As Super Bowl week rolls on, NFL.com’s reporters get you up to speed with the hottest news and notes about the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots as they get set to do battle in Houston, including:
» Dan Quinn’s dedication to routine.
» Mohamed Sanu’s hidden talent.
But first, is it 2017 or 2005? …
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HOUSTON — Preparing for the explosive Falcons offense is like taking a trip back in time for Bill Belichick, to a recent past that wasn’t so friendly to the Patriots.
Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s father, Mike, went 5-3 against Belichick as a head coach. Belichick said previously that no NFL coach was better at game-planning and creating problems for defenses, especially with mid-game adjustments. When Belichick looks at this Falcons offense, he sees many similarities in Kyle’s offense to those old Broncos teams.
"The stretch play is a big part of the offense," Belichick explained. "They do a good job with play-action, which Mike always did. A lot of positive plays, not a lot of penalties, not a lot of turnovers. They always seemed to be in control offensively, don’t lose a lot of yardage. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. They make you go out there and stop them. I think I said a lot of the same things about Mike."
In many ways, the Shanahans are the offensive counterparts to Belichick. They are masters at seeing what a defense does, changing on the fly and adjusting. Falcons center Alex Mack and Shanahan both noted that Belichick has seen it all and will inevitably throw new wrinkles at them. Then again, they both stressed that worrying about their own execution was more important. After all, this is a game where both offenses should have an advantage.
In press availabilities this week, both defenses have sounded like they were underdogs, ready to prove people wrong.
"(Patriots quarterback Tom) Brady is a guy who knows exactly what defense you are in," Falcons safety Ricardo Allen said Thursday. "You can try to disguise it, you can try to do it all, but he has seen it all. He has seen every defense. What you really have to do is compete with his guys on the outside, compete with his running backs."
Both defenses this week sounded like they just hoped to contain the opposition, because stopping Matt Ryan or Brady is impossible. Cornerback Jalen Collins spoke Thursday about the dangers of overthinking on the field against Brady because the Patriots have so little consistency in gameplans week-to-week. Falcons coach Dan Quinn kept it simpler.
"Just got to be physical," Quinn said. "Go right at them. You can’t try to finesse anything. You have to be physical and go right at them."
A great offense paired with a good enough situational defense has essentially been the Patriots formula for the last decade. Both teams in this Super Bowl fit that profile, and it’s one reason why even Belichick sounds like he’s facing an uphill battle on defense.
"They’ve had so much success with what they’re doing, they’re going to keep doing it but make it hard for the defense to recognize this is the play, and by the time you recognize it, the play is over," Belichick said. "You know, they’re spotting the ball and it’s like, ‘Aw, that’s what it was.’ "
The defense that does a better job recognizing plays before it’s too late on Sunday, especially in the red zone, should win a contest featuring two MVP candidate quarterbacks at the top of their game.
— Gregg Rosenthal
Quinn keeping things simple. Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn told me that his team is sticking to and maintaining its routine this Saturday. The Falcons are not changing hotels. There are no guest speakers. They don’t believe they need any outside sources to motivate their team. They have been self-motivated all season and will stick to that process. And to further avoid any distractions, the Falcons have complete exclusivity at the Westin Hotel in Memorial City. Not even the families of players or coaches are staying at the same hotel.
— Stacey Dales
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Could Sanu let it rip? We know that teams tend to reach into the bag of tricks during the Super Bowl, and one possibility for the Falcons could come from the arm — not hands — of wide receiver Mohamed Sanu.
Sanu, who caught 59 passes for 653 yards and four touchdowns in the regular season, is a former high school quarterback who has stepped into that role from time to time in the NFL. He’s completed five of five pass attempts for 177 yards and two touchdowns in his pro career, though all of those throws came with the Bengals — he joined the Falcons in March. Sanu hasn’t thrown a pass since 2014.
Sanu told me Thursday that he hasn’t thrown a pass with the Falcons all season. Not surprisingly, he was coy as to whether the team has been working on a few plays with him throwing the ball. What he did say is that the Falcons’ receivers simply are preparing for a physical game from New England’s secondary. He said it’s hard to replicate the physicality of things, since they are not practicing in pads, but they will be prepared, since they’ve played so many teams that have tried to be rough with them.
"The thing is, it’s all about us," said Sanu, who has nine catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns this postseason. "We’re not worried about what they are going to do. The focus is on us. It’s how it’s been all season."
— Steve Wyche
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