Sure, Wade Phillips has heard of Elandon Roberts.

The two have plenty of common. They both finished high school in Jefferson County, Texas, and were linebackers at the University of Houston, although decades apart.

“I like his mindset,” Phillips said of Roberts. “He’s going to play hard. He was a really good linebacker [at Houston]. I was just a linebacker. I jumped on the pile a lot.”

Both men understand how tough it is to get to the Super Bowl. Phillips, 71, an Orange-born, Port Neches-Groves educated NFL coach since 1976, will stand on the sidelines for his third Super Bowl — and second in four years — as the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator.

“It’s a bigger game than you think it is,” Phillips said. “When you get to the game, the highs can be higher and the lows can be lower than you think. So, you have to have an even keel.”

Roberts, 24, a Port Arthur-raised, Memorial graduate winding down his third NFL season as a New England Patriots linebacker, has been luckier the past three years. He is going to his third-straight Super Bowl, along with three other teammates from the Patriots’ 2016 draft class (guards Joe Thuney and Ted Karras and cornerback Jonathan Jones).

“I never took it for granted,” Roberts told 985TheSportsHub.com. “They have you in the mindset that each year actually gets harder and harder. It’s just a blessing, especially for our class, being in three [Super Bowls] in a row. But it’s been harder and harder each year.”

Case in point: New England was 14-2 in Roberts’ rookie regular season and 13-3 in his second season. The Pats were 1-2 following surprising losses to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team New England barely beat in last season’s AFC title game, and an otherwise underwhelming Detroit Lions team led by Matt Patricia, New England’s previous defensive coordinator.

A miraculous series of laterals by the Miami Dolphins, followed by another stunning loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, left fans wondering if New England had finally lost its edge. Not so.

“We have taken it week by week, seeing what teams are throwing at us, seeing where we need to shape up,” Roberts told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “As it gets late [in the season], you’re coming on, coming on, coming on, getting to that peak point. This is definitely the stage to peak.”

The Rams, who won their only franchise championship for the city of St. Louis in the 1999 season, have been a little more glamorous than the Patriots in 2018, living up to the identity of their reclaimed hometown. (The Rams played in St. Louis from 1995-2015.)

Sean McVay has proven himself as the all-but-baby-faced head coach who relates to his players in terms of generation. He’s helped Jared Goff change his fortunes from a winless rookie starter who took over midseason for UH graduate Case Keenum to a Pro Bowler and playoff quarterback who’s completed 62 percent or more of his passes the past two seasons. Along with the rushing exploits of Todd Gurley in the regular season and C.J. Anderson in the playoffs, the Rams raced to an 8-0 start and established themselves as early favorites to win the Big Game.

“What he’s done here is take a team that hadn’t won a Super Bowl in many years and turned it into a Super Bowl team,” Phillips said of the 33-year-old McVay.

Phillips’ impact on the Rams, however, is hardly overshadowed.

The wise, yet charismatic, Texan has been blessed with two of the more dominant defensive linemen in the game, NFL sack leader Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh.

“I had Reggie White and I had Bruce Smith [as players], but these two are probably the best interior guys I’ve ever coached,” Phillips said.

One of Phillips’ cornerbacks, Aqib Talib, won Super Bowl 50 with him as a Bronco. He deflected the two-point conversion pass from Tom Brady that led to a game-sealing interception the game before.

Much has been shared about the bond between Phillips and Talib in the days since the Rams’ NFC championship win over the New Orleans Saints.

“When you win a Super Bowl, you’re bonded with everybody on the team,” Phillips said. “Aqib gives players a perspective and knowledge of outside things going on if you’ve never been there before.”

Phillips made that comment last Saturday. Two days later, Talib interviewed Phillips on Twitter and asked when he figured out how to be a successful defensive coordinator.

“I’ve been poppin’ since my demo,” Phillips answered, reciting a verse from a song by Atlanta rapper Future.

The music that is Phillips’ defense is as hot as the days of vinyl, apparently. Los Angeles slowed down top-notch rushing offenses in Dallas and New England to get to Atlanta.

“Dallas was a good offensive team,” Phillips said. “The Saints didn’t make 50 yards rushing. People were saying we weren’t going to stop the run, but we did.”

Maybe John Johnson’s game-changing interception in overtime at New Orleans wouldn’t have existed had it not been for missed no-call of pass interference and targeting on a potential game-winning drive by the Saints. It took a federal judge to deny two Saints’ fans their request that the game either be replayed in full or from the point of the missed call.

Asked about his reaction to the no-call, Phillips said: “I’ve been in this game long enough to know that if it’s a penalty against you, you don’t agree. Sometimes they call a penalty against Aaron Donald. You don’t agree with that. You go on to the next play. If they call something against you, you go to the next play. That’s the way it’s been. Maybe there’s a call. Maybe there’s not.”

Like the Rams in New Orleans, the Patriots needed a little overtime to get past Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium two weekends ago.

The Patriots’ place in the Super Bowl seems routine, but they’ve only made the championship game 11 times. Sunday’s big game in Atlanta, where Roberts ended his UH career with a Peach Bowl win over Jimbo Fisher-coached Florida State, will be the 53rd Big Game.

The Patriots have their superstars on offense in Brady, wideout Julian Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski. Their defense isn’t as star-studded, but Roberts and Co. are battle-tested and have come through in clutch playoff situations.

“I think we all play together, that’s what makes us strong,” Roberts told the Journal-Constitution. “There is no selfish person on the D. It’s a do-your-job mentality, what you’ve always heard (a Patriot mantra). We just all do our job.”

Either that do-your-job mentality will help resume football’s latest dynasty, or the Rams will take a championship back to Tinseltown from one of the South’s film hubs.

Contrary to popular opinion, Phillips said the Los Angeles locals are taking notice of their own Super Bowl team, one the city hasn’t had since the 1979 season.

“We’re rebuilding the brand here,” Phillips said. “We’re going to have the most expensive stadium in the United States. The more you win, the more people will be in the stands.

“The people are coming back to support the Rams. People are getting used to their team being the Rams.”

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I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews