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The Patriots Will Roll
By Cyd
Zeigler Jr. I learned a good lesson in Super Bowl XXXV. After the Baltimore Ravens dominated the Oakland Raiders, 16-3, in the AFC Championship, I immediately saw the strength of the men in black and purple and said they would kill the Giants in the Super Bowl. It was the last time there were two weeks between the Conference Championship games and the Super Bowl. In those two weeks, the New York Giants were flashier, they were fun, they strutted, partied, and, without stepping on the field once in those two weeks, convinced many people (including me) that they were the team to beat in the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the Ravens quietly practiced, quietly dodged questions about Ray Lewis’ murder rap, and went about their business as though they were a team preparing for another game. Baltimore embarrassed the New York Giants, 34-7. I’ve been saying for the last three months that the Carolina Panthers look like the Baltimore Ravens the year they won the Super Bowl. They have three distinct pieces that remind us particularly well of that Ravens team: 1) a stud running back who can carry an offense; 2) a defense that is playing its best ball in the playoffs; 3) a quarterback who makes few mistakes, is efficient, and can make one or two big plays in a game. It’s that last little piece that gets me, though. Jake Delhomme making big plays. He’s done it this season several times. The most notable was against the St. Louis Rams in the Divisional Round of the NFC Playoffs. First play of the second overtime: a 69-yard pass to Steve Smith for the winning touchdown. I was watching ESPN and they showed the Top 10 plays by the Carolina Panthers this season. No. 6 included a 40-yard pass to Steve Smith that set up the game-winning TD against Washington; No. 3 three was a 70-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith against Dallas; and No. 1 was that pass against the Rams. These were the only big passing plays included in their Top 10. And now, the problem with this: those plays wouldn’t have worked against the Patriots. The pass against Washington was into triple coverage; the pass against Dallas was a seven yard out that Smith took all the way; the pass against St. Louis was a 20-yard pass that Smith took all the way. Did you see Peyton Manning struggle against the New England Patriots’ defense? It was bad. After his first pass went for 32 yards to his tight end, Manning didn’t complete a pass longer than 20-yards the rest of the game – and he only completed one of those. The Patriots sat in their defense, forcing the Colts to go on long drives that took 10, 12, 13 and 14 plays. They allowed Marvin Harrison to catch only three balls, one of which he fumbled. They listened all week to the press anointing the Colts’ offense as an incredible force to be reckoned with and quietly plotted to undermine them. Quietly. No flair, no guarantees, no trash talking. Just plotting and preparing and going about their business. That’s how the Patriots won their first Super Bowl. As nearly everyone was calling the Rams “The Greatest Show on Turf,” the Patriots listened to it, took it in, and proved “everyone” wrong. That’s something they’ve been doing all season. Lots of people dropped the Patriots in their estimation after they sent Lawyer Milloy packing. Even before they had played a game, the Patriots were suddenly worse than they were in July. According to many. Again, the same thing happened the year they won the Super Bowl, with Terry Glenn, Andy Katzenmoyer and Drew Bledsoe falling by the wayside by Week 3. This week, the talk has been another Manning – Ricky – and the suddenly unstoppable Panthers defense. Again, Ty Law and Rodney Harrison and the rest of the Patriots defense has been listening to it. Taking it in. It’s fun this time of year to look back at exactly what we were thinking in August. Here were my analyses of the two teams in the Super Bowl before the season:
NEW ENGLAND
PATRIOTS Forecast: 12-4. The Patriots should be disappointed this season if they're not in the Super Bowl.
CAROLINA
PANTHERS Not too shabby. My Super Bowl pick in August was the New England Patriots over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So I got the NFC South team wrong. Now, comparing these teams to Super Bowl XXXV, it’s the Patriots, not the Panthers, who are looking a lot more like the Ravens of that year. They’re preparing for this game quietly. They’re going about their business quietly. They’ll be introduced, no doubt, just as they were two years ago – not in order but as a team. While the Panthers have done well in the NFC playoffs, the Patriots are the best team from the better conference with a better coach, a better quarterback, better receivers, better tight ends, a better defense who are playing more like a team. And, still, “the vibe.” I had said a week ago that they’d win in overtime by six. Strike that. Nothing will be quiet about this victory for New England. Patriots 34, Panthers 7Related:
Super Bowl for the Clueless, plus Jim's pick Jan. 26, 2004 |
