Super Bowl XLII

[jdcord]

Interesting game so far.  A lot more turnovers than I thought there would be (Manning - 3, Brady - 1).

Manning is thus far having a typical QB vs. Belichick "second time around" experience.  His numbers are abysmal, compared to his first game against the Pats (that is a long-standing pattern for Belichik vs. QB's: 1st time they look really good, 2nd time he's figured them out and confuses/frustrates them into turnovers and bad decisions).

I think it will only get worse for Manning in the 2nd half.

[jdcord]

Ok, that 3rd quarter was really strange.  The score is STILL just 7-3. 

And I can understand the Pats going for it on that 4th and 13 play, but if you're going to go for the end zone on that play why not run Randy Moss on a post pattern and just let him go up for one of his famous "jump balls"?  I mean, even if it somehow gets intercepted in the end zone, the result is just as good as a punt, so why not let Moss do what he does best and see if you can get 7 out of it?  That corner of the end zone throw from 40 yards out just didn't make a whole lot of sense, IMO.  A "jump ball" to Moss would have been a much higher percentage play, guaranteed.

[jdcord]

Wow!

The Giants are now ahead 10-7.  This is the point when, so far this season, the Patriots always respond with a touchdown drive, followed by a few more scoring drives afterwards, for good measure - usually securing the victory in the process.  ....... but this time the Patriots responded with just one first down, and then a punt.



...... Could this be it for the undefeated Patriots?




Nah!  They've come back back from a few worse situations this season.  They'll find a way.  They always do.

[jdcord]

Oh Yeah!  Now we're talking!

12 play, 80 yard touchdown drive for New England, taking up 05:12.  Eli still has a chance to play the hero, but if I were a betting man I'd be putting my money against any such heroics.  I think that last drive was the game winning drive for the Patriots.

[jdcord]

3rd and 11 for the Jersey Giants, at the 2 minute warning. This is 2-down territory at this point, obviously.


............. ok, now it's 4th and 1, this should be interesting!

..... Wow!  The Giants get 2 yards on that 4th and 1 play.  Their fans must've been sweating bullets.

....... 2nd and 5 on the Giants' 44, with just 1:28 left, and NY needs a TD or it's over.

[Q-tip]

Well, the Giants are certainly keeping it interesting.

[Q-tip]

I think that last drive was the game winning drive for the Patriots.

Hold that thought.

[jdcord]

Time out, NY, with 1:20 left, and it's 3rd and 5 for the New Jersey Oversized Men.


Whoa!  .... Big play!  1st and 10 at the New England 24.  ........ make that 2nd and 11, after that sack.  Time out by the Giants.  Is that their last one?  Or do they still have one left?

According to the CBS web page, that's it for New Jersey's time outs.  No more left.

..... incomplete pass.  3rd and 11 now, no time outs.

No way!!  ....... TD, Giants.  They now lead 17-14, with just 35 seconds left.  ........       Could this be     for the Patriots?  Barring a great KO retrun, it sure looks that way.  NE does have all 3 time outs, so that might help, but it looks pretty daunting at this point.

[jdcord]

WOW!!!!

Game over.  10 seconds left, and the Giants get the ball on downs.  Eli actually did it!


I am stunned.  Both by Eli's heroics, and by the clear lack of intensity (and anger) missing from the Patriots throughout the game.  I was expecting them to be in a rage against the world, but instead they came out almost downright tame.  ....... That was really weird.


But I gotta give it up for the Giants - especially Eli:  they never lost their focus, intensity, or their composure.  Even after the Pats went up 14-10, they obviously didn't panic or doubt.  They went 14-4 after that 0-2 start.  That's awfully good.

[JakeLeonard]

Another Manning takes the gold

Hmmm.....maybe a Manning-Manning showdown next year?

[bishopnl]

but if I were a betting man I'd be putting my money against any such heroics.

Ha!  I didn't get a chance to post over here yesterday....but it's a good thing you aren't a betting man.

Further, despite your denigrating comments regarding Eli Manning's performance early in the game, and your continued praise of that cheating, lying, weasel Bill Belicheck, Manning throws two TD's and wins the MVP.  Although the Giants D is the real reason they won, Manning certaintly did his share.  In fact, I thought the early criticism a bit odd, considering that Manning's one interception wasn't really his fault.  Further, he did a great job of keeping the Giants offense on the field early in the game, which went a long way in helping them win.  Overall a very solid performance by Eli Manning.

As much as I hate New York teams, I was just as happy seeing the Giants win this one as I would have been if it had been the Rams.  There was absolutely nothing sweeter than watching the Patriots make it all the way to the Super Bowl and lose the most important game of the season.  The fact is that the Patriots "dynasty" isn't any better, if even as good, as the Dallas Cowboys in the early 90's, and definitely not as good the 80's 49ers, the 70's Steelers, etc. etc.  And even if they did win more games than the undefeated '72 Miami Dolphins, the Dolphins finished their perfect season off the right way.  The Pat's choked when it counted....they will always be remembered as the 18-1 team.  Their record offensive output this year, the undefeated regular season, Brady's and Moss's record setting seasons this year...fact is, it doesn't mean squat, other than that they had a great season but came up short.  And as a sports fan, there were few more satisfying feelings in the world than watching the Giants being presented with the Lombardi Trophy, and knowing Belicheck and Co. would have to go home and cry in their root beer.

