Thoughts on The New NFL National Anthem Rules

This will be by far my most important blog yet. Talking about the newly implemented National Anthem rules made by the NFL just a few days ago. This blog is going to be straight from the head. No data, no stats, no numbers, just stated facts mixed with my own pure opinion on this matter. You have the choice to agree or disagree with my position on this matter. If you want to further discuss this leave comments on my Facebook page APW Sports, Twitter page @APWSports, & Instagram page @APWSports. Let’s dive into it.

            The new policy states the following:

1.     All team & league personnel on the field shall stand and show respect for the flag & the Anthem.

2.     The Game Operations Manual will be revised to remove the requirement that all players be on the field for the Anthem.

3.     Personnel who choose not to stand for the Anthem may stay in the locker room or in a similar location off the field until after the Anthem has been performed.

4.     A club will be fined by the League if its personnel are on the field and do not stand and show respect for the flag & Anthem.

5.     Each club may develop its own work rules, consistent with the above principles, regarding personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.

6.     The commissioner will impose appropriate discipline on league personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and Anthem.

Here’s my opinion on the whole matter. I don’t agree with ANY of the rules implemented by the NFL. Here are my reasons why:

1.     It only escalates the situation and doesn’t solve anything

These new rules will only elevate the conversation more & create more headlines that the NFL thought they’d be done with creating these new rules. These rules I feel will only lead to more players protesting (which personally I’m fine with) because they won’t agree to the rules at all.

2.     This violates the players Freedom of Speech 1^st Amendment Rights.

This rule is meant to silence the players who have something to say about the racial injustices going on in this country. This rule is meant to take away their platform during the Anthem and spreading their message pertaining to racial injustice.

3.     The NFL is only trying to save face & it sends a message that they don’t care about the issues.

The NFL has partnerships with the U.S. Military and want to keep their partnership intact & keep generation income they obtain from the partnerships. They have many sponsors and a lot of their sponsors may have pulled out of the league didn’t implement a policy preventing the teams personnel from protesting during the Anthem. A lot of viewers have tuned away from the games due to the protests and want that audience back, so they can continue to prosper.

4.     This says the NFL doesn’t stand by their players.

By implementing this policy, the league is sending a direct message that they don’t stand by their players. 31 out of 32 team owners agreed to this new policy. (49ers are the one team that voted against it). Kudos to the 49ers by the way.

5.     Clearly, the message of the protest has been lost.

The NFL has lost sight of the message spread by the protest. It has never been about the military or the National Anthem itself. Players are using the platform to display their displeasure of the racial inequalities & police brutalities that have taken place in this country for many of years.

6.     It takes away from the reasons the protest started in the very first place.

The policy brings more attention to the NFL stopping the protest versus discussing what we can do to fix the issues that Colin Kaepernick started the protest in the very beginning. Racial Inequalities & Police Brutality. Instead of discussing the issues at hand, its has turned to stopping the protests.

This policy makes me lose a lot of respect for the NFL. It’s just showing a false sense of patriotism. I’m a proud African-American male & I stand with any message that just wants to see equality & fair treatment in this country. Just because a player kneels for the anthem doesn’t mean they don’t love the country they live in & despise it. It just sends a message that there are issues in this country that really haven’t been brought to the forefront & they want to use their professional athlete platform to display their message. If I were in the NFL & had a roster spot, I would still protest the anthem to continue the discussion about the issues. I wouldn’t care about the team getting fined because of it either. In my opinion they should’ve been fined for creating this insane policy in the first place.

THIS POLICY SUCKS.

Should We Truly Use Championships In Individual Player Debates?

There is a ton of debates in all sports period about who is the GOAT in each of the major pro leagues. In the NBA it’s MJ vs LeBron. In the NFL particularly at the QB position it’s Montana vs. Brady. In the MLB it’s Babe Ruth vs. Hank Aaron. A topic that usually comes up in these debates is “How many rings does he have?”. Should rings come up in the discussion?

