By William “Ski” Wilczewski
Guest analyst
(Editor’s note:
Wilczewski is not an expert, although he does play one on TV.)
Super Bowl LII should provide many interesting coaching and
skilled-position matchups. Here are a few and they how stack up in classic
school-grade format.
HEAD COACH
Patriots: A+
Bill Belichick is the modern Vince Lombardi. He may not be
the easiest interview in the world, but he certainly does his talking with how
he moves his chess pieces on the gridiron. And Belichick’s ability to plug in
pawns and make them kings has been his strength above all others. That has been
the key to New England’s long reign of terror in the last decade or so. It will
also be the key Feb. 4 if Philadelphia gives the Pats a run for their money, as
many real experts think they can.
But more than Xs and Os, Belichick knows that the devil is
in the details, and understands situational effectiveness, which creates
incredible problems for any team looking to game-plan them or—more so—stick to
a game plan against them.
Eagles: B+
Doug Pederson may not be as high-profile as Belichick, but,
then again, who is? Regardless, Pederson—and the rest of his coaching staff—has
gone through many ups and downs this season, and has still managed to reach the
pinnacle. The worst of those downs was likely losing quarterback Carson Wentz
to injury. Bouncing back from that alone is enough reason to be impressed with
Pederson. And a Super Bowl victory over Belichick would be a large feather in
the cap that very few can display.
QUARTERBACK
Patriots: A+
Tom Brady is Mr. Clutch. There’s no denying it. Time and
time and time again (including nine AFC championship since 1996 and five Super
Bowl titles since 2002), Brady has proven no situation is too daunting to
overcome. Coming back from a 25-point deficit with 8:31 left in the third
quarter to defeat Atlanta in last season’s Super Bowl is perfect proof.
Even with an apparent busted up thumb, Brady has been rock
solid in the playoffs this season, and showing no signs of that changing come
Feb. 4. Yes, he’s got some talented targets (we’ll get to those soon), but he’s
proven to the be the gold standard, regardless. Brady’s quick release and
quicker-thinking ahead of time has puzzled defenses for years, and will once
again prove to be a monumental challenge for the Eagles—although that comes as
no surprise.
Eagles: B
Nick Foles, the first University of Arizona signal called to
start in a Super Bowl, has done an impressive job of backing up an injured
Wentz, and deserves high praise for Philadelphia’s offense basically not
skipping a beat since Wentz went down.
Foles has shown poise and command in a situation where it
would be easy to fold under the pressure. But he hasn’t. New England’s defense
would be wise to not underestimate him, especially if he gets hot. If he
doesn’t quite get hot, he can still be dangerous but also hasn’t been quite as
consistent in clutch situations compared to his counterpart Brady, not that any
other NFL QB can claim that, either.
Foles also has some big bodies to protect him, too, plus
some dynamic ball-catchers to help him look good, but he and his Eagles will
also need an effective ground game to keep New England’s defense guessing if
they hope to have enough success—especially late in the game.
RUNNIGBACK
Patriots: C
New England’s offensive backfield has been more of a threat
in the passing game than the running game of late (again, not a big surprise
with Mr. Wonderful throwing the ball), but some ground production from Dion
Lewis, James White and Rex Burkhead could go a long way for the defending Super
Bowl champs. Unfortunately for them, Lewis was their leading rusher against the
Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC championship game with a mere 34 yards on nine
carries. As a whole, the Pats’ backs only tallied 46 yards on 19 carries—one
glimmering weakness in The King’s Court.
Eagles: B-
The Eagles aren’t exactly loaded in the backfield, either,
but if Jay Ajayi can get on track, it would help open things up for Foles and
create an offensive balance that Philly will need to knock The King off his
mountain.
Ajayi ran for 73 yards on 18 totes and no TDs against the
Vikings in the NFC title game. He also didn’t fumble, which will also be critical
for the Eagles’ offense across the board come Feb. 4.
RECEIVERS
Patriots: A
Two words: Mutt and Jeff. In other words, Rob Gronkowski and
Danny Amendola. These two are the equivalent of an NFL backfield’s thunder and
lightning, providing Brady with more variety than a box of Lucky Charms has
marshmallows. Go ahead, try to double-team Gronk; much easier said than done.
It’s like trying to cover a Jiffy Lube on train tracks.
Then there’s Amedola, who’s about as big as a pimple but
shiftier than a sinner in church.
Between these two alone, Philly’s linebacker corps and
defensive backfield will have their hands more full than a one-armed juggler.
Eagles: B
This position will be critical for Philly, which is facing the
third worst passing defense in the NFL that gave up 251 passing yards per game
in the regular season. It could also help Foles wrap up the season with his
third straight 300-yard passing performance.
His targets will also likely be a Mutt and Jeff duo in Zach
Ertz and Alshon Jeffery. If the Pats’ suspect secondary isn’t careful, though,
they may also get surprised by Nelson Agholor and Torrey Smith.
The Eagles, however, might be best served to use this entire
committee to keep Belichick and Pats’ defensive coordinator Matt Patricia
scratching his bearded chin in wonderment of what’s coming next.
OVERVIEW
As expected, it appears the New England Patriots have the
edge in this one, but the old-saying “that’s why they play the game” isn’t an
old saying for no good reason.
In fact, as much as New England likely cherishes the role of
Evil Ruler, the Eagles cherish the role of underdog—stated no more clearly than
by defensive end Chris Long’s now-famous German Shepard mask.
These two factors alone should—hopefully—make this yet
another Super Bowl to remember, regardless who gets the top grade when the
school bell rings at the end of class.
(Wilczewski can be reached at wilczewskiwilliam@hotmail.com.)
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