Defense wins Championships... except... this year???

[dolphinsneu]

The Patriots win Super Bowls with defense and special teams and opponents messing up.

Brady has had some great games playoffs. So have all the all-time greats.

Brady has had some bad games in the playoffs. So have all the all-time greats.

Why Brady has the most Super Bowls is because when he has a bad game, his supporting cast is able to win the game for him and allow him to advance. This is a luxury most quarterbacks do not have.

Also I don't get the title of this thread. The Patriots have won both their playoff games in no small part to to their defense. Did you see that goal line stand? Or stopping the Texans after both turnovers?

[chad72]

I can. They are a potent offense with a plethora of weapons. BB is good at taking away 1 weapon....not 5. I think this will get ugly for the Pats. Julio is to tall and to fast and to physical for Ryan and Butler. The combo of Freeman and Coleman is to good for their LBs. Then they have their big TE and Sanuk isn't no slouch either.

On defense do the sleep on Beasley. We saw 1st hand what he can do. Their defense can get pressure.

I see a big ATL win in a no contest type SB.

You are crazy. Brady has lost only 1 game in the playoffs scoring 30 plus points, that was to Peyton in the 2006 AFCCG. All his other losses have come when scoring 21 points or less. A shootout should be the last way to beat Brady and the Pats. Matt Ryan is not going to beat Brady in a shootout in the 30s, that is a recipe for disaster. They have to control clock and keep Brady on the sidelines thus limiting his scoring chances, that is the ONLY way the Falcons can win, something like 24-21 or 27-24 type of game.

Besides, the #1 scoring offense and the MVP (most likely Matt Ryan) hasn't won the SB since what 1999??? The team with the better D typically wins because they allow DBs to hold more come playoff time. Ty Law held Marvin, Ravens held Crabtree, Talib held Gronk, and Patriots DBs are coached to do the same come playoff time to see what they can get away with. That is just how it goes.

The others are like Eric Decker in SB 2013 begging the refs for flags and flailing their arms without much results.

[SoundsOfSuccess]

I can. They are a potent offense with a plethora of weapons. BB is good at taking away 1 weapon....not 5. I think this will get ugly for the Pats. Julio is to tall and to fast and to physical for Ryan and Butler. The combo of Freeman and Coleman is to good for their LBs. Then they have their big TE and Sanuk isn't no slouch either.

On defense do the sleep on Beasley. We saw 1st hand what he can do. Their defense can get pressure.

I see a big ATL win in a no contest type SB.

I hope so to because we all HATE the Cheatriots.

I certainly wouldn't be mad if ATL DID put up 44 on Ne

[FlowdaBroncoFan]

I hope you're right.

I hope so to because we all HATE the Cheatriots.

[samparnell]

I can. They are a potent offense with a plethora of weapons. BB is good at taking away 1 weapon....not 5. I think this will get ugly for the Pats. Julio is to tall and to fast and to physical for Ryan and Butler. The combo of Freeman and Coleman is to good for their LBs. Then they have their big TE and Sanuk isn't no slouch either.

On defense do the sleep on Beasley. We saw 1st hand what he can do. Their defense can get pressure.

I see a big ATL win in a no contest type SB.

I hope you're right.

[FlowdaBroncoFan]

I agree.

I'd say the same thing for ATL too. The Falcons D is gonna have to play well for them to win, because like you mentioned, NE has faced potent offenses before. I can't see ATL dropping 44 on the Pats...

I can. They are a potent offense with a plethora of weapons. BB is good at taking away 1 weapon....not 5. I think this will get ugly for the Pats. Julio is to tall and to fast and to physical for Ryan and Butler. The combo of Freeman and Coleman is to good for their LBs. Then they have their big TE and Sanuk isn't no slouch either.

On defense do the sleep on Beasley. We saw 1st hand what he can do. Their defense can get pressure.

I see a big ATL win in a no contest type SB.

[SoundsOfSuccess]

If NE* wins the Super Bowl, it will probably be because of their defense. Atlanta's offense will present a scouting challenge to Belichick*, but he has faced potent offenses before and dealt with them. We shall see.

