HEAD-TO-HEAD
Quick pick
By Ron Borges, Globe Staff, 02/01/02
NEW ORLEANS – It won’t be easy for the Patriots in the Big Easy. The St. Louis
Rams are by far the best team New England has faced all season. There are few good matchups when the Rams
have the ball, and not many obvious ways to exploit their defense.
Worse, this game will be played indoors on artificial turf, which
favors St. Louis, because the Rams are by far the faster team in almost every facet.
Special teams is the one area where New England
has a clear advantage, so the Patriots must find some way to exploit that if they are to stay alive in this game. Troy Brown
proved against the Steelers how valuable he is to New England, and he will have to do it again Sunday, although the Rams will do all
they can to keep punts out of his hands.
When an opponent has a better quarterback, running back, wide receivers, pass rushers,
and offensive line, there really aren’t many reasons to think you can win, but that could have been said more than a few times this
season, and the Patriots overcame all those problems.
If resourcefulness, tenacity, and desire count, the Patriots can find a way to
win Super Bowl XXXVI, because while the Rams may have more talent, no one plays harder than Bill Belichick’s team.
The Globe's predictions
Our regular-season pickers and other staffers choose a Super Bowl champion.
