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3 ways the NFL will change if Patriots win the Super Bowl

Kyle Terada / USA TODAY Sports

A familiar sight sets on NRG Stadium in Houston: Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and Robert Kraft hoist another Lombardi Trophy upon a podium surrounded by players and media. "The Patriot Way" reigns supreme once again and teams around the league start going to great lengths to figure out exactly what that means.

Here are three ways the rest of the NFL will continue their attempts to copy the Patriots:

More 3-headed backfields

While Brady receives the bulk of attention among members of the Patriots' offense, their combination of running backs helped the team to a 3-1 record without their quarterback's presence and continued to work well after his return.

LeGarrette Blount's powerful style put 18 touchdowns on the board while Dion Lewis presents just as much as a threat receiving as he does rushing, and James White mops up the remaining touches. With Lewis absent for most of the season, White finished second on the team in receptions, while Blount notched every rushing score of the Patriots' season but one.

Instead of looking for that do-everything back, teams will pick and choose runners who specialize in specific areas of the game and get them to focus on their strengths rather than build upon their weaknesses.

Trading away players in contract years

Dealing away your front seven's top-two players within a year before winning the Super Bowl seems outlandish, but the Pats have been alright without Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins. They would be better with them around, but they're fine without.

Having already decided that they weren't willing to pay the pair of defenders what they desired, the Patriots got what they could before losing Jones and Collins for nothing in 2017 free agency because they could. New England made a decision that they could get by without their star athletes, score a few extra draft picks, and it worked.

Teams who have the foresight to be ready for player departures a year ahead of time will be more likely to take a gamble on someone else for the sake of not being left empty-handed when stars bolt in free agency.

GOAT conversation loses its legs

There still appears to be a somewhat open argument as to who is the greatest ever with three quarterbacks tied for the most Super Bowl wins all-time, but as Brady fills one of his hands with rings, the conversation will die.

Few continue to argue that Terry Bradshaw deserves recognition as a possible best-ever candidate since his role on the Steelers' old teams was fairly limited, but the Joe Montana champions are still out there. Apart from his superior stats and arm talent, Brady's fifth Super Bowl win takes the cake as the most impressive feat by a quarterback and may never be matched.

There are only two active quarterbacks with more than one Lombardi Trophy; Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning both have two. Aaron Rodgers' talent level is right there with Brady, if not higher, but when it comes to greatness, a lengthy resume is needed.

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