2021 MLB All-Star Voting Phase 2

The second phase of the MLB All-Star voting ends at 1:59 p.m. ET on July 1, 2021. If you haven't voted yet, be sure to get in your votes in here before then! The players I voted for are above.

2021 MLB All-Star Voting

MLB All-Star voting ends Thursday. If you haven't voted yet, be sure to get in your votes in here before then! The players I voted for are above.

 

Hello Again

Wow, it's been a long hiatus. I'm going to start reposting on this blog to go along with my weekly podcasting role on Two Nates on Sports. Hope to talk/write to you guys soon!

Two Nates on Sports: 3/4/2017 (Episode 16)

Super Bowl LI Preview: Patriots vs. Falcons

The big game in my hometown is tonight. Let's break it down.

QB: Tom Brady vs. Matt Ryan 

Brady is trying to win his record fifth Super Bowl and cement his status as the greatest of all-time. He came back from a 4 game suspension due to the Deflategate scandal and had an awesome regular season, throwing 28 TD, with just 2 INT, while leading the Patriots to the top seed in the AFC. In the playoffs, he bounced back from a rough performance against the top-ranked Texans defense, by carving up the Steelers in the AFC Championship game to the tune of 384 passing yards and 3 TD. The blueprint for the Falcons defense is to confuse Brady with coverages long enough for their pass rush to get to him. Meanwhile, Matt Ryan was named the NFL MVP last night, and for good reason. He led the Falcons to the top ranked scoring offense, throwing for 4944 passing yards and 38 TD, in a career rejuvenation under offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan's tutelage. He has been lights out in the playoffs in shredding both the Seahawks and Packers defenses.

Edge: Even

RB: LeGarrett Blount/Dion Lewis vs. Devonta Freeman/Tevin Coleman

Blount was 8^th in the NFL in rushing during the regular season but has struggled to find room to run in the playoffs, as he's averaged only 3.3 yards per carry. New England's running game opens up their playbook and allows play action down the field. A key in this game will be whether Blount and Dion Lewis, who scored three touchdowns against the Texans in the divisional round, can have an impact against an Atlanta defense which has yet to allow a rushing touchdown this postseason, but has given up 100 yards per game. Meanwhile, the Falcons have one of the most dynamic running duos in the NFL, with Devonta Freeman, who finished 9th and Tevin Coleman, who finished 33rd in rushing in the regular season. Both are skilled enough to run in between the tackles and outside, while also being able to catch the ball out of the backfield. They will need to have an impact on this game for the Falcons to lift the Lombardi Trophy.
Edge: Falcons 

WR/TE: Julian Edelman/Chris Hogan/Martellus Bennett vs. Julio Jones/Mohamed Sanu/Taylor Gabriel

The Patriots lost their biggest receiving threat in Rob Gronkowski for the season with a back injury, but the Patriots have had no-names step up and fill the void, as has been the case for the past decade. Julian Edelman is the team's leading receiver (4th in the league with 98 receptions) and is a matchup nightmare in the slot position, because is so shifty and good at running routes. Chris Hogan has emerged in the playoffs as a downfield threat, with 275 receiving yards and 3 TDs. Martellus Bennett has filled in aptly for Gronkowski, although he is battling a nagging knee injury going into this game. 

Julio Jones showed the world how good he was in the NFC Championship Game as he had 9 catches for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns in decimating the Packers' secondary. His combination of size, speed, and leaping ability is why the Falcons gave all those draft picks to get him, and he has stayed healthy this year to be Ryan's #1 downfield threat. Sanu and Gabriel are solid route runners who are sure-handed second and third options, respectively.
Edge: Falcons 

Offensive Line:

The Patriots ranked 9^th in run blocking and 6th in pass blocking, according to Footballoutsiders.com. Meanwhile, the Falcons ranked 10^th in run blocking and 23^rd in pass blocking. I think the New England o-line against the Atlanta pass rush is the matchup that will decide this game. The Falcons have to get pressure on Brady to make up for a secondary susceptible to big plays. 
Edge: Patriots

Defensive Line:

The Patriots d-line excels against the run but has struggled to pressure on opposing quarterbacks this season. Trey Flowers (who led the team with 7 sacks) is the best pass rusher and DT Alan Branch and Malcolm Brown are disruptive as well against the run. They will have to slow down Freeman and Coleman tonight to make Atlanta's offense one-dimensional. The Falcons defensive line has struggled against both the run and the pass at times this year. DT Grady Jarrett had 3 sacks in the regular season and Jordan Babineaux can makes plays as well, but that unit will have their hands full trying to make plays against a good Patriots offensive line.

Edge: Patriots

Linebackers:

The Patriots linebacking core is led by Dont'a Hightower, who had 65 combined tackles from his inside linebacker position, along with 2.5 sacks. Rob Ninkovich is a good edge rusher as well who had 4 sacks in the regular season. For Atlanta, OLB Vic Beasley led the league with 15.5 sacks and will need to be contained by the Patriots' offensive line to keep Brady on his feet. MLB Deion Jones was a contender for defensive rookie of the year, and for good reason, as he had 75 tackles in the regular season and has 11 in their two playoff wins.

Edge: Falcons

Secondary:

The Patriots have one of the best secondaries in football, with safety Devin McCourty, and two great corners in Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler. They'll face a stiff test against the speed and precise route running of the Atlanta receivers. Atlanta's strength in the secondary are the two safeties, Keanu Neal (72 tackles in regular season) and Ricardo Allen (61 tackles), who are playmakers that make a lot of tackles in the running game. How CB Robert Alford and Jalen Collins play against Patriots' shifty receivers will be key in this game. I think not having top corner Desmond Trufant will hurt a lot.

Edge: Patriots

Special Teams:

The Patriots always have a good special teams, even with kicker Stephen Gostkowski having an up and down season kicking field goals.  They have excellent kick and punt coverage teams and a good return game with Dion Lewis or Danny Amendola. The Falcons' kicker, Matt Bryant, is virtually automatic, especially indoors. Their kick and punt coverage teams are OK, as well as their return game with Eric Weems.

Slight Edge: Patriots

Bottom Line:

For Atlanta to win, their defense has to confuse Tom Brady with their coverages, which will force him to hold the ball and potentially make mistakes when under pressure. They have to be able to get the ball down the field to secondary receivers like Sanu, Gabriel, as well as their running backs, especially if Butler locks down Julio Jones.

For New England to win, their offensive line has to win against the Atlanta defensive line and protect Tom Brady. Their receivers need to take advantage on the outside against the inexperienced Atlanta corners. Defensively, they need to stop Atlanta's ground game first and prevent the big passing plays down the field from Matt Ryan.

In the end, it's going to be a shootout, which will be welcome, after last year's defensive struggle. I think New England is able to contain the Falcons on the ground, and their secondary is able to make enough plays against the Atlanta playmakers. As he did the last time the Super Bowl was in Houston, Tom Brady marches his team down the field and cements his status (not without controversy) as the greatest QB of all-time, with his fifth ring. And an awkward moment with commissioner Roger Goddell.

 30, 27

Playoff record: 10-0

All-time Super Bowl record: 3-4

Two Nates on Sports: 1/28/2017 (Episode 11)

Two Nates on Sports: 1/21/2017 (Episode 10)