Patriots on ‘business trip’ with Los Angeles sojourn
Belichick says Rams matchup ‘almost like having a home game’
Could the Patriots’ longest road trip of the season actually be a good thing?
With a quick turnaround from their game Sunday against the Chargers to Thursday night’s clash with the Rams, the Patriots opted to stay in Los Angeles instead of making two separate trips. They arrived Friday and won’t leave until after their game Thursday night, which provides them some important perks.
After Sunday’s 45- 0 demolition of the Chargers, there was no cross-country flight to get back home. It was straight to business as they prepare for a critical game against the Rams. Bill Belichick certainly isn’t complaining.
“It was a big advantage last night to play the game and then come back to the hotel and watch the film, players are resting, no travel involved and all that,” Belichick said. “It’s almost like having a home game. Those are good things and it’s a short week here, so it’s a real scramble for the Rams, but to not have any extra travel and all that, it’s a big advantage for us in terms of trying to get ready for the week, so that’s part of why we stayed out here. You have to make the trip one way or another.
“Saturday’s a day to relax and not travel the day before the game, and the day after the game, or the night after the game and the day after the game, again, much better opportunities to recover and get ready and eliminate the travel. I’m glad we’re doing it and hopefully it will help us this week.”
As he sat in front of palm trees in 70-degree Los Angeles weather, Patriots wide receiver Damiere Byrd echoed his coach.
“I think it’s definitely beneficial not having to jump on a plane right after the game and kind of regroup that way,” Byrd said. “We were able to just get back to the hotel and get back to treatment and get back to recovering our bodies for the short week.”
With COVID-19 cases surging around the country, Los Angeles County is under a stay-at-home order, so the Patriots don’t have much of a choice but to be around one another. Belichick wasn’t sure how much the extra time together could help his team
bond, but it’s certainly not a bad thing for a team that seems to like being around one another.
“When we really left Massachusetts to come out here, we talked about it, this is a business trip,” said rookie linebacker Anfernee Jennings. “And we came out here to handle business and nothing less, nothing more. I’m fine with that. I’m in my room, watching film, kind of getting the opportunity to be around the guys a little more than normal because we’re actually staying at the same place. Just enjoying it, and we’re working.”
The Patriots could certainly use these benefits given their opponent. The Rams are not a team they play often, and with the short week, that amplifies that challenge. But as Belichick noted, it’s the same for the Rams and
there is some recent familiarity after the teams met in the Super Bowl less than two years ago.
There have been some significant changes on the Rams, as they have a new defensive coordinator and special teams coach from that Super Bowl team, but there’s plenty of familiarity with Sean McVay’s offense led by Jared Goff, who the Patriots suffocated in that 13-3 victory.
“It’s a lot of the core things that we saw a couple years ago,” Belichick said. “Sean’s broadened the offense, he’s brought in some different things and of course, seeing (Cooper) Kupp in this game. We didn’t see him two years ago. He certainly makes a big difference, so there’s some similarities, but plenty of differences as well.”
One thing certainly remains the same for the Rams: Aaron Donald.
Los Angeles’ star defensive end is having another All Pro-type season, with
11 sacks in 12 games, and is another matchup nightmare for the Patriots’ offensive line after facing Joey Bosa on Sunday. Though Donald was mostly quiet in the Patriots’ Super Bowl victory in 2019, the Patriots will make him priority No. 1 on Thursday night.
“He’s kind of like Bosa, he can ruin a game,” Belichick said on WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni & Fauria.” “So the guys that are lined up across from him are going to have a big challenge. He moves around and kind of like Bosa does, he’s an end, he’s a tackle, but they move around, they’re not in the same place all the time, and Donald has a variety of moves. …
“He’s seen just about everything and different ways to attack him and he reacts to it quickly and knows how to deal with it, so he’s got a great motor, he’s good against the run, against the pass. … It’ll be a big challenge for us.”