When it comes to international travel, the Los Angeles Rams made headlines.
While the San Francisco 49ers arrived in Melbourne, Australia, a week early for the Week 1 game, Rams head coach Sean McVay had his team arrive roughly 28 hours before kickoff.
The Rams were embarrassed by the 49ers, leading many to believe the players were jet-lagged and hadn’t had enough time to adjust. McVay disagrees that the late arrival hurt his team’s performance, but the notion is understandable.
“There was one thing I thought about during all that: How much garbage people were talking about the stupid travel,” Brady said. “You know what matters? Playing good football. I don’t give a s*** if you show up five minutes before the game, an hour before the game, a week before the game, when you show up and you walk out on the field, complete the passes, make the blocks, make the tackles and play good football. There’s nothing more important than execution.”
Brady makes a sound point about execution, and the Rams took the field unprepared, from the coaches down to the players. Two examples stand out. The offense scored just seven points, the fewest in the NFL in Week 1, and the defense allowed nearly 400 ...