On The Beat: 5 questions with Rams writer Rich Hammond - 'Aaron Donald is extraordinary'

Every week, we go deep on the Patriots’ next opponent with our “5 questions…” feature where we check in with a writer who covers New England’s next opponent. For Super Bowl LIII, we talk with Rams’ beat writer Rich Hammond, who covers the team for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, and all of the Southern California News Group. Check him out on Twitter here.

1. Are Jared Goff and Sean McVay prepared for their time in the spotlight Sunday? Are we all making too much of their (relative) youth compared to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick? After all, you don’t get to this point without some big-game experience.



I think they're ready. All season long, they've had the one step, one step, one step approach. I think they're treating this as just the next step, even though it's a  big one. The sense I get is that everyone will just be happy to get to Sunday. It's the Monday-through-Thursday media nonsense that really is jarring to players who have never been through it before. The game is the game. It's normal. I think, with Goff in particular, you just need to look at the NFC title game. The Saints led 13-0, and it was so loud in there that you couldn't hear yourself sneeze, yet Goff actually got better after that and played his best in the fourth quarter. Everyone seems to have this lingering memory of Goff from 2016. That was a long time ago. That said, it's clear that Brady and Belichick have the advantage here. They looked almost bored this week because they've been through it so much, and nothing they see on Sunday will phase them.

2. How healthy is Todd Gurley’s knee?

An excellent question, and probably one that won't fully be answered until after the season. I certainly don't think it's 100 percent, but I also don't think it's 50 percent. His problem against the Saints was not his knee -- let's put it that way, even though I know a lot of people wanted to point to that. I'll be curious to see if there is any type of procedure done after the season, but I don't expect him to be limited in any way in the Super Bowl.

3. Is there an under-the-radar possibility we’re not talking about who could surprise everyone come Sunday?

I'll give you one from each side. Tight end Gerald Everett is a guy who hasn't played a ton and isn't real well known, because Tyler Higbee is the better blocker and gets the bulk of the snaps. Everett has tight-end size and receiver skills, and McVay has even used him on a couple jet-sweep runs. On the other side, Dante Fowler can be impactful. The Rams brought him in midseason because they wanted to improve their outside pass rush, and Fowler has the ability to provide pressure himself and also to make life easier for Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh.

4. Has Aaron Donald struggled at all this year, in any aspect of his game? If so, how has he been slowed?

No, he really has not. Even in the two playoff games, when he didn't record a sack, he was completely disruptive. Teams have slowed him to the extent that he frequently is double-teamed, but he still finds a way to get to the quarterback, and what we've seen in the past two games is that Suh has benefited from that and played well. I'm not one to gush over local players, but Aaron Donald is extraordinary.

5. Finish this sentence — the Rams win Sunday if…

They win the turnover battle and Todd Gurley totals 150 yards from scrimmage.

Rich's Pick -- Patriots, 35-34: I think it will be a high-scoring game that will be decided in the fourth quarter. In that situation, I have a hard time picking against Tom Brady. The Rams' defense has been quite solid in the two playoff games, but it will have to be flawless against New England.