The greatest week of the year for football fans have arrived, it's Super Bowl week! Returning for a seventh time in the Brady era and ninth time in franchise history are New England Patriots, and they will be facing the high-powered Atlanta Falcons. This makes it only the franchise's second ever appearance to the big dance. The playoffs this year have been very one sided, with one exception being the Packers/Cowboys game in the Divisional round, which saw scoring on both and a game winning drive for the Packers.
A lot of factors in will come into play come Sunday, can Matt Ryan out quarterback Tom Brady? Which team establishes the running game? If the stats tell us anything it's that there should be a lot of fireworks from both teams and it could come down to who has the ball last.
Backstory
The Atlanta Falcons will play in just their second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. The last time the Falcons were in the Super Bowl, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick were not even a player coach tandem for the Patriots. Tom Brady was playing at Michigan and Bill Belichick was coaching for the New York Jets. This will be Belichick and Brady's seventh trip, already bringing four Lombardi Trophies home in the past. This will be an offensive slugfest if we go by the numbers. Going into Sunday's Super Bowl, the number one ranked Atlanta Falcons offense will go against the Patriots defensive unit that has given up the least amount of points. Another thing to watch with Brady and Belichick having two weeks to prepare, will the Patriots bring home trophy number five by dissecting the Falcons defense? Also, how will Matt Ryan handle his first appearance on Super Sunday?
Tom vs Matt
If Matt Ryan wants to have a good day, he will need to use the tight ends and running backs at his disposal in out of the backfield, complimented with a solid running day. The Patriots normally do a decent job utilizing Malcolm Butler to cover number one receivers; in the this case it will be Julio Jones who is eating defensive backs and secondary’s alive. While Logan Ryan and other coverage will help cover the number two receiver in Mohamed Sanu. Therefore, Matt Ryan should build his passing game with the tight ends Levine Toilolo and Austin Hooper, this may cause mismatches that offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will look to exploit. The combination of taking what the defense gives the Falcons and a solid running game from Devonta Freeman and his counterpart Tevin Coleman who are both running backs can cause problems out of the backfield rushing and receiving.
For the Patriots, they showed in the AFC Championships game if you sit back in zone coverage and do not disguise what your defensive schemes are going to be, Tom Brady will sit in the pocket and pick you apart all night long. The Falcons need to come out, pin their ears back and get after Brady from the opening whistle if they want to win the first Super Bowl in franchise history.
Prediction
The Patriots offense being led by Tom Brady with the experience he has, mixed with the Falcons struggling secondary, you can almost expect a great day at the office for Tom Brady, who seems to be on a mission this season. If Brady uses all the weapons he has at his disposal, mixing medium and deep passes early to challenge that Falcons secondary this might be a very one sided victory. The Patriots have to realize if Malcolm Butler gives Julio Jones any space, it could be a long day for the former Super Bowl hero. Expect a back and forth game, with Matt Ryan and the Falcons having the ball at the end of the game and Ryan leading the Falcons down the field, to set up the game winning field goal final score 34-31 Falcons win their first Super Bowl in franchise history. If I am wrong and the Patriots win, I will wear a Patriots t-shirt the next day, and in my upcoming podcast 15 Minute Sports Break with Carlo Guadagnino.
Written by: Carlo Guadagnino
http://cguadagn.wixsite.com/carlo-guadagnino
Edited By:
Ethan Barnes
Daniel Bishop M.A.
References:
http://www.nfl.com/teams/newenglandpatriots/statistics?team=NE
http://m.espn.com/nfl/aggregates?groupId=9&season=2016&seasonType=2&split=0&statgroup=total&category=totalPoints
http://www.patriots.com/team/coaches/roster/bill-belichick
http://www.businessinsider.com/nfl-the-tom-brady-draft-2015-9
http://www.patriots.com/team/history/super-bowls
https://www.google.com/amp/www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/nfl/2017/1/1/14110286/2017-nfl-playoffs-schedule-bracket-results-scores?client=safari
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000779832/article/kyle-shanahan-pats-defense-best-falcons-have-seen
http://www.si.com/nfl/2017/01/22/nfl-conference-championship-wrapup-super-bowl-51-preview-falcons-patriots
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