for at least another season — and he may have decided several weeks ago.“We’ll be ready next year,” Fowler said immediately

ATLANTA (AP) — When Super Bowl 53 kicks off less than two weeks from now Quincy Williams II Jersey , legions of police and federal agents will be positioned to protect fans inside and outside the Atlanta stadium where the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams face off.The game will bring international attention, which makes it a potential target for terrorism, said Brian Levin, a former New York City police officer who is director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.“We fortify these events because we have to,” Levin said. “They’re the brightest bug lamps that attract an array of possible extremists and also unstable people as well.”Authorities won’t discuss specifics of their security plan. But they say they will safeguard areas beyond the downtown Mercedes-Benz Stadium and make officers visible across the city. The city’s police department has worked with more than 40 state, federal and local law enforcement agencies to develop the plan, Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields said. Officers will work 12-hour shifts and will “position ourselves so that we can react immediately to whatever scenario we are confronted with,” Shields said.The chief said law enforcers have been preparing for two years, during which time they visited Super Bowls in Houston and Minneapolis to observe safety measures taken by their counterparts.Recent attacks in the U.S. and around the world have taught authorities that they must be prepared to defend more than the obvious targets.Atlanta knows this well. During the Olympic Games in 1996 Ryquell Armstead Jersey , a man set off a pipe bomb at Centennial Olympic Park, a downtown public space that lacked the high security of the athletic venues and Olympic Village where athletes were staying. Shrapnel from the bomb tore through a crowd of concertgoers on July 27, 1996, killing a woman who was hit in the skull with a nail, and wounding more than 100 others.“Our main focus at that time was on the Olympic Village,” said Richard Stogner, who was in charge of finances for the Olympics and as such was involved in security meetings weeks and months before the games. Stogner witnessed the deadly violence from his office overlooking the park. He recalled walking onto his balcony and seeing a large cloud of white smoke and at least a couple of people lying on the ground.Shields said there was a desire at the time to make the park “family friendly,” so the decision was made to keep security more lax there.“In hindsight, that was a mistake,” she said.In the days leading up to the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 Gardner Minshew II Jersey , the park — which has been closed off with high chain-link fencing in some places — will play a central role as it hosts numerous concerts and other game-related celebrations.In addition to increased security around the city, Atlanta Fire Rescue will put some of its paramedics on bicycles so they can reach patients in areas crowded with pedestrians, Chief Randall Slaughter said. And Shields noted that a joint operations center that will also include officials from Georgia Power and the city’s mass transit system is set to open Saturday.Authorities will not take their preparations for granted, however, because terrorists “never stop creating, they never stop thinking,” Shields said.In Atlanta in 1996, “the guy just decided that he wanted to blow up people, so he set a bomb off,” Stogner said. “That’s hard to prepare for.”During a soccer game between France and Germany near Paris in November 2015 Christian Wilkins Jersey , it was outside the stadium where suicide bombers blew themselves up, killing a bystander. And in May 2017, it was as fans left a concert by singer Ariana Grande in Manchester, England, that a bomb was detonated, killing more than 20 and wounding more than 100.In recent years, threats have evolved from large terrorist groups to small cells or “lone wolves” who can be harder to identify. Some become radicalized on the internet, borrowing hatred from other groups and blending it with their own views, Levin noted.The motives of others are difficult to discern, such as the sniper in a Las Vegas high-rise who opened fire on an outdoor country music concert Michael Deiter Jersey , killing 58 people and wounding more than 800 others in October 2017, Levin said.Cedrick Alexander, a former public safety director in the metro Atlanta county of DeKalb, said he believes Atlanta “is going to be one of the most-prepared cities in America” because of its experience handling national events.But he notes that the lesson of the Las Vegas massacre is that “you have to be prepared for anything.” LOS ANGELES (AP) — Linebacker Dante Fowler has re-signed with the Los Angeles Rams, passing up a shot at unrestricted free agency to stay with the NFC champions.The Rams announced a deal Sunday night to keep Fowler, but didn’t disclose the terms.The Rams acquired Fowler in a trade with Jacksonville on Oct. 30, and the edge rusher played a significant role in Los Angeles’ run to the Super Bowl. The 2015 No. 3 overall pick had two sacks in the regular season and 1 ½ more in the playoffs while creating consistent pressure on quarterbacks.Fowler would have been one of the top pass rushers on the market, but he clearly enjoyed his experience in Wade Phillips’ defense after an up-and-down career with the Jaguars.Fowler, a St. Petersburg native and University of Florida star, had spent his entire life in Florida before the Rams traded a third-round draft pick this year and a fifth-round pick in 2020 to acquire him. Fowler immediately took to his new team Daniel Jones Jersey , embracing a pass-rushing role in Phillips’ 3-4 defense and fitting in quickly with his new teammates.Rather than chasing free-agent riches, Fowler decided to extend his West Coast stay for at least another season — and he may have decided several weeks ago.“We’ll be ready next year,” Fowler said immediately after the Rams’ 13-3 loss to New England in the Super Bowl last month.After going 13-3 and reaching their first Super Bowl in 17 years, the Rams have already addressed two of their biggest offseason concerns before free agency opens.Los Angeles signed six-time Pro Bowl safety Eric Weddle on Friday, likely replacing Lamarcus Joyner with one of the top available talents. Weddle is returning to his native Southern California to join Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters and John Johnson in the Rams’ secondary.Rams defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and cornerback Sam Shields also are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents. The Rams haven’t ruled out bringing back both veterans, and Suh took a likely discount a year ago for the chance to earn his first career playoff victories by signing with Los Angeles.