Raiders Come Crashing Down vs. Pats

Final Score: LV 20 NE 36 (2-1)

Happy days are here again. The Raiders were handed their first loss of the season as they get walloped by the Patriots 20-36 in Foxborough.

Some things just never change. This team just can't get over the hump against the Pats for some reason. They are 1-6 all-time since that dreaded Tuck Rule game. This is getting old at this point.

The injuries were definitely a big factor this game. No Henry Ruggs to take the top off, which made the Patriots' defense job a lot easier. All they had to do was double Darren Waller and Derek Carr had to distribute the ball elsewhere. Despite that, the offense left a lot of points out there on the table. The untimely turnovers and a missed field goal by Carlson doomed this offense. They had good drives in spurts. But, they couldn't capitalize with points.

I wouldn't put too much blame on the defense this game. They got off to a solid start, containing the run game of the Pats and forced a turnover. But they were on the field too long. The time of possession (TOP) speaks for itself. The Pats' offense controlled the clock for 34 minutes compared to the Raiders' 25. They switched it up with some play action. J.J. Taylor provided some spark to the New England run game as a change-of-pace back. Then, it was ground and pound from there with Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead.

Some individual positives: Hunter Renfrow and Maxx Crosby. Renfrow especially came to play today with 6 receptions, 84 yards, and 1 TD. Gruden moved him around the field a bit. He could've had 2 TDs this game if he wasn't down by contact with 9 seconds to go in 2nd quarter. But, the drive still capped off with a Foster Moreau TD. Maxx Crosby got that pass rush going with 2 sacks on Cam Newton. We were harping on that defense to get more pass rush going and Mad Maxx delivered that.

When I looked at the first five weeks on the schedule, I felt like Carolina was the only sure-fire win for these Raiders. After a 2-0 start, the Raiders are in their toughest stretch before the bye. They crashed this week against the Pats and it doesn't get easier from there. They have a tough draw back home against the Bills next. Josh Allen is a stud and the defense is going to have their hands full on them. Buffalo's defense hasn't showed up yet, but they are solid on paper and the Raider offense will be tested once again unlesss Henry Ruggs and Trent Brown return from injury. I'll see you guys later.

Quest For Six Complete: Patriots Defense Stymies High Flying Rams

Welcome in to the full recap of Super Bowl LIII featuring the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams as the Patriots, behind their defense, wallop Goff and the Rams' offense 13-3 to secure their 6th Vince Lombardi trophy in franchise history.

Well, I just woke up from a power nap after that game. I'm kidding, no I didn't as I commented throughout the whole game. Just by that score alone, you'd think that this was a Week 1 NFL game. But no, this is the final score in a Super Bowl. The lowest Super Bowl score since its inception. Definitely that was an unexpected outcome. I'd thought both teams would come out of the gate swinging and ultimately, the Patriots would come out on top. This football game was like a game of chicken. Both defenses wouldn't budge for three quarters in the game. But in the end, the Rams were the first to break. Let's be real here, they were on the field too long as the Rams' offense was just shut out throughout. But I should save that for my full analysis below.

Los Angeles Rams

(+)

Defense (for three and a half quarters). If there's any defensive unit that gives Tom Brady, Josh McDaniels, and Patriots offense all kinds of fits, it's gotta be a defensive unit coached by Wade Phillips. It's been evident since 2015 as they've held them to really low scores. Wade Phillips' defense never shows their hand that easily. He did a great job tonight mixing it up with man and zone, confusing Brady at times and the D-line was able to get some penetration. The defense did just enough to win. It's too bad they couldn't get any help from their offense who've been staggered all game long.

Brandin Cooks, 8 receptions, 120 yards. Life must suck right now for Brandin Cooks. He was traded to the Pats last year. The Pats lose to the Eagles in SB52. He gets traded to the Rams, his team loses to the Pats. But, that's the unfortunate part in sports. In my post in the first half, I said the Rams have to find this guy more to open up opportunities for Woods and Reynolds in the passing game. They did just that in the 3rd quarter to tack on some points. He had a couple of would-be TDs. The first one he was wide open. Busted coverage by New England's secondary. Goff didn't find him on time. 2nd time, Goff's throw was right on the money and Cooks just couldn't hold on for the game-tying TD. Nonetheless, getting him involved gave the Rams offense a little bit of a spark.

(-)

Offense. Well, you can break this negative down into subsections because the Patriots' defense just made their life a living hell. This side of the ball is the strength of this Rams team. I would assume they were prepared for any kinds exotic looks Bill Belichick would throw at them, just not at this magnitude. They running game was taken away from them. All the bootlegs and playaction, they couldn't execute. And that turned them into a one-dimensional team. We saw shades of 2016 Jared Goff as the Patriots D took away what he did best and force him to beat them in the pocket. Perhaps, the biggest headscratcher is the touch distribution between C.J. Anderson and Todd Gurley. Without question, that has been the strangest headline as Gurley has been intentionally taken out of the game plan for C.J. Anderson to get more touches. Not sure if it's the injury that Gurley, but he was non-existent until he broke a few runs in the 3rd quarter. They got away with it in the NFC Championship, but it didn't work against a team like the Patriots. Hopefully, we get more insight on the behind-the-scenes there about the lack of touches that Gurley has gotten this postseason. It's one of the strangest ways to sabotage your team's key strength.

New England Patriots

(+)

Defense. Might as well make this a rehash of what I said about the Rams' offense being a negative this whole game. This is a classic example of this defense playing as a unit rather than relying on a game-changing individual to get their defense going. And that is the work of Bill Belichick right there. He stresses this unit to stay disciplined and he shadows their inefficiency to get after the quarterback by taking away the opposition's strength and implement all kinds of exotic looks to confuse the quarterback. No question, they confused the hell out of Goff with exotic looks and a lot of disguise blitzes to strengthen the pass rush and add opportunities to get a sack, which they did a couple of times.

Julian Edelman, 10 receptions, 141 yards. I swear, I thought Edelman had more yardage than that considering the Rams' defense had no answer for him and allowed him to gain chunk yards. As I said in my preview, the Patriots missed this guy last year and he could've been a difference maker against Philadelphia if he hadn't gotten injured. It was a tough road for Edelman this season. Suspended the first four games. Wasn't involved in the offense much to start. But along the way, he found that chemistry with Tom Brady again. He was unstoppable in the AFC Championship on 3rd down. This game was no different either. Edelman's performance tonight was the one that proved to be the difference. And unequivocally, he was the Pats' MVP tonight.

Sony Michel, 18 carries, 94 rushing yards, 1 TD. Michel punched it in for the first TD of the game and he broke out a couple of big runs to put the game out of reach in order for the Pats to secure that 6th trophy. The rookie has been outstanding throughout this postseason and the Patriots may have just found their bell cow back going forward.

Ryan Allen, 5 punts, 43 yard avg. Hey, punters are people too! Allen had the Rams offense pinned inside the 20 three times. It's no wonder the Rams couldn't get any good field position to start since Cory Littleton's INT.

(-)

Score more? It's technically not a negative, but Tom Brady and the Pats offense could've tact on more points with the way they controlled the clock for the majority of the game and they were able get into Rams territory a couple of times.

Conclusion

Well Steelers, make some room because the Patriots just moved in with their brand new sixth Lombardi trophy to tie you for the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history. Without a doubt, I hate the Patriots. Many other NFL fans hate the Patriots. But, their recipe for success is something to behold. As mentioned, many have tried to replicate the Patriot way. And many have failed doing that. It is a trade secret only accessible if you're within the organization itself. It starts with a head coach in Bill Belichick and a quarterback in Tom Brady. Their resume is already impressive. They didn't need to win another one to cement their legacies. But to secure a sixth Super Bowl win for one franchise in the span of 20 years, that is greatness personified. In the case of the Rams, there's nothing to be discredited about their impressive season this year. Well, except for one no-call that should've been P.I. and we would've gotten a HOF Super Bowl between Brady and Brees and Belichick and Payton. But still, it was a great season for them. They'll definitely be back. But their window is coming as they have to think about extending Jared Goff's contract and their salary cap. They locked up Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald, etc. A lot of decisions have to made by GM Les Snead and considering the Gurley situation fizzled out, don't be surprised if we see a shocking transaction in the offseason. They'll have to make some tough decisions as this was their window of opportunity to win it all. That said, the Patriot dynasty still reigns. Thank you for following my coverage of Super Bowl LIII. I'll see you guys in March yet again for the incoming offseason and free agency.

Congrats New England Patriots Super Bowl LIII Champions!

(Seriously, this dynasty needs to end eventually!)

SUPER BOWL LIII: NE Patriots vs. LA Rams 2nd Half Open Thread

2nd half of Super Bowl LIII after Maroon 5 and friends' performance! As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q4

NE 13 LAR 3

Welp, there goes the Rams' chances of a miracle. There wasn't even a chance to begin with considering the Pats had a scored a TD. The Pats D was lights out the whole game. There was some life from the Rams, then Goff throws a pick to pretty much seal the game. In a game that was shadowed by great defense. You just knew that the Pats would find ways to win. No matter how much you envy this franchise, their success over the past 2 decades is just unrivaled. Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, they didn't need this Super Bowl since their legacy is already cemented. But, leading the Patriots to their 6th Lombardi just adds more to their credentials. For the Rams, this is going to be a learning experience after a successful 13-3 season. They just ran into arguably the greatest franchise in the NFL right now. 20+ years and counting. More to come in the full recap.

