New England Patriots

Defense

I will begin with a basic fact. By the numbers, the Patriots have the best defense in the NFL. Only 15.6 pts/gm. A number that doesn’t stack up to all time great defenses, but still gives the high-octane offense enough breathing room to comfortably operate. With big names such as Malcolm Butler, Rob Ninkovich, and Patrick Chung, the Falcons are in for their toughest test yet. The matchup to watch is Julio Jones and Malcolm Butler. The high-flying Falcon versus the show-stopping Patriot. Sure, if Matt Patricia wants to play it safe, he will give Butler help in the secondary to cushion the impact of #11. This, however, may not be enough to stop Jones. The battle will be won and lost in the Patriots ability to get to Matt Ryan and stop the dynamic duo in the backfield. Pressures on, Patriots D.

History

As long as the opposing quarterback in the Super Bowl is not named “Eli Manning”, then the Belichick Patriots have done fairly well. Actually, really well. Perfect, that’s the word I was looking for. Beating teams spanning from Seattle to Charlotte, Belichick has ran the table. Atlanta could be that jewel in the south that he will add to his trophy case. Last year we were met with a similar situation; A surprise team from the NFC South with a surging offense go up against a team who has done it all before with a wily, declining quarterback who has done it all before. A team that had a sensational quarterback playing against an immovable defense. We all saw the MVP go down with a couple of blitzes and a couple of turnovers. If the Kubiak-led Broncos could do it, Belichick could do it and then some.

Discipline

Saying Bill Belichick is a disciplined coach would be a wild understatement. According to Footballdb.com, The Patriots are ranked 5th in total penalties this year. Falcons are ranked 12th. With a difference in 10 penalties on the year, that could be a make or break statistic in the end of the game. Looking at false starts, the Patriots have 17 to the Falcons 19.

That’s a whole 10 yards; Or maybe, a key 1st down. Last week against Green Bay, Atlanta had 2 red zone false starts. Patriots had none. This may seem like a nit-picky stat, however, the NFL puts forth the best Referees in the league. Referees with a trained eye and a hand on the flag. Maybe I’m over-exaggerating, but Seahawks fans remember how referees in a Super Bowl can change the tide. The Patriots have a great locker room culture and a discipline unmatched by any team in the NFL.

Atlanta Falcons

Julio Jones

Here is a list I compiled of all the receivers this year who have tallied over 300 yards in one game:

1. Julio Jones

   

Early Leads

One of the many things the Falcons have been known for this year is their ability to pounce ahead and take a lead. In 10 of their 13 wins, they have been able to jump ahead by 10 points or more. That’s domination. With their powerful offense never taking their foot off the throttle, they can use their multiple weapons to burn you with every play in their playbook. Kyle Shanahan has been able to use Matt Ryan and his accuracy in the playoffs so effectively, it is scary. After Jumping ahead 17-0 against Green Bay, I realized this offense operates with lightning-quick speeds and plays that are simple, yet effective.

The Man with the most ice in his veins since Mr. Freeze in Batman in Robin

Matty Ice. I never really liked that nickname. Or the phrase “Ice in his/her veins”. The phrase makes the person being discussed is cold, a loser, and doesn’t have a winning bone in their body. None of these, of course, describe Matt Ryan.

The odds on favorite to win MVP this year (#notmymvp) and NFC Champion, Ryan has certainly proved the critics wrong this year by finally winning more than one playoff game. He has been doing it in wonderful fashion as well. 117.3 rating 70% completion, 4944 Yards, 38 TDs and only 7 INTs! Hey, that’s pretty good! Not to mention he has yet to turn the ball over in the playoffs. Brady has twice. It will be a true test of character and skill for #2 going up against a defense that doesn’t bend or break. But with the help of one of an offense that could be described as a Swiss Army Knife, He has a good chance of getting his first ring

Tiebreaker

Running Backs: Advantage, Atlanta.

It’s rare to have two teams in the Super Bowl that have a pair of starting Running Backs each. Lewis and Blount lead New England’s rushing attack, while Freeman and Coleman run for Atlanta. While both sets of backs are incredible, the ability to catch out of the backfield that the Atlanta backs have is a substantial advantage. Both backs have over 400 yards of receiving. 400 Yards! That’s like having 2 Le’veon Bells on your roster! Not only that, Freeman has racked up 1079 rushing yards and Coleman has 520. On the New England offense, James White is the receiver out of the backfield. With 551 yards, he is someone to watch out for. Neither of the other two backs, however, have more than 100.

Another New Team in Canton

I cannot believe I am saying this, but the Atlanta Falcons will be Super Bowl 51 champions. For whoever listens to the NFL Rundown on KRUI, you know how much it hurts my heart to say this. For personal reasons and a sibling rivalry too long for a simple article, I cannot explain my dissatisfaction with the Falcons. They’re just too hot right now. Matt Ryan is playing on another level. Julio Jones is cementing his place in the HOF. The backfield of doom is playing up to immortal standards. And the defense is pulling together at the right time. Rise up, Atlanta.

