Monday, February 04, 2008

Thoughts on the Super Bowl

Did anyone actually expect that to happen? I know I didn't. After Moss caught the go ahead touchdown, I figured it was over. I guess I underestimated Eli Manning. A few more thoughts one the Super Bowl, and two links that capture my feelings on Chris Carter's snub by the Hall of Fame.

  • Which was more ridiculous: Eli's escape from four Patriots, or the catch David Tyree made? Both were jawdropping.

  • The Giants rush was the defining factor in this game. The fact that they could get pressure on Brady without blitzing not only allowed them to have more success in coverage, but also made their blitz more effective. The Patriots didn't know if the Giants were blitzing, and so they couldn't adjust easily. The Giants were also doing a great job of disguising their blitzes. Kawika Mitchell ran a delayed blitz perfectly in the third quarter, turning almost completely around before pinning his ears back and shooting through the gap untouched and causing an incompletion by hitting Brady as he threw. Troy Aikmen did a great job of pointing it out as well.

  • Did anyone else have a flashback when Bill Belicheck successfully threw the challenge flag to get a "12 men on the field penalty"?

  • I was exceedingly happy to see Randy Moss have an impact on this game, after the Patriots were unable to get him the ball in the first half. He had the go ahead touchdown catch, and end up with 62 yards, and most of his receptions went for first down. The Patriots (and Brady's) inability to involve Moss in the game (Brady overthrew Moss multiple times) was a major reason that the Patriots were unable to get their offense going. I think it was likely a game plan issue, as its too easy to use Moss as a decoy and forget that he's the best wide receiver in the game.

  • I enjoy watching Brandon Jacobs run the ball, especially since it usually involves him running over a defender.

  • The fact that Art Monk was chosen ahead of Chris Carter is just another piece of evidence that Hall of Famers in all sports are chosen because of writers biases and ulterior motives, not because of their performance during their careers. Pacifist Viking captures the rational reasons why this was a bad choice by the voters, while Big Daddy Drew nails the emotional response.
[Coming up tomorrow--Thoughts on Chris Simms (ask and ye shall receive) and more Super Bowl fallout]

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I've been reading a lot about how well Eli Manning played and how he has now "come of age".

Seems premature to me, he threw 2 passes in the last drive that could have been intercepted. If Asante Samuel hangs on to that first pass (one I would figure he comes down with 8 out of 10 times) the media would be piling on Eli as still not having what it takes.