Super Bowl Sunday not so Super?
 

I like football. It's the only professional sport I still follow. Knowing it's Super Bowl Sunday I check my sat. listings to see when the game starts. I note 1pm local time... for the pre-game show. The game it's self looks like it starts 5:20pm. Prior to the pre-game there's two hours of other Super Bowl related programing.

Granted I don't have a dog in the fight this year. Every team I follow were sent packing weeks ago. But am I the only one who thinks 5 plus hours is a little much for a pre-game show? I mean do we really need to know that the lineman for this team or that had the fish at this restaurant or that last night?

I have two dogs in this fight; I'm a lifetime Pats fan married to a lifetime Giants fan, so I cheer for the Giants on every game except Pats games.

Despite that, I won't be tuning in until about 6 pm EST (20 minutes before kickoff) to see how the anthem goes (it's gotta be better than http://youtube.com/watch?v=f2OY3oO5p3s; he was way off. The pregame chatter is useless.

While I'm on the topic, it is also useless when they introduce each player in the starting lineup. Who cares? On the next play, someone else will be substituted in. Introduce everybody down to the ballboys, or don't bother.

The pregame stuff isn't too over the top. Mostly NFL Films documentaries about past super bowl champs.

John Elway looks old as hell, Jim Kelly doesn't look so old, and Doug Williams just reinforced the belief that black people never look as old as they are. Troy Aikman's super bowl ring looks big enough to kill a man. That commercial with Eli and Peyton Manning joing the DSRL makes me shake my head (much like Archie Manning was during the commercial).

I tuned into the pregame show and saw Ryan Seacrest. I'm going to watch the Mythbusters marathon instead.

HA! Because when I think football, I think of effeminate midgets. He fits in about as well as Dennis Miller.

I still haven't decided if I'm even going to watch the game.

Seacrest? Seriously? Seacrest? I'm going back to the beach.

right off the get-go, as is typical of most quasi-entertainers, jordin pooched the national anthem... why can't they sing as it was intended - i don't need some hip-hop crap imbellishment to make a statement... what a bunch of pimps

These commercials suck. They're just as bad as SB XXXI when the dot.coms took over

The life water one was the only one even half descent.

Wow. I didn't even know that it was Super Bowl weekend. It isn't even on the radar here. Fascinating.

Well I'm in Mexico watching the game on a Canadian sat. system (Starchoice) And I can tell you the commercials I'm seeing really suck. Not even an attempt at humor. Unless you find hockey funny.

Best Super Bowl in recent memory so far. Go Giants!

The half time show was easily the best in the last 10 years too I think.

--jaded

best half time show ever was in 2002 with u2 - tear jerker

as for the ads - the one you didn't see was danica's "beaver" :D

Wow. Eli. You are a winner.

--jaded

*Breaks out his bottle of champagne*

Hail to the '72 Dolphins!

Best Super bowl in years!!!!!

Ads sucked, game made up for it!!!


Ain't that a switch?

The way it ought to be! And yes the Patriots losing their perfect season just made my year.

I cannot believe this is happing. I am in total utter shock.

Completely amazed, so close for the Pats...

*Is still celebrating with his bottle of champagne*

I don't care about the Giants winning. I'm happier than that Pats lost.

In-FUCKING-deed

You know the '72 Dolphins are gonna be drunk as skunks before the night is over.

The MVP of the game in my opinion?

The entire Giants Defense.

The '72 dolphins have probably been drunk as skunks for the last couple decades.

Manning won me over with that last drive.

absofookinglutely

what killed the pats was belichick changing his hoodie... shoulda worn the gray one, bill!!!

Amen.

Got to give it up to the Giants, they played a great game, especially the defense. Congratulation NY Giants, you guys did an outstanding job.

Still sad about the Patriots. They played absolutely great football for 18 games only to lose the last and most important game. They played with so much heart and had to suffer through so much hate. I'll never get that: people only rooting for the Giants not because they are fans but because they hate the Patriots so much.

I agree the MVP should go to Giant's Defense.

hahaha rock on giants!