My answer to that question is NO it shouldn’t come up in a debate and I’ll explain why. I feel that rings shouldn’t define a player’s individual greatness. I feel as a society we really lose track of the true debate and bring championships into the debate. The debate is who is the better INDIVIDUAL and not who is better because their team won more. I feel that we really lose track that a championship is a TEAM accomplishment and a player can’t win a ring on their own. In the player debate, team success is weighed too heavily in a debate knowing it truly takes a great player and the whole around them are succeeding in their role to win a championship in any TEAM sport.

In the NBA I feel that debate is at it’s worst. The first thing brought up in an NBA debate about who’s the greatest player is championships and I feel its very discrediting. Society typically leaves out players like John Stockton, Karl Malone, Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, & Patrick Ewing based off the simple fact that they finished their legendary NBA careers without having won an NBA Championship. Is it at fault of them because they’re not great players? Not one bit. It’s for the simple fact that the parts around them weren’t enough to propel those teams to become champions. Whether it was the players around them, coaching staffs, or front office, or the players not being one cohesive unit, it takes so many factors outside of their individual greatness to win titles. Another part of the debate that gets under my skin is when Shaquille O’Neal & Charles Barkley have their debates & Shaq tries to discredit Barkley but bringing up the ring argument. One of the main debates in this is the MJ vs. Lebron debate that’s been intensifying over the last few seasons. Where the championships each has won being debated. That’s not what makes on better than the other. Their team success doesn’t identify what impact they each had on their respective teams. It takes a collective unit to win titles not just them being the best player. Michael’s 6 rings to LeBron’s 3 doesn’t make MJ the better player one bit.

One debate that stands out to me where titles are heavily weighed is the greatest QB debate between Joe Montana & Tom Brady. One QB who I feel isn’t talked about enough in QB debates is Dan Marino. Wonder why he’s left out? Because he doesn’t have a championship. Do I think that’s fair to him as an individual? NO. Dan Marino in my opinion is one of the best overall talented QB’s in league history. He doesn’t get his fair share in discussions at all. Does that make him less of an individual player because his teams didn’t win titles? In my opinion not at all. Brady & Montana are helped with titles not only because of the contributing pieces around them on both sides of the ball, their also helped with the systems their organizations have in place for them. Marino was hurt in his career (title wise) by lack of defense & running game. Montana & Brady had one of the greatest coaches ever (Bill Walsh & Bill Belichick). Played under great ownership (Robert Kraft & Edward J. DeBartolo Jr.). Meanwhile outside of Don Shula who was there to start his career, Marino didn’t have that stability at the coaching spot. He also didn’t have the benefit of a productive running game. Off the top of my head I really can’t name an RB that played with the Dolphins during Marino’s tenure. In Marino’s career he threw for 61,361 yards, which outduels Montana’s 40,551 yards. Marino threw for 420 tds, that also outduels Montana’s 273. Is Montana better than both because he has 4 rings, never lost a big game, never threw an INT in the Super Bowl? Is Brady better than Montana because he has one extra ring than Montana and more than Marino’s 0? Do titles really make one QB better than another in the ultimate team sport of football? The answer is NO.

In my opinion rings need to stop being debated to determine which player is better than the other. Rings doesn’t make the player better at all. It makes the overall team better than the other but not the player. What makes one player stand out over another is how said player performs in pressure situation over another. Another factor what makes them stand out over the other is the overall impact that they imprint on the game. Whether it’s the coaches game plan changes just to take that said player out of the game, they can take over the game and dominate it at any point or does the team around the player becomes better with that player being around them. Stats can be a factor too but, in my opinion, numbers never lie but they don’t always tell the entire story.

Rings doesn’t make the player better so let’s stop using rings into individual player debates.

Is Brock Lesnar Really the Draw That WWE Portrays Him to Be?