Q3

NE 3 LAR 3

At this rate, this game is gonna go down to whoever has the ball last and can get their team within field goal range. After being shut out for 3.5 quarters, the Rams finally got something going on the last drive. They mixed it up with Gurley and Anderson in the run game. Brandin Cooks finally gets involved. It opened up the Rams' playbook to do what they do best. Momentum was there, until Goff took a costly sack. Lucky, they had Greg Zeurlein's big leg to bail them out to tie this game up. Definitely, Patrick Chung's injury early on made an impact there as the Pats found themselves in all kinds of trouble with some busted coverage down field. But, the Pats are gaining momentum back as they've started ramming down the the teeth of the Rams' defense with big runs from Sony Michel.

SUPER BOWL LIII: NE Patriots vs. LA Rams 1st Half Open Thread

Come on in for Super Bowl Sunday as TrueRaiderLaker is ready to take you through Super Bowl LIII featuring the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams! Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the Big Game.

Q2

NE 3 LAR 0

Well, if you expected some fireworks to start in this Super Bowl, you might as well just change the channel. But if you love defense, this is a rarity to behold. It's a tale of two stories for the Rams and the Patriots defense. The biggest difference? The Pats defense aren't just giving any room for Goff, Gurley and the Rams' high flying offense to get set. At first, it looked like it was jitters from the inexperience Rams team. But as time goes on, it's clear as day that the Pats are holding the fort. They're not letting the Rams do what they do best, which is catch defenses off guard with some bootlegs and misdirection, hence why Goff is having a tough time. Chess match between McVay's offense and Belichick's defense? So BB is winning that match. For the Rams' defense, it's a case of bend-but-don't break for them. They gotta be gassed for being on that field for too long in the first half. They gave up a couple of chunk yardage. Julian Edelman has been unstoppable. Rams D had no answer. Yet, they just held Brady and the Pats to just 3 points, which is a big win for Wade Phillips' defense. He's done a great job mixing it up with man and zone to confuse the Pats' offense. Rare enough, the Pats burned a couple of timeouts early on in the first quarter despite a great start. For sure, the Pats will come out as a different team in the 2nd half. How about the Rams? They have to get Todd Gurley involved more and mix it up in the backfield with C.J. Anderson. It's strange that he was able to muster 100+ yards in the divisional round, but only mustered a mere double digit yards. They also gotta take a couple of shots downfield. I don't think Brandin' Cooks has been targeted yet. He's gotta get involved to make Robert Woods and Josh Reynolds' jobs easier. The 2nd half will open up shortly after Maroon 5's performance.

Q1

NE 0 LAR 0

And just like that, the streak of the Patriots going scoreless in the 1st quarter of the Super Bowl extends. The Pats had plenty of chances. They came right out of the gate with a decent kickoff return by Cordarrelle Patterson. They ran the ball well. Edelman and Gronk are getting to work early in the passing game. The Patriots controlled the clock this quarter for most of the game. Unfortunately, it didn't result into points. First drive ended with an INT from Littleton for the Rams. The 2nd drive they had a legit chance to score and Gostkowski missed it wide left. The Rams are fortunate so far that their deference is paying off. Give credit to the Rams' defense. Wade Phillips knows a thing or two about mixing it up to confuse Tom Brady and the Pats offense. Let's see if Goff, Gurley, and the Rams offense can capitalize.

Super Bowl LIII Preview and Prediction: New England Patriots vs. Los Angeles Rams

*Some NSFW language*

Super Bowl Sunday is upon us! Welcome in to your Super Bowl LIII preview provided by yours truly. This year's matchup features the ever-dominant AFC champion New England Patriots vs. the new kids from Hollywood, NFC champion Los Angeles Rams. Like last year's Eagles-Patriots matchup, this is a rematch 17 years in the making. This matchup was what started the Patriots' reign of terror (technically, it was the "Tuck Rule" game that started it) as a young Tom Brady and an unproven Bill Belichick pulled off the upset against the then St. Louis Rams and the "Greatest Show on Turf" lead by Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, and Torry Holt in Super Bowl XXXVI. Now an old, yet wily Brady and proven Belichick square off against new blood in Sean McVay, Jared Goff, and a new Rams team all decked out under the bright lights of Hollywood. There's only one problem: nobody wanted this matchup. Obviously, their roads to get here were marred by a blatant no call on one side and a phantom roughing call on the other down the stretch. Both games made legitimate cases that the NFL is rigged and that the rules of what constitutes a penalty are wildly inconsistent. But enough of controversy, who doesn't want a Boston-LA championship rivalry to extend beyond the Celtics-Lakers rivalry of the NBA? This year's World Series featured the Boston Red Sox and the LA Dodgers. Now it's the NFL's turn, with the Patriots and the Rams. Can this Rams team avenge the pains of yesteryear? Will it all finally come full circle with the Rams being the Alpha and the Omega of the Patriots dynasty? Or will the Pats prevail again and continue their reign of terror across the NFL? I summarize both teams' road to the Super Bowl, keys to victory, and my final prediction of the outcome on Sunday! Let's roll!

New England Patriots

"FOR F*CKS SAKE, AGAIN!?!?!? CAN'T THIS TEAM JUST F*CKING DIE ALREADY!?!?!?" I'm sure all of us NFL fans are thinking the same way as the Pats make their way to their third straight Super Bowl. Make that their fourth appearance in five years and their fifth appearance in this decade. Let's be honest here, the Patriots are a guaranteed lock for the Super Bowl unless Brady retires, Belichick steps down, or both events happened. The latter happens to be the best case scenario. It also doesn't help that the rest of the AFC is full of incompetent trash and teams who are good, but not New England Patriots good. While the rest of the league is playing checkers, the Patriots are playing chess. Most teams try to implement the Patriots' system of long-term sustainable success and fail miserably. Truly, the Patriots' success is a trade secret that is only accessible by the organization as a whole and that gives them the edge over 31 other teams in the league. Nearly 20 years of dominance in one conference speaks for itself.

There have been many times that this team tried to tease their downfall to the media. Do not fall for it. But let's be clear here, the Patriots had a roller-coaster season this year as they had to stave off an overachieving Houston Texans team for the #2 seed. Most of the teams the Pats lost against were against teams that had the unlikeliest of chances to beat them. New England went 11-5 with five of those losses coming from Jacksonville (hungover after that game), Detroit (LOL), Tennessee (eliminated by Luck),  Miami (trying to get Gronk to defend a lateral, major LOL), and Pittsburgh (inconsistent and condescending AF). Tom Brady showed signs that Father Time was catching up to him. Gronk looked out of sorts in games and contemplated about retirement. This is the end of the New England Patriots dynasty as we know it. That's what they want you to think! Clearly, there are three things that only matter to the Patriots: postseason, Super Bowl, and championship. As long as they do enough to make the postseason and gain some home field advantage, they're in good hands to do some major damage and remind the league why they're still the gold standard. In their playoff games, they were expected to lose. The Chargers are a more complete team than the Patriots? The Pats completely shut down Philip Rivers and Melvin Gordon in a game that was essentially over in the first half. That and the Chargers have a chronic history of postseason chokes. The Chiefs have homefield advantage and an MVP in Mahomes? Meh, let's beat their suspect run defense to death with Sony Michel. The Chiefs defense couldn't even cover Julian Edelman on third down if their life dependent on it. Patrick Mahomes did enough to rally the Chiefs though. But, the defense let him down, which lead to the firing of Chiefs DC, Bob Sutton. And thus, the evil empire continues their long reign of terror over the National Football League.

Los Angeles Rams

Y'all just had to rob us from a Brady vs. Brees Super Bowl didn't you Rams? But, we won't let that game define the Rams. When the Rams moved to Los Angeles, they needed a fresh, young face to lead the team. Not some old hag like Jeff Fisher, whose best coaching days are behind him. The Rams found their guy, hiring 30-year old Sean McVay from the Redskins to be the youngest head coach in NFL history. Under McVay's 1st season en route to a Coach of the Year award, the Rams escaped from 7-9 purgatory to an improved 11-5 season last year. Todd Gurley posted MVP-esque numbers. Jared Goff caught major strides in his 2nd year and 1st under McVay's system. Aaron Donald was one of the top defensive players in the league, playing under a Wade Phillips defense. Unfortunately, they didn't get too far as their inexperience showed in the Wild Card round, losing to an Atlanta Falcons team fresh off of a Super Bowl appearance. This year, the Rams made some major moves to bolster their roster into a Super Bowl contender, such as trading for Brandin Cooks, Marcus Peters, and Aqib Talib, and signing Ndamukong Suh in free agency.

Right out of the gate, the LA Rams showed that they were the team to beat, starting out 8-0. Many teams have tried their crack at slowing down their high-powered offense and failed with a few exceptional teams. The Rams took the next step by finishing at 13-3 with those three losses coming against the Saints, Bears, and Eagles, all playoff worthy teams in their own right. Unfortunately, they were a tiebreaker shy from the #1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs due to the Saints loss. But it still was an impressive season nonetheless. The Rams took care of business, running all over the Cowboys in the divisional round. They then avenged their early loss to the Saints in the NFC Championship in controversial fashion. We can talk about the blatant no-call from Nickell Robey-Coleman on Tommylee Lewis. No question, Robey-Coleman triggered the contact before Lewis could get his hands on the Drew Brees' pass. That contact was also a little helmet-to-helmet. By all accounts, that should be Pass Interference. But, let's look at the game in a bigger picture, the refs didn't stop the Saints offense from scoring at-will and letting the Rams come back. The Saints could've kept calm from the no-call and and carry on to an OT victory. But, Brees threw a lame duck INT and the Saints threw their own chance at another Super Bowl away. Unfortunate, but a win is a win for the Rams and a loss is a loss for the Saints no matter how much the entire state of Louisiana wants a recall or wants to reverse the decision in a court battle (good luck with that).

