Rams’ Brandin Cooks gets 2nd shot at Super Bowl after Patriots tradeVideo
ATLANTA — In the past three NFL seasons, Brandin Cooks has caught passes from Drew Brees, Tom Brady and Jared Goff while playing for Sean Payton, Bill Belichick and Sean McVay. “I guess I know how to pick ‘em, right?” Cooks asked Tuesday with a laugh. Cooks has racked up...
‘Bromance’ of Tom Brady and Julian Edelman key to Patriots success
ATLANTA — Teammates have called their relationship a “bromance.” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady himself openly uses the word love to describe his bond with Julian Edelman, a receiver he has come to depend on during his career. As the duo prepares to play in a fourth Super Bowl together, each...
Super Bowl media night more like mosh pit and Mardi Gras
ATLANTA — Super Bowl Media Night is the NFL’s version of a rock concert, with player interviews rather than music. It’s a Mardi Gras party, complete with the costumes. It’s a slow-motion stampede conducted mostly by quasi-media members or outright impostors. Some Los Angeles Rams players and coach Sean McVay...
Vinatieri, 46, signs contract to play another season in Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — Kicker Adam Vinatieri has signed a one-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts. General manager Chris Ballard announced Friday the two sides had agreed to terms on a new deal. Vinatieri made it official with his signature Monday, then told reporters he was glad the process went smoothly and...
AP analysis: NFL centers seeing shorter career longevity
ORLANDO, Fla. — Pro Bowl center Alex Mack rattled off all he does before the snap: Checks for blitzes, keeps an eye on the play clock, makes blocking adjustments and communicates all the changes to everyone else. All that happens in seconds — with 300-pound defenders a few inches away...
Offensive lines key to Super Bowl for Patriots, Rams
ATLANTA — The Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots are bringing two of the top scoring offenses in the NFL to the Super Bowl. The reason they have played so well has a lot to do with the big guys playing up front. Los Angeles had the same offensive...
AP analysis: NFL keeps going younger and cheaper
By the time NFL players reach their third and fourth years in the league, the vast majority are struggling just to hang on because of injuries or younger, faster and often cheaper rookies out for their jobs. In 2006 and 2011, the players union and the NFL tried to do...
To teammates, Patriots’ Tom Brady stands alone as he chases 6th ring
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Seventeen years ago, Tom Brady was 24 years old and in his second NFL season when he led the Patriots to a last-second victory over the St. Louis Rams for New England’s first Super Bowl title. Four rings later, Brady will arrive in Atlanta for the Patriots’...
Rams’ Todd Gurley says he doesn’t care about Super Bowl role
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Todd Gurley is a serious sports fan who loves going to the Super Bowl each winter, attending all of the decadent parties and soaking up the game-day atmosphere. The Los Angeles Rams superstar running back will miss out on most of those wild parties this year...
With 44 newcomers, Pro Bowl could be more intense than usual
ORLANDO, Fla. — Chicago Bears safety and Pro Bowl newcomer Eddie Jackson posed the same question to several veterans this week: What’s the tempo of practices and the game? “They told me, ‘If you go out there and pull a hamstring, you’re going too hard,’” Jackson said. It wasn’t exactly...
With voodoo dolls and cookies, Saints fans protest with Super Bowl boycott
NEW ORLEANS — “They reffed up” billboards, referee voodoo dolls and posters of blindfolded referees can be seen around the city of New Orleans. The city’s Saints fans are unhappy about the infamous “no-call” during the Saints-Rams championship game and have come up with some pretty creative ways to express...
Tony Romo approaches 1st Super Bowl like regular-season gameVideo
The New England Patriots’ Tom Brady and Los Angeles Rams’ Jared Goff are going into the Super Bowl with plenty of momentum, but the quarterback that might be on the biggest roll is CBS analyst Tony Romo. The former Dallas Cowboys signal-caller will call his first Super Bowl on Feb....