/cheer

haven't watched the game yet. too busy at work.
congrats to the Giants and their fans.
thanks to the Pats for a great year. too bad you fell short.
oh well
as the age old sports fan saying goes ... "there's always next year"

fun to see the underdog win for once, but dang it had to be the giants, led by the QB I don't like... (he was the QB for Ole Miss and I go to school at Miss. State - big time rivals for those who don't know)

either way, anybody else find it funny that Bill passed up a chance to kick a 49 yard field goal to go for it on 4th and 13 and then they end up losing by 3? and its not like his kicker couldn't make it, his career long was 52... 4th and 5 or less, maybe, but 13???

1. people love to root for the underdog

2. people hate to see cheaters prosper

Seems like they've been doing that all year, go for it on 4th down and why not? They are the best offense ever.

--jaded

Totally, I can not believe that Manning got MVP, he did not deserve it.

That's a bit harsh I think. Any QB who drives his team down the field for a winning touchdown with 2:30 left in the Super Bowl will most likely get the MVP regardless of how he played the rest of the game. He played better than Tom Brady too in my opinion.

But yeah, the Giants D was outstanding.

--jaded

As a lifelong Cowboys fan it was hard to root for the Giants but living in NYC made it a little easier - anyone you talked here believed they could do it...

I thought about starting another thread for this, but what the heck - here goes:

I think the Giants won DESPITE Eli Manning's performance, not because of it. He was 55% on completions and looked shaky most of the game. How about someone like Antonio Pierce for MVP instead? The Giants managed 17 points. Can't say that their offense won the game for them here. Giving the MVP to the QB is a cop out.

Yeah, not sure why they gave Eli MVP. Someone on the defense should've gotten it instead.

I would have voted for Tuck through the first three quarters, but when the quarterback throws for 150+ yards and two touchdowns in the final quarter, including one of the best plays in the history of the Super Bowl on the final drive, they will win that award, and I won't argue with it. He earned it.

Unless one wants to argue the MVP should be Tom Brady for looking bored for the the first half, then hearing footsteps and playing like a sixth-round pick who started a half-season at Michigan in the second half. He killed the Patriots.

He wasn't MVP, but in all fairness his receivers were dropping so many I thought I was watching a Bears game.

Giant's defense was stellar though.

Yeah, shutting down the Pats offensive time and time again is no small feat.

I think you're right it should have gone to someone on the defense. I'd be happy with a group MVP in this case.

Ha. Yeah, I was like ... where's your usual unabomber hoodie?? I'm guessing Bill also forgot to tape that "fade to Plaxico" play. His interview post-game was pretty painful to watch. I bet he's still numb.

It's the morning after, and I'm still stunned and speechless. Best. Superbowl. Ever. Congrats to the G-Men.

I think by default you have to give the MVP to the winning QB. Yeah, the Giants D was stellar in containing the Pats' high-octane offense, and their pass-rush and ability to get to Brady was amazing. But without a standout individual performer on the Giants D, you can't give the entire D an individual award, so it defaults back to the QB. Hey, after all, he did lead an incredible 2-minute drill drive, one that I didn't give him any chance of succeeding, he escaped relentless pressure twice (once to connect with Tyree for that incredible, amazing catch), and he threw 2 TD's, That one INT for him shouldn't really count against him, as it slipped out of the receiver's hands.

Eli plays well for two minutes and deserves MVP?

The defense played well the entire game. Someone from the D definitely deserved that award.

Always remember: Offense wins games. Defense wins championships.

Slightly off-topic, but does anyone else think the Giants are sore winners (I.e., Strahan going on about how they killed the dynasty, calling Patriot players soft, etc.)? I know it's football and is, by default, a 'dirty' game but still...

They did kill the dynasty.

these teams will go head to head next year and it will be a rivalry i'm sure

No such thing as sore winners. Especially in this case. The Giants beat a team nobody else could the whole season. They have full bragging rights.

Agreed. They were the second biggest underdog ever, and they won (just like the Jets did when they were the biggest underdog ever). This is the pinacle of football, regardless of the level of play. They get a chance to brag and make big statements. There is no other time when those kind of things would be allowed or taken seriously.

Well done, Giants.

I highly doubt that.

*Shrugs*

The Pats will be back in the playoffs next year. The Giants won't.

AHAHAHAHA!!!!

18-1 boys, 18-1!!!!

I loved it that Billicheat and his team got turned over, absolutely loved it!

Cheats dont always prosper!

That's ancient and does not apply anymore. If it did, the Bears would have won last year. You need balance on both sides of the ball.

