Super Bowl LIII Preview: A Rematch, Young vs. Old, Two Lucky Teams and Gambling!

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

It's Super Bowl week, and we have some thoughts...

I.

This year's Super Bowl will be 17 years to the day since the Patriots at Rams first met in the Super Bowl - the first Brady/Belichick championship, when the Patriots put themselves on the map with what was, and still is, the biggest upset in the history of the Super Bowl.

This game can't quite be considered a rematch, given that the only holdovers from that game are Brady, Belichick, and New England offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia. That's not exactly surprising, considering back in 2002, the No. 1 movie in the US Box Office was a movie starring a man that hasn't been the governor of California for eight years. It's been a while.

Furthermore, one of the teams has moved cities after spending the overwhelming majority of the last decade and a half as one of the cellar dwellers of its conference, while the other team went from the plucky underdog that happened to almost accidentally win a Super Bowl, to a team that everyone south and west of 42N73W openly despises. Like I said, it's been a while.

All that being said, it is the Rams against the Patriots, and you're going to see about 76 hours of coverage about the fact that these two franchises played against each other 17 years ago. At the very least, this game could serve as a bookend to the start of this Patriots' dynasty. Yes, Tom Brady said in an interview that there's zero chance that this will be his last game, but can't you imagine a scenario where the Patriots win this game 40-17 and Tom Brady rides off into the sunset? At the very least, it's possible.

NFL Conference Championship Primer (With Picks): 52 Around the Corner

The Jaguars and Vikings defenses are getting all the pub, but don't sleep on this swarming Eagles unit.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Well, Sunday was exciting, wasn't it? After two relative duds on Saturday (Atlanta-Philadelphia was close and vaguely exciting, but poorly played and not all that entertaining) with some spotty officiating (as a Patriots fan, I can tell you that the Titans (a) got shafted on a few calls, and (b) still weren't going to win anyway), Sunday was an absolute barn-burner, with a shootout early with some spectacular plays (Pittsburgh scored on two deep bombs, both on 4th down!) and one of the most spectacular finishes in NFL playoff history in the late game (I still have no idea what Marcus Williams was doing on that play).

That all leaves us with New England (expected), Jacksonville (unexpected), Minnesota (expected) and Philadelphia (relatively unexpected) left, fighting for two spots in the Super Bowl. Our favorites are (understandably) New England and Minnesota, but just last week we saw Jacksonville pull off a big upset and we saw Philadelphia grind out an ugly, low-scoring game. Both of those things happening again are certainly within the realm of possibility.

The Semi-Official, Overly-Exhaustive, Probably-Incorrect NFL Preview

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

[Extremely Andy Williams Voice]

It's beginning to look a lot like football.

We made it, folks. It only took us seven months, yet another Cavs-Dubs NBA Finals, a total solar eclipse, the death of Chuck Berry, The Oscars almost screwing up the Best Picture winner, O.J. Simpson's release from prison, and a devastating hurricane in east Texas, but we made it.

Football season is finally here.

In this space you'll find some bold predictions, some predictions less bold, some picks, some extensive thoughts, and some thoughts not extensive enough. Let's just start here...

Some Predictions That Probably Could Be Bolder, But We Want To Ease Our Way Into It

RADIO: Shrewsbury American Legion Baseball and a Charity Event Honoring the Late, Great John Pedace

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

It was another packed episode of "The Local Sports Lunchbox" this week on WPKZ. First, Ken Swain from the Wachusett Dirt Dawgs stopped by the studio to talk about his team's first ever playoff run, and how the Dirt Dawgs can become one of the top local summer league teams in the coming years.

Then, we were joined on the phone by Gianna Allentuck, who is organizing a charity event in honor of her late brother, former Tantasqua lacrosse coach John Pedace. For more on the event, and information on how you can contribute to the "Be Legendary" campaign, click here.

Finally, Chris Kyne of the Telegram & Gazette called in from North Carolina, where Shrewsbury's American Legion baseball team has just prevailed over the top team from Michigan in the national tournament. What more does Shrewsbury have to do to bring home a national title, and how have they gotten to this point? Chris fills us in on all that.

For all of those stories, plus a quick preview of the Patriots' preseason game against Jacksonville, listen in below.

RADIO: Patriots, BC Football, WWE & Tom Brady Day

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

It was an extra full edition of the "Local Sports Lunchbox" on WPKZ today, as football guru John Sarianides phoned in to discuss the prospects of the New England Patriots making history this season, and whether or not Boston College's football team can surprise some people nationally.

Then, the Sentinel & Enterprise's Nick Mallard called to tell us about a former local high school star who may soon be thrilling thousands as a member of World Wrestling Entertainment. Finally, Ethan Winter updates us on American Legion baseball, and everybody gives us their favorite Brady memory on Tom Terrific's 40th birthday.

