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New England is in the
Super Bowl!
New England is in the Super
Bowl!
Did I mention - New England
is in the Super Bowl!
As a Patriots fan, I have
thought since losing the last Super Bowl in New Orleans to
the Packers that it would be forever before they
contended again. What a treat this is.
Again, I ask - how did Bill
Belichik not win coach of the year? His team
started 1-3 and finished 11-5; he stuck with his rookie
quarterback after his Pro Bowl quarterback was healthy
enough to play; he lost Andy Katzenmoyer for the
season in August; and his star wide receiver, Terry Glenn,
refused to play.
THANK YOU FOX for not showing
a single shot of Kurt's gawdy-aweful wife, Brenda Warner.
I pray they continue their streak into next Sunday's game.
During the season, I usually
suck picking against the spread. My post-season record
so far: 6-3-1. Shocking.
Unfortunately, the evil Rams
are also in the Super Bowl. The spread is Rams
-15. I haven't underestimated the Patriots all
season. Jim and I agreed in August that they could go
4-12, or go to the playoffs. It seems virtually no one
else has recognized their ability all season and still, with
them in the Super Bowl, are giving them no chance to beat
St. Louis.
OK, back to more enjoyable
topics. How magical was that game for the
Patriots? Since Week 2, Drew Bledsoe has
watched another quarterback take the reigns of the team as
he held a clipboard. Then, in their biggest game of
the year, Tom Brady goes down and Drew has to come in
to lead them to New Orleans. So fitting.
My friend Marc e-mailed me
all week long about how great the Steelers were, how the
Patriots were outmatched, and how Ty Law's midweek
comments about the Pittsburgh wide receivers would motivate
them. My analysis was simply this: the Pats would
force Kordell Stewart into a bad game, the Patriots
special teams would play big, and the Steelers would win a
close game. Two out of three ain't bad.
I can't stand the Rams, as
I've mentioned just about every week since September.
I must give them their props, though - they are a good
team. It was impressive to watch their defense, rated
last in the League last year, stifle the Eagles in
the second half after embarrassing "one of the greatest
quarterbacks ever" last week.
I really have to question the
Eagle's play calling on offense. They ran the ball 22
times compared to 30 pass attempts. The killer for me
was a sweep by James Thrash on first down that cost
them five yards. Why not just have Donovan McNabb
kneel and save yourself the effort?
The record is not very good
for these "destiny" teams in the Super Bowl.
They get a couple big breaks in the playoffs (Atlanta
in '99, Tennessee in '00) and then fall flat on their
face in "the Big Game."
But I'm going to stick with
my pick from three weeks ago:
New England 27, Chicago
17.
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Along with Bill Konigsberg from ESPN.com
(who picked
the Pats to beat the Steelers) and Cyd, I will give my
Super Bowl analysis later this week. But my first read--New England won’t be able to stay with
the Rams. St. Louis, 31-13.
I was really disappointed in the effort Pittsburgh put forth in losing to
New England in the AFC title game. The Steelers sleep-walked through the first half
and awoke in the third only to be down, 21-3, too large of a margin to overcome. Hard as it is to
believe, maybe the Steelers did take the Patriots lightly. Or maybe it was hard to get up for anyone
after the blood-feud game last week with Baltimore.
The Steelers are 1-3 in AFC title games under Bill Cowher, all at home. They have twice
while favored by
more than seven points, on Sunday and 1994. How confident was Pittsburgh linebacker
Lee Flowers about the game? ‘‘I would have bet my whole season’s salary
we would win,’’ he said.
New England coach Bill Belichick played the no-respect angle to the hilt, telling the media after
that the 10-point pointspread against his 12-5 Patsies was the same margin Pittsburgh was favored by against
1-12 Detroit a month ago.
The decision to start running back Jerome Bettis, who
hadn’t played in 56 days, really hurt the Steelers. Not only did he finish with only eight yards on nine
carries, but his insertion disrupted the rhythm of the offense. For example, here is the stat line on running
back Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala, who had been a standout
with Bettis sidelined: zero carries, zero receptions.
Sorry to see the old Kordell Stewart (two devastating interceptions in the final 3 minutes) show up. But he
can look on the bright side--he won’t have the nation’s media asking questions about his sexual
orientation during Super Bowl week.
Bonehead play of the AFC game and maybe the season for Pittsburgh came by Troy Edwards, who ran out of
bounds while covering a punt, then ran back on the field, a no-no. His penalty negated a 64-yard punt and
forced a re-kick. This time, Troy Brown took the punt
to the house for a 55-yard touchdown.
Loved seeing Drew Bledsoe play and do well for New England. His best pass came on 3rd-and-11 from his own
30, less than six minutes left and New England clinging to a seven-point lead. Bledsoe floated a perfect, soft pass with just the right
arc to Brown for a first down. Clutch. Drew was so happy at winning,
he shed a tear
after the game.
I counted three dropped interceptions by the Steelers, two that would likely have gone for
touchdowns.
The NFC game (St. Louis 29, Philadelphia 24) showed why the Rams are hard to beat. Down 17-13 at half, the
Rams in the third and early fourth quarter held the Eagles to nine plays while scoring 16 unanswered
points.
Saw some criticism of the Eagles’ decision to not have all-world quarterback Donovan McNabb
scramble and instead stay in the pocket. It really seemed to
constrain him and there were several times where he could have run but didn’t. As one unnamed Hall of
Famer told the Washington Post’s Michael Wilbon: ‘‘It’s bad enough when a defense makes you
one-dimensional, but that happens in this league. When your own coaches reduce you, that’s tough to take.
It’s not about running with the ball, it’s about taking advantage of all your resources — physically
and mentally — to beat an opponent. The Eagles aren’t doing that with this kid.’’
So much for the Eagles’ streak of not allowing more
than 21 points in a game; it ends at 21 games.
Line of the day by Fox’s John Madden, who was watching a Ram defensive coach grab violently on his
belt and jerk his pants up and down in some sort of signal. ‘‘He’s telling them to suck it up,’’ said
Madden. That caused howls with the guys I was watching with.
Marshall Faulk (159 yards rushing) showed why he, and
not teammate Kurt Warner, is the league’s Most Valuable Player.
Enough already of the Garth Brooks’ Dr. Pepper commercial.
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Troy
Brown, the New England Patriots' receiver and special teams star was amazing in the team's upset of
the Pittsburgh Steelers. Get a load of Brown's day: