In the old days, before the Patriots dominated the Super Bowl, the rule of thumb was that if your favorite team hails from the AFC then you would be rooting for the AFC entry in the Super Bowl and vice versa for the NFC. But that rule has gotten a bit murky, particularly for Jets' fans who are sick and tired of New England's stranglehold on the AFC East and the Tom Brady Invitational that the AFC Championship game has come to resemble. Therefore, a win by the LA Rams would be a welcome reprieve from the ubiquitous New England Patriots and maybe, just maybe, this is the end of Belichick's reign of terror over the conference, and dare we say, even the division! If you check out any online sportsbook you will see that the Patriots are a slight favorite over the Rams but perhaps that’s just one more reason to like LA.
Despite the musings that Brady was finally acting his age and playing like a middle-aged man and the Patriots depth was as shallow as it has been in years, here they are again. Former Jets head coach Rex Ryan had this to say on ESPN's "Get Up!" - "Right now, when you stack them up individually, I've been saying it for the year, this is the worst New England Patriot team I’ve seen in years and years, and yet here they are again."
Ryan further added, "They find value in brains, in guys that are clutch. You look at Jason McCourty, you look at Chris Hogan — I had him with the Bills, he never did that for me — and then you look at Rex Burkhead. Where are these guys? Burkhead was a third-string tailback in Cincinnati. Chris Hogan was an afterthought in Buffalo. All these type of guys, Jason McCourty was cut to the league. Like, I'm sorry, but they get it. They value team. When [Rob] Gronkowski talks about best team win, that's what this team's all about."
However, there is troubling news for those that want to put the hex on the Pats. There appears to be a direct link between Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide and Bill Belichick’s Patriots. Of course, the two are friends as one would think two coaching legends would be, but there is this cosmic serendipity between the fate of one affecting the fortunes of another. Since Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa in ’07 to coach Alabama, whenever the Tide lost in the semifinal or the championship game, the Patriots would subsequently win their Super Bowl in that same year. The opposite is true as well which means when the Tide won the national championship the Patriots would lose somewhere during the postseason. Check this out.
2009-2010 – Alabama defeated the Texas Longhorns 37-21 to win the BCS national championship while the Patriots lost 33-14 to the Baltimore Ravens in the wildcard round.
2011-2012 – Alabama defeated the LSU Tigers 21-0 to win the BCS national championship while the Patriots lost 21-17 to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.
2012-2013 – Alabama defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 42-14 to win the BCS national championship while the Patriots lost 28-13 to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship.
2014-2015 – Alabama lost to Ohio State 42-35 in the College Football Playoff (CFP) semifinal while the Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 to win the Super Bowl.
2015-2016 – Alabama defeated the Clemson Tigers 45-40 to win the CFP national championship while the Patriots lost 20-18 to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship.
2016-2017 – Alabama lost to the Clemson Tigers 35-31 in the CFP national championship while the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 to win the Super Bowl.
2017-2018 – Alabama defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 26-23 in overtime to win the CFP national championship while the Patriots lost 41-33 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
Unfortunately for those of us rooting for anyone but the New England Patriots, the Crimson Tide lost to the Clemson Tigers 44-16 in the CFP national championship earlier this month and if this pattern holds true to form then Tom Brady will have his sixth Super Bowl title. But streaks are made to be broken and if you want to see this one snapped, and make a few bucks in the process, then go to Sportsbook Review and check out an online sportsbook over there for plenty of options to wager on this or any other sporting event.