How the Atlanta Falcons can win their first Super Bowl
Some franchises get (or make) all the luck. The Atlanta Falcons are still waiting on theirs, as they are among the 13 teams that have never won the Super Bowl.
Perhaps they can take solace by looking at their Super Bowl LI counterparts. Prior to the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era, the New England Patriots were historically a laughingstock. Even when they managed to break the mold and go on a run, they'd come up short, whether it was being the sacrificial lambs to the historic 1985 Chicago Bears or coming up on the short end against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. All the Pats have done since is win four Super Bowl rings, and the franchise will participate in its seventh Super Bowl since 2002 on Sunday.
Welcome to the Yardbarker roundtable. The Atlanta Falcons look to do what they couldn't do after a great 1998 season, when they lost to John Elway and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII. So we asked our panelists a very simple question:
How can the Atlanta Falcons, currently a three-point underdog, shock the world and win their first Super Bowl?
Mike Tunison: They're going to have play offense like they did against the Packers and get a turnover or two. Their defense has improved, but it's not good enough to try to win a low-scoring, grinding affair with the Pats.
Sam Greszes: Am I the only one who thinks the Falcons should be favored here? They have one of the best NFL offenses we've seen in years, their defense has improved by leaps and bounds, and they just absolutely trashed the Packers.
Sure, the Patriots have the top-scoring defense in the league, but they also have not played a single top five point-scoring offense all year. In fact, they've only played two top 10 offenses this year in Arizona and Buffalo.
All the Falcons have to do is play the way they've been playing all season, and the Patriots simply won't be able to keep up.
David Matthews: The Falcons have dominated in their first two playoff games, so they didn't surprise anyone by making the Super Bowl. In order to win, they'll need to hit Tom Brady like they hit Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson. As last year's AFC Championship Game showed, if you hit Brady over and over, you can reduce his effectiveness. On the other end, they need to keep passing the ball efficiently, feeding Julio Jones while also taking advantage of mismatches he creates for other receivers simply by being on the field.
Demetrius Bell: The formula for the Falcons finally breaking through and lifting the Lombardi Trophy would look strikingly similar to how they've picked up their victories during this winning streak that they've been on: score early and often, and then do their level best to put pressure on Tom Brady. I'm well aware that that's much easier said than done and New England definitely has the potential to keep up with Atlanta's offense, but stopping New England is still a possible task for Atlanta's defense.
The scoring part isn't too much of a stretch — the Falcons have proven that they can score on any level of defense in the NFL. The big question is whether or not the improving defense has improved enough to where it can stop New England's offense. If the swarming and opportunistic defense that frustrated Seattle and cooled down Aaron Rodgers shows up in Houston, then it could be a jovial night for Atlanta.
Shiloh Carder: To me, a three-point dog winning this game isn't really a shock. This is a damn good Falcons team that brings a lot of problems for New England.
Be prepared. That sounds easy, but it really isn't. The Dirty Birds are going up against one of the most prepared coaching staffs, quarterbacks and rosters you will ever find. You can't just "dance with who brung ya" and have it work. Belichick excels at disrupting what you do best and has two weeks to break his opponent down.
My advice is that the Falcons need to add some wrinkles to their offensive and defensive schemes. And they need to get to Brady. Look at the last seven times the Patriots were knocked out of the playoffs. They were losses to the Broncos, Ravens, Jets and, famously, the Giants. All had stellar defenses that made Brady uncomfortable in the pocket. A guy like Vic Beasley will be important if Atlanta wants to disrupt that offense.
Jamie Neal: The Falcons have to play a perfect game. Kyle Shanahan has to keep scheming guys open. They have to run the rock. They can't become one-dimensional and let Matt Patricia and Belichick settle into a groove with their defensive play calls.
It's time to pull out the trick plays (you know New England is gonna have one or two) and give the Pats some looks they aren't familiar with.
Matt Ryan has to be comfortable with not forcing the ball to Julio Jones, and the defense has to key in on everyone. The Steelers got gashed with big plays and lost control of the game. Atlanta has to make sure the defense is on point every play and that it shuts down each player. You know Brady is going to be comfortable making anyone into a star (hello, Chris Hogan), so the Falcons can't just key in on one guy. It's a whole team on the Patriots side, which means it's gotta be the same on Atlanta's side of the ball.
Daniel Tran: The formula to beat the Patriots has always been to put pressure on Tom Brady. That means All-Pro linebacker Vic Beasley will have to bring his A-game. Beasley piled up 15.5 sacks and forced six fumbles this season. If the Patriots concentrate on him, rushing lanes for veteran Dwight Freeney will open up. And if the defense keeps Brady and the offense at bay, Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense have plenty of firepower to prevail against the Patriots defense.
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