North: Super Bowl victory cements legacy of Patriots, Brady
Super Bowl LI saved the 2016 NFL season.
The feel-good New England Patriots come-from-behind victory was nothing short of amazing and bouncing back from a 28-3 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 made it the best Super Bowl ever.
The Patriots were running the ball late in the third quarter and I thought they were taking too much time off the clock, but boy was I wrong. My wife said the running plays were wearing the Falcons down and maybe that was part of Bill Belichick's mastermind plan with time of possession a huge factor: Patriots 40:31 Falcons 23:27.
I never saw any panic from the Patriots and the action seemed to unfold in slow-motion. Tom Brady is the undisputed greatest quarterback to ever play the game with apologies to some of the other greats, like Otto Graham, Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana. If the Pats would have lost, the duo of Belichick and Brady would be 4-3 in the big game, but instead they are a record-breaking 5-2.
Now Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is headed to the San Francisco 49ers as head coach after some questionable play calling - only running the ball nine times in the second half of the game.
But the night belonged to Brady who's focus and determination, along with some solid catches by his receivers, made us shake our heads in disbelief. Brady had to feel some sweet revenge for a league and commissioner who seemed to punish him unfairly, and his emotion at the end of the game proved how much the win meant to him.
The first overtime Super Bowl saved a season beset by poor TV ratings caused in part by the Chicago Cubs World Series run along with the political debates of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, poor play, "deflategate" and a multitude of other things.
Brady, at 39 years of age, loves what he does and is in superb shape with no signs of slowing down. He will return and how can we doubt him?
Will the Falcons and the 2016 MVP Matt Ryan be back in the bowl next year? Can this young team rebound from such a devastating loss? It's hard to say - just look at last year's Super Bowl loser, the Carolina Panthers, who were nowhere to be found this season with a lowly 6-10 record.
But this game was more about the Patriots and when commissioner Roger Goodell awarded the trophy to Patriots' owner Robert Kraft, you couldn't hear Goodell through all the boos. At the end of the day the winners were the fans and the NFL, while Goodell's image continues to take a hit. He messed with the wrong franchise and this 5th Super Bowl championship made it the sweetest ever for Kraft, Belichick but most of all Brady, cementing their legacy forever.
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