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Show DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 10 Wednesday, September 7, 2011 1- THE GREAT DEBATE -1 Which NFL team will have the best regular season? Patriots to lead by experience Packers to win by Rodger's arm en you talk about the winning W equation, there are a few important an factors—players, coaches and fans. When you look around the NFL, there is one team that has arguably the best of all three—the New England Patriots. The Patriots are led by one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history Tom Brady. A Michigan product, Brady is a proven winner. He has already been selected to the Pro Bowl six times, completed a perfect regular season, going 16-o, been named MVP twice and he has won three Super Bowls. Brady is a solid QB, and I don't see how this season will be any different for him. Every year, Brady impresses the believers and proves the naysayers wrong. When it comes to the combination of pure talent and leadership, Brady is in a league all his own. Head coach Bill Belichick has been with the Patriots since Brady joined the team. Since taking the reins in 2000, Belichick has led the Patriots to an average of 11.6 wins per season. With three Super Bowl victories in four appearances, Belichick is almost unanimously considered the best coach at the professional level. The Patriots even have great fans working in their favor. Boston is a sports town, and its residents are rabid about football, basketball and baseball alike. The fans demand excellence from their teams and have been rewarded for their dedication. Thus, Boston fans can be described as crazy, eccentric and passionate. These fans give the Patriots one of the best home-field advantages in the NFL. The Patriots have had only two seasons with M ost fans recognize that the regular season of any sport and its postseason are two beasts of a different nature. As such, the team I feel will be bringing home the Vince Lombardi Trophy in January is different from the one I think will have the best record after Week 17. The title of "pre-postseason champ" goes to the Green Bay Packers. Sure, it's an easy pick to go with the reigning champions as the team that will finish with the best regular-season record, but the facts can't be ignored. It seems that the success of any football team begins and ends with the quarterback, and Green Bay has one of the league's best— Aaron Rodgers. The Pro Bowl signal-caller is one of the game's most intelligent at his position, and he has Greg Jennings and Donald Driver at wideout around him. Just ask the San Francisco 49ers, who surely cry every day because of their decision to take Ute alumnus Alex Smith over Rodgers in the draft in 2005. Rodgers will have as much success and more in 2011 with his tight end Jermichael Finley back and healthy. Speaking of Finley, he's the second reason that the Cheeseheads will finish the season with the league's best record. Having missed essentially the entire season last year, the Packers bring back one of the top five tight ends in the league as another weapon for Rodgers. A great pass-catching tight end like Finley is one of the best tools a football team can have, and there's not many better than Finley. As effective as Jennings and Driver are at receiver, ALEX RASMUSSEN ■ StaffWriter fewer than io wins in the past decade. Unless Belichick and Brady suddenly retire, that trend of success will continue for a long time. Not only will the Patriots be a successful regular-season team, but it is once again poised for a deep postseason run. The Patriots are 14-3 in postseason play since Brady and Belichick joined the team, a mark that is unmatched by any other NFL team. Plenty of teams have enjoyed success in the recent past, but none are as dominating or as consistent year to year as the Patriots. Year in and year out, the Patriots are not just a playoff team—they are Super Bowl favorites. A weak division will also work in the Patriots' favor. They are the top team in the AFC East almost every year, and their only real challenge is the New York Jets. I don't see any reason why the Patriots shouldn't be the team with the greatest total number of wins in the regular season this year. Their coach, quarterback and track record are greater than almost every team in the NFL. This year should be no different than previous years, and I expect them to be even better than they have been. a.rasmussen@ chronicle.utah.edu Vote on who won this week » S. StaffWriter Finley brings a dynamic to the Packers' offense that cannot be replicated. One of the most notorious cliches in sports is that a good defense wins championships. Although I don't think the Packers will get back to the Super Bowl, they certainly have one of the best defenses in the NFL, anchored by Clay Matthews, who I believe will lead them to the top record. The unit will do more than give Rodgers and the offense the opportunity to be on the field scoring touchdowns. There are a few question to be asked of the Packers, which is why I don't think they'll be able to repeat as champions. The most noticeable is running back Ryan Grant. He's decent, but I just don't see him as an elite player. The second question is simply the difficulty that comes with trying to repeat last season. Green Bay will be the team that everyone targets, so bringing your best through 16 games and the playoffs will be a challenge. However, they are equipped and have enough experience after last year to be the elite team at the end of the regular season. r.mcdonald@ chronicle.utah.edu www.dailyutahchronicle.com browse the news on your cell Mobile web version of The Daily Utah Chronicle Online now available! 10. Golden 9. Tempting 8. Made With White Meat Top 10 reasons to share your love for McDonald's® Chicken McNuggets°. 7. Crispy inink 6. Plump 20 LJ $499 LL1 Chicken McNuggets® 5. Juicy w 4. Tender $999 Chicken McNuggets® 3. Irresistible Sauces 2. Delicious ma— 1. (All The Above) Prices and participation may vary. Limited time offer. © 2011 McDonald's. M 08/11 31920 Zero grams trans fat per serving. I'm lovin' t® |