            Ever since Brock Lesnar’s return to the WWE in 2012, his WWE run has been very different than his first run in 2002-04. He pretty much has the same persona character wise, but his in ring abilities have changed drastically. He doesn’t do those triple powerbombs anymore, he doesn’t jump off the top rope anymore, & he doesn’t even speak anymore. Instead, Paul Heyman does all the talking for him including his ring announcing.

            His matches have become very predictable at this point especially since he captured the WWE Universal Title. In majority of his matches all he performs is his Suplex City routine, and a couple F5’s and he wins the match. His matches with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34 & The Greatest Royal Rumble have been particularly boring. It’s no secret I’m a big Roman Reigns fan but I feel these matches with Lesnar have been huge disappointments. These matches, have not been able to showcase Reigns’ true in-ring abilities. Reigns has a ton more in his arsenal but due to WWE wanting to make Lesnar look dominant it hampers all his matches.

            Lesnar’s Universal Championship reign has nothing extraordinary attached to it outside of WrestleMania 33 when he captured the belt defeating Goldberg. That was his best match in his reign involving the title but even that match was nothing but Lesnar hitting Suplex City & F5’s. His matches versus Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, & Reigns have been forgettable. In the Fatal 4 Way match for the title at Summerslam featuring Strowman, Reigns, & Joe even saw him barely participate in the match yet, still managing to win. His match versus A.J. Styles was a pleasant surprise but that wasn’t due to Lesnar at all. It was due to Styles abilities as performer to work a match.

            The Universal Title has become irrelevant in a lot of fans eyes because Lesnar hardly even defends the title. After his WrestleMania title victory (Which was April 2^nd, 2017), Lesnar didn’t defend the title until months later July 9^th at the Great Balls of Fire PPV vs. Samoa Joe. The question of that is whatever happened to the WWE’s 30-day title defense clause or did they give Lesnar special privileges. During that time the title wasn’t even in too much of a conversation during that period. Lesnar hasn’t even had a match on any of the shows Raw or Smackdown since his 2012 return. He took another long break in title defenses from when he faced Braun Strowman at No Mercy on September 24^th, 2017 until his title defense at the 2018 Royal Rumble on January 28th of this year, which made it 4 months between title defenses.

            Overall, NO Brock Lesnar isn’t that big of a draw anymore in my eyes due to rarely competing, limited in-ring performance, & making the WWE Universal Championship almost irrelevant.

APW Sports 2018 Mock NFL Draft

1.     Cleveland Browns- Sam Darnold, QB, USC

This is the year the Browns take a QB with a first round pick & Darnold is the best available QB in this year’s draft and the one I see with the most upside. He possibly won’t be pushed to play right away with the Browns acquiring Tyrod Taylor from the Bills this offseason.

2.     New York Giants- Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming

This is the best selection for the Giants to make with an aging Eli Manning & with him being a QB that needs developing this can wind up being the best situation for both sides involved. He has the potential to be the next Carson Wentz.

3.     New York Jets (via Colts)- Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA

The Jets didn’t trade for this pick to not take a QB, so they will go with Rosen here. Whichever of the top 3 QB’s that don’t get selected the Jets will take here.

4.     Cleveland Browns (Via Texans)- Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State

For a team that has a ton of holes they should go for the best player available on the board and that belongs to Barkley. He will be an all-round back that will be a big upgrade to their offense.

5.     Denver Broncos- Minkah Fitzpatrick, CB/S, Alabama

For a team without a ton of needs outside the QB position, Fitzpatrick is the best fit here to be as a replacement to Aqib Talib who left via a trade with the Rams. Fitzpatrick is a very versatile player and can play both corner & safety slots.

6.     Indianapolis Colts (via Jets)- Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State

The Colts have a ton of holes on defense and they need a pass rusher, While I feel Chubb doesn’t have the biggest upside in my opinion, but he is the best pass rusher in this draft and that’s a huge need for the Colts.

7.     Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Quenton Nelson, G, Norte Dame

The Bucs need help along the front line to not only improve their running game but to also keep Jameis Winston clean in the pocket. He’s the best O-Line prospect in this draft and has very high upside and he will best fit here.