--jaded

The bears defense was pretty crappy the last few games of the season, anyone could run on them.

Dammit, I was hoping to see history.

You don't need balance, you just need a quarterback who doesn't suck.

I sooo agree with you on this. I hate it when any singer sings the national anthem differently from the way Francis Scott Key wrote it. If one is going to sing the Star Spangled Banner in a public event please sing it the way it's written, or decline the invitation to sing.

I think if Francis Scott Key were alive today, he'd have the Star-Spangled Banner produced by Timbaland.

you did. :thumbsup:

Not exactly what I had in mind though...

But I agree with the general consensus that Belichick is an ass. It's kinda sweet to see him lose.

So I think we know how every defense will play the Pats next year. I don't know why other teams didn't emulate the Ravens all year long, one of the crappiest teams almost beat the "undefeatable."

Put Brady on his ass and he becomes a whiny high school quarterback.

I'm no Packers fan, but Favre a god in comparison. You can sack him 18 times in a row and he'll still stand up smiling.

wanna bet?

first off, the Patsies are going to be in cap hell trying to resign their free agents, most notably Randy Moss. second, their defense is OLD AS HELL (Vrabel, Seau and Harrison are all on the wrong side of 30).

as for the Giants...they have a good young QB, a stellar D and a coach who won't allow them to become complacent.

if I had to bet on one of these two teams not making the playoffs in 08, it'd be the Patsies.



as for the MVP award...it almost always goes to one of the "skill" players, but on one occasion it was awarded to two players: Harvey Martin and Randy White (DE and DT, respectively) of the Cowboys for their performances in SB XII (1978)). In this case, I'd suggest that the Giants front four deserved the award...they were phenomenal. If you had to narrow it to just two players, then Justin Tuck (6 tackles including 2 sacks and a forced fumble) and Osi Umenyiora (4 tackles and a fumble recovery, not particularly great numbers, but drew so much attention by the Patsies O-line that you could make the argument that his play caused a couple of the sacks.) would be my picks.

but really, it should go to the entire front four.




if it didnt apply anymore, the Giants wouldn't have won.

despite all the rules changes over the yeard to benefit the offenses, NFL defenses still keep finding ways to control all the high powered scoring machines. if my memory serves me correctly, only three times has the highest scoring O in the league won the SB. If all it took was a great O and a slightly above average D, it would be the norm, not the exception.



Defense DOES win championships.

see: 2007 NY Giants, 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, 2003 Tampa Bay Bucaneers, 2002 New England Patriots, 2000 Baltimore Ravens, among others. All of these teams featured great D's that held high-powered offenses to less than 30 points, while at the same time having offenses that were anywhere from anemic (Ravens) to above average at best. check your history: a great D is twice as likely to garner you a championship then a great O is.

You're right about Farve the guys something else. Kick the shit of him and he smiles at you. That's got to be unnerving for the defense.

And I think you could be right about Brady. He seems to crack when not given 15-20 sec. in the pocket. But I also think he was hurt going into last nights game. He looked like he was having trouble moving all night. Seemed slower and his passes seemed short. Even when his line gave him time he was short on the passes, IMO.

Erm... Are you serious? Who in the AFC East is going to beat the Pats next year? Surely not the Bills, the Jets nor the Dolphins (Though I wish they would). The Pats could show up with half their team and still probably win their own division.

And, yes, I'll take you up on that bet lol

I see farve play at least twice a year, and when the vikes are having a good defensive game it isn't odd to see farve on his ass pounding his fists into the turf like a child. From what i've seen, farve is much more likely to act overly emotional than brady.

Farve gets a lot more credit than he deserves.

I was thinking the same. Farve doesn't handle pass pressure well. When his team isn't playing well he tries to force plays and turns into a turnover machine. The key to beating Farve is to keep pressure on him and make him rush plays.

The Pats arent gonna go from a great team to no hopers... but the aura has been broken that they had around them. Next year everyone is gonna come out knowing how to play them, as someone else said above. At least two of their starting defence are gonna retire. Shady Brady was suddenly found wanting under pressure. Sure, he's still a great QB - but people will see a weakness in him and go after him.

You must not have seen brady on that second to last drive, or the fact that the patriot's offensive line was completely over matched for most of the game. It isn't brady's fault he was sacked 4 times.

