Dynasty. Likely not the greatest dynasty, since the words implies dominance. 3 wins by a total of 9 points is not domination. Of course, 3 Super Bowl wins in 4 years is. Give New England plenty of credit as they close another deal. Bill Belichick outcoached Andy Reid. Tom Brady outplayed Donovan McNabb. And in the end, the Patriots repeat as World Champions.
· Has their ever been a unit of a great team that gets less credit than the New England Patriots defense? They still are largely anonymous, and yet all they do is make plays. Even if Freddie Mitchell calls them out. By the way, did he play?
· One guy who did play was Terrell Owens. What a performance! His play was incredible, given his circumstances that suggest he is a modern day Willis Reed. But, the Eagles lost, so this may be largely forgotten. I generally do not care for his act, but it was obvious early that he could be a threat. It makes you wonder if the Eagles used him enough.
· Deion Branch is the MVP? It made sense. He made a few incredible catches, and was the go-to guy for the Patriots. It did seem to be one of those Super Bowls where there was not a cinch. I might have voted Rodney Harrison, and Tom Brady sure could have won another one.
· Maybe it is something in Pennsylvania. Bill Cowher has been widely ripped for being 1-5 in Championship games and Super Bowls. Now, Andy Reid is 1-4. Nice 2-minute drill, coach.
· Mike Vrabel has 5 career catches and 5 touchdowns. Amazing that no one picked up on that.
· By the way, anyone else amazed that all you have to do to beat the Eagles blitz is have an elongated snap count? Brady just sits under center until the Eagles show their blitz, then the Patriots point out who is blitzing, pick them up, and Brady has time to do what he wants. It can’t be that easy to solve Jim Johnson, right? Were the Cowboys watching?
· Donovan McNabb did not run at all. I thought his legs could make a huge difference, but it never happened. Was this due to the Patriots Linebackers? Either that, or the Eagles had a huge game plan flaw.
· I had never heard of Dexter Reid until last night, but what a role he played. First, he committed a huge penalty on the Troy Brown punt return that was called back. Then, he had to replace Eugene Wilson at safety for the Pats, and gave up the touchdown pass to Bryant Westbrook. If New England had lost, he might have been labeled a goat. Instead, he was the player who downed the ball at the 4 on the Patriots final punt. Now, we all know Dexter Reid.
· Paul McCartney was awesome. I am told he may have lip-synched, but I will dispute that only on the basis that he is a Beatle.
· 3 Replays – 3 were overturned. I guess it is a good rule after all.
· Yes, democracy is safe. The Eagles did not win the Super Bowl. We can all go on with our lives. However, I am sure they will be in the mix again next year, so we better not forget about them. In fact, I read that they are significantly under the cap for ’05, which confuses me given the expenditures of 2004. Now, if they learn to play in a 2-minute offense, we may all be in trouble.
Did you see Uncle Junior from the Sopranos hug Belichick after the game?
Links:
Super Bowl Columns:
Bill Plaschke – Los Angeles …
Bob Ryan – Boston …
Jason Whitlock – Kansas City …
Rick Gosselin – Dallas …
Dave Anderson – New York …
Phil Sheridan – Philadelphia …
The Eagles had every chance to win their first Super Bowl, to deliver Philadelphia from its 22-years-and-counting championship jones. They were good enough to derail the New England Patriots dynasty train last night.
All they needed was a great game from their quarterback. They didn't get it.
Canseco scorches the Rangers …If anyone cares what he says anymore…
Quincy in Rehab …
When Carter was declared inactive before the Jets' divisional playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 15, the Jets said that he had left the team to attend to his sick mother.
But those familiar with his situation said that Carter's weeklong absence, which started shortly after the Jets' playoff victory over the San Diego Chargers on Jan. 8, was initiated with the team's permission and that he began participating in a program in Houston that was run by John Lucas, the former N.B.A. player and coach.
It was unclear what led to Carter's enrollment, whether he was still participating in the program or if he had failed another drug test.
Must read story on Bob Hayes …
Sources say Vikings about to wise up, and trade Randy Moss …Which concerns Packers fans greatly as we hate to see Minnesota beat cancer like that…
Among the inductees this weekend, Benny Friedman (Freedo) inducted in, 20 years after suicide …and Fritz Pollard inducted after death, too…
Irvin did not. Gil Lebreton is not pleased. Neither is Dan Le Betard …
It is official; Galloway has had enough of the Rangers …
I am not worried about Coach K fainting, I am worried about him wearing sneakers Here is an explanation …
Undefeated for the full season? …Knight has some thoughts...
“Two things you have to remember about that team,” Knight said. “They all made the NBA but not one of them came close to playing in an NBA all-star game. That means they simply made up a strong team at Indiana and that they cared for one another and the team. They were kids willing to work and play and to do what we wanted to do.”
Speaking of Knight Tech mauls the Sooners in Norman …
Gee, if only Donovan had gotten off the plane last week WITHOUT the camcorder. Maybe things would have been different, right Bob?
ReplyDeleteMer-
ReplyDeleteI thought he played as if he never had a camcorder. There, feel better?
Bob
I probably shouldn't be writing right now since I'm a lifelong Eagles fan and still emotional from last night. But I was blown away at the poor clock management in the last two minutes... actually on their last two drives. If the Eagles had any kind of a two-minute drill, they would have had a decent shot a game-tying field goal. How do you not know how to run a two-minute drill? I would think that's one of the basics every team knows. Maybe Andy Reid didn't practice it much because they weren't down much in the fourth quarter this season. This was as much Reid's fault as McNabb's.
ReplyDeleteI love McNabb but it looked like he had given up in that last drive. He showed no fire to get his team down the field. And dumping off to Westbrook down the middle for no gain with the clock ticking down? That's not the type of decision a Super Bowl-winning quarterback makes. Throw it away! And don't waste time tapping your chest going "my bad" and waltzing back to the line ... take control of your team and get them lined up! And he did it with that stupid "oh well" smile. When he's winning, that smile makes him look cool and confident. But when he plays subpar, it looks like he doesn't care.
I know McNabb is a huge reason we got where we did and I'll probably regret not tapping the breaks right now, but damn... doesn't he realize that he may never get this far again? His lack of a sense of urgency at the end just kills me.
How about a followup interview now with Chuck Bednarik?
ReplyDeleteI hope you and Dan mine the last half of the fourth quarter of the Eagles' announcers Super Bowl radio call. There has just *got* to be so much radio gold there.
ReplyDeleteGoing on and on about poor clock management makes people sound like idiots. Sure, it wasn't the best way to win the game, but it shouldn't even have mattered. The reason the Eagles lost is because they gave the ball away too many times and failed to take advantage of their opponents mistakes. There is no way the score should have been tied at halftime. The Pats played a mediocre first half with too many stupid penalties, yet the Birds failed to capitalize. THAT is what killed them. Hopefully they will learn from their mistakes. Fortunately, they are in great shape with the cap and should be a force once again next season.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I hope sports never make me so bitter that I seek solace in the sadness of a city that has never really won anything.
And it seems like the Philly fans did the city proud in jacksonville. But surely the Philly haters will find soemthing negative to take out of it all.....