Yeah Yeah, I know it’s 12:54pm which technically doesn’t make me the Friday “Morning” Quarterback, but I didn’t want to rush this one.
Remember Remember…
Before we jump to looking at the Super Bowl, let’s take a quick look back on how the teams got here.
AFC Championship Game:
While on our way back from Iowa, I was originally disappointed that I would miss being able to watch the AFC Championship game. However I got to listen to the game on the radio with bated breath as the announcers brilliantly described the game. From what I heard (and highlights I saw), it was hard to admit or see that the Patriots deserved to win that game. The Ravens defense played brilliantly, holding a QB with 39 TDs (and 6 TDs the week before) to 0. The Ravens offense also outperformed, with better rushing and passing numbers. The Ravens also won the turnover battle! Everything pointed towards the Patriots losing that game, except one thing…the “IT” factor. Belichick and Brady have “IT,” they do what “IT” takes to win games. With the Ravens rushing out Billy Cundiff for a FG, most coaches would have iced the kicker, but Belichick realized that they were hurrying and chose not to call a timeout. Errant hold, horrible kick, and the Ravens go home disappointed. With the Ravens outplaying the Patriots hands-down, you need to place blame on players. But the blame goes everywhere. It’s 3rd down and you have a timeout, why not call it when your team is scrambling to get set up? Lee Evans, why can’t you cover the ball if you know a defender is swatting away at you in the endzone? But the biggest goat is Billy (see what I did there?). You’re a pro kicker, and you tell Harbaugh the drive before that you can’t make a 50yd field goal? In fact, you’re 1-8 the entire season over 40 yards. Why not try, you’re not going to convert on 4th and long anyway. And then jeez, a 32 yard kick that was THAT far off? Just plain ridiculous. I hate placing blame on players (see 49ers game), but in this case you just have to. It will be a long offseason for the Nevermores.
NFC Championship Game:
There were 3 things I took away from the NFC Championship game this year. #1, the 49ers were no fluke this year, they are definitely legit. #2, Vernon Davis is an absolute beast. And #3, Eli Manning is a lot tougher than anybody thought! The San Francisco defense played incredibly, including the front 4. Manning picked himself up after 6 sacks and 12 knockdowns, each time looking battered with grass and mud everywhere on his uniform. But he kept going, and stood in the face of pressure after constantly getting absolutely drilled! This was one of those games where it seemed nearly impossible to score. Once it went into OT, I really felt like it could be a rare 2OT NFL game. But of course that’s not what happened. There was a Goat in the AFC Championship game, but you can’t blame Kyle Williams’ two fumbles on their loss. The first one was just a fluke and bad bounce of the ball that grazed his knee, and the OT fumble was a great defensive strip. I think the 49ers will win the NFC West for the next 2 years at least, and a Harbaugh Super Bowl is still very likely, but having the Giants win this game was the best for the NFL.
Eerie Stolen Déjà vu:
In 2007, the Giants started the playoffs by beating an NFC South team. Then they beat the No. 1 seed on the road. Then they beat the No. 2 seed in the conference title game when the foe turned it over in overtime and gave the Giants a short field and the Giants won on a Lawrence Tynes overtime field goal. Then they moved on to face the Patriots in the Super Bowl…sound familiar?
Quote of the Week:
“We will sit down with New England’s controversial coach Bill Belichick” CBS (60 minutes I believe it was)…THANK YOU for throwing in that zinger, at least other people realize it!
Pro Bowl Stat: Brandon Marshall had 6 catches for 176 yds and 4 TDs!
Postseason Stat: In 2 postseason games, Vernon Davis had 10 catches, 292 yards, and 4 TDs!
WELCOME TO THE BIG SHOW!!!
It’s Super Bowl weekend people, AAAHHHHHHH!!!!! I hope everybody else is as excited as I am because this is the most exciting time of the year. Personally, other than Christmas this is probably the one day I look forward to most in the entire year. As most of my friends know, as much as I like alcohol, I will not drink during concerts or the Super Bowl because I don’t want to miss (or forget) one second of the action! The US should seriously consider making the Monday after Super Bowl a national holiday.
Ochenta y Cinco:
Does anybody know if Chad Ochocinco is even playing in the Super Bowl? Wonder if he’ll consider himself a part of a Super Bowl winning team since he’s basically done nothing with the Patriots?
