David Andrews is only 26, just four years out of college at Georgia, but already an old hand at dealing with the schizophrenic rhythms and overinflated ego of a Super Bowl.
Look at him Wednesday, the New England center taking on waves of questioners by his locker with an undentable patience, never getting off message, never straying far from the seriousness of the challenge ahead. That’s the picture of a team captain standing up there. The only thing the least little bit frazzled about him is his beard.
If he and the rest of New England’s offensive line can handle the ravenous defensive line of the Los Angeles Rams as adeptly, the Patriots just might become the first repeat Super Bowl winner since the Pats of 2004-05.
At least Andrews’ third consecutive trip to the game of games offers a bit of a twist. Who knew they would home-deliver a Super Bowl, like a pizza or birthday balloon bouquet?
So, you wonder, does the prospect of a hometown Super Bowl – Andrews being a product of Johns Creek and The Wesleyan School – stand apart once you’ve turned this experience into a habit?
Maybe. Hard to tell.
» Read: AJC's complete coverage of the Super Bowl in Atlanta
“There are ups and downs about (a hometown Super Bowl), he said, not getting at all worked up about it. “I guess that’s where my football journey started. It’s going to be a special place. I’ve never played in the new stadium, it’s not the old (Georgia) Dome I grew up with. It will be a cool environment.”
He expects his kin to maintain perspective about the whole coming-home theme. “Yeah, it’s exciting, but they’d be excited if it was in Alaska,” he said.
If you don’t understand that the setting is really secondary in the grand scheme, Andrews is happy to put it in terms that even those of us who haven’t played in three straight Super Bowls would grasp.
“Winning. That’s all that really matters, that’s really all you remember,” he said. “It’s kind of like your wedding day. Everyone freaks out about all these little details and all this stuff, but no one really remembers all that at the end of the day. You just remember the results of the wedding. I guess that’s kind of like the Super Bowl. It’s a huge event, but all that really matters, all you are going to remember is if you won or lost.”
A moment of solemn observance, please, for all those who lost on their wedding day.
As the grand-nephew of former Falcons coach Dan Reeves – Reeves’ wife’s brother is Andrews’ grandfather – Andrews grew up around those Falcons teams of the late 1990s/early 2000s. He was a regular inside the Georgia Dome for games and a frequent visitor to the Falcons’ Flowery Branch training camp. Yes, that’s the same team whose heart he helped break in Super Bowl LI.
Credit: Christian Petersen
Credit: Christian Petersen
Undrafted out of Georgia in 2015, Andrews has become another symbol of the Patriots’ ability to find championship talent even in the deepest of weeds. Injuries in front of him allowed Andrews the chance to start from the beginning of his rookie year, and he has been impossible to budge ever since.
Resistance to being budged is a most helpful quality for someone in his profession. Making a fast ally in quarterback Tom Brady didn’t hurt his career arc either.
Why, Patriots coach Bill Belichick, a man of few words, practically filibusters on the subject of his center.
Asked about Andrews’ connection with his quarterback, Belichick said, “David’s very good at not only that with the quarterback, but also because he’s in the center of the line and can communicate with both sides of the line, he sets the table in terms of line calls and how the other four linemen are blocking different fronts and different looks. And then, of course, after the ball is snapped, that can all change in a hurry.
“Again, when you’re in the middle of it you’re involved in almost everything – communication with the quarterback, communication with the teammates, execution of blocking patterns, run or pass, before and after the snap. Yeah, it’s a critical position and it’s critical to the functionality of the entire unit.
“David’s a good center. He’s played center his whole life. He played center in junior high, he played center in high school, he played center in college and he’s playing center here. I would say he’s very comfortable with all of the things that come with that position. I can’t imagine there’s anything that he sees at this point in his career that he hasn’t already seen multiple times. He’s a career center and he plays like it.”
And that’s the somewhat compressed version of what Belichick said.
With him at the center, the New England offensive line has been playing its best when it counts the most. The Pats established a ball-control, power running game against Kansas City in the AFC Championship game (running it 48 times). Most important, while the Chiefs led the league in sacks this year, Brady has gone unsacked in both his playoff games this year. To show his appreciation, Brady this week took to Instagram, displaying his perfectly clean jersey from the conference championship. “Not even 1 grass stain,” he labeled it, in tribute to his line.
Said another Pats lineman with certain Atlanta connections, former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Shaq Mason: “We take a lot of pride in it. That’s our guy. When he doesn’t get touched or doesn’t get sacked, it goes a long way with us.”
Next up, NFL sack leader Aaron Donald, and a supporting cast that includes Ndamukong Suh.
There’s no hometown advantage when it comes to stopping freight trains like that. Of that much, the middleman between the football and Tom Brady is certain.
“We got the biggest challenge of our life this next week,” Andrews said. “This is a good football team and have the most dynamic defensive player in the league.”
Which leaves little time for family reunions.
“You got so many things pulling at you in the Super Bowl,” Andrews said. “You want to enjoy it, but the biggest thing is come Sunday and that game. That’s where you put all your focus. Enjoy what you can, but Sunday is what matters.”
Any more questions?
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