THOUSAND OAKS Infant Dakota Allen Jersey , Calif. (AP) 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.”Suh’s thoughts are echoed across the Rams’ locker room, which is filled with accomplished NFL players who have never accomplished much in the postseason.Many key players remain from the team that went 4-12 in 2016 during the franchise’s 13th straight non-winning season Discount Dakota Allen Jersey , from Jared Goff and Todd Gurley to Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers.Several of the veterans that 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.”Indeed, the Rams likely don’t have the collective playoff experience of their fellow conference finalists, but they have a firm bond forged during a season of upheaval.They had to stick together in November when the suburban area around their training complex was rocked by the double impact of a mass shooting at a bar and two wildfires that forced several players and coaches to leave their homes as a precaution. The Rams also had to adjust to a schedule change when their game against the Chiefs in Mexico City was moved back to Los Angeles on six days’ notice.None of it has shaken the team led by coach Sean McVay, who became the youngest coach in NFL history to win a playoff game last weekend.McVay acknowledges no concern about his inexperience on the sport’s highest levels when compared to the likes of New Orleans’ Sean Payton, who has a Super Bowl ring.That’s because McVay has assistant coaches with experience in conference championships and Super Bowls – particularly defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who has done and seen everything the NFL can offer.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 incurring 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 Dakota Allen Jersey nfl draft , 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.”NOTES: WR Robert Woods also got his first career playoff win last week. The six-year veteran admits that last years’ experience in the Rams’ postseason loss to Atlanta helped them. “Just learning from that experience, our win last week was about situational football. Just executing, and protecting the ball.” … For the second straight day, the Rams had no players on their injury report. Although they’ve lost key receiver Cooper Kupp for the season, the Rams have been otherwise remarkably healthy this season. … The torrential rains that have hit Los Angeles over the past three days abated by midday Thursday, allowing the Rams to practice on their normal outdoor fields. The team erected an enormous temporary tent on the parking lot next to their training complex if they needed it, but so far it hasn’t been necessary to go indoors. Aaron Donald makes a joke during a break in practice, and Ndamukong Suh chuckles. Pretty soon, the entire Los Angeles Rams' defensive line is cracking up.This new defense is no laughing matter, though. Six months after the Rams assembled a remarkable collection of veteran talent, it's finally all out on the practice field together.Michael Brockers Super Bowl Dakota Allen Jersey , the other defensive lineman in the Rams' fearsome threesome up front, thinks the rest of the NFL should be wary."Just backing out of the huddle and looking at all the talent we have is kind of surreal," Brockers said. "I look back and I'm like, 'Bro, we can be so crazy on this field.' But it's on paper first, so we have to go out there and prove why we're so talented, why we're so great."Donald, Suh and Brockers have been together in practice for the first time over the past week while the Rams prepare for their opener in Oakland on Monday night. Cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib are eager to get on the field after barely playing in the preseason to see if this defense can live up to its enormous potential.The bulk of the defensive starters only got seven snaps together in the preseason. That's still more than the offense, which didn't play at all, and defensive coordinator Phillips doesn't sound overly concerned."I think they're going to be really good," Phillips said. "But it's (about) meshing together and playing the right way. I have a lot of confidence in them. ... We have a group that really likes football. Some teams or players I've been with, they played because they were good at it or whatever. But this group, they like football. They like playing football, and some of them even like practicing Johnny Hekker Jersey , which is a little different."Donald is the biggest key to the Rams' aspirations, and the NFL's defensive player of the year is going full-speed in practice after being away from the team for several months in a contract holdout. He won't have any limit on his snaps in Oakland, coach Sean McVay confirmed Friday."We've been missing that little puzzle piece, the final piece, so it's been awesome," Brockers said. "He's been making some great jokes, and we're just happy to have him back. ... A.D. is a pro. He's been studying the playbook. He's been watching film. Literally, we plugged him in, and he knew everything he's supposed to do. We haven't had to slow down at all. We honestly picked up the tempo."Donald missed the Rams' 2017 season opener after ending his holdout one day earlier. This year, he signed his new contract last Friday and reported to the Rams in time to get ample work before the games begin."You kind of know what to expect," Donald said of his second straight late arrival. "But you've got the opportunity to come back and basically get six practices under my belt before the first game, so I think that's going to be a big help for me, as far as getting adjusted out there."Donald's partnership with Suh has been hotly anticipated ever since the Rams outmaneuvered several suitors last March to sign Suh to a one-year deal."He makes my job easier, you know?" Donald said. "When you've got guys out there like him and Brock next to you Greg Zuerlein Jersey , you know the other guy is going to make plays, just like you make plays. You're just a little bit more comfortable."Any talk about the potential success of this defense comes with a giant caveat in the middle.While the defensive line and secondary are jam-packed with proven NFL talent, the Rams' linebackers are mostly unproven at an elite level. What's more, veteran inside linebacker Mark Barron seems increasingly unlikely to begin the season healthy after missing the first two days of practice this week with a flare-up of an Achilles tendon injury that has dogged him for months.Untested Cory Littleton is taking over for traded middle linebacker Alec Ogletree, the Rams' leading tackler in four of the past five seasons. Samson Ebukam and Matt Longacre also are penciled into starting spots, and even defensive lineman Dominique Easley has taken practice reps as a pass-rushing outside linebacker.If Barron can't play against the Raiders, Los Angeles is likely to put Ramik Wilson into the starting lineup for his Rams debut after three seasons in Kansas City."He's a smart player," said Phillips, who played Wilson more extensively in the preseason than other probable regular-season contributors. "He's started before in the league, and he's played well when he's been in there. He knows what to do."
