Sanders's Super Bowl LI Predictions

New England Patriots vs Atlanta Falcons SB 51 Preview

Disclaimer: These are NOT professional opinions and are solely the opinions of a junior writer. If you wish to share your opinions with me, contact me on Twitter @jcs436.

So, here we are. Just hours away from the last game of the year until August rolls around. And boy has it been a fun year. The Hail Marys (looking at you Rodgers) the stumbles of former top teams (looking at you Cincinnati, Carolina, and Arizona), and the glories of retired legends (Smith Sr., Mathis, Kubiak). Like ever year, it’s been a wild ride BUT we aren’t finished yet! So without further ado, let’s look at both teams and why they should win. Just like last year, I will give three reasons for each team, then my final thoughts.

A case for the New England Patriots:

1. Tom Brady and Bill Bellichick

            Is there any reason to doubt this duo anymore? It’s almost as if they are one mind in two separate bodies with one body observing the field and calling the shots while the other is the on the field doing the dirty work. Both of these men are true competitors who have a knack for being the best prepared every game. In the end, it comes down to if Bellichick can win the coach’s chess game in game planning and if Tom Brady can execute the moves Bellichick wants to be seen on the field.

2. New England’s HIGHLY underrated defense

            When New England is talked about, no one really mentions there defense. It’s sad but true. Despite the fact New England has faced few top offenses, have you seen a single game the Patriots win where it ever felt really close? Maybe in the middle of the season, but typically the Patriots are winning by a minimum of two scores. Much credit can go to Tom Brady and Co. but more should go to the defense. The Patriots have a strong ability of bending but not breaking in the sense that opponents can move the ball against them, but they never let their opponents hit the pay dirt very often at all. That is how this team is a championship team. Combine Brady playing the best football of his career with a defense that doesn’t let the opponent score, and you have an almost unbeatable winning formula.

3. The Chip on the Shoulder

           

            No Patriot is going to willingly admit it, but every one of them has a chip on their shoulder. The NFL spat on them by bringing back an old case that should have never come back in “DeflateGate” and the NFL won in the big bully way and handed Tom Brady a 4 game suspension. So what has happened since? The Patriots went 3-1 including a shutdown of a future playoff team in the Houstan Texans with a THIRD STRING QB!!! Then? Brady came in and absolutely destroyed every opponent in his way except for a Sunday Night loss to the Seahawks whom they barely lost to. This team plays like they have something to prove even though the Patriots have absolutely nothing to prove. They are arguably the greatest sports organization to ever exist with over a 17 year dominance in the AFC. And yet, they don’t play like they have dominated at all. They have the mentality of “us against the world” and it’s not going to change in the big game. If anything, the chip will be even bigger. As a bonus, every player wants to see Goodell hand Brady the trophy. You know it. I know it. The entire NFL knows it. Nothing drives a team more than extreme motivation.

A case for the Atlanta Falcons:

1.     The counterparts to Brady and Bill Bellichick: Matty Ice and Kyle Shanahan

Just as Brady and Bill are one mind, Matt Ryan and Shanahan have become one mind this season. In the same way Bellichick is the mastermind off the field and Brady is on the field, Ryan and Shanahan slice and dice defenses throwing everything in the playbook possible and more. They confuse their opponents with slants that turn into posts or posts that immediately cut into the middle of the field where there tall receivers like Julio Jones or Mohammed Sanu can contest the catch. Not only this, but their running backs are also receivers and can go straight from blocking to running a small 2-3 yard route. Ryan and Shanahan are masters of their craft and no one has figured out this offensive puzzle yet.

2.     The ability to rough up Tom Brady

A big reason Aaron Rodgers got nothing done two weeks ago is because the Falcons attacked both Rodgers and his receivers right at the line. The Packers WR aren’t necessarily the toughest group and if you don’t allow them to play their backstreet football style, their offense becomes rather linear. When the offense becomes linear, Rodgers is more prone to being under pressure and roughed up. This same thing should be the goal for Atlanta’s defense. Without a doubt, Tom Brady is the best QB of all time but if he has one weakness, it’s that he throws temper tantrums. The man is so used to winning so often that if something doesn’t go right, he gets heated real quickly and starts to make some irrational decisions at time. This rarely happens though thus why Brady is seen as a near perfect QB. Also, Atlanta has a lot of speed on defense and Brady (tied with Peyton Manning) is probably the slowest, immobile QB we have seen in the past decade.  Rough Brady up, and you throw the entire Patriots offense off rhythm.

3.     The dynamic receivers of Atlanta

Back to the Falcons offense real quickly, this offense has so many weapons. In fact, even when Julio Jones is taken out of the game, the Falcons have had players step up. Now, they have to do it one last time. While Julio Jones is the king of receivers in this league, Bellichick always finds away of taking away the number one weapon of any team he crosses. He cut out Kelce, he cut out Brown, and he will cut out Jones. So, how do you counteract? Punish Bellichick for getting rid of Jones by making the plays he didn’t think you would. Taylor Gabriel and Sanu MUST be clutch when needed. If they can do that, Bellichick might be in frantic mode trying to solve the offensive puzzle that is Atlanta.

Predictions:

I said it last year and I will say it again. I absolutely hate predictions because when football is played on the field, conventional wisdom is thrown out where in this case, conventional wisdom says the Atlatna Falcons are the superior team from man 1-53. But, conventional wisdom isn’t always right.

            Just like last year, we have seen this kind of Super Bowl before. Last year’s DEN vs CAR Super Bowl was a good comparison to SEA vs DEN Super Bowl. This time, I picture this Super Bowl like the Ravens vs 49ers Super Bowl. Joe Flacco was playing out of his mind and the offense was firing on all cylinders while the 16^th ranked defense held off opponents just enough to win. The Ravens way of winning was through Joe Flacco’s flawless performances and the Ravens defensive ability to make a play when needed and to force field goals on opponents instead of  allowing touchdowns. The 49ers on the other hand, were the heavy favorites who had the dynamic offense with a solid defense that could run opponents over like they were nothing. Ladies and Gentleman, meet this year’s replicas of that Super Bowl in New England and Atlanta. Atlanta is San Francisco in this case. The Falcons have the best offense in the league and just like how no one knew how to contain Kaepernick’s mobility, no one knows how to stop Matt Ryan from finding the perfect throw. They have a knack for keeping opponents on their toes and punishing any mistake you make. The defense does the same thing that the 49ers defense did. A monster pass rush that would rub the QB the wrong way and the offense would never recover. Don’t believe that? Go back and watch GB vs ATL or SEA vs ATL. They did it every time to Wilson and Rodgers. On the other hand, New England is just like Baltimore was then. Brady has been playing flawlessly in the playoffs and the defense has not allowed their opponents to score and have forced them to settle for pedestrian field goals. Brady, like Flacco did then, has all the offenses pieces he need to do different things he wants and the Patriots defense can take away Atlanta’s schemes by confusing them into thinking they’ll do one play but do another. Brady can take away Atlanta’s strength on defense by letting go of the ball fast and dissecting the Falcons secondary. There is no pass rush if you have no pass play to rush. As for the otherside of the ball for both teams, there is no reason to believe that Bellichick and Matt Patricia (NE’s defensive coordinator) can’t solve this Falcon offense. They have done it over and over again and with two weeks to prepare, it’s hard to believe that they would have missed something. Barring a major mistake by Patricia or Bellichick, they can contain the Falcons enough for Brady and Co. to be able to score more points.

TLDR
Brady and Bellichick will show why they are the greatest tandem in the NFL by overcoming their toughest challenge yet: A No. 1 offense in the Super Bowl.

Patriots 38  Falcons 34