Keys for the Patriots

If we can infer from the postseason, the Patriots run defense has shut down two of the top-tier rushing attacks in the league. In the divisional round, the defense held Melvin Gordon III and the Chargers' rushing attack to just 19 yards of total rushing yards. In the AFC Championship, the Patriots' run defense held the Chiefs to just 41 total rushing yards. They eliminated both of those teams' best strengths and made them one dimensional. Philip Rivers struggled getting in rhythm due to the pressure from the Pats' D-line. So did Mahomes as he was unable to scramble and do what he did best. The defense has turned it on in the postseason, rendering a scary sign. They'll need to neutralize Todd Gurley, C.J. Anderson and the Rams' top rushing attack and dare Jared Goff to beat them with the passing game. On offense, the Patriots are glad to have Julian Edelman back as Brady's go-to-guy. You look back at last year's Super Bowl against the Eagles and wonder what if they had Edelman who went down with an early season ending injury? Edelman's presence as a third-down threat helps take pressure off the receiving corps and it opens up some opportunities for Gronk to do some major damage down the middle. Gronk, of course will also be a major factor this game as well as his conditioning. Rookie, Sony Michel has been an outstanding bell cow back this postseason. But, he's gonna have a challenge against a tougher Rams' run D with Ndamukong Suh and Aaron Donald anchoring the middle. Look for the Pats to mix it up with him, White, and Burkhead for a change-of-pace in the back field.

Keys for the Rams

Obviously, leading the Rams to a victory will be contingent on how their homegrown star talent will dictate the game: Jared Goff  and Todd Gurley on offense and Aaron Donald on defense. Aaron Donald, without question, is the best pass-rushing DT in the NFL right now. He can wreck an opposing team's gameplan all by himself. Aaron Donald has to win his matchups inside to generate pressure up the middle against Tom Brady. Ndamukong Suh and Dante Fowler Jr. could be X-Factors to free Donald up and turn loose. This game against the Patriots could very well go down to one final stop and if the Rams' D is on that field for the final minute, look for #99 to be a game-changer and win the game. On offense, it's been a strange postseason for Todd Gurley. 115 rush yards in the divisional round against the Cowboys, but only 10 yards against the Saints. This game will be completely contingent on Todd Gurley's health (he battled some injuries down the stretch) as he's pretty much the engine that drives the Rams offense (with all due respect to Jared Goff). If Gurley's back to top form, it bodes well for the Rams and takes a lot of pressure off of Jared Goff. It also helps that the Rams signed C.J. Anderson late in the season to give themselves a 2-Back committee to relieve some pressure off of Gurley to do it all. As for Goff? He's played smart all season long, but he won't be afraid to take deep shots to Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods. He has to play turnover-free, manage the game, and mix it up in the passing game throwing to different receivers. If I'm Coach Sean McVay, I look at last year's Super Bowl where Doug Pederson threw all he can handle against the Patriots, even the kitchen sink. McVay's is as much of a risk-taker too. Look for him to throw every play, every sequence in the playbook against the Pats.

Prediction

As I mentioned countless times, if the Super Bowl didn't feature the New England Patriots, my pick would be a little more indecisive. As long as they represent the AFC in the big game, how in the hell can you pick against them? Whether they win or lose, the Patriots will always be the pick to win it all unless they start the post Brady-Belichick era a little too early than expected. Not to discredit the Rams, they have the talent to keep up with the Patriots and this game has the makings of an offensive shootout. The Rams have emerged as a future perennial contender. It's just not their time yet as Brady and the Pats will pull off some miracle in the final drive en route to a sixth Lombardi trophy. In conclusion: shootout, but the Pats D will make at least one key stop and set Tom Brady and the Pats up for a game-winning TD. They do have all of their clutch weapons back.

NE 28 LAR 24

Underdog No More: Eagles Top Patriots for 1st Super Bowl Championship

Welcome in to the full recap of Super Bowl LII between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots where Nick Foles and the Eagles muster enough offense and touchdowns to knock off Tom Brady and the defending champion Patriots 41-33 in a high scoring affair.

We finally have another team and another quarterback besides Eli Manning and the New York Giants that beat Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the mighty New England Patriots! The Eagles channeled their inner Rocky Balboa against Apollo Creed in Rocky II. If you want to beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, you have to score as many points as them. And they had to continue to put the pedal to the medal. That was something the Falcons didn't do last year and Philly learned from that. It was a close game and a wild shootout. Both the Eagles and Patriots combined for over 600 yards of total offense. The Patriots took the lead only once at one point during this game. But, Nick Foles and the Eagles continued to respond and muster enough yards and scores to get the lead for good. Meanwhile, the Eagles' defensive line were inches away from Brady the whole game. And they came up big with a strip sack before the two minute warning and enough pressure off the edge on the final play of the game to seal the victory.

New England Patriots

(+)

Tom Brady, 28 of 48 passes, 505 yards, 3 TDs. Age 40 and he's still putting up ridiculous numbers. One can argue where his legacy is now after this recent Super Bowl loss, but I don't think it changes any status of Brady after this. He had a couple of wobbly throws down the line and obviously, he was feeling the pressure of this impressive Eagles defensive line. But, he set the tone for the offense to play fast and catch them off guard. He shredded their secondary with a lot of quick throws and he got some time in the pocket to throw deep balls to Hogan and Amendola. The biggest thing is that you never count Tom Brady out. He almost rallied the Patriots again in the 2nd half before Philly quickly regained the lead.

Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan. Amendola lead all receivers with 8 receptions for 152 yards. Hogan piled up 6 receptions for 128 yards. They stepped it up as deep threats while Brandin Cooks was getting all the attention and especially when he got a vicious hit from Malcolm Jenkins. Since that hit, Amendola and Hogan picked up their game and they had their way with a shaky Eagles secondary that gave up big plays all game long.

Rob Gronkowski, 9 receptions, 116 yards, 2 TDs. This was more of the Eagles defense letting off the double team on Gronk in the 2nd half. On the opening drive of the third quarter, Brady connected with Gronk like 8 out of 9 times on that drive. The Eagles were leaving him one-on-one in coverage and Gronk almost 100% of the time will win that matchup. That was especially evident when the Patriots took the go-ahead touchdown for the lead early in the 4th quarter.

Stephon Gilmore vs. Alshon Jeffery. In the first half Jeffery was making all kinds of noise with tough catches for positive yardage. Then in the 2nd half, he was completely held in check when the Patriots moved Stephon Gilmore around to shadow him. That assignment was unintentional, but considering Patrick Chung was getting dinged with some injuries during this game, Matt Patricia and the Patriots' defense had no choice but to move Gilmore. And it actually worked for them.

(-)

Defense. It's almost tough to pinpoint some negatives on the Patriots, but most likely the unit that let them down was their defensive unit. They managed to get to Foles a couple of times and forced an INT, which is more of Alshon Jeffery's fault for keeping the football in bounds. But, they had no answer against the Eagles run pass option (RPO). It's tough when the running game is going for them and Foles is shredding the secondary with quick throws because of his read and react to the defense. The Eagles had a good balance offensively.

James White and Dion Lewis not being utilized more. They're gonna get too many touches in the running game, but they're very good as pass catchers out of the backfield. But this game, White only had 2 catches for 21 yards and Dion Lewis wasn't mentioned at all for pass plays. The Patriots could've used these guys more out of the backfield with the screen game. But, more than likely, the Eagles were ready for that, which is why a couple of screen passes were blown.

Philadelphia Eagles

(+)

Nick Foles, 28 of 43, 373 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, 1 reception, 1 yard, 1 TD. The redemption story for Nick Foles couldn't have capped off with a better ending. Many wonder if the Super Bowl would create any nerves or jitters for Foles, but as Stuart Scott would say, he was as cool as the other side of the pillow. Foles played a near perfect game tonight. The 1 INT was pretty fluky considering Jeffery batted that ball back inbounds and it wounded up in the arms of Duron Harmon. Nonetheless, Foles executed the RPO to perfection and he wasn't afraid to make the big throw. He's also now the first QB in the Super Bowl to have a passing TD and receiving TD. The Eagles are gonna have a tough decision with Carson Wentz coming back 100% next season. But most likely, Foles after this game made a case for himself for quarterback-needy teams.

Corey Clement, 3 carries, 8 yards, 4 receptions 100 yards, 1 TD. As I said in my preview, Corey Clement was gonna be one of the X-factors for the Eagles and he showed out big time. His TD will be talked about whether he maintained full possession of the ball, but he was the Eagles best security blanket this game. His big catch and run in the 2nd quarter was also huge which set up the big 4th down trick play to Nick Foles in the end zone. By the way, Clement was also one of the catalyst for that play as he pitched it to Trey Burton on the end around and all Burton had to do was throw a perfect ball for Foles to catch it wide open.