I agree.

I'd say the same thing for ATL too. The Falcons D is gonna have to play well for them to win, because like you mentioned, NE has faced potent offenses before. I can't see ATL dropping 44 on the Pats...

[samparnell]

If NE* wins the Super Bowl, it will probably be because of their defense. Atlanta's offense will present a scouting challenge to Belichick*, but he has faced potent offenses before and dealt with them. We shall see.

[Taos_Broncomaniac]

Yup...hard not to pull for Aaron right now. Plus I can't stand the two AFC teams left standing...

Back to OP, statistics don't really tell you much at this point in the season. It's whose healthy and motivated. JMO

Looks like we're pulling for Atlanta AZ

[ksubroncosfan]

Nobody had Baltimore coming into Denver and beating us on our home turf. We had won 11 straight games to finish the regular season - plus a first round bye with home field advantage. We know the rest...That 'Mile High Miracle' from Flacco to Jones gave them HUGE confidence and momentum and it propelled them through the rest of the playoffs.

Yeahhh... and they came into Denver.... with absolutely no momentum. So, that doesn't fit the narrative. It's all about winning each separate game when you're in the playoffs. Not about how you played last game. Sometimes teams are hot when they do so. Sometimes they're coming off losing 4 out of their last five games like the ravens. One of which they squeaked by with converting a 4th and 20 on a screen pass lol. But, to say they had a bunch of momentum is not really true. Unless you're talking about by the time they played in the Super Bowl. Then, sure. But definitely not when they played us.

[Taos_Broncomaniac]

We held him to like 70 sum odd yards passing, didn't we?

If he pulls this win off when Green Bay has all of these injuries, and Atlanta has this high flying offense and are relatively healthy except for Julio and his toe, it'd be his most impressive win to me. It would remind of Elway taking all of the 80's teams to the super bowl on his shoulders.

Yup...hard not to pull for Aaron right now. Plus I can't stand the two AFC teams left standing...

Back to OP, statistics don't really tell you much at this point in the season. It's whose healthy and motivated. JMO

[DenverBlood]

We held him to like 70 sum odd yards passing, didn't we?

If he pulls this win off when Green Bay has all of these injuries, and Atlanta has this high flying offense and are relatively healthy except for Julio and his toe, it'd be his most impressive win to me. It would remind of Elway taking all of the 80's teams to the super bowl on his shoulders.

Well yeah what we did to him last year is completely unheard of.

Atlanta isn't going to do that. But some key turnovers or missed fg's could drastically lower the score in a game where Rodgers is actually playing well.

Also I would expect that a lot of the current Gb listed injuries today will be a go come Sunday. But it will be a matter of how effective are they.

[ELWAY421]

Well Houston held them to 21. That's still decent points but I would consider that a huge success for Atlanta.

And Minnesota held them to 14 before their D completely fell off the track.

We held him to like 70 sum odd yards passing, didn't we?

If he pulls this win off when Green Bay has all of these injuries, and Atlanta has this high flying offense and are relatively healthy except for Julio and his toe, it'd be his most impressive win to me. It would remind of Elway taking all of the 80's teams to the super bowl on his shoulders.

[DenverBlood]

Lol, the last team to shut Rodgers out like that was us in Denver a couple years back.

Well Houston held them to 21. That's still decent points but I would consider that a huge success for Atlanta.

And Minnesota held them to 14 before their D completely fell off the track.

[ELWAY421]

Nah, I could care less who wins to be honest. Well, I don't really want to see NE win. And it'd be nice for GB to get knocked out so I don't have to listen to anymore Packer fans here in Cheeshead land - I already get enough of them since I'm a Bronco fan. But, they are on a roll - and there is nobody better in football right now than Aaron Rodgers.

In the end whoever wins, I'll still get up and go to work the next day.

Yeah, I'm like you, I don't have a dog in the fight. Only difference is I don't go to work in the am, I leave in the am. Thanks for the CP, I'll return the favor after I've waited long enough to be allowed to.