The Crystal Ball 2007 The Pro Bowl

Did you think I forgot about you? Did you think I fell in a hole? Worry not worry gentle readers, I did no such thing. I have been too giddy with excitement to sit down and concentrate for more than five minutes at a time. