The Los Angeles Rams realize they're a popular Super Bowl pick

after their spectacular first quarter of the season. Pundits White Robert Woods Jersey , fans and other teams seem to be lining up to praise them.While they appreciate the respect, this is a profoundly weird experience for any Rams who were around even two years ago for the franchise's less-than-glorious return to LA after a decade of losing in St. Louis.This team doesn't have much experience in being the favorites for anything, and the Rams are wary of the role."I hate it," said Michael Brockers, who has been on the defensive line for seven years."I hate looking at 'SportsCenter' and they've got you at the top of the power rankings," Brockers added with a smile. "It's just like, you know, stop crowning us! For me, I'm a humble guy. I don't want to be crowned. I always want the attitude of being the hungry dog, being the underdog, because you almost seem to be more hungrier when you play like that."Nobody with any experience in the Rams' locker room has forgotten that this franchise is just one year removed from streaks of 13 consecutive losing seasons and 12 consecutive non-playoff seasons. Humility is relatively easy with that struggle still on their minds, according to the players and coaches who went through it.Jared Goff doesn't even turn 24 until next Sunday, but he remembers going 0-7 as a rookie starter for the hapless Rams of 2016."I don't think we're getting any bit caught up in anything," said Goff Youth Rob Havenstein Jersey , who's second in the NFL with 1,406 yards passing after his outstanding effort against Minnesota. "I think a lot of people on this team, being part of that team two years ago, understand how easy it is to be on the other side of it, and you don't ever want to go back there. You understand the work that needs to be put in to stay where you're at."Receiver Robert Woods said it's "easy" to ignore the attention the Rams (4-0) are getting."It's just buzz," he said. "It's just noise. We've been on both sides. We've been not talked about, and now we're being talked about, but it's really just focus. We know how it goes. We had a great year last year and fell short, and I think this year the team is just focused. No outside distractions. Don't blink. Just focus on one goal."Los Angeles was revived last season by coach Sean McVay, going 11-5 and winning the NFC West before losing its playoff opener. This season's team appeared to be even stronger on paper — and through four games, that's exactly what it has been.The Rams lead the NFL with 468.5 yards per game of offense, increasing their total every week. Only five teams have allowed fewer points than the Rams, and their special teams have thrived despite losing two of their four Pro Bowl selections to injury.The rest of the football world can get excited about the Rams, but McVay reflexively downplays any idea that they're a Super Bowl favorite."I have no doubt that we have the right kind of guys in our locker room that know it's about earning it every single day Youth Austin Blythe Jersey ," McVay said. "They are confident, but like we've said over and over, there's a humility that exists."Along with the respect they've garnered, the Rams' 15-5 record over the past 20 regular-season games has turned them into a target for opponents, who realize they're facing one of the NFL's best.The power shift in the NFC West could be cemented this weekend if the Rams can win in Seattle for the second straight season. The Seahawks had won eight division titles in 13 years before Los Angeles shoved past them last season, but the Rams only spoke of the Seahawks with immense respect Wednesday."Being hunted, I don't think that bothers us," Brockers said. "Because we've been underdogs for so long, so our mentality isn't even that we're that good. We've won some games, but we know we can get better."Attention has even darker aspects for professional athletes: Woods' house was burglarized last Thursday while he was playing against the Minnesota Vikings. Police arrested four suspects Tuesday in connection with that crime and a series of planned heists at celebrities' homes."It's an unfortunate event, but I'm happy they caught them," said Woods, a native of the Los Angeles suburbs. "I'm happy nobody got hurt. I guess it's LA territory." The Minnesota Vikings have been built around a stifling defense since Mike Zimmer was hired as head coach.That foundation has developed a frightening amount of cracks, one-fourth of the way through Zimmer's fifth season. The Vikings allowed 456 passing yards in their 38-31 loss in Los Angeles to the Rams on Thursday night White Ndamukong Suh Jersey , the highest total against them since 1980.Zimmer said afterward he's never been a part of pass defense so poor in his career, which includes successful stretches as an innovative defensive coordinator with Cincinnati and Dallas. The following afternoon, Zimmer wasn't in any better of a mood when he was asked to assess the coverage breakdowns that led to five touchdown passes by Jared Goff."It was guys getting out of position. There was some misdirection plays. It was similar to what we've gotten before," Zimmer said on a conference call with reporters on Friday. "Some of it was corners, some of it was safeties, some of it was linebackers, some of it was nickels, some of it was me."You?"I might be over-coaching them some," Zimmer said.The good news is the Vikings have three extra days to recover from the Rams game and prepare for their trip to Philadelphia. The bad news is that next game is against the Super Bowl champion Eagles, who were last seen by the Vikings in that 38-7 blowout in the NFC championship game. As dominant as Zimmer's defenses have been, certain teams with versatile and creative passing attacks have been able to exploit them. The Eagles last season and the Rams this year are two glaring examples.Zimmer stopped short of blaming his system for the problems against the Rams, noting the 24-7 victory by the Vikings in Minnesota last season, but the most devastating plays against them on Thursday night were the result of mismatches that Rams head coach Sean McVay helped create with either pre-snap confusion or clever play-calling.Vikings outside linebacker Anthony Barr wound up in coverage on three of the five touchdown passes, to running back Todd Gurley Youth Aaron Donald Jersey , wide receiver Cooper Kupp and wide receiver Robert Woods ."They had a good game plan against us," defensive end Danielle Hunter said. "We made more mistakes than they did, and then they ended up on top."The Vikings only allowed 300-plus passing yards in six games over Zimmer's first four seasons, let alone 400-plus, with a previous high of 383 passing yards at Miami in 2014. Even the 2013 team that finished next-to-last in the league in passing defense didn't yield a 400-yard game.With the arrival of a new quarterback and offensive coordinator, Zimmer said, he figured the Vikings (1-2-1) could start slowly the season. They were 2-2 at the first-quarter mark last year, before finishing 13-3. So all is not lost, but this once-daunting defense has a lot of work to do."This team has a chance to be really, really good. One week it's the offense. One week it's the defense. One week it's the special teams," Zimmer said. "If we put it all together, we can beat any team there is."