"The Brady Bunch" is back in New England, with Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola all healthy. Brady has the wheels back on his car and is ready to roll. He was winning without the full arsenal at his disposal, so imagine what he's going to do with all three weapons back on the field at the same time.
One thing to note, though: Brady has not fared well in Denver during his illustrious career. In his last six trips to Mile High, he's lost five times. Tom Brady is just phenomenal. Nobody plays the game like he does. No matter what you try to do -- blitz, play coverage or take his leading receiver away -- he beats you with the speed of his decision-making, and he can hit a belt buckle from anywhere on the field. He's that accurate. Initially, I have Manning and the Broncos winning. They can win with the way the defense is playing and if Manning takes care of the football, which he did against the Steelers. That will put pressure on the Patriots, and they sometimes make mistakes in these situations. The Patriots will win because of three reasons: Bill Belichick's expertise, the quiet storm of Brady and the X-factor of Edelman being back on the field. Edelman is the reason why they won in the Divisional Round. And New England has gone 10-0 this season when No. 11 is playing. When you match up those three guys with the opposition ( Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, Manning and any receiver), I'd take the Patriots right now. The Patriots will win simply because Brady is playing better than Manning right now. If you break everything down week to week, Brady has outdone Manning in his accuracy, arm strength and mechanics -- plus, he's weathered the storm of injuries in New England. He'll pick up right where he left off from last week. Tom Brady and the Patriots are the defending Super Bowl champions, so it's hard not to go with them. Their offense is playing really well right now -- especially against the Chiefs with a clean bill of health in the receiving corps. I just think the Pats are a better all-around team at this point.
