goff has been able to get the job done. Throughout the season Jared Goff has looked great but has also looked shaky at times. Goff often relied on McVay to read the defense for him to call the correct plays but when facing a New England defense that is effective at giving young QBs different looks, his experience will be tested like never before.
The old versus the new. The young versus the old. Jared Goff is living it. Tom Brady has lived it. The amount of Super Bowl experience that Brady has over Goff cannot be ignored. This is what gives Tom Brady the undebatable advantage in Super Bowl LIII.
Advantage: New England Patriots
Final Score: 2-2
In some ways this matchup closely resembles the last Super Bowl these two teams went head to head in. There is a Rams team that is filled with superstars and on paper seem to have the upper-hand. However, they go up against a Patriots team where “on paper” usually does not matter. The difference this time is New England possesses the veteran QB while Los Angeles puts trust in their budding star. Regardless, we are in for a treat in tonight’s game. The Fan Verdict has the LA Rams and New England Patriots neck and neck in the tale of the tape. It’s up to the fans to be the tie-breaker and determine the fan verdict.
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