Superbowl LI -Patriots vs Falcons

There is no surprise that one team is in the Superbowl and the other is an underdog who many didn't think would get past in the playoffs. There's Tom Brady, who whether or not you like him will go down as one of the greatest Quarterbacks to play this game. And then you have Matt Ryan, who has had a stellar season. He has never reached the Superbowl with the team and this is just the 2nd Superbowl appearance for the Falcons.

Ryan has had his best season in his career in the NFL with nearly 5000 yards of passing with 38 Touchdowns with only 7 interceptions which is the lowest amount he has thrown for in the 8 seasons he has been with the Falcons. Ryan has definitely had help this season though. Running back Devonta Freeman and Wide Receiver Julio Jones have been consistent just like Ryan has all season. It also helps that they are the #1 offense in the league. For them to win they need to play like they have all season long and obviously the defense needs to control Tom Brady. Don't be surprised for this to be a high scoring game.

Tom Brady has had a remarkable career with his time with the Patriots. He has been to the Superbowl 7 times in the past 15 seasons. That is nearly half which is a pretty incredible thing to do. Earlier this season Brady was suspended the first 4 games with the incident involving the Deflategate scandal (which no NFL fan will forget). I will just leave it at that, other wise I could have a political discussion about it and then it  would not serve the purpose of looking ahead towards this game.

Brady lost one of his favorite targets Rob Gronkowski "Gronk" towards the end of the season. He always seems to be able to still have success even without his favorites. He has veteran Julian Edelman who has been a spark for the team. It will be interesting to see who Brady goes to in this game. He also has veteran Danny Amendola as another Wide Receiver and Tight End Martellus Bennett, who has filled in nicely for Gronk.  Brady has been pretty clutch through out his career with important games on the line.

Even though the Falcons have the #1 offense in the League, the Patriots have the upper hand on Defense. They are #1 in the League. Can they stop Matt Ryan and the rest of the offense? That will be a major key in deciding the outcome with who comes on top. Tom Brady is just as hot on offense. Will the Falcons defense be able to step up big time and make the big plays to win? Time will tell as we see what happens on Sunday.

As a BYU fan, one former player is on the Patriots. His name is Kyle Van Noy, who plays on the Defense. This is very hard for me because as a fan I will be rooting for the Falcons but if indeed the Patriots win it would be pretty great for him as a player to get a Superbowl ring. There are also some former players from Utah (Eric Rowe Corner Back for the Patriots , Derrick Shelby Defensive End for the Falcons) and Utah State (D.J. Tialavea for the Falcons) that will be at the Superbowl as well.

I am going to try and not be biased with whoever wins this game. Whoever wins clearly deserves it. They have worked their butts off to get to this point. It will be a fun game!