THOUSAND OAKS Infant Dakota Allen Jersey , Calif. (AP) — ves going to the Super Bowl each winter, attending all of the decadent parties and soaking up the game-day atmosphere.The Los Angeles Rams‘ superstar running back will miss out on most of those wild parties this year in Atlanta, but he doesn’t mind too much.“I’m used to going to the Super Bowl, being with my boys, hanging out,” Gurley said. “But we actually get a chance to play in it this year, so it’s cool, man. It’s a great feeling. We’re all happy. I’m happy. It’s no better feeling than how we’re feeling right now.”The Rams (15-3) want Gurley to be more than a spectator against the New England Patriots, and they’ll probably need much more from the 2017 Offensive Player of the Year than he was able to provide in his unusually quiet NFC championship game.Gurley is not a boastful person in most public settings, but he is confident in his ability to finish the season with a bang. He also insists he doesn’t mind if C.J. Anderson or somebody else does his job, as long as the Rams are all getting rings.“We’re all going to have our downs, but you enjoy it even more when you do something great, or you have that success,” Gurley said. “I know who I am. I’m comfortable with myself. I’m the best. I’m the best at my position. I’ve been that way all my whole life, so it’s like I’m going to keep striving. I know what I can do.”Nobody saw it in New Orleans, where Gurley made almost no impact on the Rams’ 26-23 overtime victory. The highest-paid running back in NFL history touched the ball only five times, albeit scoring a TD on one of those touches, rushing just four times and failing to catch two of the three passes intended for him.He was mostly a spectator down the stretch while watching Anderson Discount Dakota Allen Jersey , the veteran running back acquired by Los Angeles to fill in while Gurley missed the final two games of the regular season with a knee injury.Unlike some elite running backs, Gurley has repeatedly said he doesn’t care how many touches he gets as long as the Rams are winning. He appears to have a harmonious vibe with Anderson, who predicts a bounce-back performance by Gurley in the Super Bowl.He also still remembers the Rams’ miserable 4-12 season in 2016, when his ability was widely questioned. Being one part of a winning team is infinitely more appealing than being a star on a loser.“This whole game is bigger than me,” Gurley said. “It’s not just about me. Why is Todd not getting the ball? Why is that? Because there’s only one football and there’s 11 guys.”Still, Gurley is a major reason why the Rams were in position to reach the Super Bowl in the first place, thanks to his latest outstanding regular season. He finished third in the league with 1,251 yards rushing and racked up an NFL-best 21 touchdowns, excelling as a runner and a receiver for the second straight year in Sean McVay’s offense.But Gurley’s up-and-down form and usage since early December has been surprising and potentially troublesome for the Rams.Although he was effective as a receiver, Gurley managed just 76 combined yards rushing in his final two regular-season games in early December before sitting out the Rams’ last two games. He returned with a 115-yard rushing game against Dallas in the divisional playoff round, but Anderson put up 123 yards — and then Gurley barely factored in the Rams’ game plan in New Orleans.McVay has attempted to take the blame for this series of quiet performances by his franchise running back.“Any time that you have a player like Todd Gurley on your team, I’ve got to do a better job of getting him involved and getting him into the flow of the game,” McVay said this week, lamenting Gurley’s lack of touches against the Saints. “That’s something that I have to be accountable for.”But if McVay goes to Anderson early and often again in Atlanta, Gurley insists he won’t mind watching another Super Bowl.“You live for moments like that,” Gurley said. “But like I said, you live, you learn. I don’t give a damn what I do (in the game) Super Bowl Dakota Allen Jersey , honestly. I just want to win, so I don’t really care. You always want to do good, but you just want to win.” Ezekiel Elliott never lobbied publicly for a few snaps once the Dallas Cowboys decided to sit their healthy star running back for the entire preseason.Frank Gore actually got two plays with the Miami Dolphins, and the 35-year-old going into his 14th season wanted more. Coach Adam Gase wouldn't have it."I heard about it during the game that he wasn't real happy," Gase said after the third preseason game, when starters usually get their most action before sitting in the finale. "When we went three-and-out, I'm kind of going, 'You got a catch, so does this count? He has a carry and a catch. Can I get him out of the game?'"Sending able-bodied starters into the regular season without a game-speed snap isn't all that unusual, nor is the inevitable hand-wringing and second-guessing