The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rams veterans hungry for taste of Super Bowl
THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF. — Ndamukong Suh earned multiple All-Pro honors, Pro Bowl selections and tens of millions of dollars during his first eight NFL seasons.
The imposing defensive lineman had never won a playoff game, let alone a Super Bowl. When he was free to choose his next team after the Dolphins released him last March, Suh decided he would try to fill that gap in his resume.
After speaking at length with the New Orleans Saints and other suitors, he decided to join the Los Angeles Rams. They hadn’t won a playoff game since the 2004 season, but they appeared to be on the verge of something big after going 11-5 last season.
“I felt this team had some of the right pieces, and I would be a good addition to it,” Suh said. “A lot of conversations that we had with the coaching staff and the front office on my visit were (about) playing well in the season and being prepared for the postseason.”
Nearly 10 months later, the payoff has arrived for Suh’s leap of faith to Los Angeles.
After the Rams went 13-3 for the best regular-season record of Suh’s career, he had likely his best game for his new team last weekend when Los Angeles beat the Dallas Cowboys 30-22 in the divisional round. The Rams head into the NFC Championship game at the Superdome on Sunday with a shot at the 32-year-old Suh’s first trip to his sport’s biggest stage.
“It would mean a lot,” Suh said. “I’ve been in this league for nine years. (This is) my first NFC Championship (game), and that would be my first Super Bowl. I get chills thinking about it, so I’m excited. I’m looking forward to it.”
Several of the veterans Los Angeles has added in the past two years also lacked playoff credentials — including 37-year-old Andrew Whitworth, the dominant left tackle who finally got his first postseason win last weekend.
“Honestly, we feel like we’ve been through it,” Whitworth said. “There’s really not much adversity we haven’t seen all year long. I think we kind of feel like we were born for this moment and this opportunity.”
While a conference title game in the deafening Superdome is a new experience for most Rams, Brandin Cooks is an exception on several fronts. The veteran receiver won’t even be surprised by the Superdome din.
Cooks played three years with the Saints — albeit without making the playoffs — before moving to the Patriots last season. He played in the first quarter of the Super Bowl before suffering a concussion that kept him out of the rest of New England’s loss to Philadelphia.
Cooks was traded to the Rams, but he agreed to a five-year contract extension before he had even suited up in a horned helmet. He says he hasn’t regretted his decision, although he didn’t dare to imagine he would have a chance to play in two straight Super Bowls for different teams.
“When I got here, I knew we had something special,” Cooks said. “But (I knew I shouldn’t) get ahead of myself. Take it one game at a time, just build throughout the weeks, and if we have the opportunity, then we’re blessed. Don’t think about it too much, is what I should say.”