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Matchups for the Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots:

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When the Eagles (15-3) have the ball

The Patriots must be wary of a balanced offense that tore apart Minnesota Youth Michael Gallup Jersey , which has a better overall defense than does New England. Forget about Nick Foles (9) being a backup quarterback; his postseason performances, particularly in the NFC title game, have been strong.

Foles will try to get TE Zach Ertz (86) involved early; he was unstoppable against the Vikings. Indeed, the Eagles have three tight ends they are comfortable going to, including Brent Celek (87) and Trey Burton (8. That places an onus on safeties Devin McCourty (32), as reliable as any player at that position in the league, and Patrick Chung (23).

Philadelphia’s wideouts supposedly were a weakness heading into the season. Not quite. Alshon Jeffery (17) is a clear No. 1 target with excellent hands and the ability to get open all over the field. That frees up vastly improved Nelson Agholor (13) and veteran Torrey Smith (82). They will challenge the Patriots’ solid cornerbacks, Malcolm Butler (21) and Stephon Gilmore (24).

New England’s defensive backs will need a bolstered pass rush, something the Patriots manufacture with a variety of players, from Trey Flowers (9 to Geneo Grissom (96) to Lawrence Guy (93) to rookie Adam Butler (70) to the rejuvenated LB James Harrison (92). Philly is most staunch at center with Jason Kelce (62) and right tackle with Lane Johnson (65), both All-Pros.

One thing the Eagles are sure to try to keep New England’s offense on the sideline is getting Jay Ajayi (36), former Patriot LeGarrette Blount (29) and rookie Corey Clement (30) some open space for runs. New England LB Kyle Van Noy (53) figures to have a busy day unless Philly falls behind.

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When the Patriots (15-3) have the ball

Tom Brady (12) has won five Super Bowls, four times as game MVP. Never mind that he is 40, he’s playing as if he’s in his prime – hey, he might be – and will test Philadelphia’s versatile defense from the outset.

Oddly http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-brandon-parker-jersey , while Brady led the NFL with 4,577 passing yards, no QB who paced the NFL in that category has won the Super Bowl in that season, going 0-5. Brady couldn’t do it, and the others were Peyton Manning, Rich Gannon, Kurt Warner and Dan Marino.

It’s essential that the Eagles get in Brady’s face throughout. That means DLs Fletcher Cox (91), the best defensive player in this postseason, Brandon Graham (55), rookie Derek Barnett (96) and former Patriot Chris Long (56) must apply pressure. That’s doable but not easy against an offensive line without any stars, but with plenty of skill. LT Nate Solder (77) and C David Andrews (60) are the key guys up front.

Philly must be alert not only for all of Brady’s targets – WRs Brandon Cooks (14), Danny Amendola (80), Chris Hogan (15), RBs James White (2 and Dion Lewis (33) – but for Lewis and White in the running game. Both are shifty and flexible and have Brady’s trust.

The Eagles’ secondary, often criticized for its inconsistency Youth Denzel Ward Jersey , has gotten very stingy in the playoffs. Of course, CBs Ronald Darby (41), Jalen Mills (31) and Patrick Robinson (21) haven’t faced this kind of offense.

Perhaps most critical among all matchups is whether All-Pro TE Rob Gronkowski (87) has recovered from a concussion. His confrontations with veteran S Malcolm Jenkins (27) could be telling.

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Special Teams

Patriots K Stephen Gostkowski (3) rebounded from a rough 2016 to have a strong season. He made 37 out of 40 field goals in the regular season, going 4 for 4 on kicks of 50 or more yards. He is one of the league’s most clutch kickers and is third in career postseason points in NFL history.

Lewis is the only player in this game to have returned a kickoff for a touchdown this season. He ranked fourth in the NFL with 24.8 yards per return.

Amendola is also a threat on punt returns. He averaged 8.6 yards per return during the regular season, including a long of 40 yards, and had a big one against Jacksonville in the AFC title game.

Philadelphia’s Jake Elliott (4) set a postseason club record with a 53-yard field goal and has longer range than Gostkowski. But he is less reliable on extra points, having missed four.

P Donnie Jones ( ranked 17th in net average and Kenjon Barner (3 filled in nicely after Darren Sproles was injured. Barner’s best punt return went for 76 yards.