[jdcord]

Did you even see « Reply #7 on: February 03, 2008, 21:59:37 »?? 


I guess not.  (too busy, perhaps, overflowing with irrational anger and hatred towards the Patriots?    *L*)

[jdcord]

BTW, ........ just FYI, ...


I still think the Patriots had one of the greatest seasons in NFL history, and I see nothing (nada, zip, zero) for them to hang their heads about.  They were 35 or 40 seconds away from the absolute greatest season ever, if not for some miraculous, heroic, jaw-dropping acrobatics from a 4th or 5th string wide receiver, whose name none of us will even remember 4 or 5 years from now (seeing as I can't even remember it now), and who probably won't be in the NFL by then either.  But hey, the history of the Super Bowl is chock-full of heroics from such "one hit wonder" type of players:  that's part of its great appeal.

The fact is that the Patriots did everything necessary to win that game, but the Giants simply would not be denied, and pulled a miraculous, unbelievable play out of their hat - one that no team in the NFL could have stopped.  It's like the "Immaculate Reception": sometimes you can do everything you need to, exactly the way you should  do it, and are supposed to do it, and yet some freakish, one in a million play cruelly snatches victory right out from under you.  So while the Patriots should certainly be dissappointed, they have absolutely nothing - repeat, NOTHING! - to be ashamed of.  It was a great game by both teams, ...... one for the ages, really, ...... and the Patriots did what they had to do, but it just wasn't meant to be.  In a game like football that happens, and that's just how it is.  There's no shame in that; not even a little bit.

Congratulations to the Giants for their great play and unbelievable effort, and on a historic victory in sports as a whole.  Congratulations to the Patriots on a historic season and a valiant, win-worthy effort in the Super Bowl.  And congratulations to both teams for putting on what many are already calling the greatest Super Bowl game ever.


.............. Oh, and one other thing, just FYI again:  I was at work during the game, and only got to see about 5 minutes of it during the 3rd quarter (which included the infamous "4th and 13" play).  So I wasn't actually watching the plays when I was typing those posts;  I was going by what I had heard on the radio while driving in to work (the 1st quarter, basically), and by what I could gather from the "up to the minute" box scores on the CBS and CNN/SI websites, and from the few short bursts of radio reception that I was able to gather of the broadcast inside this gigantic semi-conductor facility.  ....... but I did record the game on DVD, so at least there's that.  *L*

 

[bishopnl]

Did you even see « Reply #7 on: February 03, 2008, 21:59:37 »?? 


I guess not.  (too busy, perhaps, overflowing with irrational anger and hatred towards the Patriots?    *L*)

I did...said reply was after the Giants had made their "heroic" comeback...which, if you were a betting man, you would have bet against.

For the record, I agree that the Patriots have nothing to be ashamed about concerning their undefeated regular season (well, other than their flaunting of league rules early in the season), or their effort in the Super Bowl.  Clearly, the Giants were just the better team when it counted, and wanted it more.

My hatred of the Patriots is cold, clear and rational, and shared by many in this area of the country, btw.   Especially after it has now come to light what they did against the Rams in 2002.

[jdcord]

...  Especially after it has now come to light what they did against the Rams in 2002.

The only thing that has "come to light" at this point are increasingly dubious and unfounded  allegations - seeing as not even one iota of anything so much as bearing a resemblance to "evidence" has been presented thus far to back them up.

[bishopnl]

INDIANAPOLIS — The Patriots' pattern of illicitly videotaping the signals of opposing N.F.L. coaches began in Coach Bill Belichick's first preseason with the team in 2000, a former Patriots player said. The information was put to use in that year's regular-season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Belichick's debut as New England's coach.

The secret taping of signals, which is against league rules, continued at least through three championship seasons to the 2007 season opener against the Jets, when the Patriots were caught and subsequently sanctioned by the league.

As coaches and executives gathered here Thursday for the N.F.L. scouting combine, many saying they were satisfied with the league's investigation and ready to move on, new details were emerging about the history of the Patriots' videotaping.

According to several executives in the league, the season opener against the Jets was not the first time the Patriots had been spotted taping another team's defensive coaches at Giants Stadium. In the final preseason game of 2006, the Patriots were caught taping a Giants defensive assistant giving signals, the executives said.

The incident prompted a letter addressed to all teams seven days later from the N.F.L. vice president Ray Anderson that detailed the league's interpretation of the rules. That letter was cited by Commissioner Roger Goodell when he punished the Patriots.

