One Dynasty Has Fallen? The Other Has Risen?

Philadelphia Eagles, it is your time!

  I predicted the Philadelphia Eagles to go one and done in this years' playoffs. How could I expect a team to win a playoff game against the defending NFC Champions, who were in full strength, coming off with a playoff win in the previous round, and were more experienced? The only way I saw the Atlanta Falcons losing to the Eagles was if they do a choke job, or if a major injury takes place against them. Also, another way the Falcons could have lost that game was if the Eagles played lights out, and with pride in front of their home crowd. I am certain that I wasn't the only one who picked the Falcons to win against the Eagles. Atlanta Falcons had four chances late in the game to take the lead and win it. They didn't, Eagles got the ball back and ran out the clock. Following week in the Championship round, I didn't give them any short at all to beat the Minnesota Vikings. Well, the Vikings came to play only one drive in the game. Eagles completely dominated the game and won it way before it was over. Now the Eagles have all the confidence in the world. Nick Foles, who was the backup to Carson Wentz during the regular season, looked like Tom Brady heading into the Super Bowl game. Again for the third time, I didn't pick the Eagles to win! I picked the New England Patriots with my head and heart to win the game. My mind said yes, the Eagles are more talented than the Patriots overall, but so were the Atlanta Falcons last year, and so were the Seattle Seahawks, three years ago in Super Bowl 49! My mind also said that the Eagles with a young team and with a second year coach, were going up against the greatest quarterback and the greatest coach of all time, which was going to be a big disadvantage for the Eagles. I also expected the Patriots to play with anger due to all the reports and news trying to separate the Patriots owner, coach, and the quarterback. My heart picked the Pats to win because, it was looking forward for history to take place. I was rooting for Tom Brady to win and become the first player ever with six Super Bowl rings. All that didn't happen, because the Philadephia Eagles came to win the Super Bowl and the New England Patriots didn't play the game in their Patriot way. Eagles were aggressive, went for fourth downs in two crucial points, Nick Foles threw the ball with conviction, and they never took their feet off the pedals! New England Patriots on the other hand, made errors on special teams and their defense played poorly the whole game, as they never came up with stops on crucial third and fourth downs. As Patriots' defense was getting tortured by Philly's offense, their linebackers, safeties, and cornerbacks missed several open-field tackles. Patriots' players just don't miss open tackles! All in all, the Patriots didn't play a good game, though Brady and the offense played out of their minds, and the Eagles played like true champions. Congratulations to Philadephia Eagles and their fan base! Eagles deserved to win, as they played with heart and passion, and their was no luck involved with them winning it. Eagles are in a great spot to repeat as champions next season as they will be more experienced, will have a better chemistry, their key players are going nowhere due to reasonable contracts, and their division NFC East got worst as this season concluded.

So was it proven that Brady can't win without Belichick?

 