8.     Chicago Bears- Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State

With one of their top needs in Nelson off the board they will go defensive here & select Ward. A corner who has great cover skills and recovery speed can transition well and possibly move Amukamara to the slot corner.

9.     San Francisco 49ers- Roquan Smith- ILB, Georgia

He’s a very strong presence on the inside and can be a sideline to sideline LB and can help improve the position with the losses of their linebackers over the past few seasons.

10. Oakland Raiders- Derwin James, S, Florida State

I feel one of the Raiders defensive woes has been the back end of their defense. Derwin James’ playmaking ability and versatility can help fill a void at that position for the Raiders.

11. Miami Dolphins- Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama

The trade of Jarvis Landry created a huge hole at the receiver position for the Dolphins and Ridley is the best on the board and has the most upside of any receiver in this draft. The offense lost a lot of key pieces and this can be one of the pieces to recover from the losses.

12. Buffalo Bills (via Bengals)- Justin Jackson, CB, Iowa

One of the most underrated players in this draft should in my opinion be drafted higher if it wasn’t for the talent in Ward & Fitzpatrick. The Bills have a lot of defensive holes and this pick can address a big one in their secondary.

13. Washington Redskins- Vita Vea, DT, Washington

The Redskins selection of Vea here can sure up the middle of their defense. With help along the front 7 in Vea, their Corners Breland & Norman will be not being asked to cover the receivers for so long as their front 4 will be improved.

14. Green Bay Packers- Tremaine Edwards, LB, Virginia Tech

The Packers need help with LB depth especially with Clay Matthews production declining & Nick Perry’s injury history this will be the best place for Edwards to step in and make contributions right away.

15. Arizona Cardinals- Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

This will be the spot where the reigning Heisman Trophy winner has the best chance to succeed. With the retirement of Carson Palmer and not a potential franchise guy behind him this is where he’ll be groomed to have the best chance to succeed.

16. Baltimore Ravens- Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA

The Ravens defense is in a need of young talent with the aging of players like Eric Weddle & Terrell Suggs they can use the help of an edge rusher and the skill set of Marcus Davenport fits their defensive scheme perfectly.

17. Los Angeles Chargers- Connor Williams, T, Texas

The Chargers can use an upgrade at either of the two tackle positions preferably the right side but either side, Williams will be a much-needed addition to an offensive line who struggled to protect Philip Rivers.

18. Seattle Seahawks- Harold Landry, DE-OLB, Boston College

The Seahawks lost a ton on defense with the trade of Michael Bennett and the release of Richard Sherman to break up the legion of boom. Starting up from the Landry can help the front 7 retool and still be the productive defense that we’ve come accustomed to.

19. Dallas Cowboys – Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State

This could potentially be a sport where the next WR is taken off the board with the release of Dez Bryant, but they have bigger holes on the defensive side of the ball particularly a linebacker and Vander Esch can give a boost.

20. Detroit Lions- Da’Ron Payne, DT, Alabama

The Lions interior of their defensive line can use some pieces and Payne gives them a much-needed presence in the middle with an aging Haloti Ngata. He can sure it up and help their young linebackers be freed up.

21. Cincinnati Bengals (via Bills)- Isaiah Wynn, G, Georgia

This is the best pick for the for the Bengals to help sure up in interior of their offensive line and improve their 3.6ypc (Yards Per Carry) rush average and help keep the middle of the pocket clean for Andy Dalton.

22. Buffalo Bills (via Bengals)- Billy Price, G/C, Ohio State

This pick gives the Bills much needed offensive line help. Their interior can improve to help RB LeSean McCoy & keep new QB A.J. McCarron clean. Price is versatile having played both Guard & Center at Ohio State.

23. New England Patriots (via Rams)- Mike Hughes, CB, UCF

Hughes’ talents give the Pats much a needed body on the outside after losing Malcolm Butler to the Titans in free agency. He’s a plug and play type of player with good cover skills and good recovery speed.

