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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
After taking down the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-17 in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 22, the New England Patriots are headed to Houston to take on the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI this Sunday.
More importantly than Brady and Belichick possibly getting their fifth Super Bowl ring together, this game will serve as a perfect source of redemption after the two-year farce that was Deflategate, a witch-hunt that was directed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to railroad the Patriots, resulting in a four-game suspension for Tom Brady.
Many Patriot fans are already planning out their excuses to call in sick on parade day, as the fairy-tale ending of Brady accepting the Lombardi Trophy from Roger Goodell seems destined to happen.
But before you draft up that email to your boss on why you are out sick on parade day, here is a preview of things the Patriots must do in Houston in order for Brady and Belichick to return home victorious with a fifth Super Bowl ring on their thumbs.
Atlanta’s offense, which is led by former Boston College standout quarterback Matt Ryan, has been arguably the most explosive throughout the entire NFL season up to this point. Throughout the regular season, Ryan posted video game-like numbers with a touchdown/interception ratio of 38-7, while throwing for 4,944 yards and possessing a 117.1 QBR, the highest amongst active NFL starters. As if it were even possible, Ryan’s postseason numbers were even better, as the former BC Eagle posted a 7-0 touchdown/interception ratio while throwing for 730 yards and holding a 132.6 QBR in Atlanta’s playoff wins over Seattle and Green Bay.
In order for the Patriots to see success in Super Bowl LI, they are going to have to sustain constant pressure on Ryan. It may sound cliché to say the Patriot defense “needs to get pressure on Ryan,” but when you’re facing an offense as lethal as Atlanta’s, getting to the opposing quarterback and knocking him down is not just important, it’s a necessity.
Along with Ryan taking snaps from under center, the Falcons also feature one of the game’s top wideouts in Julio Jones, as well as a tandem of dynamic running backs in Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman, who are lethal both between the tackles and catching passes out of the backfield. It will be interesting to see how Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia decide to go about covering Julio Jones. The Patriots will have their options as far as choosing their coverage personnel, with their Super Bowl XLIX hero and current No. 1 cornerback, Malcolm Butler, available.
The only issue with Butler is his size disadvantage. With Julio Jones weighing in at 6’3”, 226 lbs and Butler at 5’11”, 190, Belichick may instead decide to stick the bigger Eric Rowe (6’1”, 205) on Jones in the Super Bowl, utilizing Butler’s speed and man-on-man coverage ability to lock down Atlanta’s speedier slot receivers (Mohammad Sanu, Taylor Gabriel).
If there is any coach in the NFL that you trust when it comes to taking away an opponent’s main source of offense, it’s Bill Belichick. “The Hoodie” is surely scheming up some type of diabolical plan to stop Julio Jones from making big plays in this Super Bowl - the only question is how.
It’s a rational assumption to believe that Brady and the Patriot offense are going to be able to find success against this Atlanta defense, as even without Rob Gronkowski, this New England offense has continued to thrive all season long. This game is going to come down to whether or not the Patriot defense can shut down Atlanta’s aerial and ground attack like they did to Pittsburgh’s “Killer B’s” (Roethlisberger, Brown, Bell) in the AFC Championship. Defense wins championships, and that is exactly what the Patriots are going to have to do in order to get out of Houston with a win.
On a quick side note, it’s impossible to think of a reason to despise the Falcons. In past Super Bowls, Patriot fans had reason to get up and hate their opponents, with the Rams calling themselves the “Greatest Show on Turf” in ’01, the Eagles talking trash throughout the lead-up to the game in ’04, the Giants being from New York in ’07 and 2011, and the Seahawks being the Seahawks in 2014.
The Falcons are a quiet group. The franchise has never won anything, and they have a quarterback in Matt Ryan that is the gold standard of what you want the leader of your team to be. If the Patriots lose this Super Bowl, yes, it is obviously going to hurt. But losing to a respectable franchise that’s never won anything hurts far less than losing to a bunch of trash-talkers like Seattle or New Yorkers like the Giants.
