We're just days away from Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, Georgia between the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots. Both teams will square off at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the second Super Bowl matchup between the two franchises. The first came back in Super Bowl XXXVI when the Patriots won their first championship with a 20-17 win over the, then, St. Louis Rams at the, then, Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
For a preview of The Big Game, ESPN Seattle's John Clayton joined Mike Schopp and the Bulldog on Thursday. Clayton talked about some of the main headlines heading into the game, the upcoming Hall of Fame ballot in the NFL and more during his weekly visit.
Here is some of what he had to say:
"I got an insider that helped me on that topic. He's hinting that he might be going into acting or wrestling. I talked to one of his trainers, that says he'll be back. I've also heard that if [the Patriots] ask him to take a pay cut, he'll retire."
"If you get inside pressure, you don't allow Brady to step up. [Rams defensive tackle] Aaron Donald; we know he'll get there, but can others on the defensive line do that? Brady could scramble, but it took him 1,000 years to get to 1,000 yards."
"Roger [Goodell] didn't need to necessarily speak on it, but somebody surely needed to. The league needs someone that can be in the referee's ear saying, 'throw the flag.'"
"I think it's evident that [former Ravens safety] Ed Reed and [former Falcons tight end] Tony Gonzalez will make it on the first ballot. There's also a chance that [former Broncos corner] Champ Bailey could, too. After that, it's a dogfight."
You can hear the entire interview below: