We all know how hard it is to take your eyes off Tom Brady. It would be weird if the New England Patriots superstar, the undisputed King of Quarterbacks, wasn’t a focal point of the media tidal wave leading into Sunday’s Super Bowl LIII.
The other team has an attractive offensive story, too, with 33-year-old wunderkind Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay calling plays for Todd Gurley, the league’s highest-paid running back, and golden-haired quarterback Jared Goff, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2016 draft. And LA’s big-name defense has gotten its fair share of headlines.
That leaves one group in whatever shadows are left under the Super Bowl glare – the New England defense. They’re the Patriots you haven’t heard about, a stark contrast with a Rams defense that was the talk of the offseason after adding expensive free agents and signing Aaron Donald to the richest defensive deal in NFL history.
The difference between blue collar and star-studded fits this old Boston-LA rivalry just right. But you really should know about these under-the-radar Patriots before the Super Bowl, which has a way of turning no-names into household names.
Instant fame happened to Malcolm Butler after his first-career interception ended Super Bowl XLIX and ignited living room ruckuses across New England. It may be painful to admit, but we all know David Tyree’s name after his helmet catch (undoubtedly delivered through a deal with the devil) helped the New York Giants win Super Bowl XLII, a game that also saw Tyree catch his first touchdown of the season. Going back to 1988 brings you to Timmy Smith, who ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns in Super Bowl XXII despite running for only 126 yards during the entire regular season for the Washington Redskins.
Before we get to the Patriots, who might leap from obscurity to Disney World on Sunday, let’s be clear – they may be unheralded, but they’re not underdogs. That word can’t be used with a Bill Belichick defense.
The undisputed King of Coaches rose to prominence from the defensive huddle. The game plan Belichick devised, as a defensive coordinator for the Giants to beat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV, is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which should probably start giving its inductees sleeveless hoodies instead of yellow blazers. The foundation for this entire New England dynasty is the defense Belichick built in the early 2000s.
Those teams had defensive stars – Ty Law, Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi. Names so big that just reading them may cause New Englanders to high five, or tackle, anyone within striking distance. But Belichick has also shown a knack for cobbling together effective defenses using other team’s castoffs, journeymen, undrafted rookies and even offensive players. Guys like Bryan Cox, Otis Smith, Butler, Troy Brown and … a few from this year’s team.
If you watched a lot of Patriots games this season you definitely know Kyle Van Noy’s name, because the linebacker played a ton of defensive snaps, third most on the team. But only two years ago Detroit gave him to New England for a lowly sixth-round pick, and initially it looked like the Lions got the better end of the deal. This year, however, was a career one for Van Noy, who continued an upward trend by having the best game of his best season in the AFC Championship win in Kansas City – 10 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Bringing the same kind of pass-rushing menace to the Super Bowl will make Van Noy hard to forget.
If you watched the AFC Championship, you know J.C. Jackson’s name for all the wrong reasons. The undrafted rookie cornerback was flagged for three costly penalties in the fourth quarter, but that was an aberration for Jackson, who has put together a remarkable rookie season. He made the team out of camp against the odds, worked his way into the starting lineup, quickly grew into an above-average defender and finished the season with three interceptions, which tied him for third on the team with … Jonathan Jones, another undrafted cornerback.
Jones was a four-year starter at Auburn, but didn’t get picked in the 2016 draft. Like Jackson, Jones made the team despite the obstacles facing an undrafted player. Jackson may have more potential in the long run, but Jones has gotten better each season and he was part of the double team that held Kansas City receiver Tyreek Hill, who torched the league for 1,479 yards this season, to just one catch and 42 yards two weeks ago.
In the end, Sunday’s game could be all about offense. Brady could break the record for Super Bowl passing yards he set last year or orchestrate yet another fourth-quarter miracle victory (see Super Bowls against the Rams, Panthers, Seahawks and Falcons). Or McVay could out-genius Belichick and herald in an era of offense with the final win in what has been a season of offense.
But don’t be surprised to see the defenses make game-changing plays. And you definitely shouldn’t be surprised, not after reading this, if that play has Van Noy pressuring Goff into a bad throw that’s picked off by Jackson, or maybe Jones, for their very own Malcolm Butler moment.
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or tosullivan@cmonitor.co or on Twitter @timosullivan20.)