What I saw the second to last drive was an exhausted defense that had been dominating all game and had completely shut down the best offense in the history of the NFL. No surprise that Brady manufactured one solid drive, given his history. But the Giants discovered the chink in the armor of that vaunted offense which was putting pressure on Brady. No, it's not his fault he was sacked 4 times, but he showed no ability to deal with that pressure. He's not good at making moves and rolling out and making plays (see, e.g. Montana, Elway). When Brady has time and can calmly look at the field, he's one of the best QBs ever. But what will always keep him out of the "greatest" category in my mind is exactly what happened in the Super Bowl. He can't play mobile and he can't play pressure. He got scared and spent most of the game hearing footsteps and couldn't do ANYTHING until the last drive when the Giants defense was simply too tired to keep up that pressure.

this is true of any quarterback.




oh, and Brady was sacked 5 times by the Giants in the SB.


I think you over estimate the difference between a good team and a bad team in the NFL. Often, its a matter of two or three players, or even one. Case in point: the Baltimore Ravens. In 2005 they went 6-10, which is pretty poor. In 2006, they went 13-3. The major difference between the two seasons was the additions of Willis Magahee and Steve McNair.

the Patsies are likely going to lose Seau, Assante Samuel, and Randy Moss. Wilfork, Bruschi, Vrabel and Harrison are also going to be another year older, with both Harrison and Bruschi likely eyeing retirement. Add in to that the emotional reaction to them losing their perfect season and you could have a recipe for disaster.

Meanwhile, though I dont expect much from the Dolphins (5-8 wins max), the Bills are not that bad of a team (7-9 in 06 & 07). And the Jets were a playoff team in 06, though they regressed to 4-12 in 07 due mainly to injuries. If the Bills can improve by 3 games in 08, they could make the playoffs as a wild card.



Of course, all of this is pure speculation at this point. We'll have to see how free agency and the draft play out before have any real idea of whats going to happen in 08.

That exhausted defense came back on the patriot's next drive and cruised through the patriot's offensive line with just a three man rush. Pretty good for a squad that was apparently so exhausted on the previous drive it couldn't keep the patriot's from almost casually marching down the field to get that touchdown. The patriot's offensive line stunk for pretty much the whole game. I don't know that it was him being scared as much as him not having any time to throw- do that to any quarterback and he's going to have a bad game. Not to mention the possible bum ankle that was supposedly interfering with brady's long ball.

All I hear is bum ankle this and bum ankle that, and I think it's hogwash. It's not as if the Pats offense consisted of the deep pass, and Brady's an in the pocket QB, not a scrambler like McNabb. If his offensive line had done what they were supposed to do, it'd be a different story.

Besides, Plaxico Burress was held together with duct tape and bubble gum, and that didn't stop him from stepping up.

This is what I told my wife while watching (shes a football fan too).
It looked almost exactly like the Ravens game only without the stupid penalties that let the Pats win that one.

Not this.

Favre starts to do really stupid stuff when he gets pressure.

Things don't look too good for the Giants next year... it looks like Spagnuolo, their genius first-year defensive coordinator, is going to the Redskins.

I think maybe the one thing the Pats will have in their favour next seasons is that they will be less pressured.

When they won the first of their "dynasty" wins - all the neutral fans were rooting for them.

This year, because of their quality and their attitude - every neutral was rooting against them.

Maybe next year they'll just be another team.

They would have had a lot more chance of winning the Superbowl if they'd come into it with two losses in the regular season imo.

Why do people think that the Pats are suddenly NOT going to be contenders next year? They still have Brady, a hall-of-fame QB that has shown that he can make things happen with a piecemeal receiving corps. They still have Belichek, love him or hate him, he's still a pretty smart coach.

I think both the Pats and Giants will be playoff teams in '08, and in the playoffs, anything can happen.

He may or may not get it. Still high up on Snyder's list is former head coach Jim Fassel.

*EDIT* Spagnuolo is staying in New York.

I think they'll make the playoffs, but:

1) Their linebackers are OLD. Brusci, Seau, and Colvin could all retire, and it's hard to replace guys like that (remember the guy who replaced Brusci when he had his stroke? There's a reason you don't). Thomas is a freak, but he'll be 31 during training camp, and Vrabel will be 33.

2) They could lose both Samuel and Harrison in the secondary.

