Patriots on offense
The Falcons have a money kicker in Matt Bryant who consistently delivers under pressure. He has the club’s all-time scoring record with 892 points. Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski, usually surefooted, has had a rough season. The Patriots have a Pro Bowl special-teamer in Matt Slater. Punters Matt Bosher of the Falcons and Ryan Allen of the Patriots are decent, but with those quarterbacks, they have not had to work much this season. Even by his lofty standards, Tom Brady was exceptional this season with 28 touchdowns and two interceptions. Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan have accounted for 79 percent of Brady’s passing yards in the playoffs and have been dominant, even with Rob Gronkowski out. Hogan is a surprisingly effective deep threat, and Edelman has that short-space shiftiness. The Falcons defense shows its cards and challenges teams to beat them. Unless they incorporate some wrinkles, Brady will shred them. LeGarrette Blount is a pounder who led the league this season with 18 rushing touchdowns. He was a bit less effective later in the season, and we might see more of the speedy Dion Lewis, especially because the Falcons front four likes to get upfield quickly. That can create running lanes for smaller, faster backs, as opposed to plodding punishers. This is the 10th Super Bowl for Bill Belichick, meaning nearly one out of every five of the NFL’s biggest games have included him. He is much more involved in the Patriots defense, even turning his back to the field and working with that group when the offense is out there. The Falcons love Dan Quinn, who has really engaged with his players. He was defensive coordinator for the Seahawks’ two most recent Super Bowl teams, including the last-minute loss to the Patriots two years ago.