Patriots Holding First Practice of Super Bowl Week Today

ATLANTA – The Patriots will hold their first practice of Super Bowl week Wednesday as they get ready for the Los Angeles Rams in the big game on Sunday.

Quarterback Tom Brady has said he is laser focused on his quest for a record sixth Lombardi trophy, and the 41-year-old quarterback reflected on the journey that has brought him to nine Super Bowls.

“I couldn’t have asked for anything better or different. Obviously I wouldn’t change anything. I love being here, I love representing our team, and I love trying to go out there and win a world championship.”

One of the major tasks the Patriots will have on Sunday will be protecting Brady and containing a dangerous pass rush of the Rams, including three-time All-Pro Ndamukong Suh.

Suh says he has not gone about trying to remake his reputation in his first and perhaps only season with the Los Angeles Rams.

The mammoth defensive tackle was notorious for racking up fines and suspensions that cost him over $400,000 in his first five seasons, all with the Detroit Lions.

“I’m not sure if anything’s changed,” the ninth-year veteran said. “I’m still aggressive. I still like to get after the quarterback. I don’t know. You’d have to ask the refs.”

The second overall draft choice in 2010, Suh was fined more than $20,054 for a horse-collar tackle early last month in his return to Detroit. But says he’s been mostly satisfied with laying low after signing a one-year, $14 million deal with the Rams last April.

He went so far as to say he doesn’t “mind being in the shadows” — he plays next to Aaron Donald, the only unanimous choice for the 2018 All-Pro squad — and called himself an introvert. That’s quite a transformation for a player with so much negative attention early in his career.

“I think everybody’s got to have their own opinion and look at it for what it actually is,” Suh said. “I mean obviously there’s mishaps that have taken place early in my career, but some people choose to run with it for years. Some people choose to run with it for days. End of story. It’s up to them.”

Content from the Associated Press was used in this report.