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The Los Angeles Rams say they are ready for the New Orleans Saints.

They insist the Mercedes-Benz Superdome crowd noise will be a nonfactor in their rematch with the Saints in the NFC Championship Game.

But I think otherwise. They sound like they are trying to convince themselves that everything’s going to be OK. They sound to me like a team in denial.

The Saints are in their heads. And trust me, the sellout crowd of 73,000 will be in their ears on Sunday.



Five reasons why the Saints will win:

1. The Dome-field advantage is not a myth
The Superdome atmosphere is guaranteed to be electric. With Drew Brees and Sean Payton begging Saints fans to bring the noise all week, I expect four quarters of unrelenting sound and fury.

The Saints thrive in this element. Especially quarterback Drew Brees. No one manages mayhem like No. 9. He processes chaos better than any quarterback alive. His passer rating in eight homes games this season was an extraordinary 129.1

Trust me, the Rams and Jared Goff aren’t ready for what awaits them. Few are.

Ask the Minnesota Vikings.

The last time the Saints played an NFC Championship Game in the Superdome the Vikings outplayed the Saints for four quarters. They dominated both sides of the ball and outgained the Saints 31-15 in first downs and 475-257 in total yards. And they still lost.

They lost because they hemorrhaged mistakes at crucial times and the Saints seized on each opportunity.

There’s a reason the Saints have won six consecutive home playoff games in the Payton-Brees era.

Three-plus hours of sensory bombardment takes its toll on opponents. Eventually your focus wanes, and mistakes occur.

It’s no coincidence that the Steelers fumbled twice in the fourth quarter in Week 16 and Alshon Jeffrey let a perfect pass slip through his hands in the final minutes last week.

The Superdome mystique is real.

If the Rams didn’t figure this out in Week 9, they will Sunday.



2. The Saints will ram L.A. on the ground
Raise your foam finger if you’ve heard about Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson this week.

Instead of asking how the Saints can stop the Rams’ running game, people should be asking how the Rams are going to stop the Saints’ ground attack.

Opponents averaged 5.1 yards a carry against the Rams' leaky defense this season. Four backs topped the 100-yard mark against them. And I’ve got news for you, Chris Carson, Jordan Howard, Alfred Morris and Rashad Penny are not Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara.

Look for the Saints to pound the Rams on the ground Sunday. Their dominant offensive line will control the line of scrimmage and gradually impose its will on the Rams. And once the Saints get the L.A. defense on its heels, Brees will burn them deep with play-action passes.

The Saints outrushed the Rams 141-92 in their Week 9 meeting, and there’s no reason to think they won’t do so again.

3. The kicking game will continue to dominate
Greg Zuerlein and Johnny Hekker are good. Wil Lutz and Thomas Morstead are better.

The Saints’ kicking game has been one of the underrated factors in their 13-3 season.

Lutz missed only three kicks all season and one was blocked. He set club records for accuracy and scoring and should have gone to the Pro Bowl.

Morstead remains the best all-around punter in the league. Opponents returned only 12 punts of Morstead’s 43 punts this season.

And let’s not forget the Taysom Hill factor. The 6-2, 240-pound utility back is not your average upback. He’s a force of nature on fakes.

The Saints win the hidden yardage battle weekly because of Morstead, Lutz and their dominant coverage units. They win it again this week.

4. The Rams have no answer for Kamara
Did I mention Kamara? The Saints’ second-year back, not Gurley, was the best running back on the field when the Saints and Rams played in Week 9.

He scored three touchdowns and gained 116 combined yards from scrimmage. He gained an average of 5.1 yards on his 23 touches on the ground and through the air. Ten of his touches resulted in either a touchdown or a first down. The Rams had no one to contain him in November, and they have no answer for him now.

5. They're just plain better
The Saints are superior to the Rams in several key areas. Their pass rush is better. Their kicking game is better. Their run defense is decidedly better. And their quarterback and head coach are more talented and experienced.

They proved they were the most complete team in the NFL for 16 games this season and they proved they were better than the Rams in a 45-35 victory in Week 9.

Add up all those factors and throw in the home-field advantage and you have the recipe for a blowout.

The 2009-2010 NFC Championship Game was a dramatic nail-biter. This one won’t be as close. The Saints will seize an early lead and gradually extend it as the Rams implode under the pressure.

The good times will start to roll in the second half. The fourth quarter should be one big Black and Gold dance party on the Saints sideline, Choppa style.

NOLA

The Dude

Anyone remember how everyone was saying the Rams play had really dropped off the last 4-5 games in the season? The pundits and their fans were saying it. The word overrated came up continuously. They beat Dallas and all of a sudden they are unstoppable.
I’m not as confident as the article but it’s not going to be easy for them

AsylumGuido

Supposedly CJ Anderson was some sort of savior for them. The savior was facing the Cardinals and the 49ers their final two games. Their defenses had both already quit for the year. Then they had the Cowboys who suck (six losses) on the road in the opening round.

jeanpierre

And to the previous point - Didn't the Rams lose to both Chicago and Philadelphia, and the latter was at home, in the month of December?

Notice that the talking heads are glancing over that, if it's even mentioned at all...

SmashMouth

Under the radar and still playing for the NFCCG.

jeanpierre

Another edge - If Sean Payton stays within himself, doesn't start ghost-chasing (beating himself), Payton will not make the same playoff-football mistakes a talented, but inexperienced Sean McVay may make...

jeanpierre

Nice Setup...

WillSaints81

Oh my

Halo

Cowgirls melting in the playoffs is no surprise to anyone.
If that's what they're basing "unstoppable" on, then bring it, we'll see tomorrow.

homerj07

I'm so amazing jelous to those of you who are going to the game.

Yell loud for the rest of us!