Fifteen of 19 ESPN pundits pick the Patriots, and despite the temptation to go against the grain, the Eagles are going to lose, I suspect — I’ll say 24 to 6, which was the margin of their meaningless preseason contest last summer. MVP will be QB Tom Brady.

PS: Yes, I know the Eagles squashed my Packers like a bug, but they also barely beat the Browns this year. I won’t be upset if the Eagles win, since I would love to deny all the comparisons of Bill Belichick to Vince Lombardi, the King of Titletown.