Experience provides Patriots edge

Quarterback Tom Brady is three-time Super Bowl MVP with four bowl wins

HOUSTON — There’s no hiding it. One edge the New England Patriots have over the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday’s Super Bowl can’t be denied: experience.

It’s a factor never to be scoffed at when the AFC and NFC champions meet for the league title.

Sure, New England (16-2) has a bunch of young players — 16 with four years or less in the NFL — and the Falcons (13-5) actually have four guys who have played in a Super Bowl: Dwight Freeney, Courtney Upshaw, Dashon Goldson and Philip Wheeler. Don’t let that mislead you. When a team has a quarterback and a coach in their seventh Super Bowl together, along with a slew of players who helped it win the championship just two years ago, well, that’s the kind of experience that can be key.

Just ask Tom Brady. He insists Super Bowl Sunday calls for moderation in approach.

“You’ve got to be able to have something left at the end of the game,” he said. “You can’t waste it all early in the third quarter.”

The Falcons aren’t discounting the edge of having been down this path. Freeney, who won a ring with Indianapolis at the 2007 game, believes the mental approach is critical.

“I think that, from a mental standpoint, it’s appreciating the moment,” he said. “Now it’s a little bit better, because now I realized through time it’s not something that you get to all the time.

“You have to treasure these moments, really treasure these moments and try to take a moment to take it all in.

“The first one is always the special one and I don’t know if this is the last one or what, but this also is special because I can look at it differently.”

There’s no looking at the stats differently, though.

Atlanta has never won an NFL crown, is in only its second Super Bowl in 51 seasons of life — a decisive loss to Denver came in 1999 — and rarely has been a contender to get this far.

Since Brady became New England’s starter, he ranks first in postseason wins (24), passing attempts (1,263), completions (788), yards (8,628) and touchdowns (61). He has the most multitouchdown games (19) and most career 300-yard games (11) in NFL playoff history.

He will also become the first player to appear in seven Super Bowls, and with a victory would have the most rings, tied with Charles Haley.

Quite the resume. Plus, his surrounding cast includes some major contributors in other Super Bowls: Julian Edelman, LeGarrette Blount, Rob Ninkovich, Devin McCourty, Stephen Gostkowski.

“Our role always changes,” Brady said, “and still as a leader and as a veteran I still can express things to my younger teammates and see the things that they’re going through, and try to help them through those things because I’ve been through those things.

“I’m so on them about maximizing their potential and actualizing the things that they want to achieve because I’ve had people that really mentored me. And if I can do that for other players, I love that.”