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Except that Brady owns the confidence, the experience, and the ability to step up when it counts
By Arnie Leshin
Minneapolis, Minnesota, it’s no secret that it’s both cool and cold this time of year.
Cool because of it’s the site of Sunday’s Super Bowl LII (52), cold because its the freezing season, winter at its coldest, but that won’t keep a capacity crowd from filling the US Bank Stadium.
As was the Hubert H. Humphrey Metronome that was on the same site, this 1-year-old home of the Minnesota Vikings doesn’t have a dome, but it does have a fixed-roof that will keep the temperatures down and the heavy snow loads from moving in.
They could have inserted a dome, but it was too costly, so they substituted the first fixed-roof since the one installed at Detroit’s new Ford Field in 2002. It has proven to work, so there’s no reason to bundle up, which is good news for a crowd expected to reach 72,000.
Bill Belichick was happy to hear this, but the head coach of the New England Patriots has always been optimistic, and if you haven’t noticed, always confidence, but he keeps it to himself.
When he heard that the Philadelphia Eagles had perhaps the best depth at defensive line in the NFL, with a league-high seven defensive linemen getting at least 400 snaps, it’s nothing he didn’t know before.
“It’s a lot more than four,” he said, “when asked about the Eagles’ front four. I wish it was four, but it’s about eight, nine. Yes, it’s a very disruptive group, hard to run against, hard to throw against, and they’re well coached.”
Notice that Belichick never jumps on another team’s weapons. He keeps that for game time.
In the NFC championship game, the Eagles sacked Minnesota quarterback Case Keenum just once, but they hit him eight times, recorded one strip-sack and intercepted a pair of passes. And after they tied the contest at 7-7 in the first quarter, Philadelphia would score the next 31 points and cruised to a 38-7 victory.
The last time the Eagles and Patriots played one another, it resulted in a 35-28 win in New England in December of 2015. Brady was sacked four times, hit 10 times, and intercepted twice.
Philly would probably watch plenty of film from the AFC title game. The Pats might have beaten Jacksonville, 24-20, but the Jaguars were in Brady’s face from the get-go with three sacks and seven quarterback hits.
Said one of the Eagles’ linemen with the best synopsis of how to attack Brady: “We can’t go out and just let him bake pizzas back there. If we do that, it’s going to be a long game for the back end.”
But Brady is Brady. He knows how to keep his offense in check. He has made a habit of coming from behind with impressive third and fourth quarters. He’s accustomed to being hurried, but he’s also adept at getting the ball away when it looks like he’s going down.
Which means, if the Eagles don’t get to him early, it would be interesting to see how much the Philadelphia D has left in the tank in the fourth quarter.
Can’t forget how No. 12 engineered his offense with late wins in all five Super Bowls won. If he’s getting rushed, he knows how to get the ball downfield. He has the experience that could frustrate Philly if he gets to make plays, and that’s no secret.
Yes, the Eagles don’t appear intimidated by the Patriots mystique, they are ready to accept the challenge, they are preparing to make the quarterback uncomfortable in the pocket.
As for the Philadelphia starting quarterback, Nick Foles, who took over when second-year starter Carson Wentz went down in week 14 with a torn ACL, has been well protected in the two playoff games.
He is averaging a 77.8 completion percentage, had thrown for 586 yards, has taken just two sacks, and has earned a 122.1 passer rating. The reason for his success has been mostly attributed to a three-word offensive scheme: Run-Pass Option.
He’s not Brady, but at least he’s taking care of business as he approaches the biggest game of his career, mostly as a back-up.
The Vikings came into the NFC championship with a solid reputation in defense, but Foles dive-bombed a pressuring Minnesota defense for 352 yards, three TDs and a 78.8 completion percentage.
Now he will be up against a New England defense that knows how to win, how to shut down offensive runs, has the confidence and the experience and the coaching to accomplish this, so Foles and his line will have to be prepared.
There are a lot of positives with each team, which is why both enter this Super Bowl with 13-3 records and as champions of their respective conferences. How the ball bounces is anybody’s guess, as is the outcome.
Everyone appears healthy, which makes one wonder why the Pats’ opening line as favorites dropped from 6 ½ points to 4 ½.
