#MIDDLEBURY #SPORTS
By Mark Vasto
The New England Patriots are the greatest franchise in modern football history. That statement is irrefutable. This will be the team’s ninth Super Bowl appearance, their seventh – seventh! – with Tom Brady under center and Bill Belichick as head coach.
This team has recorded 12 wins every year for the past decade. Despite the NFL’s absurd decision to try and vilify Tom Brady (which you could argue they did, with his four-game suspension to start the season), the Patriots lost two games. Two. That’s also how many interceptions Brady threw all season. Fans and pundits alike said that Brady would go on a Super Bowl tear this season, and guess what, they were right. This will be his seventh Super Bowl. Nobody, at any position, has ever played in seven Super Bowls.
My dark-horse pick, the Atlanta Falcons, are back in the Super Bowl. I covered the Falcons the last time they made a Super Bowl, and let’s just say it was an unmitigated disaster. From tragic off-field decisions to an even worse on-field game plan, that Falcons team deserved more. Atlanta deserved more.
It’s time for Atlanta to win a championship. Even Cleveland and Oakland win championships these days; that town deserves a winner. In Matt Ryan, they have, arguably, the MVP. He was the league’s top-rated passer, eclipsing even Tom Brady, and in his marquee matchup against Aaron Rodgers, he excelled. Ryan impressed everyone this year, and during the playoffs he showed the heart of a champion. The guy stays in the pocket and he slings the leather.
Will that be enough to beat the Patriots? While the Patriots keep going to Super Bowls, the “any given Sunday” rule has always applied to them. This Falcons team might have what it takes.
Mark Vasto is a veteran sportswriter who lives in New Jersey.
(c) 2017 King Features Synd. Inc.
