Column: Patriots' familiar act assures little in Super Bowl
The cool, calm quarterback who always seems to find an open receiver at just the right time.
Win this one and they've got a handful of rings, along with a spot in the record books that may never be erased.
Matt Ryan has done a pretty good impression of a dominant Tom Brady this year, and Dan Quinn has shown signs in his second year as coach of the Falcons that he may have the kind of stuff Bill Belichick has built a dynasty with.
Yes, they've won four and lost two, a winning percentage any coach whose last name isn't Belichick would take in the Super Bowl.
Take away the still inexplicable decision by the Seattle Seahawks to throw the ball on the goal line two years ago and they'd be a .500 Super Bowl team on a three-game losing streak in the title game.
Not the Patriots, though, who will now have played in seven of the 16 Super Bowls since Brady became the starting quarterback in the second year of his remarkable career.
"In my mind, he's the greatest quarterback ever," said Julian Edelman, the undersized receiver who is Brady's favorite target.
Add to that the MVP year Matt Ryan has had in Atlanta and the way Julio Jones breaks tackles in the open field, and it's hard to see this being the kind of lopsided game the Patriots enjoyed against Pittsburgh in the AFC title game.