3) They could lose Moss. This place seems to explain his contract situation pretty well. Basically, if they don't franchise him (which could piss off one of two guys you don't want to piss off if they are on your team), he'll be a free agent on the 29th, and anyone can throw obscene money at him.

4) Any team with a half-decent pass rush will be throwing themselves at Brady next year. All year, teams played it safe to keep Brady from beating them, and it didn't work. Now, we know what does.

5) If there is ANYTHING to all of the smoke coming from the spying controversy (I believe it is true, but I refuse to call it by that silly name coined by unoriginal journalists), that could bring all kinds of distractions to the team.

6) History. Terry Bradshaw appeared in his last Super Bowl at age 31. Joe Montana at age 33. Bruschi just set the record for most appearances in the Super Bowl with five, because he just happened to be on the roster in 1996 when the Patriots went there under Parcells (and he barely played). Brady will be 31 next year, so he is running out of chances, and will all of the other TMZish crap surrounding him, who knows how long he will care enough to play?

My opinion is that they go something like 10-6 or 11-5 next year, lose in the second round of the playoffs, and that will be pretty much it. Belichick will retire, and the team will try to go into rebuilding mode around guys like Maroney and whomever they draft this year.

Nah. He's going to get big money from the Giants this year, and get the best job available next year (instead of the worst job available this year).

according to the SuperBowl.com website, Mike Lodish has that record with 6 SB appearances:

6 Mike Lodish, Buffalo, XXV-XXVIII; Denver, XXXII-XXXIII

supposedly Don Beebe also has 6 (4 with Buffalo and 2 with Denver) but the SB website does not confirm this.


there are a host of players with 5

Marv Fleming, Green Bay, I-II; Miami, VI-VIII
Larry Cole, Dallas, V-VI, X, XII-XIII
Cliff Harris, Dallas, V-VI, X, XII-XIII
Charles Haley, San Francisco, XXIII-XXIV; Dallas, XXVII-XXVIII, XXX
D.D. Lewis, Dallas, V-VI, X, XII-XIII
Preston Pearson, Baltimore, III; Pittsburgh, IX; Dallas, X, XII-XIII
Charlie Waters, Dallas, V-VI, X, XII-XIII
Rayfield Wright, Dallas, V-VI, X, XII-XIII
Cornelius Bennett, Buffalo, XXV-XXVIII; Atlanta, XXXIII
John Elway, Denver, XXI-XXII, XXIV, XXXII-XXXIII
Glenn Parker, Buffalo, XXV-XXVIII; N.Y. Giants, XXXV
Bill Romanowski, San Francisco, XXIII-XXIV; Denver, XXXII-XXXIII; Oakland, XXXVII
Adam Vinatieri, New England, XXXI, XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX; Indianapolis, XLI

My apologies then; it was on the screen during the Super Bowl.

I think the point is still the same though: it is very rare for a player to get this many chances at winning championships.

you should know better than to trust any stats or data that Fox puts on the screen during anything. :D

Oh, you mean I can question the final score? Whew, that's a relief, I thought my Patriots lost. :D

:shakehead: :grumpy:

Wow, now that's funny!

--jaded

I think it's more sad than funny.

Seriously? ...

:shakehead:

Sounds like it's serious, seriously sad.

after all the help the Patsies have gotten from the refs over the last few years (starting with the tuck rule, through the extra 52 seconds game against the Steelers in 05, to the blatant bailouts they got throughout 07) I just think its utterly pathetic for their fans to start whining now.

Rams player files class-action suit against Patriots over Super Bowl XXXVI

Matt Walsh's lawyer asks NFL to protect his client on Spygate tapes

this may turn out to be even more fun than watching the Giants put the beatdown on the Patsies in SB XLII...

Two things Steelers and Ravens fans can agree on :thumbsup:

hatred of the Clowns and the Bungles being another

damn, do I look like a genius or what? :D

Nope, you look like someone who knows the difference between the AFC (home of the Colts, Steelers, Titans, Patriots, Chargers etc) and the NFC (home of the Lions, 49ers, Seahawks, Cardinals etc). :D

*emphasis mine

You got your wish. How much did you put on that bet?

All hail the mighty AFC West!

I think The NFC won 1 more game than the AFC last year, + the Super Bowl. The AFC won a few more games this year, but the conferences seem fairly even to me.