A look at the connections between the Patriots and the Rams as we head into this week's game.
NEW ENGLAND TIES
- Rams CB Dwayne Gratz played his college career at Connecticut.
- Los Angeles offensive line coach Paul T. Boudreaumade several New England stops throughout his college coaching career including stints at Boston College, Maine and Dartmouth.
- Rams assistant offensive line coach Andy Dickerson began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Tufts University.
LOS ANGELES AREA TIES
- Patriots S Patrick Chung grew up in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
- New England WR Matthew Slater went to UCLA and is originally from Anaheim, Calif.
- Patriots LS Joe Cardona is from El Cajon, Calif.
- New England offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia was born in Los Angeles, Calif.
FORMER PATRIOTS
- Rams DE Dominique Easley played for the Patriots from 2014-15 and totaled 25 tackles in 22 games played while adding three sacks and one interception.
- Los Angeles assistant offensive line coach Andy Dickerson was an operations intern/assistant for the Patriots from 2004-05.
- Rams offensive line coach Paul T. Boudreau held the same role with the Patriots from 1997-98.
FORMER RAMS
- Patriots WR Danny Amendola played in 42 games for the Rams from 2009-12 where he caught 196 passes for 1,726 yards and seven touchdowns.
- New England DE Chris Long was originally selected by the Rams as the second overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. He spent the 2008-15 seasons with the team in St. Louis and totaled 246 tackles and 54 1/2 sacks in 114 games for the navy and gold.
- Patriots offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels held the same position with the Rams in 2011.
- New England defensive line coach Brendan Daly held the same role with the Rams from 2009-11.
FORMER NFL TEAMMATES
- Rams SS Mark Barron played with Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012.
- Los Angeles DE Cam Thomas played for the Steelers when Blount was in Pittsburgh.
- Rams assistant head coach Dave McGinnis was on the same coaching staff with Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears at the Chicago Bears from 1993-95.
- Los Angeles assistant offensive line coach Andy Dickerson was a coaches' assistant/defensive quality control coach at the Jets when Patriots tight ends coach Brian Dabollwas the quarterbacks coach in New York. Dickerson also worked with Daboll in Cleveland when he held defensive quality control assistant offensive line coaching positions and Daboll was the Browns offensive coordinator.
- Rams defensive quality control coachJeff Imamura was on the same coaching staff at the Minnesota Vikings with Patriots defensive line coach Brendan Daly.
- Los Angeles running backs coach Skip Peete worked for the Cowboys when Patriots TE Martellus Bennett and WR Danny Amendola played in Dallas. Peete also worked for the Bears when Bennett and Patriots LB Shea McClellin played in Chicago.
FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES
- Rams SS Mark Barron played with Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower at Alabama.
- Los Angeles WR Kenny Brittand New England DB Devin McCourty were teammates at Rutgers.
- Rams WR Bradley Marquezand RB Malcolm Brown played with Patriots DL Malcom Brown at Texas.
- Los Angeles DB Cody Davis and Patriots OL LaAdrian Waddle were teammates at Texas Tech.
- Rams RT Aaron Donald was teammates with New England RB Dion Lewis and DL Jabaal Sheard at Pittsburgh.
- Los Angeles OLBAlec Ogletree and RB Todd Gurley were teammates with Patriots C David Andrews and WR Malcolm Mitchell at Georgia. Rams tight ends coach John Lillycoached the running backs at Georgia when Andrews and Mitchell played for the Bulldogs.
- Rams OT Rob Havenstein and TE Lance Hendricks played with Patriots RB James White at Wisconsin.
- Los Angeles LS Jake McQuaide played with New England DB Nate Ebner at Ohio State.
- Rams OT Greg Robinson and Patriots DB Jonathan Jones played together at Auburn.
- Los Angeles passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach Mike Grohwas a graduate assistant at Alabama when Patriots special teams coordinator Joe Judge was a football analyst and special teams assistant for the Crimson Tide, and when LB Dont'a Hightower played for the team. Groh later returned to Tuscaloosa as Alabama's wide receivers coach when Patriots CB Cyrus Jones played for the team.