Nelson Agholor, 9 receptions, 84 yards, 1 carry, 9 yards. Agholor was another X-factor for the Eagles. He came up with a couple of huge catches in the 2nd half. Especially when Alshon Jeffrey was held in check for the majority of the 2nd half, Agholor needed to step up and he came through on the biggest stage.

Running game. The RPO couldn't have worked with how LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi ran tonight. Blount had 14 carries for 90 yards and 1 TD. Jay Ajayi had 9 carries for 57 yards. I thought they were really patient in letting the holes open up for them. Ajayi especially. We all know Blount would ram it down the teeth of the defense. I couldn't imagine how sweet it must've been for Blount to score against his former Patriot teammates on that 21 yard TD to give Philly a 15-3 advantage.

Zach Ertz,  7 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD. Oh, it would've been tragic if the refs referred to the ruling on Jesse James TD when the Patriots faced the Steelers during this season. It was the same exact situation where James tried to extend the ball to the goal line and the ground knocked it loose. Referees ruled it an incomplete pass since he didn't complete the process. It was almost deja vu with Ertz. He dove for the end zone, the ground knocked the ball loose. I'm sitting there and saying they'll probably rule this incomplete like the Jesse James catch. But, the ruling was that Ertz was already a runner and completed the process of the catch. Regardless, the definition of a catch in the NFL needs to revised. Nonetheless, Ertz showed why he is the Eagles' effective security blanket. He was clutch on a couple of 4th down catches and scored the go ahead TD to put the Eagles back on top.

Eagles' defensive line. Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Vinny Curry, Chris Long; the entire defensive line did a nice job applying pressure on Brady. If only they had a better secondary, they could've piled up a lot of sacks. But, time and time, they were inches away from getting after him. They couldn't have gotten a sack at a better time than under three minutes in the 4th quarter. Brandon Graham created pressure off the edge to force the biggest turnover of the game. Vinny Curry applied pressure to rattle Brady before the Hail Mary. The Pats' O-line had their hands full against this unit.

Doug Pederson. To think that this guy was an understudy of Andy Reid. But, this game showed why he's head-over-shoulders better than Reid as the Eagles' head coach. Through and through, he understood the situation that the Patriots can come on back at any time. He understood clock management. He made the right in game adjustments to give the Eagles this win. Coach Pederson showed a lot of guts this game, opting to go for it on a couple of 4th downs and dialing up probably the trick play of the game in Super Bowl history. The Patriots tried to do the same play earlier in the game. I'm sure the Patriots defense was not ready for that because nobody would've dared to try that at the NFL level.

(-)

Secondary. This was one of the problems I pinpointed on this Eagles team prior to this game outside of Malcolm Jenkins. They have a good front seven, but their secondary is not all that great. It showed this game as they left Patriots wide receivers open left and right. Chris Hogan caught Jalen Mills with a double move for a big time catch. I remember on that Week 16 Christmas game the Raiders had against the Eagles this season, Amari Cooper I believe did a double move on the same guy, Jalen Mills and Derek Carr noticed it and threw it deep to Coop for the TD. I have to look back at that. But, going back here, the secondary for the Eagles gave up a lot of big plays, which is why the D-line was getting pressure, but weren't getting the sacks.

Conclusion

When the Patriots lose, America wins. And for all of us regardless of which team we root for, we all admit, we were envious of the Patriots' winning ways. And I'm sure the Patriots losing tnought brought us all satisfaction. That is unless you're an NFC East fan like the Cowboys, Giants, and Redskins because they can't make fun of the Eagles with their 0 Lombardi trophies anymore. Even with this loss, they'll likely be back as long as Belichick is roaming the sidelines and a certain #12 with the last name "Brady" is under center. They'll be back and likely emerge as the favorite representing the AFC in the Super Bowl. But tonight, the Eagles played like there was no tomorrow. Nobody gave them a shot and they've embraced the underdog role once more on the big stage. Like I said, drawing from Philly culture and lore, it was like Rocky II when Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed went the distance and Rocky as the underdog, came out on top as the new champ. And of course, what followed was the famous "Yo Adrian, I did it" line. The Eagles all season long were the embodiment of Rocky Balboa, the underdog that just won't go away. And the City of Philadelphia will remember this Eagles team for a long time as the team that brought them home their first Lombardi trophy. There's gonna be a lot of decisions for the Eagles though with a couple of key players coming back. But certainly, they've solidified themselves as a powerhouse NFC team once again. Philadelphia was long overdue for a Super Bowl championship and after so many years of heartbreak and turmoil, they're finally on the mountain top thanks to their Eagles. "Fly Eagles Fly" indeed. Thank you guys for following my coverage of Super Bowl LII. Until the offseason in March. For now, it's the full-time transition to basketball on this blog. I'll see you guys later.

SUPER BOWL LII - Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

This is the 2nd half open thread and discussion for Super Bowl LII between the Eagles and the Pats. As usual, everybody's invited to join in, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game!

Q4

PHI 41 NE 33

All Eagles defenders had their eye on Gronkowski on that Hail Mary. Vinny Curry had pressure off the edge to rattle Brady a little bit and all the secondary had to do was just bat the ball down. They got beat all game long and they came up with the play of the game to give the Eagles their first Super Bowl Lombardi trophy. Before that, Brandon Graham had the huge forced fumble with Derek Barnett recovering on it. No Tuck Rule to save Brady that time around. The Eagles were underdogs all postseason long and they have shocked the world in convincing fashion. Truly, it was a sweet revenge game thirteen years in the making the Eagles against the Patriots. Stay tuned for the full recap after the Lombardi presentation.

Q3

PHI 29 NE 26

Big 3rd down coming up for the Eagles. The Patriots opened up with a little Brady to Gronk action and they managed to score on the opening drive. Probably the biggest call of the game. Foles throws deep to Corey Clement. It looked like Clement didn't get two feet down and he was in the process of securing the football in his hands. Probably he maintained possession the whole way before the 2nd foot stepped out. Nonetheless that was big for the Eagles to maintain their lead and like I said, they have a big third down coming up as the 4th quarter opens up.

SUPER BOWL LII - Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Super Bowl LII is here! Welcome in to the 1st half open thread and discussion of the "Big Game" featuring the NFC champion, Philadelphia Eagles and AFC champion and reigning, defending Super Bowl champion, New England Patriots! Anything goes, so leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game!

Q2

PHI 22 NE 12

Trick plays, shanked kicks, big plays, oh my! Very entertaining 1st half. The Eagles are pulling out all the stops against the Patriots with the RPO. They gained some good chunks of yardage in both the pass and the run. Ajayi, Blount, and Clement already racked up 100+ yards on the ground. Of course, Clement had that big gainer at the end of the quarter to set up the 4th down score.  Defensively, they've done a good job pressuring Brady. They don't have a sack yet, but they've done a good job rattling Brady in the pocket. If there's any indication, the Eagles are playing to win and that's what they're gonna have to carry over for the 2nd half. The Patriots, regardless of how much they're trailing, find ways to come back. Cooks is out for the game after a hard shot from Malcolm Jenkins, but Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan have stepped up as Brady's deep threat receivers. James White and Dion Lewis gained chunks of yardage running with the football and catching out of the backfield. The Patriots are probably satisfied with a 10 point deficit because they have all the 2nd half to turn it up and make a push. For the Eagles, they have to limit some mistakes. Penalties have slowed this team down a bit and Jake Elliott's missed PATs destroyed some momentum. The biggest thing is that they have to keep their foot on the gas if they want to avoid the same fate as the Falcons did in last year's Super Bowl against the very same Patriots team. The 2nd half will open up shortly after Justin Timberlake.

Q1

PHI 9 NE 3

Here's what I can say about this quarter: the Eagles are putting together some methodical drives with their Run-Pass Option (RPO). The Patriots defense have a tough cover guessing which plays Philly is going to execute. And so far, it has resulted in nine point from the Eagles offense. But, Brady and the Pats are pushing the pace. They want to play fast and the Eagles' defense are trying hard to match the pace the Patriots' offense is trying to set. The 3rd down play to Amendola was huge. Eagles defense thought they're going to have a quick 3 and out, but a busted coverage gave New England new life.

Super Bowl LII Preview: Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots

We're just at about the midway point of the week until Super Bowl Sunday! Welcome in to yet another Super Bowl preview on this blog provided by yours truly. This year's 52nd edition of the big game features the AFC champion and the reigning, defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles. This is a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX where the Patriots topped the Eagles 24-21 for their 2nd consecutive Lombardi trophy. Much has changed since then, but for the Patriots, only Tom Brady and Bill Belichick remain from that Super Bowl win. While for the Eagles, there has been a lot of makeover since that season highlighted by Donovan McNabb, Terrell Owens, Brian Dawkins, and head coach Andy Reid. And speaking of repeat, this Super Bowl is like deja vu all over again where the Pats can go back-to-back for their 6th trophy and send Philly into a world of heartbreak like they did 13 years ago since their first meeting at the big game. Or the Eagles can avenge that and deliver the first Lombardi trophy to the City of Brotherly Love. For these previews, I summarize both teams' road to the Super Bowl, keys for both teams, and I give my final score prediction. Let's roll!

