Even if numbers occasionally lie Jordan Matthews Jersey , most of them indicate the New England Patriots are in great position to hoist a sixth Lombardi Trophy.
The reasons begin in the only place they could: with Tom Brady.
Yes, at 40 years old Brady would be the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl if the Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. He would dethrone Peyton Manning, who won at age 39 with the Denver Broncos to cap the 2015 season.
Brady has put up numbers in his 18th season unmatched by any player in NFL history. He led the league with 4,577 yards passing during the regular season and his five touchdown passes are tied for the most in the playoffs.
Brady’s seven Super Bowl appearances are as many as the entire Eagles roster. He’s faced a myriad of difficult scenarios in the championship game, including last year’s 25-point hole the Patriots dug out of to beat the Falcons.
Brady won that one without tight end Rob Gronkowski, who will be in uniform after being cleared late this week.
Close games have been no problem , for Brady and coach Bill Belichick either. The total difference in scoring in those seven games is 12 points: Patriots 169, opponents 157.
You want to talk about comebacks? No player in the Super Bowl era has more fourth-quarter comebacks in the playoffs in his career than Brady’s eight. It’s probably why Brady chuckled this week when he was again asked about how long he wanted to keep playing.
”Why does everyone want me to retire so bad?” Brady said. ”I don’t get it. I’m having fun. The team’s doing good. I know I’m a little bit older than most of the guys, but I’m really enjoying it. … I’m not thinking about retirement. I’m thinking about the Super Bowl and trying to win the most important game of the year.”
As big as the Brady factor is, he’s not the only advantage New England has.
The Patriots lost go-to receiver Julian Edelman in the preseason to a knee injury and linebacker Dont’a Hightower to a season-ending shoulder injury in October. After some early-season struggles, Belichick found a way to plug the holes, with contributions from several previously unheralded players like Trey Flowers Mark Herzlich Jersey , Kyle Van Noy, Lawrence Guy and Ricky Jean Francois .
New England has also gotten a strong season from receiver Brandin Cook after acquiring him from New Orleans this offseason. He posted his third straight 1,000-yard receiving season (1,082) and was second on the team in receiving yards behind only Gronkowski (1,084). Running back Dion Lewis has also found new life just two seasons removed from a knee injury. He led the team with 896 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns.
It’s underlined the football savvy of Belichick, who with a sixth Super Bowl victory would pass Vince Lombardi and tie George Halas and Curly Lambeau for most NFL championships by a coach.
Belichick will be taking part in his 11th Super Bowl as a head coach or assistant, the most among any coach in NFL history. That amounts to 21.2 percent of all Super Bowls in league history and 34.4 percent of all Super Bowls since his first appearance as the Giants defensive coordinator in 1986.
Though there have been reports of alleged friction this season between Belichick, Brady and team owner Robert Kraft, it’s clear they are on the same page when it comes to the pursuit of championships.
”It changes every year. The venues are different, the teams are different, the matchups are different, and the road the team has traveled to get here is different Gabe Jackson Jersey , as is the road your opponent has traveled,” Belichick said. ”Each one is unique. Each one’s special.”
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See ya, Sid. Hello, Jack Eichel.
Once the shock of being traded wore off, Conor Sheary put aside his past of playing alongside Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, and began eagerly looking ahead to what might be in store with the Buffalo Sabres.
”I wasn’t expecting it, but at the same time you have to look at the positives,” Sheary said Thursday, a day after the Buffalo gave up a conditional fourth-round draft pick to acquire him and defenseman Matt Hunwick.
”I have to put my Pittsburgh years behind me now,” the third-year NHL forward said. ”I’m super excited with the new chapter in my life.”
In Buffalo, Sheary gets the opportunity to recreate his role as a play-making, two-way forward on a line centered by Eichel.
”When you’re playing with a guy like that D.J. Alexander Jersey , you kind of try to get him the puck as much as you can,” Sheary said.
”I think a big part of my game is creating turnovers and getting chances for my linemates,” he added. ”Hopefully, we can create some chemistry there. It’ll be awesome and maybe we’ll grow something with that.”
With two years left on his contract, Sheary was the odd-man out in Pittsburgh, which freed up $5.25 million in salary cap space in trading both players. The Penguins quickly used some of the savings to re-sign forward Riley Sheahan to a $2.1 million, one-year contract.
The Sabres, by comparison, lack play-making depth at their top-line wing positions, especially after trading Evander Kane to San Jose in February. Buffalo’s top three centers and Kane accounted for scoring 94 of the team’s league-worst 199 goals last season.
Five-on-five production was also an issue cited by general manager Jason Botterill as the reason he acquired Sheary. All but eight of Sheary’s 95 points in 184 career games have come in even-strength situations.
Another benefit for the rebuilding Sabres was adding a two-time Stanley Cup winner to a team that has finished last in three of the past five seasons.
”I think if I can just bring a little of that playoff experience to the locker room and try to change the culture, that’ll be a good thing,” said Sheary Dont'a Hightower Jersey , who credited Crosby for being a mentor. ”He definitely taught me a lot. And I’ll definitely take that and use that to my advantage moving forward.”
Botterill previously served as the Penguins assistant GM and had a hand in signing Sheary, who was a late bloomer in part because scouts considered him too small at 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds. Undrafted after completing his college career at UMass, he signed an amateur tryout contract with the Penguins’ AHL affiliate in March 2014.
Two year later, Sheary made his NHL debut and eventually scored six goals, including a winner, and 10 points during Pittsburgh’s first of two championship runs.
After scoring 23 goals and 53 points in 61 games in 2016-17, Sheary’s production dropped last year, when he finished with 18 goals and 30 points in 79 games.
Sheary blamed the drop-off on a lapse in confidence that lead to a midseason slump in which he had three goals and six assists in 35 games. He closed the year with six goals and two assists in his final 15 games.
”I think toward the end of the year I finally found myself again,” he said. ”Although I didn’t score in the playoffs, I felt as though I was contributing. Hopefully, I can build on that going forward.”
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