[stkelly52]

SUPER BOWL WEEK
Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in Tucson for one reason, to be part of the Super Bowl experience. The hype is all around us. Two years ago we were here and we were not able to hold up under the pressure. Two years ago Jacksonville was here and they showed that they could handle the pressure of the big game. Should the Jags win this week they will have firmly established their dynasty. No team has ever won three consecutive championships. The Chicago Bears of 2011-2013 are the only team that played in three consecutive Super Bowls, but they only won one of those games. Jacksonville has the best QB in the league leading them. In his six years in the league he has established himself as arguably the best QB in the history of the NFL. He already has 2 league MVPs, and is one of the favorites to win this year again.

However, Jacksonville is not the same team as was here the last two years. In each of their previous championship seasons, they had the best record in the NFL. This year there were 8 teams with equal or better records as the Jags. We are one of those teams. But of course the regular season means nothing now. It all comes down to one game. Coming into this game we are actually favored by 4 points.

Much of the talk this week by the sportswriters centers around Atlanta's blockers vs. Jacksonville's front seven. Everyone seems to think that our offensive line is vastly superior to the Jacksonville defense. They really think that Leland Nixon will be able to take advantage of this weakness and have a great game. The Jaguars give up an average of 137 yards rushing a game, and 4.49 yards per carry, which are each fourth worst in the league. Their defense has also struggled with giving up points. They are tied for worst in the league with 26.0 points per game. This should help keep us in the game.

Of course when you are playing against one of the best QBs in the league you need a defense that is ready to step up to the challenge. This will be a struggle for us as our starting safeties will both be out of the game with injuries. We do have some good backups, but it is still going to be a struggle for us. Jacksonville's QB threw for 4196 yards and 31 TDs while only tossing 8 picks. His 97.8 QB rating is second in the league. What makes this even more amazing is that Jacksonville didn't have any great receivers for most of the year. They really only have one stud WR, and he spent most of the year out with injuries. He was able to come back for the playoffs, so he will be 100% today. Jacksonville was the league's second highest scoring team with 26.3 points per game.

Back in Atlanta, everything is abuzz. We can feel the confidence of the city behind us as we head into the biggest game in franchise history.