Philadelphia Eagles

Nobody would've ever thought that the Eagles would've finished this season as the best team in NFC, let alone make it to the Super Bowl. It goes to show how much of an impressive job their front office did turning this once rebuilding team into a contender. The talent on this Eagles roster is a nice balance of youth and veteran leadership. They acquired some quality talent this year, especially in the free agent market. They signed Alshon Jeffrey, star wideout from the Bears. They snagged Chris Long and LeGarrette Blount from the Patriots. Both of them did a nice job in applying their experience as Super Bowl winners last year with the Patriots with this Eagles team, instilling veteran leadership and a championship culture. The trade for Dolphins Pro Bowler, Jay Ajayi was a huge mid-season deal for the team as he added another dimension to an already high-powered Eagles offense as a change-of-pace back and a pass catcher in the backfield.

In spite of the dream season, Philly did lose a couple of key players along their way. They lose Pro Bowl left tackle, Jason Peters in the early part of the season. But the most-wrenching injury they dealt with was to 2nd year starting QB, Carson Wentz. A lot of the Eagles wins this season were highlighted by the magnificent quarterback play of Wentz until that unfaithful Week 14 game against the Rams in LA where he tore his ACL diving into the end zone. I remember when the Raiders had that unfortunate scenario last season with Derek Carr. They were winning games until Carr went down in Week 16 against the Colts. Fortunately for Philly, they had a quality backup QB who won games as a starter and made the Pro Bowl at some point in his career. That backup would be Nick Foles. You talk about a feel-good, full circle story for Nick Foles. The guy almost quit football and he stepped in when Wentz got hurt. Now, he's the starting QB for the Eagles once again and he's seeking out to remind everyone the kind of magic he orchestrated when he last won the Eagles some games as a starter in 2013. I still remember when he tossed for 7 TDs in Oakland during that Week 9 matchup. I thought back then that was humiliating to give up that many TDs to a 2nd string QB. But Foles, he may be no Carson Wentz, but he plays like he's been there before and finds ways to win games for the Eagles. Overall, the Eagles' 13-3 record may be marked with an asterisk with the easy strength of schedule they had, but they snagged some quality wins here and there. Wins against Carolina and the LA Rams stood out. Both teams made the postseason. They hung 50+ points against a Broncos defense with Von Miller and the "No Fly Zone" secondary. How about the job they did in the postseason? They held the defending NFC champion Falcons to 10 points in the divisional round and they dropped almost 40 points against a quality Vikings defense in the NFC Championship to advance to the Super Bowl. It truly is a dream season for the team and the fans. And they've fully embraced the role of the underdog a la Rocky Balboa. In  those two games in the postseason, they were heavy underdogs and they found ways to prevail against all odds. They'll look to do that again in what should be another David vs. Goliath type of matchup.

New England Patriots

We've all wrote about the Pats' road to the Super Bowl before. It is almost inevitable that the Patriots would represent the AFC in the Super Bowl as long as an Emperor Palpatine-lookalike (Star Wars reference) is roaming the sidelines and a certain QB from San Mateo donning #12 is under center. The Patriots' winning ways start and end with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. And if you truly hate the Patriots, then them making it to the Super Bowl almost every season seems like a redundancy and a nuisance as you just want to see a "fresh face" franchise represent the AFC for once in the modern Super Bowl era. But if you're full fledged football fan, you're seeing greatness at work and Brady, Belichick, and the Patriots are looking to make history for ring #6 and become the first team to repeat champions since they did it themselves back in Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX. Not much has changed from the Super Bowl team last year. But that doesn't stop them from making a few splashes in the offseason as they acquired speed demon wideout, Brandin Cooks from a trade with the Saints and defensive back Stephon Gilmore from division rival, Bills. They may have lost LeGarrette Blount to the Eagles, but they found a decent replacement in Rex Burkhead from the Bengals to be their running back for 3rd and short and goal line situations.

Coming into the season, there was a lot of talk about the Patriots and another 16-0 season. But that all went away when they received a stunning blowout loss to the Chiefs on the season opener. Not to mention, they lost Julian Edelman for the year. Their defense struggled early on in the season and they loss their key player in Dont'a Hightower for the year. After that Chiefs loss, the notion that the Patriots dynasty is dead permeated throughout the league. But, we should've known better to never count them out as long as Brady and Belichick are there. And who would've guessed that the Patriots would once again come out on top as the team to beat and the team with home field advantage throughout the AFC? The mantra of "next man up" and "do your job" lived on as certain players stepped up to make plays. The Brady to Cooks duo got better as the season progressed. Danny Amendola stepped in and filled the void Edelman left behind. The defense got better as a "bend-but-don't-break" unit. Brady, at age 40, continues to defy father time and play at a high level. Not even the "Madden Curse" can't work its voodoo against him (he was Madden '18's cover athlete). In the postseason, New England made quick work of the underachieving Titans in the divisional round. They got a good run for their money against the Jaguars, Blake Bortles, Leonard Fournette, and their vaunted "Sacksonville" pass rush. The Jags almost had the formula to beating the Pats. But, when a team has an elite QB and an elite head coach who've seen all kinds of stuff over the years, they'll find ways to overcome anything. And that was the result in the AFC championship game. The Patriots just find ways to crush the hopes and dreams of teams trying to knock them off the throne. For the Patriots heading into Super Bowl LII, it seems like the inevitable is going to eventually happen with them coming out on top against any NFC opponent who try to oppose their two decades of dominance (unless it's Eli Manning and the Giants).

Keys for the Eagles

This Eagles team is a well-rounded group. They have a lot of weapons on offense. They have an opportunistic defense lead by a deep defensive line that is capable of getting after the quarterback. The biggest thing for the Eagles is that Nick Foles is going to have play a near-perfect game similar to NFC championship against the Vikings. The run-pass-option (RPO) is the strength of this Eagles offense and Nick Foles excels at it because of his ability to read and react to what the defense is doing. During the NFC championship, Foles and co. did an impressive job in maintaining that balance in running and passing with the RPO. The Patriots' defense is obviously going to be a tough test because Bill Belichick and Pats' DC, Matt Patricia are masterminds in taking away opponents' best players. Definitely, they'll be ready account for their primary weapons such as Zach Ertz, Alshon Jeffrey, Jay Ajayi, and LeGarrette Blount. Probably, the obvious X-factor is Nelson Agholor. Agholor has been a fine breakout receiver for the Eagles after some tough sledding in his first two seasons. He's going to have to step up and cap off his breakout season in the biggest game of his career. Corey Clement, the third running back behind Ajayi and Blount has been solid out of the backfield as a third option. He's another X-factor to look out for as the Patriots account for Ajayi and Blount to stop the run. The defensive line for the Eagles has a knack to sack the quarterback. Chris Long, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, and Vinny Curry all have the ability to wreck the pocket. They not only have to get pressure on Tom Brady, but they also have to force turnovers, especially since their secondary unit is a little suspect. Even though their secondary is filled with solid playmakers such as Patrick Robinson and Malcolm Jenkins. Jim Schwartz, Eagles DC, is gonna have his hands full designing exotic looks to slow down Brady and the Pats' offense.

Keys for the Patriots

The Patriots "bend-but-don't break" defense has been stellar as of late to get opposing offenses off the field and give the ball back to #12. They're especially good in goal line stands. Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia are obviously going to game plan to give Nick Foles different looks. That's the strength of the Pats' defense. On offense, it's simple, just make sure that Tom Brady has the ball in his hands in the final minutes of a possible tightly-contested game. Brady at age 40 can still get the ball out quickly to a receiver. Especially with this Eagles front, playmakers such as Danny Amendola, James White, and Dion Lewis are gonna have to step in. Amendola has done a good job in playing Julian Edelman's role. He was big in the final quarter of the AFC Championship against the Jaguars. Lewis and White are exceptional pass catchers out of the backfield. White especially was huge for New England in that insane 28-3 comeback against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI. He's going to have to have an encore for the Pats to repeat. The biggest question mark on the Patriots' offense is Rob Gronkowski's health. He took quite a shot to the helmet from Jacksonville's Safety, Barry Church, in the AFC Championship game. If he's good to go, it should open up a lot of opportunities for the offense. He's especially gonna open up a lot of opportunities for Brandin Cooks for big plays. Speaking of Cooks, he's still got a pretty favorable matchup against this Eagles secondary even if Gronk can't go. Cooks' presence alone as a deep threat makes things easier for Amendola and Chris Hogan to get open and make plays. But again, a healthy Gronk opens up a lot of opportunity for New England to execute big plays.

Prediction

If this Super Bowl didn't feature the Patriots, it would've made my pick a little more indecisive. But, it's just nearly impossible to pick against them as long they have a certain #12 at the helm and an old guy with a hoodie roaming the sidelines. The Eagles have been underdogs all season long and definitely, they're gonna show some fight. But, in the end the experience of Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots playing and winning multiple Super Bowls is just gonna prove too much for Philly. I'd say it's gonna be a dog fight for the the first half and  and a little bit in the third quarter. But, Brady and the Pats will continue to find a way to close out teams and they'll eventually pull away in the 4th quarter to give New England their 6th Lombardi trophy, much to the dismay to a majority of us who are tired of their winning ways. But it is what it is. Brady on the field and Belichick on the sidelines + facing off an NFC team that's not Eli Manning and the Giants = a guaranteed Patriots Super Bowl win.