Belichick has said that he misinterpreted the league's bylaws, telling Goodell that he thought it was permissible to use electronic equipment as long as the information was not used in the same game. That explanation has been greeted with disbelief by some peers and league officials.

In a news conference last week, Goodell said Belichick's explanation led to the assumption that he had been videotaping opponents' signals "as long as he has been head coach."

The league's nine-member competition committee spent three days this week discussing various rules changes that it might recommend for next season. After a 90-minute briefing on the Patriots' videotaping activities Thursday by Goodell and three league vice presidents, the committee said taping rules would not be changed in the aftermath of the controversy.

"The rules are very, very clear," said Tennessee Titans Coach Jeff Fisher, a committee member. "There is no need to be more specific or clarify any rules whatsoever."

Questions linger about how much of an advantage the Patriots may have had if they intercepted defensive signals. Under Belichick, the Patriots have often run a no-huddle offense, which forces opponents to quickly call a defensive play. N.F.L. rules allow quarterbacks to hear instructions from coaches — through a headset and into a speaker in the quarterback's helmet — until there are 15 seconds left on a play clock. When the defensive play call is deciphered, the Patriots could call a play to counteract. The Patriots lost the 2000 opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when videotape of signals was used in preparation, according to the former Patriots player, who was among several former players interviewed by the N.F.L but said he did not want to speak publicly because the investigation is continuing.

The Patriots appear to have continued the practice of taping opposing signals for seven years. Last September, Goodell fined Belichick $500,000, fined the Patriots $250,000 and took away one of team's first-round draft choices in 2008. After the sanctions were announced, the Patriots submitted six tapes, from games in 2006 and 2007, and some notes that dated to 2002, Goodell said. The tapes and notes were destroyed days after being handed to the league, because Goodell considered the matter closed.

But questions remain about how wide and deep the Patriots' taping habits extended. Senator Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican who met with Goodell last week, is among those still questioning why the league was so quick to sanction the Patriots and destroy the evidence.

Goodell met with the competition committee Thursday to discuss his handling of the spying case. Committee members seemed satisfied and eager to turn the page.

"We were all satisfied, every one of us," said John Mara, the Giants' president. "All of us have our different opinions about the Patriots, but we were all satisfied that this thing was investigated properly and that they came to the proper conclusion."

Bill Polian, the president of the Indianapolis Colts, said: "It's behind us. It's time to move forward."

But emerging details continue to pull the league back in time. On Feb. 2, The Boston Herald reported that the Patriots might have taped a St. Louis Rams walkthrough practice the day before the teams played in the 2002 Super Bowl. The Patriots won, 20-17, on a last-second field goal. Belichick, speaking to The Boston Globe, recently denied that the practice was taped.

In the hallway at the convention center here, Mike Martz wanted to talk about his new job as San Francisco's offensive coordinator. Instead, reporters peppered him with questions about the Patriots. Martz was the coach of the Rams when the teams met in the Super Bowl six years ago.

He took exception to the theory that the Patriots could not have gleaned much information from taping the walkthrough. He said indeed they could, but added that was not the point.

"For somebody to say that, it's kind of disgusting," Martz said. "The whole point is if they really cheated. To say he took some steroids and it did help or it didn't help, that's never the point. The point is, to all these high school coaches and high school kids and college kids, that if they did cheat, that's the point."

Martz said he assumed the walkthrough report was false. A similar sentiment was voiced by Chicago Bears Coach Lovie Smith, the Rams' defensive coordinator that season.

"It's just hard for me to fathom anyone would do anything like that," Smith said. "I'm sure, if there's something to it, No. 1, it will come out later. Time has a way of taking care of all things."

Martz was asked if he wanted the N.F.L. to continue investigating the walkthrough. "Of course," he said. "I was involved in that. I was responsible for a lot of people in that game."

Executives dismissed any lingering notions that the Patriots' taping opponents was a common practice around the league.

"I don't want the outside perception to be, 'Boy, there are all these teams and they're all doing all these things,' " said Rich McKay, the Falcons' president and a member of the competition committee. "Because it's not true."

Belichick was not seen in the hallways of the convention center Thursday. Representatives of 21 teams are scheduled to meet with reporters for news conferences from Thursday to Sunday. Belichick and the Patriots are not among them.

[bishopnl]

...  Especially after it has now come to light what they did against the Rams in 2002.

The only thing that has "come to light" at this point are increasingly dubious and unfounded  allegations - seeing as not even one iota of anything so much as bearing a resemblance to "evidence" has been presented thus far to back them up.

When Bill Clinton was being investigated in the sexual harrassment case of Paula Jones, the investigation sought to establish a pattern of abuse by finding subordinates that he had initiated an improper relationship with.

The same principle applies.  You've got a former cameraman who says he taped the walk through.  You've now got an established history of cheating by the Patriots going all the way back to Belicheck's first game as head coach.

Jd, unfortunately, at this point, you are probably the only person in the world who believes there isn't likely to be some truth behind the allegations that the Patriots are cheaters.