Chat » ”If you play for the Rams, the reply basically is “nev

Hey Jacob McQuaide Jersey , have you guys been here before?If you’re a New England Patriot, the answer pretty much is “all the time.er in my life.”So if experience is a factor in Sunday’s Super Bowl, the overwhelming edge is with the 2½-point favorites from Foxborough who are 5-3 in NFL title games with Tom Brady at quarterback and Bill Belichick in the hoodie on the sideline.The Rams, whose past two Super trips were representing St. Louis in 2000 and ’02, have four players who have gotten this far. New England has four on its defensive line alone.“Probably, throughout the week, it gives them an advantage,” Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth says — and he’s finishing up his 13th NFL season, though it’s his first that ends in February.“They kind of know this week. They know when things are a little anxious, when to kind of, ‘Hey, turn it on and get ready to play.’ They probably have a process and plan for the week.”Athletes in every sport talk about how helpful a comfort zone can be. It’s even more pronounced when it accompanies events such as the Super Bowl, which, for better or worse, transcends football.Brady and most of his teammates, in their third straight visit, barely flinch at all the attention, media demands and alterations to the norm they encounter during Super Bowl week — although they were taken aback somewhat by the cacophony and circus atmosphere of opening night on Monday. Aside from Aqib Talib, C.J. Anderson, Brandin Cooks and Sam Shields, for the Rams this is uncharted territory.Rams coach Sean McVay tends to dismiss that theory, however. Using quarterback Jared Goff as an example Dominique Easley Jersey , McVay could have been speaking for his entire squad, which has made a sensational turnaround in his two seasons in charge.“He’s an unfazed quarterback,” McVay says. “I think his way to have success and handle adversity the same demonstrates that poise and confidence you want from your quarterback.”Nowhere is the experience matchup more uneven than at QB. At 41, Brady already is the oldest quarterback to start a Super Bowl. Goff is 24 and one of the youngest.Well, maybe nowhere is an exaggeration, because Belichick, at 66, could become the oldest coach to win a Super Bowl. He has worked 41 postseason games, with 30 victories, most among head coaches in NFL history. He’s the only head coach with five Super Bowl rings.McVay is half his age and in his first NFL title game, the youngest Super Bowl head man.Rams President Kevin Demoff hears all of that so-called evidence, then cites so many positives about McVay that he sounds like the next dominant coach.Sunday will be a powerful acid test for McVay and his team.Some other things to look for in Super Bowl 53:GRONK’S FINALE?There’s widespread speculation that Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski could be playing his final NFL game. The four-time All-Pro has been plagued by injuries for much of his career, and only in his first two pro seasons did he play a full 16-game schedule. In 2018, he made it into 13 games.Gronkowski has battled through back, knee, ankle and arm injuries throughout his nine pro seasons, and thought about retirement after last year’s Super Bowl loss to the Eagles. If this will be it for the big-play tight end with superb blocking skills, he isn’t letting on.“As of right now, those are the last things I’m thinking about,” Gronkowski says. “I love playing the game. After a long season, after the (Super Bowl), a few weeks down the road, you sit back Troy Hill Jersey , you relax, you get some downtime, enjoyment time. And you just see where you want to go with it.“That’s a tricky question. You’re trying to get around me. You’re just trying to get you some answers over there, baby. But like I said, I don’t know. I haven’t done that sit-down yet. I’ve got to do that sit-down. About two weeks after (the Super Bowl), then I’ll know.”DONALD’S DOMINANCERams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, the only unanimous All-Pro this season, led the NFL with 20½ sacks.Considering that Brady barely has been touched or pressured in two playoff games — both against teams with strong pass rushers — it is incumbent upon Donald to be a factor Sunday.Make that a major factor.“We’ll get to him, but we have to stay patient and don’t get frustrated,” Donald says. “We’ve got a great secondary that will do its job and make sure he doesn’t have easy throws. If he has to hold onto the ball, we’ll have our chances. We just have to go get him.”Otherwise, the most accomplished quarterback in Super Bowl history might tear them apart.CLOSE ONESThe Rams’ past two trips to the big game were tight affairs in which they beat Tennessee and lost to New England. In all of the Patriots’ eight previous trips in the Brady-Belichick era, the result was in doubt until the final moments.So to expect a romp at Mercedes-Benz Stadium seems foolhardy.“It would be nice to get one of those,” Patriots receiver Chris Hogan. “But the idea is to win, no matter how you do it.”The largest margin in a Patriots Super Bowl under this regime has been the eight points the Eagles beat them by a year ago. LAS VEGAS (AP) — Football fans in three states legally bet almost $185.5 million on the Super Bowl this year, with sportsbooks ending Sunday with mixed results and Nevada operators seeing the first drop in the total amount wagered on the game since 2015.The game between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams was the first major professional sporting event to be posted on the boards of sportsbooks outside Nevada. All opened after the U.S. Supreme Court ended a federal ban on wagering on sports last year.Figures released Monday by gambling regulators in Nevada show people wagered $145.94 million at the state’s 200 sportsbooks, $12.65 million less than in 2018. Sportsbooks operators in New Jersey accepted about $34.9 million in wagers and lost money, while in Mississippi, fans bet around $4.67 million at non-tribal casinos.“I would characterize it as a solid day. It wasn’t a bad day or a great day; it was right in the middle,” said Jay Kornegay, vice president of race and sports book operations at Westgate Las Vegas Superbook.Nevada’s effective monopoly on sports betting ended last spring, when the Supreme Court ruled the ban should be lifted. Casinos in seven other states — Rhode Island, Delaware Michael Brockers Jersey , Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New Mexico — now accept wagers on sports. The list is expected to grow by next year.New Jersey gambling regulators said sportsbooks lost $4.6 million when they paid $39.5 million to those who won bets. Many gamblers backed the Patriots, who beat the Rams 13-3 and covered the spread of 2 1/2 points.Super Bowl Sunday “was by far our biggest day ever in New Jersey in terms of handle,” said Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill US, which runs sportsbooks at two casinos and a racetrack in New Jersey as well as dozens of sportsbooks in Nevada. “It was really good.”He said William Hill’s take for the day “was pretty much break even win/loss. We couldn’t be more pleased overall — the retail locations were strong, especially the Ocean Resort Casino, which had an unbelievable crowd.”DraftKings, which runs mobile wagering in New Jersey along with an in-person lounge at Resorts casino, also set a new record for the amount wagered. Spokesman James Chisholm said the company paid out about $11 million in winning bets to customers, “and took a small, barely seven-figure loss.”The Westgate lost on the game itself, but did well on proposition bets — wagers on unique and various outcomes offered starting a few days ahead of the game — and on futures bets, which allow gamblers to wager on outcomes way in advance. Some bettors picked the Rams to win the title at the start of the season, for example, and lost their bet on Sunday.But one particular proposition bet had operators sweating. The Westgate and William Hill offered 500-1 and 300-1 odds respectively on no team scoring a touchdown.The game’s lone touchdown happened with seven minutes left on the fourth quarter.“We would have been carried off on a stretcher if it hit,” Asher said of the proposition bet.