30-year old NT Vince Wilfork is going to have to have a big game for the Patriots this Sunday, if they are going to win.  He played in 16 games for the Patriots this year and he had 52 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  Wilfork has been a beast in the playoffs so far, and the Patriots are hoping that he dominates the middle of the field this Sunday.  He has played in both of the Patriots playoff games so far and he has 9 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks.

28-year old linebacker Rob Ninkovich is the Patriots new version of Mike Vrabel as he is a playmaker.  Ninkovich played in all 16 games for the Patriots last year and he had 74 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries, 4 passes defensed and 2 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  He has also played in 2 playoff games for the Patriots so far this year and he has 12 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 forced fumble.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Ninkovich makes a game changing play or two for the Patriots this Sunday.

28-year old kicker Stephen Gostkowski has been a pretty solid kicker for the Patriots over this career so far and they need him to be on target this Sunday in the Super Bowl.  Gostkowski played in 16 games for the Patriots during the regular season and he connected on 28 of 33 field goal attempts (84.8%) and all 59 of his extra points, good for 143 points.  He has now played in 88 games in his first six years with the Patriots.  He has made 141 of 167 field goals (84.4%) and 289 of 290 extra points good for 712 points.  Gostkowski has also been pretty good under the pressure of playoff football so far in his career.  He has played in 9 playoff games in his NFL career and he has made 13 of 15 field goals (86.7%) and all 28 of his extra points, good for 67 points.  The Patriots are likely very confident that Gostkowski will make a big kick if the game comes down to it this Sunday.

If 59-year old head coach Bill Belichick leads his team to victory this Sunday, he will join Chuck Noll as the only head coaches in the NFL with 4 Super Bowl wins.  Belichick has been a master since joining the Patriots as he learned from the lumps he took as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.  Incidentally, his only playoff win in Cleveland came against Bill Parcells, Drew Bledsoe and the New England Patriots!  The Patriots are 139-53 (72.4%) in Belichick’s first 12 years as the head coach during the regular season.  He is also 16-5 (76.2%) in the post-season with the Patriots.  The Patriots won Super Bowls in 2001, 2003 and 2004 under Belichick.  His only loss was to the New York Giants, so he likely has revenge on the mind.  The Patriots are 2-0 in the playoffs this year and they are outscoring the competition 68-30 so far.  To get his 4th Super Bowl win, Belichick is going to have to outcoach Tom Coughlin, who has had his number lately.

35-year old RB Kevin Faulk has made more big time plays than any RB I can remember for the Patriots.  In what could be his last game for the Patriots this Sunday, I think he could come up big if called upon.  Faulk has played in 18 post-season games for the Patriots in his career and he has carried the ball 88 times for 425 yards (4.8 ypc).  He has also caught 51 passes for 412 yards (8.1 ypc) with 1 TD grab in the post-season for the Patriots in his career.  Faulk is well rested as he only played in 7 games (3 starts) for the Patriots this year and he carried the ball 17 times for 57 yards (3.4 ypc).  He also caught 7 passes for 34 yards (4.9 avg) this year for the Patriots. Faulk has now played in 161 games (147 starts) in his career for the Patriots (13 years) and he has carried the ball 864 times for 3,607 yards (4.2 ypc) with 16 TD runs.  He has also caught 431 passes for 3,701 yards (8.6 avg) with 15 TD grabs in his career the Patriots so far.  He didn’t stop there either as he has returned 101 punts for 943 yards (9.3 avg) and 181 kickoffs for 4,098 yards (22.6 avg) with 2 TD returns in his career.  Faulk is the all-time leader in kickoff return yards in Patriots’ history with 4,098 of them.  He is also #6 in punt return yards (943), #5 in rushing yards (3,607), #13 in rushing TDs (16), #5 in receptions (431), #11 in receiving yards (3,701) and tied for 22nd in receiving TDs (15) in Patriots’ history.  Faulk has had a very solid career for the Patriots and a win over the Giants this Sunday will be a cherry on the top for him.

34-year old QB Tom Brady led the Patriots to a 13-3 record and the #1 seed in the AFC Playoffs.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Patriots this year and he completed 401 of 611 passes (65.6%) for 5,235 yards with 39 TD passes and 12 INTs (105.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 43 times for 109 yards (2.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Brady has now played in 161 games (159 starts) in his career with the Patriots and he has completed 3,397 of 5,321 passes (63.8%) for 39,979 yards with 300 TD passes and 115 INTs (96.4 QB Rating).  Brady has also carried the ball 379 times for 716 yards (1.9 ypc) with 10 TD runs in his NFL career.  Tom Brady is now 124-35 (78%) during the regular season in his career starts with the Patriots.  I know he won’t win the MVP Award this year, but, to me he is right there with Joe Montana as far as the greatest NFL QB of all time is concerned.

26-year old Brian Hoyer didn’t get much action for the Patriots this year.  He played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Patriots this year and he completed his only pass attempt, good for 22 yards.  He also carried the ball 4 times for -3 yards (-0.8 ypc).  Hoyer has now played in 13 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the Patriots and he has completed 27 of 43 passes (62.8%) for 286 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (80.2 QB Rating).  Hoyer has also carried the ball 24 times for 14 yards (0.6 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career so far.

34-year old QB Tom Brady has been pretty amazing once again this year for the Patriots.  He has played in 13 games for the Patriots so far this year and he has completed 328 of 496 passes (66.1%) for 4,273 yards with 33 TD passes and 11 INTs (106.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 28 times for 90 yards (3.2 ypc) so far this year.  Brady has certainly come a long way since his days in Michigan, which led him to get picked in the sixth round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Patriots.  The Patriots hit a homer with that pick.  Brady has now played in 158 games (156 starts) in his career with the Patriots so far and he has completed 3,324 of 5,206 (63.8%) passes for 39,017 yards with 294 TD passes and 114 INTs (96.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 364 times for 697 yards (1.9 ypc) with 7 TD runs so far this year.  The Patriots are 121-35 (77.6%) during the regular season when Tom Brady starts the game at QB.

32-year old WR Deion Branch has really been productive for the Patriots so far this year.  He is enjoying single coverage this year as most teams gameplan to stop Wes Welker and the Patriots’ TEs.  Branch has played in all 12 games for the Patriots so far this year and he has caught 48 passes for 665 yards (13.9 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He has now played in 127 games in his first 10 years in the NFL and he has caught 499 passes for 6,462 yards (13.0 avg) with 38 TD grabs.

25-year old cornerback Kyle Arrington has really been solid this year as he is racking up the interceptions.  He has played in 11 games so far this year for the Patriots and he has 60 tackles, a league leading 7 interceptions, 12 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  Arrington has now played in 35 games in his first three years with the Patriots and he has 149 tackles, 8 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 17 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  The Patriots need Arrington to keep up the good work because opposing teams are going to continue to challenge their secondary.

34-year old QB Tom Brady is showing no signs of slowing down.  He has played in 10 games for the Patriots so far this year and he has completed 253 of 387 passes (65.4%) for 3,266 yards with 25 TD passes and 10 INTs (102.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 16 times for 47 yards (2.9 ypc) so far this year.  The Patriots are averaging 29.3 points and 315.7 yards passing per game, as they have had to outscore teams to cover for the poor play of the defense.  With that in mind, Brady is the perfect QB for the team.