Tom Brady and the Patriots have enjoyed bunch of miraculous and come from behind wins in the last eighteen years. Tom Brady played a huge role in all those wins, but if it wasn't for his defense making big plays and getting key stops, he couldn't have won all those games. Let's go over some of the New England Patriots recent comeback wins, in the big games from the past four seasons. Since 2014, Patriots have won four playoff games in which they trailed in the fourth quarter. First against the Baltimore Ravens, in the Divisional Round of the 2014 playoffs. In that game, Patriots' defense held the Ravens' offense to only three points in the fourth quarter. Those three points came early in the fourth quarter, after that they were completely shut down by the Pats' D. Tom Brady and the offense took advantage of that, scored a touchdown to take a four point lead, and held on to win the game. Second big game in the playoffs, in which Brady and Pats came from behind to win was the Super Bowl 49 game, against the Seattle Seahawks. Brady and the Pats entered the fourth quarter down by ten. No quarterback in the previous forty-eight Super Bowls, had came back from a double digit deficit in the fourth quarter. Tom Brady became the first quarterback ever to overcome a double digit deficit in the fourth quarter, as him and his offense scored fourteen points in two straight drives, and the defense held Seahawks' offense to zero points. The third playoff game in which Tom Brady and the Patriots came from behind to win the game, was the Super Bowl 51 against the Atlanta Falcons. In that game Patriots trailed the Falcons 28-3 midway into the third quarter. Felt like the game was over the moment Falcons scored their fourth touchdown and took a twenty-five lead. However, after that point, the Patriots scored twenty-five straight points in the fourth quarter to tie the game. The defense held the Falcons' high powered offense to zero points for the last seventeen minutes of the regulation. Patriots D came up with all the big stops on third downs and made a key turnover, midway in the fourth quarter. The Patriots ended up winning the game 34-28 in overtime. Finally, the fourth big playoff game over the last four seasons in which Patriots overcame a deficit in the fourth quarter to win, was this past AFC Championship game against the Jaguars. In that game, Tom Brady and the Patriots entered the fourth quarter down by ten points, just like they did against the Seahawks in Super Bowl 49. The end result of this game against the Jags was the same as the result of Super Bowl 49. Patriots' offense scored fourteen points, and their defense held the Jaguars' offense to zero points. Patriots ended up winning the game 24-20. So in all four playoff games from 2014-2017, in which Tom Brady and the Patriots successfully completed their fourth quarter comebacks to win, the defense gave up a combined total of six points. Just two field goals in four games! If Belichick's defense had not stopped and slowed down other teams' offenses in those games, Brady and his offense scoring late in fourth quarter, wouldn't had mattered. On the other hand, would stopping and slowing down other offenses have mattered, if Brady and his offense had failed to produce points? How many times we have seen a team's defense come up with a crucial stop or stops, but then the quarterback and the offense end up not scoring, or making things even worse by turning the ball over? I have a question for every single person who watches football and have some sense about it. What exactly is the task for a team's defensive unit and its coaching staff? The defense is supposed to prevent opposing offenses from scoring. How could a team win, when its defense doesn't stop other team from scoring in the fourth quarter, especially when the team is trailing? I mean isn't football a team game? Isn't football about three phases? Like if your offense keeps scoring, but your defense doesn't get any stops, and your special teams screws up by committing one or two unnecessary penalties, how in the world is that team going to win? Another thing, when Brady's defense comes up with stops and turnovers, it doesn't mean that the defense did a favor for Brady and the offense. They did what was required from them in that situation. After the defense comes up with the stop, its Brady's and his offense's job to score points to cut the deficit, tie the game, or take the lead. A stop by the defense and scoring from the offensive side would result into a win.

Maybe Belichick can't win the big one without Brady!

  My point is that people always bring up the importance of Belichick's defenses shutting down opposing offenses in the fourth quarter, and minimize Brady's ability and effort to score points with his receiving core. To score touchdowns in back to back drives late in games is not easy. To repeat such a performance again in the playoffs, isn't easy. Then to overcome a twenty-five point deficit in the last twenty-three minutes of a Super Bowl game against a team, with a high-flying offense, is pretty close to impossible. If overcoming a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl is not a big deal, then how come only two times out of fifty-two Super Bowl games, a double digit deficit has been erased in the fourth quarter? Oh, both of those double digit deficits were erased by Tom Brady and the Patriots! Some of Brady doubters act like that putting the ball in the end-zone while trailing big, requires not much from him. A quarterback needs to make sure that him and the offense, put up points by not taking too much time away in one drive. When he faces third downs and fourth downs, he reads the defense correctly and quick, and then throws the ball to the receiver at the right spot. Those of you who say that, if it wasn't for Belichick, Brady would have no rings or wouldn't be this successful, I have two questions for you all. How many teams has Bill Belichick led to playoffs as a head-coach and without Tom Brady as his quarterback? Second question, how many rings has Bill Belichick won as a head-coach with no Tom Brady at quarterback? Belichick without Brady has one playoff appearance as a head-coach, which occurred in 1994, and he has never been to a Super Bowl game without Brady's services. I have another good question for all of the Brady doubters. How many double digit deficits have been erased in the playoffs by Belichick's teams, with no Tom Brady at quarterback? Why always point out that Brady wins because he has Belichick? Why can't we point out the fact that, Belichick is damn lucky to have Brady as his quarterback for almost two decades? Everyone for some inexplicable reason, remembers Bill Belichick leading the Patriots to an 11-5 record in 2008, with Matt Cassel at quarterback. How come no one remembers Belichick going 5-11 in 2000, with Drew Bledsoe, who was a former number one overall pick? How come people don't remember Belichick going 36-44 in five seasons with the Cleveland Browns? Belichick became an all-time coach once Tom Brady became his starting quarterback. Stop it with the non-sense that if Belichick had Aaron Rodgers instead of Tom Brady, he would be 8-0 in the Super Bowl. Going to eight Super Bowls and winning five of them is easily the greatest accomplishment by any coach-quarterback duo! However, they are not done just yet!

