Tuesday Patriots Super Bowl 10 Pack

The Super Bowl circus is in full swing with the “Opening Night” last night kicking off the festivities in Houston. It’s become so much of a production compared to the old days where media availability happened during the day and was far more informal and fun. Still, it’s always good to get a read on the Patriots during these events as we close in on Super Bowl Sunday.

Here’s a 10 pack of thoughts on the latest developments…

1. I thought that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick seemed exceptionally relaxed on Opening Night. It must be nice for them not having the dark cloud of Deflategate hanging over them this time. I was shocked they could deal with that distraction in the buildup to Super Bowl 49 and still come out playing their best Super Bowl since 2004. Just praying this game doesn’t have a bunch of fluky turns, those games usually don’t seem to favor the Pats, at least recently.
2. Don’t stop talking, Devonta Freeman! Look, I get what he means when he says “no one can stop us but us,” I feel the same way about the Patriots, but it’s a poor choice of words to keep putting out there in the media. Rodney Harrison perfected the art of taking things personally and Freeman’s words, despite not truly being aimed at disrespecting the Patriots defense, are easily construed that way. As always, the Patriots will take every bit of added motivation they can get. Freeman also picked a bad time for his agent to bring up his contract. Again, don’t stop!
3. Tuned into Felger and Mazz briefly on Monday to find they were still completely focused on Deflategate, while blaming the fans for continuing to bring it. To be honest, I think the Deflategate motivation is the most overrated story of this Super Bowl week. Brady already won a Super Bowl post-Deflategate and was handed the trophy by Roger Goodell. I know that was before the punishment and all the shady tactics the NFL employed, but the fact remains THEY WON A SUPER BOWL AFTER DEFLATEGATE. There isn’t much to prove to those who still believe .02 percent of PSI in a ball was responsible for every pre-SB49 win of the last 15 years. Their minds are never changing. I’m all for putting Roger Goodell in awkward situations, but that will be about five percent of my joy should the Pats win on Sunday. It’ll be more satisfying thinking of how all the other owners feel about it.
4. The Pats had just one game decided by four-or-fewer points, so there’s been some talk about how they’ll respond if it’s a close game or they get behind. Yeah, I’m not worried about that in the least. I expect it to be a close game. And I expect the Patriots to put forth a great effort for the entire game. It’s just going to come down to that last play, whether it’s a defensive stop (gulp) or a Gostkowski field goal or whatever else. I’m already getting stressed about and just hoping that maybe just maybe the Pats could break with history and just blow the doors off the Falcons. Please?
5. I continue to feel really good about the matchup with the Falcons on both sides of the ball. The question I have is how will the Falcons handle it if their offense isn’t clicking immediately? What if they struggle to move the ball like the 2007 Pats did in SB42? That’s the matchup that sticks in my mind, although the Falcons are still far more explosive here at the end than the 2007 Pats were. They also have a much better running game which wont allow the Pats to tee off on Ryan.
6. The first drive is so key, especially if the Pats defer. Often the Pats defense will feel it out on the first drive and often give up long drives out of the gate. But once they figure out what the new twists for this game are, they shut them down pretty effectively. This makes me wonder if the Pats take the ball for the second time this season.
7. It just comes down to pass protection for the Patriots offense. I just can’t believe a young, fast defense has the 60 minute game in them to hold Brady et al under 25 points. Look at the playoff defenses that beat the Pats — all veteran squads that got to Brady early and often. I have a feeling the four rookies on Atlanta’s defense are about to get a cold, hard lesson in playing Tom Brady.
8. This was a great video from Matt Chatham and it really illustrates why the Pats defense matches up well with Atlanta, they are so fundamentally strong. There will be no free releases. Tackles won’t be missed. And the Pats defense won’t be caught off guard (especially with a Sanu pass, please!).
9. Lotta people writing stuff just to write stuff this week, like Manish Mehta writing it’s time to trade Gronk. Not sure why they’d do that when he’ll be exceptionally affordable next season. And what team is going to trade for him right now, at least with an asset that makes it appealing to the Pats? What would you give up for a guy coming off another back surgery? Patience should be a theme this offseason, both with Gronk and Garoppolo to start.
10. There are plenty of ways the game could unfold but the one I absolutely don’t want is the 2006 AFCCG version — Pats roar out to a huge lead in the first half and then slowly watch it evaporate in the second half. Those are the kind of games that crush me the most.