Oh, and I settle the Brady GOAT debate once and for all (sort of). Listen in for all that, and more, on this week's episode.

No, You Shouldn't Feel Bad for Aaron Hernandez, But Don't Forget Who Enabled Him

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

I must admit, I didn't know how to react yesterday when I learned that Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots and Florida Gators star turned convicted murderer, had hanged himself in his jail cell overnight.

While I don't think I've ever been happy to hear someone died, especially when they have taken their own life, I also couldn't summon any sympathy for Hernandez, a guy who, thanks to his immense athletic gifts, had the world at his fingertips.

Yet, for whatever reason, the 27-year old former All-American's temper and temperament led him to a life of aggressive crime, including a murder conviction in the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, and being tried with a 2012 double-homicide in Boston. Hernandez was, ultimately, found not guilty of those two murders earlier this week, but has also settled out of court with a former friend who accused Hernandez of shooting him in the face outside of a Miami strip club in 2013, and police are still looking into a 2007 Gainesville double-shooting that a young Hernandez may have been involved in.

In the coming days, we're going to hear all the theories as to why Hernandez threw it all away to become a violent criminal.

His father died when he was a teenager, causing him to resist authority at every turn. This is true. He fell in with the wrong crowd, both in his hometown of Bristol, Connecticut, and on the roster of a late 2000s Florida Gator team that is looking dirtier by the day. Also true.

But guess what? Tons of athletes come from troubled backgrounds where they lost parents, or had parents walk out on them, and not all of them became murderers. You can look into every "troubled" part of his background but, at the end of the day, Hernandez was a murderous psychopath who seemed to respond to every bit of adversity with violence, just as he did in 2007 when he punched a bar employee in the face after being asked to leave.

It's okay to not feel bad for him. In fact, I'd say it's a perfectly human response.

Bob Lobel: Brady Taking a Page Out of Trump's Book?

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

This doesn’t feel right, not at all!

I'm not talking about the White House fiasco, although there seems to be a connecting thread that can be traced to the dark side of the force. There has to be some explanation or some information that hasn’t been included that would explain it all.

My first thought is that maybe something damaging to the image of our greatest quarterback ever came directly from Roger Goodell's office. No proof yet of anything, except what is being promoted by TRISTAR productions on their website.

Check it out for yourself and let me know your opinion. Is there a sense of outrage and disbelief that you get when you see the absurd prices that come with this private signing experience by Tom Brady? Is there any mention of a charity that would benefit from this ridiculous event that can only be described as a “money grab” under the name of our local hero of heroes? 

How did this happen? How did Tom Brady and his “people” let this happen? 

Bob Lobel: Tom Brady Has Every Reason to Walk Away, But…

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Assume the universe presents you with the perfect moment to step away from your job and simply say, “my work is done here.” 

Put another way, does Sunday's Super Bowl for the ages deliver the message that “it can't get any better than this?” Seriously, I ask you, can it get any better than this?  For all concerned- fans, coaches and most importantly the quarterback- can there be a moment that would possibly eclipse what took place in Houston? 

The Patriots' Comeback Wasn't (Quite) As Unexpected As You Think It Was

This is Tom Brady. Tom Brady is good at football. Look at Tom be good at football.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

I'll be up front - I'm still not totally prepared to talk about this game rationally. There's a 40% chance that I died on Sunday night and this is just the afterlife that I've chosen for myself (and it just happens to be remarkably similar to the life I was living previously - right down to the ongoing recovery from a recent surgery).

That being said, I feel like everything I've heard and read about the Super Bowl over the last day-plus has been expressing abject incredulity that the Patriots were able to mount a comeback. I'm here to present a few loose, scattered thoughts that hopefully apply some degree of logic to how and why it happened.

The Fine Line Between a Legendary Comeback and an Epic Collapse

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Whether you're a New England fanatic or a Patriot hater likely determined your mood this morning.

Those cheering on Brady and the boys will likely spend the entire day re-living the Pats' epic comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51 last night. Down 28-3, New England scored 31 unanswered points from the 2-minute mark of the third quarter on to capture a 34-28 overtime victory.

The game was historic for a number of reasons, most notably that Tom Brady both broke the single-game Super Bowl passing record, and captured a record-setting fifth Super Bowl title and fourth Super Bowl MVP. It was also the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.

In the process, Brady bounced back from an opening three quarters of getting beaten and bruised (and let's be honest, looking frazzled while missing some WIDE OPEN receivers), to find his usual flawless form, and deliver pinpoint passes on the final five drives of the game.

But the moments Pats fans are likely re-living the most are Julian Edelman's ABSURD catch in traffic, and James White's game-winning touchdown run. Both plays will no doubt become a part of Super Bowl lore, next to recent moments like Tyree's helmet catch, Holmes' end zone snag and Butler's goal line interception.

