Favored Falcons

Oddsmakers may not like the Falcons’ chances, but fans across the U.S. are pulling for Atlanta.

It helps that they’re playing the Patriots, the most disliked team in the NFL for the second year in a row, according to a poll by Public Policy Polling as reported by ESPN.

In the poll of 378 NFL fans that the polling company says is representative of the U.S. fan population, 21 percent say they hate the Patriots. OK, too strong perhaps, maybe dislike really is better.

That edged out the Cowboys, who were at 19 percent.

And 53 percent are rooting for the home team, while 27 percent say Patriots.

Brotherhood

The Falcons’ famed brotherhood begins at three table tennis tables in the middle of the locker room. That’s where friendships are forged and friendly wagers settled.

And when that little white ball starts flying, look out!

These guys are just as competitive with a paddle as they are with the pigskin.

“We’re always competing,” All-Pro receiver Julio Jones said. “It gets the blood flowing and the heart pumping.”

When the Falcons redesigned the locker room at their training facility during the last offseason, they left room for a single table. It wasn’t long before they were bringing in two more.

“The lines to get on that table were strong, so it grew to two. Then it grew to three,” coach Dan Quinn said. “It’s just been a fun thing for the guys to connect. It goes on all sides of the ball, all different groups competing against one another. We have a lot of fun with it.”

Quinn was eager to build a real kinship among his players, a sense of camaraderie and responsibility that would carry over to the field on Sundays.

He dubbed it “brotherhood,” a word that he put on hats, T-shirts and just about any tweet he sends out. It quickly became a mantra for the Falcons on their way to the second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

Two of the best players on the team, Jones and quarterback Matt Ryan, also have some serious table tennis skills.

Rookie talk

The Falcons will be the first team to start four rookies on defense if they are on the field this Sunday when the first snap is made in anger.

Safety Keanu Neal, cornerback Brian Poole, and linebackers Deion Jones and De’Vondre Campbell are the four. Jones with 106 and Neal with 105 led NFL rookies in tackles.

The other key player, outside linebacker Vic Beasley Jr., is in his second season and led the NFL in sacks with 15½.

Numerology

Falcons’ points per game allowed, the most of any team to reach a Super Bowl, offset by an offense that totaled 540 points, tied for eighth-most in NFL history.

The final words

“We feel like we have the potential to be a great defense. Early in the season, we weren’t playing as well, but we have come a long way and now we’re going to the Super Bowl.” — Beasley after the Falcons improved from allowing 27.6 points per game through the first 12 games to only 19.3 ppg in the current six-game win streak.