Rams special teams take bag of tricks to Super BowlVideo
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Johnny Hekker, Greg Zuerlein and Jake McQuaide have a ritual during the Los Angeles Rams’ flights home from road victories. While their teammates celebrate up front in the first-class section, the Rams’ punter, kicker and long snapper stay out of the way by retreating to the...
A Super Bowl shutout? Don’t bet on it
Anyone willing to wager that the high-scoring Patriots or Rams will get shut out in the Super Bowl can count on a big payday if that unlikely scenario occurs. William Hill, the nation’s largest sports book operator, released Thursday its list of more than 900 prop bets for Super Bowl...
Patriots controlling clock, third downs during playoffs
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Throughout the Patriots’ run of playoff success under Bill Belichick, one of his best-known attributes has been his ability to craft game plans that have stumped their opponents. He’s at it again. This postseason, New England’s best offensive weapon has been finding ways to keep the ball...
Penn Hills product Treyvon Hester revels in big moment with Eagles
Ever since Penn Hills’ Treyvon Hester entered the NFL, he has worked hard to earn every snap. Hester also has made sure the Philadelphia Eagles fan base never will forget his name. He forever will be known as the player who got his fingertips on Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey’s...
Washington’s Gene Steratore back at Super Bowl, this time as analyst
Gene Steratore is heading to the Super Bowl for the second straight season, this time in a very different capacity. Steratore wraps up his first year as CBS rules analyst at Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta on Feb. 3. He will be in the booth with Jim Nantz and Tony...
Ray Lewis back at an Atlanta Super Bowl 19 years after arrest
ATLANTA — Once again, Ray Lewis and the Super Bowl intersect in Atlanta. Lewis isn’t ducking from the bad memories of his career low point in 2000, when he and a pair of friends were charged for the stabbing deaths of two men outside a nightclub hours after the last...
Ravens coach John Harbaugh gets new 4-year deal
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens coach John Harbaugh received a new four-year contract after a season in which he guided Baltimore to the AFC North title. The new deal is designed to keep the winningest coach in Ravens history under contract through the 2022 season. It replaces a pact that...
Stop whining, the Rams and Patriots earned their way to Super Bowl LIII
The level of our NFL discourse has deteriorated to such mind-numbing depths that three days after an historic Championship Weekend, all anyone wants to talk about are the referees, overtime rules, competition committee meetings and some hurt feelings. Well, I’ve had about enough. Message for everyone: Stop whining. And maybe...
Rams’ Super Bowl-bound bandwagon growingVideo
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams’ bandwagon might be gaining momentum headed toward Super Bowl LIII. With the Rams’ 26-23 win over the Saints on Sunday, the folks are hopping on for the franchise’s fourth trip to the Super Bowl and first since 2002 and more important, its first...
Broncos RB Lindsay enjoying spoils of I-told-you-so season
Denver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay is enjoying the spoils of his phenomenal rookie season even though the cast on his right wrist will keep him out of the Pro Bowl this weekend. Lindsay is serving as a social media correspondent for the NFL at the league’s annual all-star game...
Patriots defense back on track heading into Super Bowl
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It took an entire regular season and some tough losses, but the Patriots defense finally likes where it is at heading into its Super Bowl matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. It hasn’t been perfect, but after a slow start to 2018 and fighting to find an...
‘Greatest Show on Turf’ ushered in today’s era of high-flying offenses
The head-spinning offenses NFL fans are enamored of and will watch in the Super Bowl in Atlanta share their explosiveness with the previous team to win the big game in Atlanta. The Greatest Show On Turf. Yes, at the turn of the century, there was a group that shared so...
Larry Fitzgerald returning to Cardinals for 16th season
TEMPE, Ariz. — Star receiver Larry Fitzgerald is returning to the Arizona Cardinals for a 16th NFL season. The Cardinals announced Wednesday that they signed the 35-year-old Fitzgerald to a one-year contract. Team president Michael Bidwell says, “No player has meant more to this franchise or this community than Larry...
