I certainly hope you didn’t expect me to give “Pic’s Picks” for the Pro Bowl this Sunday. I don’t even know who’s playing in it. Nor do I care. But if you’re into that sort of thing, the NFC is a 3.5-point favorite and the over/ under is 46. There’s also no DraftKings “Gotta Have Em” play of the week coming from me on Thursday’s podcast. But you should still use promo code “PIC” to play for free with your first deposit. For now, here’s an early look at Super Bowl LII. That’s Super Bowl 52 for those of you who don’t do Roman numerals. It’s in Minnesota on Sunday, Feb. 4. Kickoff is at 6:30 on NBC. And the New England Patriots are 5.5-point favorites over the Philadelphia Eagles. Both the Patriots and Eagles were the No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences during the playoffs. There’s a distinct difference between the two though. One team is currently led by its backup quarter- back, and the other one isn’t. Philadelphia was forced to turn to Nick Foles in Week 14 after Carson Wentz suffered a season- ending knee injury. Meanwhile, Tom Brady is still running the show for New England, even after an injury scare to his throwing hand last week at practice. Those are just a few of the many storylines leading into this rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX. The word “rematch” here is strong, considering it was over 10 years ago. But it will be one of the storylines nonetheless. Here are a few more: Rob Gronkowski’s health -Gronk was knocked out of the AFC Championship in the first half after being the recipient of a helmet-to-helmet hit. He was clearly woozy as he tried to get back up to his feet, and at that point, it was pretty clear that he would not be returning to the game. What isn’t clear, is if Gronkowski will be cleared to play in the Super Bowl. Much like with Brady’s hand, it’s a good thing that they’ll have the extra week in between games, because right now, time is their best friend. Brady’s hand will heal, for sure. But who knows if Gronkowski’s concussion symptoms will subside. All concussions are different, so as are their timetables. I’d put my money on Gronkowski being ready to go, but if he’s not, and the Patriots and a way to win, it would be the second straight Super Bowl that the Patriots won without him. Gronkowski missed last year’s Super Bowl after having back surgery, but his absence would be even more devastating this year because of Julian Edelman’s absence. By the time you read this, Gronkowski could already have been cleared to return to practice. If that’s not the case, it will be one of the biggest story- lines entering Super Bowl week. Bill Belichick and Brady going for No. 6 -It wasn’t too long ago that ESPN’s Seth Wickersham reported that the Patriots were crumbling from within. He had sources telling him this could be the last year of Belichick in New England. Well, here they are, Belichick and Brady, one win away from their sixth Super Bowl ring. I nd it hard to believe that Belichick would call it quits before taking a shot at winning three straight. And the Patriots are already the favorite to win next year’s Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta. They have to win this one first, obviously. But the point remains, New England’s continued success proves that ESPN and Wickersham exaggerated the impact of a little internal conflict. Because, what- ever is going on behind the scenes, it certainly doesn’t look like this Patriots team is affected by it. Eagles already providing bulletin board material -It truly amazes me just how stupid the rest of the NFL is. The Philadelphia Eagles weren’t even 24 hours removed from their NFC Championship win over the Minnesota Vikings, and they had players predicting Super Bowl wins and talking about “dethroning” Brady. How dumb can you be? For the next week-and-a-half, all you’ll hear from the Patriots is praise for the Eagles. Instead of follow- ing the Patriots’ lead, the Eagles will hear it, nod their heads and say, “They’re right, we are the best, and we’re going to win the Super Bowl.” The last time the Patriots and Eagles collided in the Super Bowl, Belichick read off the Eagles’ championship parade route that had already been released before the game was even played. Nobody uses bulletin board materi- al better than the Patriots. And it’ll be interesting to see just how much more of it the Eagles will give them before Feb. 4. Listen to “The Danny Picard Show” at dannypicard.com and on the PodcastOne network. Also available on iTunes, Tunein, Google Play, and iHeartRadio.
