Cover32/Ravens staff predictions: Super Bowl LI
It’s finally here. The game that all aspire to, but only a select few make…and Tom Brady, of course. Super Bowl LI is upon us, and your Cover32/Ravens staff predictions makes the final appearance of the football year.
Holt Smith, Lead Intern
I think the Falcons are going to show up in a big way for the big game. They have one of the best offenses I have seen in a very long time, but can it outscore the Pats who will be looking to abuse the lackluster Atlanta defense? I think so, Matt Ryan will be riding on his MVP high horse by throwing 4 touchdowns in this game. This edition of the Super Bowl is going to be a shootout, and I’m going with the Falcons 38-31 to bring a championship to Atlanta.
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Chris “Braven” Brown, Managing Editor
Perhaps Twitter can say it best:
The ONLY ways the Falcons win:1)Referee help AND 2)Major injury. #MarkMyWords
— Chris L. Brown (@chrisbraven) February 5, 2017
The Patriots have a better record.
The Patriots have a better QB.
The Patriots have a better Defense.
The Patriots have a better Head Coach.
The Patriots have more experience.
The Patriots have more Super Bowl experience.
The Patriots have a better division.
The Patriots have a better win streak.
The Patriots have a better reason.
In the AFC Championship….
The Patriots faced a better QB.
The Patriots faced a better coach.
The Patriots faced a better RB.
The Patriots faced a better WR corps.
The Patriots faced a better offense.
In my estimation, this is a lopsided match. People are raving about the matchup of the offenses, but the Patriots faced a better offense two weeks ago in Foxborough. Now it is true that this game is on neutral turf, under controlled conditions, and that helps the Falcons. But only one of these two teams is clearly in the convo for best team in the NFL from 2016.
Does that mean they will win? Definitely not. Like I tweeted, if the refs are feeling a certain kind of way, Falcons win. Also, if you see a major player go down for the Patriots, get ready for a Falcons win. It happens so frequently in these situations–do you remember that Haloti Ngata went out of the Super Bowl win vs. San Francisco for the Ravens? They were a determined lot, to overcome that AND the blackout. Back to this game, despite the awards and showered accolades, despite all of pop culture going for them, Atlanta cannot overcome the fact that they are nowhere close to the team the Patriots are. Belichick will have a scheme devised to somehow thwart #11 red. People are touting the rushing attack, but I think the Patriots are ready for it and cannot be beaten by it. They’ve seen the zone blocking scheme of the Shanahan family and bested it. They’ve seen the defensive attack of the Seattle coaching tree and bested it. And the main point, if you want to look at the two Giants wins vs. New England, that I see as a difference:
People are trying to invoke the Giants' success vs. NE for this game, but theres 1 main difference: RYAN IS NOT AS GAME AS ELI. #Isaidit
— Chris L. Brown (@chrisbraven) February 5, 2017
Again, even though everything sensible points to New England, the refs and injury, together–it won’t just be one–could turn this Atlanta’s way. It will be fun to watch.
New England Patriots 37 Atlanta 20
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