Coverage units are solid despite losing special-teams captain Chris Maragos.

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Coaching

Philly was in attack mode from the outset against Minnesota, and that’s a good reflection on Doug Pederson and his staff. Pederson knows he can’t back off against New England, and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is known for being aggressive.

Not much has to be said about a New England staff that is 5-2 in Super Bowls. A twist, not unprecedented but interesting, has both coordinators, Matt Patricia on defense and Josh McDaniels on offense, bound for head coaching spots elsewhere. Don’t look for it to have any effect on this game.

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Intangibles

The Eagles have never won a Super Bowl; their previous NFL title was in 1960. They have that extra edge that perennial underdogs – even in home playoff games as the No. 1 seed – would carry. Their confidence is soaring after they tore apart the stingiest scoring defense in the league for the conference championship.

New England probably doesn’t need anything in this category. But the Patriots always seem to find some extr The Nashville Predators already sit atop the NHL standings, and now they’ve added another offensive boost before the playoffs.

General manager David Poile announced Thursday that the team had signed forward Eeli Tolvanen of Finland, the 30th pick overall last year Cheap John Kelly Jersey , to an entry-level contract. Poile credited Tolvanen’s agent, Jay Grossman, with being in Nashville to finalize the last details in time for Tolvanen to be on the ice with the Predators at their morning skate .

”This is a great move obviously for today and our future,” Poile said after reeling off some of Tolvanen’s accomplishments in the past few months. ”He comes in at a great spot right now with six games left in the regular season. It gives us an opportunity to give him a look and gives us that depth that we’re going to need in the playoffs. So this is the end of my paper, but I’d like to add a couple more lines here before the year’s over.”

Terms of the contract were not announced.

Tolvanen spent two years in the United States Hockey League with the Sioux City Musketeers before opting to go to home to play for Jokerit in Kontinental Hockey League. With 36 points, he set the KHL scoring record for an 18-year-old before Jokerit was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.

He also played for Finland in the 2018 Winter Olympics, where he tied for the second-most points by an under-19 player, with nine points in five games.

Poile said that production is proof that Tolvanen should’ve gone a lot earlier than 30th in the draft, where Nashville was surprised to find the 5-foot-10 forward still available.

”We were looking for an offensive player, one that can score some goals, and it certainly appears on the surface that we found that out,” Poile said.

Tolvanen didn’t arrive in Nashville from Helsinki, Finland, until early Thursday. Coach Peter Laviolette wants Tolvanen to watch Thursday night’s game against the San Jose Sharks and to start picking up Nashville’s system. Having watched the forward the past few months, especially his games at the Olympics Keke Coutee Jersey Texans , Laviolette said he sees a smart player with great offensive instincts.

”We hope that that translates here,” Laviolette said. ”We think it will.”

Tolvanen’s NHL debut is likely to occur Saturday night when the Predators face the Buffalo Sabres to wrap up a three-game home stand. Tolvanen said he has played on a lot of new teams recently, which should ease his transition. He also credited playing with former NHL players at the Olympics with helping him as well.

Joining a team that had an NHL-best 109 points going into Thursday night also doesn’t hurt.

”I know they’re a really good team, so it’s easy to jump in,” Tolvanen said. ”There’s a lot of good players, and they’re going to push me forward. I think that’s a good thing for me.”

Jokerit coach Jukka Jalonen told The Associated Press that the team is looking forward to what happens with Tolvanen in the NHL. Jalonen said he expects Tolvanen to need time to get used to better opponents and bigger defensemen.

”After two, three weeks, a few games, I think he will make an impression there,” Jalonen said.

Matching expectations that have grown with every video highlight shared on social media might be a challenge even for Tolvanen. The teen debuted in the KHL with a hat trick on Aug. 23 for Jokerit.

Poile thanked Jokerit general manager and Hockey Hall of Famer Jari Kurri for his help in getting Tolvanen to Nashville. Kurri told the AP that the timing is perfect for Tolvanen to join the NHL with so many young players, especially fellow Finns like Patrik Laine of Winnipeg and Sebastian Aho of Carolina, doing well in the league right now.

”That will really help him,” Kurri told the AP by phone.

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

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