What was the point of Malcolm Butler benching?

 

  Super Bowl, the last and the biggest game of the year is here. Wouldn't a coach want all of his best players to be on the field and give their best? Malcolm Butler was easily the New England Patriots' best corner for the past three seasons. Yet, he didn't get to play a single defensive snap in Super Bowl 52. He was the guy who made the play by intercepting Russell Wilson, the quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 49 to win the Patriots first Super Bowl in ten years! The world was surprised with the play he made in the final seconds of that epic Super Bowl. The world was even more surprised when they found out, that he didn't get to start this year's Super Bowl, against the Philadelphia Eagles. Him not playing a single snap in the game, severely affected the Pats' defense. The Patriots defense allowed an astonishing 62.5 percent on third down and both of the Eagles' fourth down conversions. The defense also allowed a total of 538 yards, with 374 of them coming through the air. Butler could have certainly made a positive impact in the game. But no, Belichick had to punish him for his bad practices and for some other untold reasons. Couldn't Belichick wait for one more day? Couldn't he wait for the conclusion of the Super Bowl game, before giving a punishment to Malcolm Butler? The benching of Butler wasn't just a punishment for Butler, it was also a punishment for the other fifty-two players on the roster. It also hurt Belichick too because, he couldn't get to win his sixth ring as a head coach of the Patriots. I'm sure he is not happy about the outcome of the game. The Patriots were going up against a very loaded and talented team of the Philadelphia Eagles. New England Patriots and their coaching staff don't take any team or any game for granted. How could they take the Eagles in the biggest game of the year for granted? Tom Brady did make mistakes in the game as he missed several open receivers, dropped a makeable catch, and fumbled the ball in the very crucial point of the game, but he still played extraordinary. If it wasn't for him and the offense playing lights out, they would have been blown out by the Eagles on the biggest stage. In a way, Brady saved his legacy by not letting himself and the team get humiliated, but he must be furious with all the things he didn't get to do, and how awful his defense played for the entire game! He also must be wondering, why Belichick didn't let Malcom Butler play in the game. Couple days after the Super Bowl, when Butler made a post on Instagram to defend himself by telling the world, that he didn't do anything unusual before the Super Bowl game, Tom Brady showed his support for Butler by responding to his post. Brady said.., "Love you Malcolm! You are an incredible player and teammate and friend. Always!" No one was happy with Belichick's decision of benching Butler. There was no point of benching him. Bill Belichick is a genius, a great coach, and a great general manger, but he cost Brady and the Patriots from accomplishing history!

Pats are favorites to win the Super Bowl next season, but it is going to be a challenge.

 

New England Patriots have dominated the NFL for a long time now. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have won a lot of games, been to twelve AFC Championship games, have appeared in eight Super Bowls, and won five of them. They had a chance to repeat this year and tie Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins with six, but Nick Foles and the Philadephia Eagles got in their way, and they ended up winning their very first Super Bowl! According to Vegas, Patriots have the best odds of winning the Super Bowl next season, followed by the Eagles who have, the second best odds to win it all. These days in the NFL, the safest bet is to pick the Patriots to get to the Super Bowl and win it, but it is going to be a tough task next season. Tom Brady at forty, is still playing at a very high level, as we saw him this past regular season and then in the post season, but things change in the NFL very quick! At the start of the 2017 season, most of us predicted that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will make it to the Super Bowl. Then Rodgers suffered a season ending injury in a week six match-up against the Minnesota Vikings and their season came to a crashing end. Houston Texans, who were looking legit and like a playoff team with Deshaun Watson, lost eight of the last nine games of the season, after Deshaun suffered a season-ending injury. Also, at the start of the season, most of us predicted the Philadephia Eagles to finish at the bottom or second to last in their division. They just didn't win the division, they won it all. They won the Super Bowl! Yes, Patriots are still very good, have Brady playing at a high-level, and Belichick is still the head coach, but any young team could take over the conference next season. It could be the Jackosniville Jaguars dethroning the Patriots. It could be the Houston Texans with Deshaun Watson, taking over the AFC. Also, the Oakland Raiders with Jon Gruden returning, could become the Golden State Warriors and Steve Kerr of the NFL. So yes, the Patriots will have to go through a lot to get back to the Super Bowl. Can't believe the season is over already!