24. Carolina Panthers- Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU

Trading Kelvin Benjamin didn’t hurt as much as originally thought but their receiving core lacks in size & with Sutton’s 6’4 frame, he definitely give Cam Newton a second RedZone threat outside of Greg Olsen.

25. Tennessee Titans- Sam Hubbard, DE, Ohio State

The Titans D needs a pass rusher & an end that can also set the edge in the running game. Insert Sam Hubbard. His ability to get after the passer goes underrated and plays with great smarts and he could be an immediate impact on their defense.

26. Atlanta Falcons- Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan

Their interior D can use a sure up after losing Dontari Poe to the rival Panthers. His size and quickness off the line can be the boost their interior D is looking for to pair with Keanu Neal & Deion Jones.

27. New Orleans Saints- Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M

Their receiving corps have Michael Thomas but not much else behind it. Kirk can give Drew Brees even more weapons to play with on offense to add to an already strong running game with Alvin Kamara & Mark Ingram.

28. Pittsburgh Steelers- Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama

With LB Ryan Shazier’s career in question they can use this pick to get a guy who could go higher than this but slips to the Steelers arms. Alabama LB’s have found success in the NFL & I think Evans fares no different and will give the Steelers a body in a middle to potentially replace Shazier if he can no longer play due to the back injury.

29. Jacksonville Jaguars- Orlando Brown, T, Oklahoma

They can use a swing to play right tackle with the signing of Andrew Norwell this offseason. There are not many holes on this team, but the offensive line could use some extra touching up.

30. Minnesota Vikings- Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado

The Vikes D can use some inside nickel back help with Trae Wayne & Pro Bowler Xavier Rhodes. With Mike Hughes getting taken earlier they will go for the best corner available to help phase out an aging Terrance Newman.

31. New England Patriots- Sony Michel, RB, Georgia

With Dion Lewis departing in free agency this leaves a big whole in the backfield & Michel gives the Pats someone who can carry the load when called upon. Not much of a receiving back but I feel in the Pats offense that can approve.

32. Philadelphia Eagles- Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State

With the departure of Trey Burton & the aging Brent Celek the TE position can be added & give another weapon to Carson Wentz (assuming he comes back for Week 1). At 6’5 260lbs, he gives Wentz an added weapon in the RedZone along with Jeffery, also someone who can take up space in the middle of the defense.

What Should the Chicago Bears Do with the #8 Overall Pick?

            

           Due to their 5-11 record last season the Bears have the rights to the #8 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. It’s been a multitude of moves this offseason with lots of players movement i.e. Kirk Cousins to the Vikings, Sam Bradford to the Cardinals, Browns acquiring of Tyrod Taylor, Jarvis Landry, & Damarious Randall. The Bears have made their fair share of moves as well. I’m going to go in depth with the moves the Bears made & the effects that those moves will have on their draft outlook and what I should think they should do with the #8 pick.

            Let’s talk about the guys that the Bears have let go this offseason. I’ll name just a few of the key names that contributed to the recent Bears teams. Names like LB Pernell McPhee, DE/LB Willie Young, CB Marcus Cooper, S Quintin Demps, QB Mike Glennon (Who signed a 3yr/$45Mil deal last offseason), & WR Markus Wheaton. Letting go of some of these names left the Bears with a lot of money to spend in free agency this off season. They’ve also resigned DB’s Kyle Fuller & Prince Amukamara, LB’s Sam Acho & John Timu,

           

            The Bears have been big players in free agency with their afore mentioned money to spend. Signing much needed offensive help for 2^nd year QB Mitch Trubisky to continue his development & help ease his transition to new Head Coach Matt Nagy’s offensive style. Bringing in names like WR Allen Robinson from the Jaguars, WR Taylor Gabriel from the Falcons, TE Trey Burton from the Super Bowl Champion Eagles, & QB Chase Daniel from the Saints (Played for Nagy with the Chiefs from 2013-15 while Nagy was the QB Coach). They’ve also signed LB Aaron Lynch from the 49ers.

