There was so much hype leading up to SB XLVI, the question was, would the game live up to it?
Absolutely!
I can't remember if it was Michaels or Collinsworth who said it during the telecast when they said (paraphrasing here) 'why can't these two teams play every year for the super bowl?'
That may be taking it a little too far, but the game definitely delivered.
Throughout the game I made several observations, and the two biggest ones probably could've changed the course of the game.
The first one I jotted down came in the first quarter, with the Giants driving deep into Patriots territory. Victor Cruz catches a short pass over the middle, taking it to the New England seven yard line...where the Patriots' Moore strips him of the ball.
Turnover Giants, right?
WRONG.
The Patriots had 12 men on the field. Result?
Giants get the ball back and ultimately score. Take that touchdown away, and Patriot players are the ones making out with the Lombardi trophy post game.
The second most crucial observation I made came in the fourth quarter: the catch Wes Welker should've made. You can say he 'dropped the ball' on that one because that's a catch he shoulda had. He was wide open, and was able to get both hands on the ball. They say if you're a receiver, and can get ONE hand on the ball, you should catch it. He had TWO!
The Patriots already had the lead at that point. The catch would've put them in field goal range to extend the lead, and put the Giants in a world of trouble with only one timeout left, and under four minutes remaining.
He makes that catch, patriots probably win, and Welker is still out partying right now, and hasn't slepped. But those are the breaks, as my 49er fans have reminded me.
Take away a couple costly mistakes in their game versus the Giants a couple weeks ago, and the niners are probably playing for the super bowl. Football can be a cruel game like that.
Which is why I kind of like the NBA/MLB playoff format better. In order to truly determine who the best team is, they need to play more than one time, that way you won't get arguments like this. If a team gets lucky one game, now they have a chance to prove they're better, by winning the next game, or in a three, five game series. But I understand - due to the physicality of football - playing a multiple game series would not be possible. I mean you saw how many injuries took place in that game alone. They wouldn't be able to rebound, a play another game, a couple days later...let alone a 3-5 game set.
But I digress.
For somebody with no real rooting interest (although I was rooting for former Duck/current Patriot safety Patrick Chung to get a ring) I was not disappointed with the game. Already looking forward to the off-season storylines, the draft, and the start of next season!
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Showing posts with label New England Patriots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New England Patriots. Show all posts
Monday, February 6, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
NFL Playoffs Week 3
In last weeks action the red-hot Giants, who entered the playoffs as the NFC's #4 seed, soundly dispatched the team with the leagues best record - the Packers - in Lambeau, 37-20. And the Broncos got Tebowed by the Patriots 45-10, as Tom Brady put up ridiculous video game like numbers, completing 26 passes for 363 yards, and an NFL record tying 6 touchdown passes.
That brings us to this weeks games, starting with my game of the week: the New York Giants at the San Fransisco 49ers.
The 49ers have come a long way since their former head coach was chasing players off the field and mooning them in the locker room. A year later, same team - new head coach - and the niners are a game away from playing for their sixth super bowl ring. But their time isn't now. The Giants are a veteran group, led by a red-hot quarterback in Eli Manning, who've been here before.
The Giants were the fifth seed coming out of the NFC in 2007, and were written off before going on an impressive post season run culminating in a super bowl win over the New England Patriots. This year, they were written off again following a mid season slide, that left them with a 7-7 record. They finished the season on a roll though, which continued into the playoffs.
If the players sound a little confident, it's for good reason. Dominating wins have shown what this team is capable of:
“We wouldn’t say we’re unstoppable, but our mindset is extreme at this point. We’re not going to be denied. … I might be a little biased, but in our minds, we can’t be beat,” Antrel Rolle said on Monday according to the New York Daily News. “We’re extremely confident and we’ve given ourselves the reasons to feel that way. We have to continue to give ourselves those reasons, and we will. We have no doubts. It’s right there at the tip of our tongues.
I expect the red-hot Giants, led by Manning, to continue playing at this level and move on past the 49ers. I think the pressure from the Giants front will get to the niners Alex Smith in ways the Saints weren't able to. And if the weather does become a factor, like some people are saying, that will only play into the hands of the Giants physical ground game.
In the AFC championship game, the Patriots host the Ravens, in a rematch of their 2009 playoff meeting in which the Ravens won going away, 33-14. The difference being, the Patriots were without their stud TE's and go to slot receiver Wes Welker. This is a big game though for the Ravens.
Much has been made this week in the media about the controversial comments made by Ed Reed on his quarterback, Joe Flacco. Reed said on his own radio show, among other things, that Flacco looked "rattled" at times against Houston.
