HOUSTON — Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones and center Alex Mack were limited at practice Monday, but they will see increased action as the week progresses toward Sunday’s Super Bowl LI matchup with the New England Patriots, coach Dan Quinn said.
Jones continues to recover from a toe sprain, which he suffered in a Dec. 4 loss to Kansas City. Mack injured his left fibula in the Falcons’ 44-21 win over Green Bay in the NFC Championship Game. Mack didn’t practice last week, and Jones was held out before returning to limited action Friday.
“Both of them were limited yesterday,” Quinn said Tuesday. “Julio looked great. So for him to get rolling, just like he did right off the bat, you could feel his intent. You could feel the energy he did.
“For Alex, it was equally as important for him to get moving and to feel that he could participate like he could, and felt comfortable. Both of them will ramp up their work over the next two days, on Wednesday and Thursday specifically. But I was encouraged by both of them on the first day of the week for us.”
Jones has played through injuries all season and missed two regular-season games because of the sprained toe. Mack has not missed a start, but he didn’t finish the NFC title game; Ben Garland played the final series.
The Falcons have Tuesday off before returning to practice at Rice University. They’ll have closed practices Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The Buffalo Bills will not retain assistant coach Kathryn Smith for the upcoming season under new coach Sean McDermott, the team announced Tuesday.
Smith became the first woman in NFL history to serve as a full-time coach when former Bills coach Rex Ryan hired her to a special-teams quality control role in January 2015.
The Buffalo Bills have decided not to retain assistant coach Kathryn Smith, the first woman in NFL history to serve as a full-time coach. Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
Upon being hired to replace Ryan last month, McDermott announced he would retain special-teams coordinator Danny Crossman from Ryan’s coaching staff. It is unclear whether Smith, who helped Crossman coach the Bills’ special-teams units last season, was interested in returning to the same role as part of McDermott’s staff.
Smith’s hiring last year drew national attention and praise from several politicians and prominent women’s groups. Smith was also invited to the White House last May for a Women’s History Month reception.
Asked last June if there was “something” to breaking the NFL’s gender barrier, Smith said, “I suppose, yes, there is. But that’s not what really what I’m focused on. So yes, I suppose it is, but again, it’s an honor. I recognize that, and I recognize the honor. I’m just trying to help the team and be the best coach I can, so that’s what I’m focused on.”
In her entry-level position last season, Smith broke down game film of past and future opponents, helped assemble special-teams game plans and assisted Crossman in coaching those units during practices and games.
Smith served as Ryan’s administrative assistant in 2014 with the New York Jets and in 2015 after Ryan was hired by the Bills. She joined the Jets in 2003 as a game-day/special events intern before being named a college scouting intern in 2005 and a player personnel assistant in 2007.
After Smith impressed Ryan by diagramming a blitz scheme that was discussed in a Jets coaches’ meeting in 2014, Ryan began exposing Smith to coaching and eventually hired her to a full-time quality-control role last year.
HOUSTON — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has the MVP trophy from Super Bowl XLIX, but cornerback Malcolm Butler proudly still drives the truck that Brady gave him. Two years later, Brady is still waiting to ride shotgun.
“I keep telling him to give me a ride, but he never does that,” Brady joked Monday night.
For Butler, who returns to the Super Bowl as the Patriots’ No. 1 cornerback two years after he was fifth on the depth chart in the 2015 game against the Seattle Seahawks, the truck isn’t his primary vehicle, but he makes sure to “put a couple of miles on it here and there so the oil and all won’t rust up.”
“It means a lot. I will always and forever have that truck,” Butler said at Super Bowl LI Opening Night festivities. “I’ll never give it away. I’ll never sell it. I’m going to always keep it. That’s a gift. That’s a special gift. That’s a trophy to me. So I’ll always keep that. I’ll always have that.”
Revisiting his decision to give the truck to Butler, who had picked off Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson at the goal line in the closing seconds to seal a 28-24 win, Brady lit up with a big smile.
“He earned it, and he deserved it. Without Malcolm, we don’t win that game. I love Malcolm. I joke with him all the time, but I just say, ‘Thank God for Malcolm Butler.’ He saved the game for us,” Brady said.
