Once again the New England Patriots get to the Big Game. No Surprise as most of us look each year at the Future odds in the AFC and realize as low as they are on the Pats to win the Conference they are still a solid wager. Doesn’t seem to matter if they lose a key cog like Gronk last season or Julian Edelman prior to this season. As much as I’m not a fan of New England, I do give them credit for continually finding ways to keep on keeping on! Not all those ways have always been squeaky clean but nevertheless the wins keep piling up for the Boys from Beantown.
Tom Brady is an amazing quarterback. His durability is mind blowing. He seems rather frail when you see him drop back to throw another completion. Somehow his body clock lets him know it’s time to get rid of the ball and he avoids that full on hit which could put him on the shelf. This guy defies logic. You would think that with all the passing attempts (571 this year) Brady makes per season, that he would take some big time blindside hits. Nope, it just doesn’t happen! Yes, he takes his share of sacks (35 this season) but over the years I just don’t remember a good solid hit where he gets pummeled. The components have changed throughout the years as well but it doesn’t seem to matter as long as Captain America is lighting up the sky with his precision passes.
Enter in Rex Burkhead who is the newest cog in the well oiled Patriot machine. A steady blue collar like running back that is a trusty extra blocker when need be. The other weapons take turns in the spotlight. Gronk, Amendola, Cooks, Hogan, Lewis, White, Gillislee….who will it be on Sunday? Last year down 28-3 vs. Atlanta, Brady turned to Running Back, James White to get things going. Even Brady thought White should’ve been MVP with his out of body experience that was instrumental in engineering the monumental comeback and subsequent win it OT.
For Philly it’s been a dream season for Eagle Fan. Philly was the only team that I picked to go over their win total of 8 games. I felt like Carson Wentz was a diamond in the rough which turned out to be accurate. Losing him two thirds into the campaign was gut wrenching for the fan base of the green and white. Nick Foles then took on a task at hand not for the faint of heart! Trying to finish what Wentz had started.
Growing up in Jersey close to Giants Stadium it immediately reminded me of a similar season for the G-Men. In 1991 the Giants were cruising along with the best record in the NFC and looking like a team of destiny with QB Phil Simms having an outstanding season. Simms went down with an injury and the season appeared lost. HC Bill Parcells didn’t panic and devised a new offense catered to back up QB Jeff Hostetler’s strengths. A lot more running for the big kid out of West Virginia. It worked out masterfully in the end with Hoss doing
his job while the Big Blue Wrecking Crew Defense continued their domination on the way to a narrow one point win over Buffalo and their second Lombardi Trophy in four years.
Can the Eagles do it? Foles had great success a few years ago as a starter but was never given the respect he probably deserved. Now he gets a second chance to prove to everyone he deserves starter status in the NFL. Right now he is only concerned about getting one more “W” and giving the City of Brotherly Love their First Lombardi Trophy.
The game he played vs. Minnesota in the NFC Title game was close to flawless. If Nick can stand in the pocket and wing the ball with authority and confidence like he did against the Vikings there is no doubt the Eagles could soar to victory.
Like most people who are not Patriots fans, I’ll root for the Underdog. I have several buddies that are big Eagles fans and I’d like to see them get one! Chris Long had the hit on Case Keenum that caused the Interception pick six that totally changed momentum and opened the can of whoop ass on the Vikings. Can Philly control the trenches the way they did after that initial Minnesota drive that engineered their only points in a 38-7 drubbing?
Never know what will happen and who will step up on the NFL’s biggest stage. We do know the Pats always seem to be there at the end so enthusiasm is always curbed until the game is over when rooting against New England. After the last two Patriot wins over Seattle & Atlanta we know that not only are the Patriots the best organization year in year out but they also seem to be the luckiest as well. At the end of the year they seem to get the last laugh. Maybe it’s Philly’s turn or maybe Brady starts putting rings on the other hand if
he can get Number six……
Either way, that’s why we watch! Go Birds!
Join Ken for The Big Game and get all of his plays RIGHT HERE