OH MY GOD, JULIAN EDELMAN! #SB51 #Patriots https://t.co/YtvHwsaCbT

— NFL (@NFL) February 6, 2017

Of course, the other side of that coin is the collapse of the Atlanta Falcons.

Bob Lobel: Brady and Belichick's Last Rodeo?

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

This is not our first rodeo, not by a long shot. 

"Not the first rodeo" has become a popular phrase to calm people down around here, but remember this: Sunday is a lot closer to being the last rodeo than the first for our coach and quarterback. We know it and feel it, yet we totally deny it. 

What's left to accrue after this seventh Super Bowl appearance? What's left if they get a ring to put on all fingers, as opposed to having just four? 

NFL Conference Championships Primer (With Picks): The Road To Houston

Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler covering All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown should be one of Sunday's best matchups.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We have about seven hours of football left until we know which two teams will head to Houston and battle it out for Super Bowl 51. Based on how the regular season went, we got the two teams you probably expected to see out of the AFC (you could make a case for Oakland, I guess, but Derek Carr's injury took care of that), and while we didn't get the teams you would expect from the NFC, we did get the No. 2 seed in the conference and the team that beat the No. 1 seed, so you can't say the teams are undeserving.

Most fittingly, though, is the quarterbacks who we have left. We have the two who finished as the best quarterbacks in the league by virtually any metric under the sun (Ryan and Brady), a quarterback on a nine-game winning streak with a QB rating in the ballpark of 120 (Rodgers), and a quarterback with two Super Bowl rings who has all the potential in the world to throw for 500 yards and 5 touchdowns on any given Sunday (Roethlisberger).

And think of the potential Super Bowl matchups. Patriots-Packers. Patriots-Falcons. Falcons-Steelers. Packers-Steelers. Not one potential dud. That wouldn't have been the case if the Chiefs or Giants had advanced this far. Let's all consider ourselves lucky.

AFC Divisional Round Primer (With Picks): One Good, One Bad

Long touchdowns will be key for KC against the Steelers.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Jeremy and Joe split the two AFC games last weekend. Both of us made the easy call no problem (Pittsburgh over Miami - although a 10-point spread was reasonably steep), and both of us missed the who-knows-who-cares game between Oakland and Houston to open the weekend.

This weekend, both of our favorite teams take the field looking to win in order to face each other in the playoffs. Depending on who you ask, one of us (Jeremy) will tell you both games ought to be a lot of fun (because the Patriots will probably blow out the Texans, and the Pittsburgh-Kansas City game should be entertaining), while the other (Joe) will tell you that both games ought to be pretty nerve-wracking (because a Patriots win means Pittsburgh needs to go through Foxborough to win the AFC, if they can even escape Kansas City with a win of their own).

Let's take a look at the matchups.

Patriots Continue Tradition of Hanging MIAA Champions' Jerseys

 By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The New England Patriots continued one of the region's cooler, yet lesser-known traditions, hanging a jersey for every New England high school state champion in The Hall at Patriot Place, the team's Hall of Fame and Museum.

That means all eight MIAA state champions crowned Saturday will have a jersey hanging in the same building as some of the greatest players in NFL history, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady headlining that group. The Hall will also honor the jerseys of state champions from each state in New England, along with five prep school bowl winners and select Pop Warner champions.

For MIAA Division 2 Super Bowl champion Duxbury, it was senior running back Devin DeMeritt's jersey chosen to be honored by the Patriots.

Bob Lobel: Will Trump Get Bob Kraft's SB Ring Back from Putin?

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Do me a favor- Call me when the Patriots play a big game. 

What would that even look like? The Rams, for instance, are impossible to differentiate from any of the high school teams that played on that same field in Foxboro the day before. 

NFL Week 7 Primer (With Picks): The Death of The AFC

With Ben Roethlisberger out for an extended period with a torn meniscus, can anyone challenge New England in the AFC?

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

So, besides the Patriots, who is good in the AFC?

The elites of last year's AFC have disappeared. Cincinnati is a pitiful 2-4 (and those wins come against a suddenly-terrible Jets team and a not-so-suddenly-terrible Miami team). Denver has lost two straight and are ranked 28th in the league in total offense. Pittsburgh is 4-2, but looked terrible against Miami, even before Roethlisberger got hurt, and now the word is he could miss up to six weeks.

All the while, the AFC South is a four-team dumpster fire and it's tough to point to even a second team that you'd feel comfortable laying more than a field goal against a half-decent NFC team.

Will some of these teams rally? The law of averages says it's overwhelmingly likely. Pittsburgh knows its identity pretty well, and has a formula for success pretty well established. As such, the Steelers will probably take their time bringing Big Ben back, and that doesn't seem to be a bad idea, considering it won't take much better than 9-7 to grab a playoff spot. Someone from the AFC West is bound to step forward - Denver has the defense, Oakland has the offense, and Kansas City has the balance. But none of them are going to light the world on fire.