PHI 17 NE 27

Patriots Romp Over Raiders in Mexico City

Welcome in to the full recap of the Raiders' Week 11 matchup vs. the New England Patriots in Mexico City where it was a terrible trip to Mexico City this time around for the Raiders as they get taken to school by the defending champs 33-8.

No bueno, this game was for the Raiders. As I said, the Patriots are light years ahead of the Raiders and it showed today. But, it was more of the Raiders shooting themselves in the foot. They had a lot of opportunities on offense to be within striking distance, but dropped balls and turnovers doomed them. And the Patriots made them pay for the mistakes. The tone was set in the first quarter when Brady and the offense went no huddle. They were looking for the kill early on and absolutely gashed the defense at almost every turn.

(+)

Marshawn Lynch/running game. This was the only positive going for the Raiders today. The running game was effective and helped keep drives alive. Marshawn was the epicenter of it. On the opening drive, they ran it with Lynch three times. He managed to rip one for about 15-20 yards, probably his best run of the day. It wasn't just Lynch, Richard racked up a couple of chunk yardage to extend drives. Out of all the things that didn't work at all for the Raiders this game, the running game was the only thing that worked.

(-)

Seth Roberts/Drops. This one was the one of the biggest momentum-killers in the game. Seth Roberts was responsible for a couple of those drops. Crabtree dropped an easy sideline throw as well. Holton and Coop dropped some balls. Going back to Seth, he was just terrible overall with the drops. Even worse, he fumbled the ball when fighting for the extra yards. He already had the first down. It just absolutely deflated (no pun intended) any momentum the Raiders had on that potential scoring drive.

Turnovers. Like I said in the previous negative, Seth Roberts' fumble was key because it erased all momentum the Raiders had on a scoring drive. Derek Carr threw an INT on a deep ball intended for Holton. The worse you can do is turn the ball over, especially against a team like the Patriots and the Raiders were down by a couple of scores already.

Derek Carr. Carr may have finished with over 200 passing yards, but most of his throws looked off today. Most of his deep balls hung over the air for a long time and the Patriots secondary has already caught on to the receivers. You also had one throw if I recall to Johnny Holton where the ball just bounced off the Patriots' receivers. He tried to find Coop in the short passing game, but it hit nothing but dirt.

Secondary. There's no surprise about this short handed secondary. We expected Brady and Cooks to make mince meat out of them. They beat Carrie and Nelson. Melifonwu had no business covering Cooks. It all centered around Reggie Nelson getting beat by half a step. That is a terrible matchup to begin with have Nelson give Safety help over the top against Cooks. We saw last year's game against the Saints when Cooks burned Sean Smith and Reggie Nelson for a 90+ yard score. The only time they were successful against the Cooks deep ball was when it was Karl Joseph who was providing the help. And they never made that adjustment ever again going forward into this game.

Coaching staff. Two weeks to prepare and this is the result? Here's the thing, Bill Belichick and the coaching staff made the team stay in Denver to simulate themselves to the altitude in Mexico City. Jack Del Rio and the coaching staff are like it's no big deal. They played in Mexico City last year, they're gonna stay in Oakland and fly overnight. That backfired big time. The worse part is that some of the players weren't used to it and were gasping for air because they were not on the team last year when the Raiders made the trip to Mexico City. We can pin it on the players for lack of execution, but the lack of preparation and exploiting mismatches on the coaches' part is one thing that has let the Raiders' season spiral out of control.

MVP

Marshawn Lynch, 11 carries 67 yards, 1 reception, 10 yards

I can't believe on that 4th and 1 play, we didn't have Lynch in that backfield! He was instrumental in the Raiders' running game being the only thing that worked today against the Patriots. They need to keep feeding Beast Mode the ball.



Conclusion

I'm probably sure it wouldn't be much of a difference if they played this game in Oakland. The Patriots just outclassed the Raiders in every way possible. History-wise, Brady and Belichick have had a good track-record against Jack Del Rio-coached teams. The Patriots will be the cream of the crop as long Bill Belichick is roaming the sidelines. Tom Brady will retire eventually, but as long as he's still playing, New England's the team to beat. Frustrating, but sad reality. Now, that this game is out of the way, the Raiders are not mathematically eliminated. 10-6 is a sure shot to go to the playoffs. If they go 9-7, they're gonna need some scenarios to go their way to get in. If we look at the schedule, it's a little more favorable than everyone thinks. Denver is reeling with poor quarterback play. The Giants are a dumpster fire. Kansas City is slowing down. Cowboys don't have Ezekiel Elliott to finish the season. The Eagles are probably the only difficult team at this point of the schedule. It's certainly possible for the Raiders to run the table and win out. That run starts next week against Brock Osweiler and the struggling Broncos. Most definitely, that is winnable this time around. I'll see you guys next week for that game.

Week 11: Venganza en Mexico! - RAIDERS vs. Patriots 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

The 2nd half of the Raiders-Patriots Week 11 matchup in Mexico City. As usual, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game, English or Spanish.

Q4

NE 33 OAK 8

The game is pretty much over. They still gotta do the 2-minute warning. From start to finish, we knew that if the Raiders didn't execute well, this was gonna be a long game. This team still has a long ways to go if they want to match the elite status the Patriots had in the AFC for a long time. It showed today. Brady and company marched over this Raiders defense with ease. On offense, the Raiders receivers let the passing game down. The running game was solid, but receivers could not catch a cold and it costed the Raiders a couple of promising drives. Nothing else to say, Patriots were clearly head-and-shoulders better today. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3

NE 30 OAK 0

How to sum up this 3rd quarter...

Week 11: Venganza en Mexico! - RAIDERS vs. New England Patriots 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

The game we've all waited for. Bienvenidos! This is the 1st half open thread and discussion of the Raiders-Patriots Week 11 matchup in Mexico City. Whether in English or en Espanol, leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

NE 17 OAK 0

That last Raiders drive hurt. They could've cut the deficit to just a touchdown. Instead, they're down 17-0 at the half against the defending Super Bowl champions. What was Seth Roberts thinking loosening that handle on that football? Just get down. You have a first down. The Raiders can run another play with all three of their timeouts. Instead, it results in a fumble and the Raiders come up empty handed. That is the story in the first half. The one thing that Oakland had going was the running game. Marshawn Lynch had a couple of nice runs. Jalen Richard picked up chunks to spare Beast Mode. That kept the Raiders in this game. But, the drops and the turnovers are killing them. It's more of the Raiders stalling their own drives rather than the Pats' defense in the first half. With those errors, Tom Brady and the offense made it look easy on the Raiders defense. Brady has so many weapons to throw to and the matchups are just absolutely bad. Even worse, the Patriots deferred on the coin toss and will get the ball.  The defense has to get stops because if the Patriots score again, it'll be hard for the Raiders to depend on the arm of Derek Carr with the drops from the receivers. At this point, hope for the best and expect the worse. The 2nd half will open up shortly.

Q1

NE 7 OAK 0

The silver lining is Khalil Mack getting a sack on Tom Brady. Hopefully, that creates momentum for the Raiders. But, in that first quarter, you can tell the difference between these two teams. The Raiders started off on the right foot running the ball with Lynch and the drive stalled with Seth Roberts dropping a pass. On the Patriots' first drive, you can tell they were looking for the kill early on in the game. They used the high altitude to their advantage to run no huddle and gash out the Raiders' defense early on and they capped it off on an easy score. The Raiders gotta build any momentum on any side of the ball. This quarter shows some of that rust on the bye week.

Greatest Comeback Ever? Patriots Rally to Beat Falcons in Super Bowl LI

Whew, welcome in to the full recap of Super Bowl LI in what will be remembered as one of the all-time classics. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots come back after being down 3-28 to beat Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in the first ever overtime in Super Bowl history. The Lombardi trophy comes home for a fifth time to New England. 

What...a...Super Bowl. This game was as close to what I have predicted in my preview on Wednesday. But, I didn't expect the Falcons to jump right out of the gate over the Patriots. The Falcons had everything going their way and then the 4th quarter happened. The old saying goes: "those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it." The Patriots have a history of coming back under Tom Brady, but not in this magnitude. That was the Falcons' ultimate downfall. They sat on the lead knowing full well that the Pats had a chance as long as Tom Brady is breathing. Well, the Patriots used their experience and made the Falcons pay for it. 25 unanswered points in the 4th quarter and overtime combined and the Patriots had to work for every single score. Houston Rockets' coach Rudy Tomajanovich's quote of "never underestimate the heart of a champion" stood true tonight through the Pats and ironically enough, it happened in Houston. 

Atlanta Falcons

(+)

Grady Jarrett, 5 tackles, 3 sacks. Who is this Grady Jarrett guy? I'm sure Falcons fans know more about him than I do. But he was an unsung hero for the Falcons' defense tonight. Based on research, the guy had 4 total sacks in his career. Tonight? 3 sacks against Tom Brady in a Super Bowl. This is what makes the Super Bowl great. You never know who was going to step up. Add Grady Jarrett tonight. He was a big beneficiary on a Falcons' front that was applying all kinds of pressure on Tom Brady.

Julio Jones, 4 receptions, 87 yards. As a Fantasy Football owner, I have been privileged to draft this guy for three straight seasons (even though I choked on all of them). Turf toe and all, Julio knew he would get a tough test against the Patriots' secondary, but he still made some unbelievable plays. Like I said in the comments, in 50/50 balls, in tough throws, virtually Julio is going to make a play. He made some of those tonight (the tough toe drag in the fourth quarter).