“It was just an incredible play, I think one of the greatest plays in the history of the NFL, for him to be able to recognize that. No one really knew who Malcolm Butler really was at that time. I had, because I had gone against him in practice so much. For him to recognize that and pull the trigger at the biggest moment of his career and make the play, in the Super Bowl against one of the best teams that has ever played in the Super Bowl in the Seahawks, that was incredible. So he deserved it, and I was happy to do it.”
In advance of Super Bowl LI, we take a look at the top 10 stats to know for the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, and a few bonus stats involving both teams:
Patriots
1. The Patriots will be playing in their ninth Super Bowl, which will break a tie with the Broncos, Cowboys and Steelers for the most appearances.
2. If they were to lose, the Patriots (4-4) would tie the Broncos (3-5) for the most Super Bowl losses. If they win, they’d tie the Cowboys (5-3) and 49ers (5-1) for the second-most wins behind the Steelers (6-2).
3. Tom Brady is the all-time leader in Super Bowl completions (164), passing yards (1,605) and passing TDs (13). (More details on Brady’s accomplishments here.)
4. The Patriots have won all four meetings against the Falcons since Brady became the New England starting quarterback in 2001. The Falcons are one of seven teams Brady has not lost to as a starter.
5. At 39 years and 186 days on Feb. 5, Brady will be the second-oldest quarterback to start a Super Bowl, trailing only Peyton Manning last season. Brady could become the oldest Super Bowl MVP, and he could become the first four-time winner of the award.
6. Super Bowl LI will be Bill Belichick’s 36th postseason game, tying him with Tom Landry for the most among head coaches.
7. Belichick was the third-oldest coach to win a Super Bowl two years ago. If he wins again Sunday, he’ll be the second-oldest, behind only Tom Coughlin.
8. The Patriots led the NFL in scoring defense this season (15.6 PPG) for just the second time in franchise history. The other was in 2003, when they also won a Super Bowl played in Houston.
ESPN Stats & Information
9. The Patriots have not scored in the first quarter in any of their previous six Super Bowls during the Brady/Belichick era. The Patriots scored 130 points in the first quarter during the regular season, second only to the Falcons (139).
1. With the Falcons’ appearance, the NFC South has now sent all four teams to the Super Bowl, the only division to do so since division realignment in 2002.
2. The Falcons led the NFL in scoring for the first time in franchise history this season, scoring the eighth-most points in NFL history (540). No team to score that many points won the Super Bowl, however.
3. Atlanta ranked 27th in defensive scoring this season, allowing 25.4 points per game. That’s second-most ever by a team to reach the Super Bowl.
4. The Falcons have won their past six games, averaging 39.0 points per game in those contests. They have one giveaway and 13 takeaways in their past six games.
5. Atlanta scored a touchdown on its opening drive in eight straight games. No team in the last 15 seasons has had a streak longer than five straight games
6. By the time Super Bowl LI is played, Matt Ryan will have gone two full months without an interception. Ryan’s last interception came on Dec. 4 against the Chiefs. He’s thrown 212 passes since his last interception.
7. Ryan has thrown seven passing TDs and zero interceptions this postseason. Six quarterbacks threw more TDs with no picks in a single postseason, and all won the Super Bowl.
ESPN Stats & Information
8. The Patriots are one of two teams Ryan has never beaten (the other is the Steelers). Ryan is 0-2 in his career against the Patriots, with the last meeting occurring in Week 4 of 2013 (lost 30-23)
9. Ryan has thrown at least three passing touchdowns in four consecutive playoff games, the longest streak in NFL history.
1. This will be the sixth Super Bowl since the 1970 merger where the top-scoring offense (Falcons) meets the top-scoring defense (Patriots) from the regular season. The top-scoring defense has won four of the five previous meetings.
2. The Patriots and Falcons turned the ball over 11 times apiece during the regular season, tied for the fewest in the NFL. This will be just the second Super Bowl matching the two stingiest teams in terms of giveaways. The first was Super Bowl XVI when the 49ers defeated the Bengals.
3. With the over/under currently at 59 (Westgate), this would be the highest total in pro football championship history.
