Random Super Bowl Thoughts

I’m not sure where all this talk about this being one of the greatest Super Bowls ever. Sure, it was exciting in the fourth quarter, but call me old fashioned because I like my Super Bowls to be well played. The score was 7-3 going into the fourth quarter. Real exciting stuff there.

I’ve got to give Goat #1 to Bill Belichick. His defense is playing pretty well (only 3 points thru 3 quarters). Offense isn’t. So, what does the “HEAD” coach do? Doesn’t look at the field while his offense is out there. Makes no adjustment at all to fix the protection issues (like maybe the three tight end set they used against San Diego?). Makes no adjustment to get Randy Moss open (let’s keep running him down the sidelines even though it hasn’t worked yet). And great decision making on fourth down. Going for it on 4th and 13 while at the Giants’ 31? Sure a 48 yard field goal is long, but it’s a dome so it’s definitely doable. Still has to give you a better shot than going for 4th and 13, especially when you call a play for the end zone. Genius, my ass.

Dave Spitzer was certainly correct about how bad Troy Aikman is in the booth. He friggin’ sucks. I still can’t get over his comment when the Giants were facing 3rd and 10 with under two minutes left in the game while trailing. He said something to the affect that the Giants would have a big decision if they didn’t make a first down. Yeah, the decision would be what play to call. Only a complete schmuck (like Troy) would even consider punting. He made it worse by agreeing with their decision to go for it on the next play when it was 4th and 1. Brilliant decision there, Troy. How much is Fox paying for such insightful commentary?

Sucked to be in Brentwood if you were a football fan. Some drunk knocked out power to 8,300 people there in the fourth quarter (the only good one). I was really hoping to find out it was OJ Simpson.

Goat # 2 goes to Matt Light. It probably shouldn’t because I think he’s highly overrated as a left tackle. However, a lot of people think he’s great. He looked like crap the entire game.

One thing that was nice to see in the lead up to the Super Bowl. A report came out that the Pats illegally video taped a Rams practice before their first Super Bowl win. Then we find out that a former video technician for them may be willing to talk. Hopefully, these revelations will come to pass and that jerkass Belichick won’t make the Hall of Fame.

Some people might say the Patriots were victims of karma. Payback because they are a bunch of cheaters. The mayor of Boston was already planning the parade route. The team had trademarked “19-0”. ESPN.com has pathetically allowed one of their columnist, Bill Simmons, to be a pimp for every Boston team. The Boston Globe already had a pre-order on Amazon.com for a book about a 19-0 Patriots team. But I don’t believe in karma. I do believe in lethargy, and the Patriots were lethargic.

My favorite commercial had to be the Sales Genie one where the Pandas had stereotypical Chinese accents. Nothing funnier than a commercial with the ability to offend. I also liked the Victoria’s Secret commercial, but for completely different reasons.

Does this mean I should change my opinion about Eli Manning? Hell, no. It took him over three quarters to get something other than a field goal. How on earth he got the MVP over a defensive player is beyond me. If the Giants don’t hold the Patriots to their lowest output of the season, the Giants don’t win. You have to go back to 1974 to find another Super Bowl Champ who scored fewer than 17 points. This game was won on defense, so it should have gone to one of them. Hell, Richard Dent won MVP in the ’86 Super Bowl when the Bears scored 55 points. I would have given the MVP to Justin Tuck. He was after Brady the whole game while recording two sacks and forcing a fumble.

Even if I was to give the MVP to an offensive player, it wouldn’t have been Manning. He got bailed out at least twice on the game winning drive. On the play before the penultimate play, Manning chucks the ball in double coverage. Asante Samuel has the easy interception to clinch the win. He drops it. On the next play, Manning does a good job escaping a sack, but all he does after that is chuck the ball down the middle of the field. David Tyree has to outleap the Patriots and catch the ball against his helmet. It was a spectacular catch. It was a boneheaded decision to make that throw. Putting the ball up in the air (for a long time) is the quickest way to get a pass intercepted. It’s one thing to do it on fourth down when you just want to get the ball downfield, but on third down, it’s stupid. That’s two horribly bad decisions back to back which he was very lucky not to have a turnover.

Goat # 3 has to be Tom Brady. Yes, he didn’t have a whole lot of time, but even on plays when he did, he didn’t play well. Also, the quarterback is partially responsible for his own protection. You’ve got to see where the rush is coming from, and Brady did a poor job there too. Still, even passes with time, he was constantly underthrowing or overthrowing or completely missing his receiver. Case in point, the 4th and 13 play (that never should have been run). The play was dumb enough since it should have been kicked or if you are going to run it, try to get the first down instead of going 31 yards into the end zone. Well, they tried for 31 yards into the end zone. Brady threw the ball about 10 yards out of bounds. I understand that Randy Moss was covered. So what? It’s fourth down. You would have been better off keeping it in the field of play to give Moss a chance at it. What’s the worst that can happen? An interception? If it’s in the end zone, you save 11 yards from where an incomplete pass left the Giants. Dumb play.

I read a lot of articles before the Super Bowl, and one thing stood out as funny to me. A bunch of columnists were critical of the half time show because they keep doing older acts. This year was Tom Petty. Recent performers included Prince, The Stones, Paul McCartney, etc. Some questioned why newer acts weren’t used. Well, duh. Who is going to have a broader array of fans, Prince or 50 Cent? A lot of younger people are going to know a Tom Petty or Prince. Certainly a lot more than the number of older people who are going to recognize a new face. I remember a few years ago when Ashlee Simpson sang at the Orange Bowl. She got her ass booed. Stick with someone the majority of the people watching have heard of.

Add professional gamblers and sports books to the group (a very large group) who hate the Patriots. The sports books lost $2.6 million on the game. I was surprised how much the so called “Smart Money” went for the Patriots. I know I thought the Patriots should cover, but pros usually look at trends, and the Patriots hadn’t been covering for awhile. I thought the big gamblers would go with the Giants. As for the bookies, piss on them. That’s what they get for setting the spread so high even though the Pats hadn’t been covering at the end of the year.