Taylor Gabriel, 3 receptions, 76 yards. He showed up big time in the third quarter, particularly when the Falcons executed some of their play action passes during that quarter.

Robert Alford, 11 tackles, 1 INT, 82 yards. In the 2nd quarter when the Patriots were driving, Alford did a good job reading Tom Brady's eyes to get the Pick 6. Yes, it's a losing effort, but he's going to be remembered as the guy who intercepted Tom Brady in the Super Bowl.

(-)

Coaching adjustments. The biggest negative for the Falcons. Why on earth would you sit on a 28-3 lead when you know that Tom Brady has a history of leading the Patriots to big time comebacks? It is just absolutely inconceivable. You have them on the ropes, so keep putting your foot on the gas! Dan Quinn and Kyle Shanahan are going to be questioned big time about this 4th-OT collapse. The Falcons are going to be remembered as a team that blew a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl because of bad, conservative adjustments from the Falcons' coaching staff.

Vic Beasley. I don't think Vic Beasley was mentioned all game long. He only had 1 pass defensed in the entire game! I'm sure he applied some pressure on Brady, but 15.5 sacks in the regular season and he was a non-factor in the stats. Certainly this could be two reasons: 1) the Patriots' O-line did a great job double teaming him in pass rushing situations or 2) the Falcons' coaching staff did not turn Vic Beasley loose enough. Those could be the primary reasons why the Falcons' best pass rusher was a no-show tonight. 

New England Patriots

(+)

Tom Brady, 43 of 62 passes, 466 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT. Tom Brady, I can't wait till you retire! You've broken my heart too many times as a Raider fan and as an obvious Patriot hater! But, no question, Brady's heart and passion was on display during the 4th quarter and overtime in this game. This guy is a first ballot hall-of-famer without any doubt. Down 3-28? No problem. He is no stranger to leading the Patriots back from large deficits. After tonight, he just further cemented his legacy on the game, leading the Patriots to an epic comeback in Super Bowl history. 

James White, 6 carries, 29 yards, 2 TDs, 14 receptions, 110 yards, 1 TD. Obviously Brady would get Super Bowl MVP, but if there's ever another Patriot who deserved MVP honors, it's this man James White. He stepped his game up when the Patriots were trailing in what was an insurmountable Falcon lead. The Falcons played soft throughout the 2nd half and James White was able to burn them with big chunks in the passing game. He scored a crucial two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 10. He scored a TD, which set up the game-tying two-point conversion. And he scored the game-winning TD in overtime.White picked up all the slack when LeGarrette Blount and Dion Lewis were getting nothing in both the running and passing game for New England.

Julian Edelman, 5 receptions, 87 yards. Edelman's crucial catch in the 4th quarter will be known as the "foot catch!" Just my opinion, but anybody can come up with a better one. As the Pats' go-to-receiver, he had a rough game. He was making drops. Brady overthrew him a lot in this game. But, Edelman came up big in the clutch. He had three Falcon defenders on him for that catch and the ball never hit the turf. Edelman's catch will live forever in Patriots lore.

(-)

The first half. This is the only negative I can think of for the Patriots. They dug themselves quite a hole during that half. As experienced as they are, you would think they would start hot. But, miscues and turnovers put them in that slow start.

Conclusion

As the headline reads: greatest comeback ever? It's definitely up there. From an NFL standpoint, this is going to stand as one of the greatest comebacks of all time. Think about it, it's the Super Bowl and this was the first time that a Super Bowl went into overtime. The score is 3-28, this game was, by all account, O-V-E-R. The Falcons were going to win it. But the Patriots kept playing like champions and they played to win. Brady-Belichick, greatest player-coach duo in sports? It's arguable. Brady as the Greatest Quarterback of All Time? Arguable. This will escalade into an endless debate by analysts after tonight. For Brady, is this it? He's got nothing else to prove. But one thing's for certain, as long as Brady and Belichick are in New England, the Patriots will continue to be Super Bowl contenders. For the Falcons, it's heartbreaking to blow a lead like that. But that team is young. They have an explosive offense. The potential of the defense is shown throughout the postseason. But, the NFC South is a wide open division. The Panthers might come back strong after a Super Bowl hangover from last year. The Saints are gonna try to build a win-now team with Brees' window closing. The Bucs made some strides this season and will look to build off of that. There's a lot of questions and uncertainty for the Falcons. But, they just have to preach consistency and use this loss as motivation to come back and win it all. They'll certainly be back as long as they keep that hunger. But, as fans of football in general, we got our money's worth with this Super Bowl. What a game. Thank you guys for following my coverage of Super Bowl LI. It's going to sad without football, but the offseason is coming shortly. I'll be back. Time to turn my attention to basketball season full time. I'll see you guys later.

Congrats New England Patriots Super Bowl LI Champions!

(Not Again!!!!!!!!)

Super Bowl LI - New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

This is the 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion of the Pats-Falcons matchup in Super Bowl LI! Like in the 1st Half Open Thread, everyone's invited to chime in in the comments section. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

OT

NE 34 ATL 28

Rudy Tomjanovich said it best "don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion." I gotta give credit where credit is due, Tom Brady, time and time again, has proven to be a living legend in comeback victories. The Falcons gave the Patriots one heck of a scare, but no game is ever over as long as Tom Brady is on the field for the Patriots. What a game. It was like the equivalent of seeing Michael Jordan willing the Bulls to a one-point victory over the Jazz in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. Unbelievable, just unbelievable. Stay tuned for the full recap after the Lombardi presentation. 

Q4

NE 28 ATL 28

Everybody catch their breaths. This has turned out into an unbelievable game. But, this is why as long as Tom Brady is on the field for the Patriots they have a chance to come back. And they have turned this from 3-28 game to a tie game all nodded up at 28. Wow, first time that the Super Bowl is going into overtime. This Super Bowl, for sure, is going to be replayed years from now. 

Q3

NE 9 ATL 28

How many ways can things not go the Patriots' way? Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan made a few drops. That has been the Patriots' story all game long. And just when the Patriots built momentum on James White's TD to cut the deficit after the Falcons scored off a Tevin Coleman TD, Stephen Gostkowski's shanks the PAT to the right. Will Tom Brady have another magical 4th quarter comeback? This game is far from over and I'm sure the Falcons know it.

Super Bowl LI - New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

It's Super Bowl Sunday! Welcome in to the 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion of Super Bowl LI between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. Everyone's invited to chip in, leave comment below, and share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

NE 3 ATL 21

To say this half was stunning is a cliche. But, this is one shocking start. I'm seeing a lot of parallels between this start and the start on Super Bowl XLVIII when the Seehawks jumped to a 22-0 start over Peyton Manning and the Broncos. This was on me and a couple of analysts, we underestimated the Falcons' defense big time. I said in the first quarter, considering both defenses were doing well, it was a matter of which defense will bend and break first. I forgot about the question of which defense will make the most plays for their team? And so far, the Falcons' defense is doing exactly that. They forced a fumble on LeGarrette Blount to get the Falcons' offense going and Robert Alford late in the quarter got a Pick 6 on Brady! This is Tom Brady we're talking about! And of all places, he throws a Pick 6 in the Super Bowl! Atlanta's defense came to play as evident in the fast 3 and out. Matt Ryan and the offense are feeding off their energy as Devonta Freeman has a rushing TD and Ryan connected with Austin Hooper on a TD pass. For the Patriots, they did move the ball well. Tom Brady managed to connect with Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan. James White and Dion Lewis got a couple of nice plays. But, the Falcons are following one of my keys that they need to pressure the Hell out of Brady. 2 sacks, a whole lot of quarterback hits and quarterback pressures. With this deficit, the Patriots we'll have to abandon the run and get Martellus Bennett, Julian Edelman, and Chris Hogan involved a lot. Meanwhile, the Falcons are licking their chops on that scenario as they'll likely stick to their game plan. Well, enjoy Lady Gaga's performance. The 2nd half will open up shortly after.

Q1

NE 0 ATL 0

We expected a shootout, but after one, it was a quarter dominated by defense. But overall, I thought the Falcons won this quarter. First possession of the game, they forced a quick 3 and out on the Patriots. We were questioning whether or not Matt Ryan and the Falcons had the jitters, but they showed no signs with a big run by Devonta Freeman. Patriots moved the ball better in their first possession, but the Falcons' D-line managed to get pressure to force another 3 and out. Both defenses are doing a solid job containing the opposite quarterbacks. The question now is, which defense will bend and break first as the game goes on?

Super Bowl LI Preview - New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons

Super Bowl 51 is just a few days away. You know what that means. Welcome in to yet another Super Bowl preview provided by yours truly on this blog. This year's matchup should be a good one as the AFC Champion, New England Patriots take on the NFC Champion, Atlanta Falcons. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick look to cement their legacy as one of the greatest QB-Head Coach duo in NFL history, bringing the Patriots to a fifth Super Bowl title. The Falcons have not been to the Super Bowl since 1999 when they took on the Denver Broncos in John Elway's farewell season. They'll look to win their first title behind Matt Ryan, the projected league MVP and Julio Jones, arguably the best receiver in the league. Like my previous posts in doing these previews, I give a little background to how they got to the Super Bowl, referring to their rosters and statistics, keys for both teams, and finally, I make my score prediction on who wins. Let's roll!

