BSR SPORTS DEPARTMENT’S SUPER BOWL PICKS

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Super Bowl 53 between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams will take place on Sunday, February 3 at 6:30 p.m. Some members of the Black Squirrel Radio sports department provided their picks and analysis on what is likely to be a memorable game.

Director Dylan Bowers – Rams 37, Patriots 31

As much as it pains me to do so, I am picking against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, mostly because of what I’ve seen from the Rams this season. Led by head coach and offensive guru, Sean McVay, the Rams were the NFL’s most complete team this season. Quarterback Jared Goff has played tremendously well all year and the rushing attack of Todd Gurley during the regular season and CJ Anderson in the playoffs has been more than a handful for opposing defenses. The Rams defense also has too many talented players, such as defensive backs Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, and defensive tackles Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh. This game, regardless of the outcome, should be one for the books.

Coordinator Brandon Lewis – Patriots 38, Rams 31

Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are competing in their ninth Super Bowl together Sunday while Jared Goff and Sean McVay are competing in their firsts. It will be a battle of youth vs experience, and I do think experience trumps youth in this scenario. While the Rams look to be the better team on paper, the Rams talent on defense have not meshed well all season. While the Rams won 13 games in the regular season, most of them were by shootout. If the game comes down to the Rams defense being able to stop Tom Brady, I do not think they can. The Rams offense is going to be under a lot of pressure to score points, and I just do not see Jared Goff having as good of a game as Nick Foles did last year for the Eagles. The Patriots have ran the ball the most out of every team in the postseason, and they should be able to Sunday. If I am the Rams, I let the Patriots run all day on them. The Patriots are the one team you do not want to stop the run against because then that means Brady can just throw for 500 yards like he did last year. Eventually, Brady is going to get tired of turning around and handing the ball off to Sony Michel and James White. By nature, he wants to throw. The Rams have to stay patient, and I don’t think they will the whole game.

Sean Fitzgerald – Rams 27, Patriots 21

While Tom Brady is Tom Brady, a high-powered LA offense lead by the likes of Todd Gurley, Jared Goff, Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods, will challenge the New England defense. And with Wade Phillips having a superstar defense with DPOY Aaron Donald and company, LA gets by with two Greg Zuerlein Field Goals at the end of the night

Mitch Spinel – Patriots 24, Rams 21

Coordinator Quentin Griffin – Rams 27, Patriots 24

Dante Centofanti – Patriots 34, Rams 28

The New England Patriots led by head coach Bill Belichick and Thomas Edward Patrick Brady are simply incapable of losing back to back Super Bowls. The Rams are a complete team defensively. They are all that and then some on the defensive front but in the defensive back field it’s a whole different story. They looked very suspect against Dak Prescott and Drew Brees in the road to Atlanta. I expect the Pats to kill the Rams with the slot. Tom Brady will not have quite the statistical masterpiece that he had in last year’s Super Bowl, but it will be pretty close. Nobody but TV-12 can win the MVP from the Patriots, but former Golden Flash Julian Edelman plays big time in big time games, and I expect nothing less in this matchup. Wade Phillips is going to contain Brady in the first half but in the second half is when he will explode and finally make a cinematic drive. Every Super Bowl win Tom Brady has set up the Patriots to win with some kind of clutch drive. This will be the icing on the cake in terms of him officially surpassing Joe Montana and becoming the greatest quarterback in the history of professional football.