By GARY SHELTON
@Gary_Shelton
The Atlanta Falcons are new to the spotlight.
New England, by now, knows how to line up for the team picture.
The Falcons have the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense.
The Patriots have the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense.
No one can stop Matt Ryan lately.
ATLANTA IS COMING FOR THE ZOMBIES
The only man who can stop Tom Brady is Roger Goodell.
The Falcons lost to the Tampa Bay Bucs this year. Ouch.
The Patriots were shut out by the Buffalo Bills. Yikes.
Atlanta’s Julio Jones is the NFL’s best receiver.
New England’s Julian Edelman is the NFL’s most underrated receiver.
Atlanta is one of the key sites for the Walking Dead.
The Two Evil Empire Leaders . . . Photo By CBSsports.com
New England is the Evil Empire.
Atlanta has Matty Ice.
New England has Tom Terrific.
Worst draft pick ever, Atlanta: Aundray Bruce, No. 1 overall, 1988.
Worst draft pick ever, New England: Kenneth Sims, No. 1 overall, 1982.
Freddie Falcon Riding High
Best draft pick ever, Atlanta: Deion Sanders No 5 overall, 1989.
Best draft pick ever, New England: Tom Brady, sixth round, No. 199 overall, 2000.
The Falcons have ex-Buc Matt Bryant.
The Patriots have ex-Buc LeGarrette Blount.
The Falcons play the Bucs home and home next season.
The Patriots play the Bucs next season.
The Cleveland Browns wanted to interview Atlanta coach Dan Quinn for a job.
The Cleveland Browns hired, and fired, Bill Belichick.
In 1967, their second year in the league, the Falcons won one game.
In 1967, the Patriots won three games. Showoffs.
In 2007, Matt Ryan threw 37 touchdowns for Boston College.
In 2007, Tom Brady threw 50 touchdowns for New England.
Famous celebrities who like the Falcons: Samuel L. Jackson, Bow Wow, Ludacris, Usher.
Famous celebrities who like the Patriots: Steven Tyler, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Conan O’Brien.
PAT THE PATRIOT GUIDES NO. 12 TO THE FIELD
This could have happened in 2012. The Falcons lost by four in the conference championship to San Francisco.
The same year, the Patriots lost to the Ravens by 15.
This could have happened in 2004. Philadelphia beat the Falcons by 17 in the conference finals.
That year, the Patriots beat the Eagles by three to win the Super Bowl.
Atlanta’s Dan Quinn used to be Florida’s defensive coordinator.
New England’s Bill Belichick used to be Florida coach Urban Meyer’s buddy.
Davonte Freeman was ninth in the NFL with 1,079 yards rushing.
LeGarrette Blount was eighth in the NFL with 1,161 yards.
Atlanta has a mascot named Freddie Falcon.
New England has a mascot named Pat Patriot.
You cannot make this stuff up.
Julian Edelman of New England caught 98 passes to finish fourth in the NFL.
Julio Jones caught 15 fewer passes, and finished tied for 17th. But he had 300 more yards in receptions.
Robert Kraft dances.
Arthur Blank dances.
No word on who Don Cornelius is picking in the Super Bowl.
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http://www.garysheltonsports.com
(Gary Shelton is one of America’s most-honored and distinguished sports journalists. Gary has spornamed the Associated Press Sports Editors’ No. 1 national sports columnist twice, has been a top five finisher five ot,her times and was chosen by sports editors in the top 10 columnists eight different years. He has been selected Florida’s Sportswriter of the Year six times. He was a columnist with the St. Peterburg/Tampa Bay Times for 25 years after joining the newspaper from The Miami Herald. Gary has covered 29 Super Bowls and 10 Winter and Summer Olympics, The Masters, the World Series, the Stanley Cup Finals and national championship in college football and basketball — all on multiple occasions over the past four decades. He currently has his own website — garysheltonsports.com — blanketing all sports in the Tampa Bay area. He is among the most creative and thoughtful and opinionated, and hard-headed, columnists you’ll ever read. And funny. And one of the good guys. Don’t ever miss his columns, interviews and stories on garysheltonsports.com. Gary has agreed to be an occasional contributor to woodypaige.com.)