QB Rematches:
This is the 3rd time in Super Bowl history that a Super Bowl rematch between Quarterbacks has occurred, and both times the winning QB went undefeated.
Matchup #1: Terry Bradshaw-Roger Staubach X: Steelers, 21-17 XIII: Steelers, 35-31
Matchup #2: Troy Aikman-Jim Kelly XXVII: Cowboys, 52-17 XXVIII: Cowboys, 30-13
Matchup #3: Eli Manning-Tom Brady XLII: Giants, 17-14 XLVI: To Be Determined (Advantage Giants)
Super Bowl Stat #1: The NFC East is 7-1 in the Super Bowl versus the AFC East. (Advantage Giants)
Super Bowl Stat #2: The Giants are the first team to reach the Super Bowl despite being outscored during the regular season.
Super Bowl Stat #3: Though 15-3, the 2011 Patriots have just one victory over a team that finished with a winning record.
Super Bowl Stat #4: The Patriots have the lowest-ranked defense of any team to reach the Super Bowl.
Cool Story about “Eli-te” Manning:
http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7483199/eli-manning-rise
Super Bowl Preview:
This should be a very hot and contested battle between these two teams. This will be a game very similar to the Super Bowl 4 years ago, with perhaps a bit more scoring than the 21-17 score. Probably very similar to the 24-20 score that we saw on Week 9. Here are a few predictions in the game. Gronkowski and Welker should each have a TD reception. The Patriots will try to run the ball, but abandon it with 10 minutes left in the 3rd quarter after racking up a mere 42 yards rushing. Gostkowski will kick 3 field goals after the Patriots drives stall within the red zone. Tom Brady will throw 2 interceptions. As for the Giants, Hakeem Nicks will have a 50+ yard catch, possibly for a TD. The 3 TD’s the Giants score will be a Bradshaw run, a Nicks fade to the back of the endzone, and a Victor Cruz slant from the 3 yard line. The Giants defense will step up, causing 2 interceptions and 1 fumble, while Brandon Jacobs fumbles the ball somewhere as well. Manning will struggle most of the day, but lead the Giants on an 80 yd touchdown drive within the last 4 minutes of the game. Brady will have a shot to match it with enough time, but will fail to convert on a 4th and 3. The Giants will end up winning the game 24-23, thus ensuring that Manning and Tom Coughlin go into the Hall of Fame. Brady and Belichick will look deflated after seeing that out of all the teams, the Giants have their number.
Lack of Hype?
I’ve heard a lot of people talking about this game having a lack of hype to anybody West of Pennsylvania. I seriously beg to differ. Sure the Northeast is highly represented in this game, but for every fan who’s team didn’t make it, they should be pumped about this matchup! It’s New York vs. Boston, rematch of the best Super Bowl ever played, rematch of one of the better games this season, and it’s Manning vs. Brady! How can this not be exciting?!?! I guarantee that this Super Bowl breaks TV viewing records, and the gameplay itself will not disappoint.
What happened to Los Tramposos?
As most friends know, don’t mess with my Rams or I’ll cobra up so fast you won’t know what hit you! I claimed in Week 2 that Los Tramposos would be smited by the football gods for faking injuries against the Rams on Monday Night Football. Well now I want nothing more than to have the Giants steal this dynasty talk from the Patriots…Why? Because the Patriots cheaply defeated Kurt Warner and my Rams back in 2001. I’m the only person in Rapid City who hates Adam Vinitieri (hometown hero). I seriously can’t let it go, and I will never like the Patriots or Tom Brady because of it. In case there has been any confusion so far, GO GIANTS!!!!
Three Possible Outcomes:
I have 3 predictions to this game, and I fail to see how there could be any different outcome. First, what will probably happen: The Giants will win the game 24-23. The second outcome: The Giants will revert back to their 9-7 limp into the playoffs form, and bad regular season defense to end up with a less than impressive 45-17 blowout by the Patriots. The final outcome: The Patriots offense gets shut down by the Giants, while Manning “cruz-es” through the 31st ranked Patriots defense to end the game winning 33-17. This will not be a 10 point game or a 2 possession game, there is an 80% chance of a 4 point or less game, and a 20% chance of a 20 point plus game. Get your Super Bowl pools ready!
FMQB 