every time an important player gets injured in an exhibition.It's all part of the age-old balance of getting players ready for that first big hit or full-speed burst while protecting important pieces of Super Bowl hopes. The regular season starts Thursday night with Atlanta visiting defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia."It's kind of hard to say you shouldn't or should play in them," said Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley, who nursed a sore groin most of training camp but got 13 snaps in Dallas' third preseason game. "You can get hurt in a regular-season game just like those. It's just football, man. It happens."Several teams rested at least one offensive starter throughout the preseason. The Los Angeles Rams didn't play 10 of their 11, the exception being right guard Jamon Brown because he will be suspended for the first two games and needed extra work.While Sean McVay preferred to get third-year quarterback Jared Goff some playing time, he didn't want it to be behind backup offensive linemen because it was more important to the coach to rest the veteran starters up front.Plus, McVay is counting on familiarity with 10 returning starters, including running back Todd Gurley , from a unit that led the Rams to the playoffs last season."I've been around a lot of players that have gone through preseasons where they haven't played and seemed like they were ready to go Johnny Hekker Jersey ," McVay said. "I think the reason that we felt like this was best was because of the continuity that we did have, specific to the offense."Coaches who sit healthy stars in the preseason will say they believe their practice tempo gets them ready. Cowboys right guard Zack Martin, a Pro Bowler in each of his first four seasons, would slightly disagree, even after a preseason scare with a knee injury in the second game against Cincinnati that ended up not being serious."You need those reps," Martin said. "You're in training camp. Obviously those are good reps, but you're going against the same guys, the same defense. Just the fact that you get to see new guys, new moves, new defenses. That's a big part of it. I think that's huge."Receiver Julio Jones and running back Devonta Freeman sat the entire preseason for the Falcons despite being healthy.Pittsburgh receiver Antonio Brown didn't play while nursing a minor injury and Odell Beckham Jr. sat out for the New York Giants coming off a broken left ankle that sidelined him most of last season.It appeared Tennessee was protecting Delanie Walker before revealing that the 34-year-old tight end sustained an undisclosed injury during joint practices with Tampa Bay and was unavailable for the final three exhibitions."I am very confident that I'll be ready," said Walker, a three-time Pro Bowler. "I have been playing 13 seasons, and I've played in a lot of preseason games. So when you only get like five plays in a preseason game, I don't know if that helps you or not."Stephen Jones, executive vice president of personnel for the Cowboys and owner/general manager Jerry Jones' son, doesn't think it helps. Even without a name being mentioned, he knew the question was specifically about Elliott, his third-year back who led the NFL in rushing as a rookie in 2016."I'm sure every back is different Greg Zuerlein Jersey ," Jones said. "I've read quotes from other backs in the league that they don't think they need it. I don't know what five snaps does in a preseason game."Jones, however, disagrees with his dad on shortening the preseason. NFL football operations chief Troy Vincent says teams are polled every year on that idea, and are usually split about down the middle. Stephen Jones believes it's important for younger players to get a chance to show what they can do in games."I know the fans may not love it as much," he said. "I understand that, but there are a group of fans out there who really enjoy watching these young players develop."Vincent, a defensive back for 15 seasons, remembers playing in multiple exhibitions — and sometimes skipping the preseason entirely."To get into football shape — true football shape — the only way to do that is on the field, and the best way is in game action," Vincent said. "I really feel for the coaches and putting together a roster because they have to make sure the players are getting in the work to be evaluated."But there are plenty of players who don't need to be evaluated. Elliott is obviously among them after leading the league in yards rushing per game for the second straight year while missing six games on a suspension over domestic violence allegations."This is the most comfortable I have felt in this offense," Elliott said at halftime of the preseason finale in Houston. "I believe I have had a great camp and enough reps that I'm ready to play."AP Pro Football Writers Teresa M. Walker and Barry Wilner and Sports Writers Greg Beacham, Will Graves, and Steven Wine contributed to this report.