ATLANTA — Thanks to the interchangeable parts at the front of the Patriots’ defense, the ever-changing looks, Rams quarterback Jared Goff, 24, is at risk of feeling as if he’s driving his team through a predawn fog. Tom Brady, 41, in such smooth sync with his blockers and receivers, must be mindful of strong pressure
ATLANTA — Thanks to the interchangeable parts at the front of the Patriots’ defense, the ever-changing looks, Rams quarterback Jared Goff, 24, is at risk of feeling as if he’s driving his team through a predawn fog.
Tom Brady, 41, in such smooth sync with his blockers and receivers, must be mindful of strong pressure up the middle from the exceptionally talented duo of Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh, a stiff challenge but a more tangible one. The Chiefs tied for the NFL lead in sacks with 52 and didn’t drop Brady once.
Quarterback play is just one aspect of Super Bowl LIII, but it’s the biggest, the one that swings the game in favor of the Patriots.
Goff is like a talented young hitter who can get around on anybody’s fastball, but Bill Belichick’s defense, not as fast as some, is more like a junk-ball pitcher dropping well-timed curveballs. Goff hasn’t been playing long enough to anticipate everything that will come his way.
Brady sees it all before and after the snap. In his past three games, he has established that whatever it was, probably a knee injury, that kept him from performing in typical fashion for a stretch of the regular season no longer is a factor.