New England Patriots

These guys just keep winning. For over a decade, the Patriots associated themselves with two names, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. The resume speaks for itself since their arrival in New England: 7 Super Bowl appearances, 4 Super Bowl titles, an undefeated season in 2008, multiple AFC East titles. With Belichick on the sidelines and Brady commanding the Patriot offense, the Pats are almost a lock to make it to the Super Bowl and go all the way every year. However, things were a little different this season to start. Tom Brady did not start the first four games because if in case you guys weren't following, Roger Goodell laid down the hammer and suspended Brady for the first four games because of "Deflategate." That should minimize the Patriots' championship aspirations right? But the Patriots continued to live by Bill Belichick's mantra of "Do Your Job." The Patriots started the season winning 3 out of 4 games during Brady's suspension. Jimmy Garoppolo? Jacoby Brissett? Who are they? Obviously, they're Brady's backups, but nobody expected the Pats to start the season 3-1 behind those quarterbacks. Well, Garoppolo learned the Patriots' system for two years now, so that's understandable. But overall, the first four games of the 2016 season without Tom Brady exemplified the Patriots notion of "next man up." It was a testament to the methodical preparation and coaching of Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia, and others.

Since Brady came back in Week 5, the Patriots were almost in "God Mode." They loss to the Seahawks in Week 10 when Brady returned. Still, they were unstoppable going 14-2, ensuring that the Super Bowl went through them in the AFC. But, they did lose some key assets to their roster. Rob Gronkowski was placed on season ending I.R. (Injured Reserve) and in a surprising move, they traded away Jamie Collins, a key defensive player, to the Cleveland Browns. That wasn't the first time they traded a key defensive player away as they traded away Chandler Jones, their best defensive player, to the Arizona Cardinals during the offseason. Despite all that, their defense remained a solid unit. Offensively, Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell have stepped up to be Brady's go-to-receivers, taking pressure off of Julian Edelman. Martellus Bennett has held down the Tight End position admirably since Gronk went down. LeGarrette Blount resurrected his career and the Patriot running game, rushing for 1,161 yards and 18 TDs. Also, the mid-season return of Dion Lewis adds to the Patriots' arsenal on offense. The Patriots did get a tough test against the Texans in the divisional round because of their top defense (look what they did to my Raiders in the Wild Card round), but Brock Osweiler threw 3 INTs and Dion Lewis went off for a rushing TD and a kickoff return TD for 98 yards. In the AFC Championship, they had an easier time, cruising past the Steelers and their trio of Big Ben, Bell, and AB. The Patriots have had a historically good rapport against the Steelers in AFC Championship games with Brady and Belichick.

Atlanta Falcons

Somebody call the fire department because the Falcons' offense is on fire! Matt Ryan has put together a spectacular season, throwing for 4,000+ yards with 38 touchdowns and 7 interceptions during the 2016 season. There's no question that Matty Ice deserves the League MVP this season. Obviously, he has Julio Jones to throw to, but the front office of the Falcons did a nice job acquiring more weapons to add to Ryan's arsenal. They acquired Mohamed Sanu from the Cincinnati Bengals, who was a solid complementary receiver to A.J. Green. Rookie, Austin Hooper emerged as a go-to Tight End for the Falcons, something they haven't had since Tony Gonzalez retired in 2013. Perhaps none bigger is the acquisition of Pro Bowl Center, Alex Mack, from the Cleveland Browns. The acquisition of Alex Mack helped bolster the left side of the Falcons' O-line, a unit that already consist of solid players like Jake Matthews and Andy Levitre. On the defensive side, Vic Beasley had a "Khalil Mack-lite" jump in his 2nd year in the NFL as a pass rusher, recording 15.5 sacks after registering 4 sacks in his rookie season last year.

Not a lot of people expected the Falcons to make it to the Super Bowl. Teams like Green Bay, Seattle, and Dallas were ahead of them as the likeliest NFC teams to make it to the big game. Rightfully so, a majority of the Falcons' losses were really obscure. They loss to the Chargers because of a failed 4th down call. They loss to the Chiefs when Eric Berry returned Ryan's pass off a 2-point attempt. They get manhandled in Philadelphia against a rebuilding Eagles squad. It's like, how could a team like them make the Super Bowl? On the more impressive side, I think the wins in Week 4 and Week 5 against the two previous Super Bowl teams in the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos was the coming of age on how good this team is. In the Panthers game, Matt Ryan and Julio Jones were the first quarterback-wide receiver tandem in the Super Bowl era to go for 500+ passing yards and 300+ receiving yards. The next week, they stunned the NFL world winning against the Broncos and their dominant defense in Denver. They gave other teams the blueprint on how to beat the Broncos' defense. That is you run the ball against them and for a little extra, you have an explosive pass catcher out of the backfield (Tevin Coleman caught 4 passes for 132 yards and a score that game). They put the Seahawks on the ropes in Seattle in Week 6! That is until Matt Ryan threw a costly INT to Richard Sherman. But, Matty Ice redeemed himself a few weeks later when he lead the Falcons to a comeback win over Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. In the postseason, the Falcons were playing lights out, putting the clamps on the same Seahawks and Packers teams en route to their 2nd Super Bowl berth since 1998-99. Those two victories definitely opened everybody's eyes and realize this Falcons team was legit. The Raiders did lose to the same team in Week 2 and I along with the rest of the Raider Nation can breathe a sigh of relief that our Silver and Black lost to the eventual NFC champions.

Keys for the Patriots

Obviously, shadowing Julio Jones is the top priority for the Patriots. Super Bowl XLIX hero, Malcolm Butler has a daunting task of covering arguably, the best receiver. But he should be good hands if either Devin McCourty or Patrick Chung provide Safety help over the top. The Falcons have struggled running the ball throughout the postseason as evident in both games against the Seahawks and the Packers. Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman could not get anything going. The Patriots have held running backs under 100 yards rushing in this postseason run. The defensive front should have a field day to stifle any running plays the Falcons call. However, Freeman and Coleman are really good pass catchers, so the Pats are going to need their linebackers to cover a lot of ground when the Falcons run screen passes or check downs with either Freeman or Coleman. Lastly, the defense need to pressure Matt Ryan just enough for their defensive playmakers in the secondary to generate turnovers. They're not a unit that will out-muscle the other on the line of scrimmage, which is why they don't have a lot of sacks from their front seven. However, they'll pressure with exotic blitzes and sub-packages. Offensively, it is essential that the Patriots get their running game going early. LeGarrette Blount should pose as a more physical matchup that the Falcons' run defense have faced this postseason. Dion Lewis and Chris Hogan are going to be X-factors. Lewis provides that change-of-pace back for the Pats and he is very dangerous in open space. Hogan has been playing well this postseason and he's going to need the hot hand since the Falcons are likely going to zone in for Edelman and Bennett.

Keys for the Falcons

Based on observing the Falcons' postseason play, Matt Ryan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan have done a masterful job in spreading the around to several different receivers in order to beat both the Seahawks and the Packers. Back then, the offense just revolved around heaving the ball to Julio Jones and hope he can make a play. Now, the Falcons have a ton of weapons to take pressure off of their elite receiver. Devonta Freeman, Tevin Coleman, Mohamed Sanu, Justin Hardy, Taylor Gabriel, Austin Hooper, Levine Toilolo, Patrick DiMarco, Aldrick Robinson, the list is just endless for names that Matt Ryan can deliver the ball to. If anything, Matt Ryan himself is a weapon as he proved in this postseason that he can still scramble out of the pocket and make plays with his legs. They have a solid O-line that could Ryan some adequate time to let plays develop and that is possible considering that the Patriots don't have an elite, game-wrecking D-line. This is probably the most dangerous offensive unit that the Patriots have faced all season long. As mentioned, the Patriots will give Ryan some exotic looks, but Julio Jones' presence could give Atlanta's aforementioned receivers time to shine if they are up for the challenge. Element of surprise should be the emphasis of Matt Ryan and the Falcons' offense. Defensively, the Falcons are solid, but they are missing some key guys. Their best corner, Desmond Trufant is loss for the season, so that could spell problems for their secondary when game planning against Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell, and others. If I'm Dan Quinn, I'd give Steve Spagnuolo a call. Because the key to containing this Patriot offense is if the Falcons' defensive front pressures the living hell out of Tom Brady. Move Vic Beasley around and turn him loose for that to happen.

Prediction

I'm going to be a part of the consensus that this Super Bowl has the makings of a shootout. You have two great quarterbacks playing at the highest level. For the 2nd straight year, we'll see an MVP quarterback going up against an all-time great quarterback. I think this matchup will come down to two things: 1) which team makes the fewest mistakes and 2) which quarterback will have the ball in his hands as the clock ticks down in the 4th quarter. The Falcons are likely at risk to have jitters to start because most of their players have not been to the Super Bowl. In contrast to the Patriots, they've tasted the Super Bowl and won not so long ago in Super Bowl XLIX and a majority of their roster from that season remains in tact. I think as the game rolls on, the Falcons will overcome their jitters and mount an offensive rally behind Matt Ryan. But, the Patriots are the more experienced and more disciplined football team. It's hard to pick against Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. In all likelihood, the Patriots will get the last possession and Tom Brady will once again live up to the "Tom Terrific" nickname, orchestrating yet another a game-winning drive en route to a fifth Lombardi.

NE 34 ATL 31