            With those moves in my opinion it should be only 2 routes the Bears should go with the #8 pick. They should either draft offensive line up or help on the defensive side of the ball safety help or in the from 7. As much as I personally would like to see the Bears draft CB Denzel Ward from Ohio State I feel with the resignings of Fuller & Amukamara that he’s off their board. With that said the Bears have a hole at the Guard position with Josh Sitton moving on & signing with the Miami Dolphins & health status of Kyle Long. Notre Dame G Quenton Nelson would be a great choice at this spot but there is a chance he could be gone by the time the Bears pick at #8. Before I say more to answer a question NO the Bears should not consider trading this pick after trading valuable 3^rd round picks last season to draft Trubisky & also the value that’s available that could still be on the board when the Bears are on the clock. If Nelson is gone there is a small chance the Bears could look to WR Calvin Ridley, but I feel that’s unlikely with the signings of Gabriel & Robinson with the return of WR Cam Meredith from injury. The best options for the Bears with the afore mention moves are at the LB position. The names that come to mind are Roquan Smith from Georgia. He could bring ILB help alongside Danny Trevathan in Vic Fangio’s 3-4 scheme. LB Tremaine Edwards from Virginia Tech whose speed & quickness can be an asset to the 3-4 scheme. There’s an outside chance they could draft a DB here as well with the afore mentioned Denzel Ward who could be a outstanding cover corner coming out of Ohio State where they play a lot of Man coverage, CB Minkah Fitzpatrick from Alabama whose versatility could be greatly used in the 3-4 scheme as he has the talent to be a Corner or Safety, CB Josh Jackson from Iowa who can also be a good cover corner as well.

Bears Team Needs: OG, LB, DL, S,

Should the Cavs Let LeBron Walk at Season’s End?

           

            This season for the Cavs so far has not been the prettiest at all. It has been a very up & down road whether it has been long winning streaks or long losing streaks, inconsistent play on the defensive end of the floor, lineup changes, etc. The most lingering question over this Cavs team is whether LeBron James is going to stay or leave at season’s end. This is a question that has been brought up all season and there is very much speculation to what decision is going to be made. It’s been reports about him listening to the Golden State Warriors if they were able to offer him a max deal. Reports about him cursing out management about front office moves. Also reports about him being upset about the Cavs trading for Isaiah Thomas instead of Paul George.

            What I personally feel about that is the Cavs really need to just cut their ties with LeBron & just start over. It seems like ever since the season started it has been nothing drama surrounding the Cavs. The Kyrie Irving trade, bringing in new pieces, friction in the locker room, friction in the front office, etc. Personally, I feel the drama starts with LeBron James. I see it in his personality to how much he complains to refs for foul calls when he really isn’t fouls. See the dunk he missed against the Thunder last season and cried for a foul to be called on Victor Oladipo. I feel he wants everything to go in his favor and when it doesn’t he doesn’t respond well to it.

            He was complaining last season about how the roster needed to be changed and this was after the fact that his team had just come off being the defending champs. It feels like he’s the creator of a lot of the drama in the Cavs organization and I feel once he walks out the door the Cavs organization can really be at peace and start things over and really re-evaluate. I feel that Kyrie Irving would have never have been gone without the LeBron James ordeal. He wanted out so bad that he was threatening to give the reason of knee surgery to sit out.

            Just within these last few days there has been a lot of change on the Cavs roster and I feel it has a lot to do with LeBron complaining to the front office about the roster. They traded away Channing Frye, Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Jae Crowder, Iman Shumpert, & Dwyane Wade. In return they got back Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., & George Hill. Those moves still aren’t going to work because they are still going to take time to gel, it’s too much of an overhaul, & they aren’t going to compete in the NBA Finals again this year. It’s too much going on for them to repeat as 4x Eastern Conference champs. In my opinion they did all the moves to appease LeBron when he’s going to walk out at season’s end.