Six weeks into the season, the AFC seems like New England's conference to lose.

NFL Week 4 Primer (With Picks): Where Have All The Juggernauts Gone?

Drew Brees FINALLY returns to San Diego this week. It took Drew so long, they almost moved the damn team on him.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

What happened to all the dominant teams? Remember like, a year ago, when there were teams like New England, Cincinnati, Denver, Seattle, Carolina, and Arizona, who could kick ass, take names, and you felt totally comfortable laying anything under 10 points with any of those teams (unless they were playing each other)?

Where did they all go?

Entering this week, Cincinnati, Seattle, Carolina, and Arizona are a combined 3-9 against the spread. New England is 3-0 against the spread (somehow) and Denver is 3-0 against the spread (miraculously), but you get the sense that either one of them could falter at any time, given so many questions at quarterback.

Meanwhile, the Vikings, Eagles, and Ravens are a combined 9-0, and a combined 8-1 against the spread (according to the lines we've used in this space - if you use the closing Vegas lines, Baltimore technically covered their Week 2 win in Cleveland). We may be living in a world where either (a) the usual juggernauts don't exist, or (b) the juggernauts are teams that came completely and totally out of mother[expletive deleted]ing nowhere.

Last year was easy. You could just take those six teams and pretty much guarantee you'd go 4-2 or better. And if you were into teasers, you could throw pretty much any two or three of them, knock the spreads down by a touchdown or more, and feel totally safe. None of that exists this year. This year is going to be brutal. I, for one, am terrified.

Onto the preview/picks

Game(s) That Might Be Potentially Interesting

(With so many of last year's good teams stumbling, and so many of this year's "good" teams potential mirages, it's tough to genuinely call any games "Game of The Week" material, so we'll call them "Games That Might Be Potentially Interesting" for now)

Indianapolis at Jacksonville - in London (9:30 a.m. Sunday, CBS)

[expletive deleted] you, England.

Buffalo at New England (1:00 p.m. Sunday, CBS)

This is must-watch TV just to see who the hell the Patriots put back there at quarterback. My bet is that they sign Peyton Manning late Saturday evening just for the hell of it.

Bob Lobel: A Perfect September for Boston Sports

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Of course I'm nervous. 

Yes, I'm worried, and if you're smart, you will be too. It’s the ole karma thing, when things kinda even out. There is never all good or all bad. 

If all good seems to be the rule of the day, then all bad can't be far behind. Somehow, it's going to even out. That is the reason to be nervous and cautious, expecting the worst.

Did you see this September coming? 

NFL Week 3 Primer (With Picks): Damn You, Belichick, You Crazy Wizard

This is the first image that comes up when you Google search the phrase "Bill Belichick happy." I have no objections.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

I think it's been made clear by now that Bill Belichick is not a human being. He's some type of cyborg who was put on this Earth for one simple task - winning football games. It doesn't matter who his quarterback is; he's going to put together a game plan that an aardvark with slightly above-average intelligence and slightly below-average motor/mechanical skills could implement and pilot to success in the NFL. I don't know how he does it, but he does it.

Belichick and the Patriots got Week 3 started, and served as a wonderful introduction to the craziness that is usually Week 3. Week 1 is spent establishing a baseline. Week 2, very often, sees that baseline turned on its head. Lots of people over-react in Week 2, with varying degrees of success. Week 3, though, is when everything gets weird. You have some idea after Week 1. Week 2 usually confirms or upends those ideas. Week 3 is when everything you thought you knew turns out to be wrong. It's a weird week, showcased by the Patriots beating a playoff team with a 3rd string quarterback on a short week. Yeah. That kind of week.

Game(s) of The Week:

Denver at Cincinnati (1:00 p.m. Sunday, CBS)

These two teams both started 8-0 last year, but both appear to be just a touch off to start this season. A statement win here for either team could set the tone for the next few weeks and establish another potentially elite team in the AFC to join New England and Pittsburgh.

Minnesota at Carolina (1:00 p.m. Sunday, FOX)

Minnesota is the surprise 2-0 darling of the league right now, but going into Carolina might be a totally different story. Another totally different story is that the NFL, as recently as Thursday afternoon, was considering postponing or moving the game out of Charlotte due to riots stemming from an officer related shooting. As of this writing, the game will be played as schedule, but the story could loom large over the proceedings.

Bob Lobel: When a Win Feels Like a Loss

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

When does a win not feel like a win? Right now, Patriot Nation, right now! 

When does an emotional swing from high to low become such a burden? Right now, Patriot Nation, right now! 

And there is nothing we can do about it.