Super Bowl Final Thoughts

As you all know, I’m a Pats fan. I was extremely disappointed with the Super Bowl loss, and here are some of the main things I took away from the game:

-This is the 3^rd game in a row the Giants had a game winning drive in the last minute to beat the Pats. That’s not luck and that’s not by accident.

-Eli is BALLER. Before the season he claimed he should be considered one of the elite QB’s in the game, people laughed at him. What happened? He went out and just dominated.

-How similar is this Giants team to the one that beat the Pats 4 years ago? Crazy similar. Without looking anything up I think both teams won at least 3 road playoff games and took down #1 and #2 seeds on their way. Giants just totally proving that all it takes is a playoff berth. I think I heard on the radio the lower seed has won 7 of the past 9 Super Bowls. It’s all about timing, getting hot at the right time of the year. Coughlin and the Giants have perfected this.

-Tom Coughlin certainly knows how to game plan against the Pats. Can we stop hearing rumors of him getting fired every season now?

-Pats offensive line played good. There was a lot of talk about the Giants D line (obviously, they are nasty) but I thought the O line of the Pats gave Brady plenty of time to throw the ball.

-Wes Welker lost the Super Bowl for the Pats. If he catches that ball on the 23 yard line with 4 minutes left and a fresh set of downs, the Pats win. Simple as that. Yea, the throw wasn’t perfect, but it hit Welker on both hands. It was shocking and even more disappointing that Mr. Reliable was the one with the game losing drop.

-The Patriots defense played outstanding. They held the Giants to 21 points… aka they did their job.

-The catch Manningham made on the Giant’s last drive was miraculous. I know it isn’t as good or critical as Tyree’s helmet catch a few years ago, but it sure was close. The safety was 1 second too late and the ball was thrown perfectly. Amazing throw by Eli Manning, maybe the best throw of his career.

-The Pats got very unlucky. Forced 2 fumbles and didn’t come up with either of them. If they pounce on either of those 2 fumbles, I think they win the game.

-If Gronk was healthy, the Patriots would have won. I’m 100% sure of this.

 -Brady played good enough to win. He didn’t play great, but he was very good. Everyone around here is so critical of Brady, that when he is not perfect, we kill him for it. He had 16 straight completions at one point, and does no one remember the 98 yard TD drive before the half? That was art.

-I have no problem with the Brady interception. Was the ball underthrown? Yes it was. But when you see Gronk covered 1 on 1 by a true linebacker, you gotta take your shot downfield. It was a great catch by the Giants player; one I’m sure he usually doesn’t make. A healthy Gronk woulda caught it, or at the very least batted it down.

-The safety at the beginning of the game screwed up the Patriots. It was a bad, rushed throw, and it was the right call. It was weird because you never really see a intentional grounding that looks like that, but it was definitely the right call and it definetly gave the Giants the start they needed. Pats are explosive. We scored 17 points with only 19 minutes in possession…. The Giants knew they needed to slow the game down and they did.

-Speaking of slow- how awful were all the TV breaks and timeouts?!?! It’s a shame the Super Bowl can’t be played like any other regular game. I hate the long breaks and extra timeouts. Didn’t help the Pats either.

-Ahmad Bradshaw is a moron. I have no clue why the Giants were even running plays once it was goal to go and inside the 2 minute warning. Take a couple knees and let the kicker win it. If Brady came back and won that game for the Pats, the second guessing of Coughlin and Bradshaw would be through the roof (and deserved.)

-Victor Cruz is a stud. Belichick is known for taking away the opponents top weapon, and the Pats did a great job of neutralizing Cruz, even though he still scored a TD.

-Hakeem Nicks is a stud. I remember when Nicks and Brandon Tate were teammates at UNC, I always thought Nicks was much more impressive of the two. Nicks was a late 1^st round draft pick while Tate was a 3^rd rounder.

-When the Patriots had to go the length of the field in 58 seconds to win the game, I thought we had about a 33% of making it happen. Obviously he didn’t, but if Branch made that catch that hit his hands, he had about 50 open yards ahead of him. IF he made that catch. Big IF.

-Steve Weatherford (Giants punter) is a MONSTER. I kinda felt like if one team had a heavy advantage in special teams the game would go their way…& that’s what happened.  I think the Pats average starting field position was their own 16. Weatherford was a beast.

-The Giants deserved to win the game, but the Patriots had it won (Welker.) Pats then gave it back to the Giants.