           

            It’s time for both sides to split apart, go separate ways, & start fresh. I know I’m going to get a lot of grief for having this opinion, but I feel the way I feel and it’s really nothing that anyone can say to me to make me change opinion.

Super Bowl LII Preview & Predictions

The big game has finally come upon us. After a long and rough NFL season it has finally come down to the final 2. Super Bowl LII is here. This year’s game features a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX between The New England Patriots of the AFC vs. The Philadelphia Eagles of the NFC. There has been much build up to this game. Can the Patriots repeat & capture a 6^th championship in the Brady-Belichick era or will the Eagles win their first Super Bowl in franchise history? I’m going to give an answer to one of these questions.

Matchups

Patriots Offense vs. Eagles Defense

            The Patriots offense will be toughly tested in this matchup due to the tough scheme ran by the Eagles Defense. The Eagles front four led by DT Fletcher Cox will bring the one element that can limit the Pats offense and that’s getting pressure on Tom Brady up the middle. Teams that have had success getting pressure on Brady up the middle as well as the outside have had better shots at beating the Pats. The Eagles secondary is very underrated led by All-Pro S Malcolm Jenkins. The Eagles will be helped by the Pats not really having that big down the field deep threat. With that said the Pats short passing game with a fully healthy Gronk, Brandin Cooks, & Danny Amendola will truly test the Eagles linebacking core. Pats RB’s James White & Dion Lewis ability to catch the ball out of the backfield will be the x-factor on whether the Pats offense will steadily move the ball against the top 5 Eagles defense. I feel the Eagles defensive team speed will be enough to keep the Pats offense at bay.

Advantage: Eagles Defense

Patriots Defense vs. Eagles Offense

            This matchup is a bit of a toss-up with the Eagles coming off a VERY game against a top 5 Vikings defense & The Pats defense being a more of a schematic type defense that plays a bend but don’t break style & are very opportunistic. Most thought the Eagles offense would drop off losing MVP candidate QB Carson Wentz but so far that hasn’t been the case. Backup QB Nick Foles has played very well in his 2^nd stint with the Eagles. The offense hasn’t missed a beat. The addition of RB Jay Ajayi via trade has worked dividends for them and helping balance the offense. The Pats D is stacked on the back end with DB’s Malcom Butler, Stephon Gilmore, & Devin McCourty. The burning question for me is can the Pats bring enough pressure on Foles to really rattle his game & force him into bad decisions. Eagles receivers Alshon Jeffery, Torrey Smith, & Nelson Agholor can pose a threat, but the Pats have enough veteran experience & schematic knowledge to slow the Eagles down.

Advantage: Patriots Defense

Coaching:

Bill Belichick Vs. Doug Pederson

            Bill Belichick is the G.O.A.T of head coaches in my opinion. I feel he is the master of making in game adjustments & changing the game plan according to the flow of the game. Doug Pederson has taken this Eagles team to heights that NO ONE expected from the at the season’s beginning. Most didn’t predict this Eagles team to make the playoffs let alone being in the Super Bowl. Both have done excellent jobs this season overcoming big injuries. For the Pats big time weapon Julian Edelman went down in pre-season with a Torn ACL. For the Eagles LT Jason Peters went down for the year as well as QB Carson Wentz. The question I have is “Can Doug Pederson adjust his game plan if it doesn’t go well?”.

Advantage: Bill Belichick

New England Patriots		Philadelphia Eagles
***	Quarterback	*
**	Running Backs	**
**	Wide Receivers	***
***	Tight End	**
**	Offensive Line	**
**	Defensive Line	***
**	Linebackers	**
***	Cornerbacks	**
**	Safeties	***
**	Special Teams	**
***	Coaching	**

Super Bowl Champion Prediction:

Patriots Win:28-24

Super Bowl MVP: James White