Falcons seek to land first Super Bowl with win over Pats
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[February 04, 2017]
By Steve Keating
HOUSTON (Reuters) - The Atlanta Falcons
will try on Sunday to remove their name from the list of teams never
to have won a Super Bowl while the New England Patriots seek to
rewrite the record book as the National Football League kicks off a
new era with a vintage matchup.
Upwards of 180 million Americans and a worldwide television audience
are set to tune in for a contest that possesses all the hallmarks of
a classic, as Atlanta's explosive top ranked offense piloted by
quarterback Matt Ryan clashes with New England's number one defense
in a Texas showdown for the Vince Lombardi trophy. (Graphic:
http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/NFL-SUPERBOWL/010031NZ3V9/index.html)
The high-flying Falcons averaged 33.8 points per game during the
regular season, best in the NFL, as Ryan enjoyed a most valuable
player-caliber campaign tossing 38 touchdowns, second only to Green
Bay's Aaron Rodgers. (Graphic:
http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/NFL-SUPERBOWL-RATINGS/010031J13GP/index.html)
While Ryan's New England counterpart Tom Brady, as usual, controlled
the spotlight it was the Patriots' defense that paved the road to a
record ninth trip to the Super Bowl allowing a league low average of
just 15.6 points per game.
"They are a great football team, a team that plays complementary
football from offense to defense to special teams," said Ryan.
"Their success has been their longevity and consistency, something
all people admire.
"New England has a great defense and watching them on film, their
ability to keep people out of the end zone has been unbelievable all
year."
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While Ryan is still trying to establish his credentials as an elite
quarterback, Brady and coach Bill Belichick have already amassed
Hall of Fame resumes.
A win on Sunday would give Brady five Super Bowl rings, breaking a
tie with Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw, while Belichick would go to
the top of the all-time coaching list, also with five titles,
surpassing Pittsburgh Steelers' Chuck Noll.
Widely considered the NFL's most hated team, the Patriots, despised
as the 'Evil Empire' outside of their New England fortress, arrive
at the Super Bowl wearing a chip on their collective shoulder.
For New England and their fans this season has been hyped as the
Patriots against the world after commissioner Roger Goodell
suspended Brady for the first four games for his part in
Deflategate, the 2015 scandal over deflated footballs.
"Every year is different," said Brady. "Every year, every team
starts with the same goal. Every teams wants to win it. Every team
has hope.
"The fans believe in it, and there’s a lot of promise and hope. At
the end of the day, there’s only one team that wins it.
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![](../images/020417pics/sports43.jpg)
People walk by images projected on a large jumbotron of New England
Patriots and Atlanta Falcons players inside the NFL Experience at
George R. Brown Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Seals-USA
TODAY Sports
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"The fact that I’ve been able to do it before, it just means I’ve
been a part of some really great teams, and this team is trying to
be one of those really great teams that finishes a job, not one of
those teams that comes up short."
A potentially provocative halftime performance, politics and
protests could also feature in Super Bowl 51 as the biggest showdown
in American sports moves into its second half-century.
President Donald Trump will kickoff Super Bowl Sunday with a
pre-game televised interview and Lady Gaga will grab the halftime
spotlight but the focus will remain on the field where a Patriots
dynasty will confront a Falcons franchise desperate to make their
mark.
Over the last decade it is a rare year when Boston has not
celebrated a sports championship, with the National Basketball
Association (NBA) Celtics getting a parade in 2008, the National
Hockey League (NHL) Bruins in 2011, and Major League Baseball's Red
Sox in 2007 and 2013.
But it is the Patriots who have been the toast of New England as
they prepare to play in a seventh Super Bowl since 2002, having won
four of them.
Atlanta meanwhile has had little to celebrate.
Their NHL team, the Flames left town and moved to Calgary, while the
NBA Hawks have not won a title since moving from St. Louis in 1968.
The Atlanta Braves claimed a World Series in 1999 but last season
tied for the worst record in the National League.
The Falcons have made only one other trip to the Super Bowl in their
51-year history, losing to the Denver Broncos in 1998.
"I'm really happy for the city of Atlanta," Ryan said. "I've played
here for nine years, it's an unbelievable place to live."
(Editing by Andrew Both)
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