Give me New England

WHAT HE SAID…
January 31, 2017
Bishop on travel ban: Pray for wisdom
January 31, 2017
WHAT HE SAID…
January 31, 2017
Bishop on travel ban: Pray for wisdom
January 31, 2017

As soon as Mason Crosby’s long field goal went through the uprights and my Dallas Cowboys were officially eliminated from the playoffs, the 2016-17 football season was dead to me, and I officially shifted my attention to the important things in life: playing video games, watching the WWE Network and complaining about being fat while still eating fast food three times a week.


But Rushing Media pays me to talk about the popular topics in sports, and that little, measly-ole Super Bowl game is still being played this weekend, much to my dismay. So I guess it’s my job to let you all know my thoughts on the big game – even if it’s not something that I particularly care to discuss.

Saints fans, close your eyes and/or flip the page, because in the next 250 or so words, I am going to talk about how good the Atlanta Falcons are.

The Dirty Birds are for real, and they’re playing as well offensively as any team that I can remember.


Matt Ryan has finally taken that next step that we’ve been waiting for him to take, and All-Pro receiver Julio Jones is quite possibly the single most dominant playmaker in the history of the NFL.

Saints fans on social media love to discredit the Falcons’ successes, but it’s all petty jealousy from a fan base that’s been 7-9 for three-straight season and which has next to no prospects for the future.

Don’t kid yourselves, Who Dats – the Falcons are for real, and they deserve to be here. They were the best team in the NFC South for the entire season, and as my Cowboys were rolling through the regular season, I told everyone willing to listen that they were the one team that I thought had a chance to make a push in the NFC to win it all.


We’ve already talked about the offensive dominance, which isn’t going to change any time soon.

But the difference in this team is the Atlanta defense, which is far from perfect, but which harasses the passer just enough to get enough stops to win games.

Of course, the challenge in the Super Bowl will be putting a little dirt on the great Tom Brady’s jersey, which won’t be easy.


But those guys crushed Aaron Rodgers, who was playing as well as anyone I’d ever seen play going into that game.

If they can slow him down, they can probably make Brady a little uncomfortable, too.

But goodness, the Patriots are out of this world good, too – maybe even the best dynasty in the history of sports.


As sports fans, we always hear on TV that the NFL is a parity-stricken league.

OK, so what does that mean exactly?

It means that because of free agency, and a tight salary cap, t he league prevents tea ms from


having too many high-priced star players, which distributes the talent around the league, and which makes teams more balanced.

Of course, if everyone is about the same in talent, then it’s awfully tough for teams to replicate success, because it’s like asking a flipped coin to land on heads multiple times in a row.

But for some reason, the Patriots are immune to parity, and the tough competitive nature of the league is lost on them.


Since 2003, New England has won 10 or more games in every, single season. No other team in the league has even come close to that ridiculous amount of dominance.

In the past 14 seasons, the Patriots have won the AFC East 13 times.

The only time they didn’t win it, they had a valid excuse: Tom Brady got hurt in Week 1 and missed the rest of the season. But guess what? They still went 11-5 in that year.


The Patriots are like an NFL robot, and the only thing they’re trained to do is destroy the opposition.

Since 2010, they’ve only lost 23 regular season games. By comparison, in 2016-17 alone, the Cleveland Browns lost 15 games.

Sure, they’re without Rob Gronkowski. Sure, Tom Brady is getting older. Sure, they traded one of their best defensive players in the middle of the season.


It just doesn’t matter.

The Patriots find ways to win, and they’re the single best dynasty in the history of sports, considering how difficult it is to win in the NFL and how much more successful they’ve been than their competitors.

So, with that said, I know I’m supposed to make a pick, and I’ll be the first to admit that that’s proven awfully tough for me to do.


I think the Falcons are a better team than the Patriots, but I don’t trust that they’ll handle the pressures of the Super Bowl as well as the grizzled vets. I’d honestly feel better about the Falcons’ chances if there were no bye week, and they’d be able to keep riding the wave of momentum they’ve built in the past two weeks.

But that’s not how it works, and for that reason, I think the Patriots will get the edge.

Give me New England 28, Atlanta 23.


I think Brady wins the MVP. OK, now back to basketball season for me.

I’ll see all you football nuts next fall!

Give me New England


New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady looks on from the sidelines during a game this season. Managing Editor Casey Gisclair said this week that he thinks the Patriots will win Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup.

COURTESY PHOTO