Falcons 27, Patriots 23

Make sure to come back next week where I will recap my Superbowl picks!

The post Three Reasons Why Either Team Can Win The Super Bowl (And A Fourth For Who Will Win It) appeared first on KRUI Radio.

What looked like to be a classic, low-scoring Big Ten game where defense reigns supreme quickly turned into a barn burner that lit up the scoreboard and got all 68,590 fans wired for sound.

When the dust finally settled, Iowa came out victorious with a 45-29 victory over the Hoosiers.

The Hawkeyes could not get anything going offensively until midway through the first quarter when junior quarterback Jake Rudock found tight end Jake Duzey for a 12-yard touchdown pass to put an end to a 15 play, 80 yard drive that took 7:13 to give Iowa the first lead of the game at 7-0.

Iowa was far from finished scoring in the first quarter, however. On the ensuing drive for Indiana, sophomore cornerback Desmond King intercepted a Nate Sudfeld pass and took it back 35 yards for the second touchdown in just over a minute for the 14-0 Hawkeye lead.

The next offensive play from scrimmage was a familiar sight for Hawkeye fans as Jake Rudock connected on a deep pass to Damond Powell for a long touchdown reception to give Iowa a commanding 21-0 lead. It was the longest play from scrimmage this season so far for Iowa totaling 72 yards on the catch and run.

Rudock completed 19 of 27 passes for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns, once again asserting himself as the starter for the Hawkeyes. Backup C.J. Beathard saw little action and only completed 2 of 5 passes for 9 yards.

“Those big plays are huge for us,” Rudock said after the game. “They help us move the ball like we want to on a regular basis.” “Now we need to play an entire game like we did in the first half today.”

After a 83-yard touchdown run from Indiana running back Tevin Coleman to cut the lead to 21-7, Iowa responded right back on their very first play from scrimmage after the Hoosier touchdown when Jonathan Parker scurried for a 60-yard touchdown run to give the Hawkeyes the 28-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Parker was asked after the game how he felt about his game overall, especially since he has had some bumps in the road over the course of the season.

“I like having people miss and using my speed,” Parker said. “I’ve taken these struggles as life lessons. It’s football, things happen.”

Things got a little more interesting in the second quarter. Indiana rattled off two touchdowns in a span of about three minutes. Hoosier quarterback Nate Sudfeld delivered a 13-yard pass to Nick Stoner before another long touchdown from Tevin Coleman.

Iowa added a Marshall Koehn field goal and a 1-yard touchdown run from Mark Weisman to give Iowa a 38-21 halftime lead.

The second half was much quieter, as the teams combined for 15 points total.

The teams traded touchdown runs near the beginning of the fourth quarter. Mark Weisman added his second 1-yard touchdown of the afternoon, while Tevin Coleman added his third touchdown with a 69-yard run on Indiana’s ensuing drive for the 45-29 final score after a two-point conversion by the Hoosiers.

Coleman was the one guy the Iowa defense could not stop. On the day, Coleman had 15 carries for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns. He is now over the 1,000-yard rushing mark in just 6 games played.

With the offense in general struggling all afternoon long, Coleman carried the Hoosier offense when Sudfeld left the game with an injury and did not return.

Indiana relied on true freshman quarterback Chris Covington to handle the reins as the signal caller, and things did not turn out the way that the Hoosiers had hoped.

Covington only completed 3 of his 12 passes for 31 yards and 2 interceptions. What already was a dormant offense seemed to be even more puzzled once Covington entered the fray.

The defense capitalized on playing against the true freshman in Covington and got consistent pressure, which led to sacks and a lot of scrambling out of the tackle box. Nate Meier led the Hawkeyes in tackles with 10, followed closely by Desmond King and Quinton Alston with 7 each. Jordan Lomax and Bo Bower had the other interceptions on the day along with Desmond King for the Hawkeye defense.

Overall, coach Kirk Ferentz was happy about the Homecoming victory for the Hawkeyes.

“A little bit unusual of a football game, different than we’re used to being in, especially that first half,” Ferentz said. “We’ll enjoy this game today. We’re feeling good about that, because bottom line is we won a Big Ten football game. We won here and that’s important.”

One of the things Ferentz touched on a lot in his postgame press conference with the play of senior Tommy Gaul. Gaul stepped in to the center position on the offensive line after starting center Austin Blythe was shifted to right guard after starter Jordan Walsh left with an ankle injury and did not return.

“That’s one of the good stories for sure today,” Ferentz said. “We talk about next man up all the time. Everybody loves him here. Tremendous young guy as well.” “There’s a lot to be said about experience, especially with linemen. Experience is only good if it’s positive, and he’s done that,” Ferentz added.

The Hawkeyes, who advanced to 5-1 with the victory, will travel to Maryland to play the Terrapins next Saturday afternoon in the first ever meeting between these new conference opponents in football. Kickoff is set for 11:00 central time.

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