You can debate whether or not he was right, or whether or not he should - or shouldn't have - come out with those comments in the week leading up to this game, but he has a point. Flacco has been up and down during his career in Baltimore. He's not a bad quarterback, but he's not great either...kind of stuck in the middle. Has he reached his ceiling? Will he get better? Here's his chance to prove his doubters wrong.
Joe Theisman seems to agree, as he told Jim Rome: http://www.jimrome.com/junglehighlights?uri=channels%2F465575%2F1585286 in the interview he said the game "is set up perfectlfy for [Joe Flacco] to put a lot of the criticism behind him."
Will he? The answer is no.
The Patriots will play a no huddle offense, attacking the Ravens linebackers with their tight ends, forcing Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs to cover. Advantage Patriots. This game could be close, but I also could see the Patriots piling it on late, and making the score looking something like 34-17.
The result: a rematch of Super Bowl XLI between the Patriots and Giants.
That brings us to this weeks games, starting with my game of the week: the New York Giants at the San Fransisco 49ers.
The 49ers have come a long way since their former head coach was chasing players off the field and mooning them in the locker room. A year later, same team - new head coach - and the niners are a game away from playing for their sixth super bowl ring. But their time isn't now. The Giants are a veteran group, led by a red-hot quarterback in Eli Manning, who've been here before.
The Giants were the fifth seed coming out of the NFC in 2007, and were written off before going on an impressive post season run culminating in a super bowl win over the New England Patriots. This year, they were written off again following a mid season slide, that left them with a 7-7 record. They finished the season on a roll though, which continued into the playoffs.
If the players sound a little confident, it's for good reason. Dominating wins have shown what this team is capable of:
“We wouldn’t say we’re unstoppable, but our mindset is extreme at this point. We’re not going to be denied. … I might be a little biased, but in our minds, we can’t be beat,” Antrel Rolle said on Monday according to the New York Daily News. “We’re extremely confident and we’ve given ourselves the reasons to feel that way. We have to continue to give ourselves those reasons, and we will. We have no doubts. It’s right there at the tip of our tongues.
I expect the red-hot Giants, led by Manning, to continue playing at this level and move on past the 49ers. I think the pressure from the Giants front will get to the niners Alex Smith in ways the Saints weren't able to. And if the weather does become a factor, like some people are saying, that will only play into the hands of the Giants physical ground game.
In the AFC championship game, the Patriots host the Ravens, in a rematch of their 2009 playoff meeting in which the Ravens won going away, 33-14. The difference being, the Patriots were without their stud TE's and go to slot receiver Wes Welker. This is a big game though for the Ravens.
Much has been made this week in the media about the controversial comments made by Ed Reed on his quarterback, Joe Flacco. Reed said on his own radio show, among other things, that Flacco looked "rattled" at times against Houston.
You can debate whether or not he was right, or whether or not he should - or shouldn't have - come out with those comments in the week leading up to this game, but he has a point. Flacco has been up and down during his career in Baltimore. He's not a bad quarterback, but he's not great either...kind of stuck in the middle. Has he reached his ceiling? Will he get better? Here's his chance to prove his doubters wrong.
Joe Theisman seems to agree, as he told Jim Rome: http://www.jimrome.com/junglehighlights?uri=channels%2F465575%2F1585286 in the interview he said the game "is set up perfectlfy for [Joe Flacco] to put a lot of the criticism behind him."
Will he? The answer is no.
The Patriots will play a no huddle offense, attacking the Ravens linebackers with their tight ends, forcing Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs to cover. Advantage Patriots. This game could be close, but I also could see the Patriots piling it on late, and making the score looking something like 34-17.
The result: a rematch of Super Bowl XLI between the Patriots and Giants.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Quick Takes on What Makes The NFL Playoffs Great
It's like an actual reality show - real emotion - not fabricated crap like six strangers living in a house together, with the type of different backgrounds that's inevitably going to lead to drama.
This weekend, you got the niners wanting the Giants, the Giants wanting the niners. The Ravens have drama on their own team. Ed Reed isn't supporting his qb, while Suggs is. To that point, which Flacco shows up? This is a chance for him to silence his critics. To say this is a big game for him would probably be an understatement.
It's all going down this weekend: real situations, with real emotions. In the words of Bart Scott, can't wait! I'll have my pics up Friday.
This weekend, you got the niners wanting the Giants, the Giants wanting the niners. The Ravens have drama on their own team. Ed Reed isn't supporting his qb, while Suggs is. To that point, which Flacco shows up? This is a chance for him to silence his critics. To say this is a big game for him would probably be an understatement.
It's all going down this weekend: real situations, with real emotions. In the words of Bart Scott, can't wait! I'll have my pics up Friday.
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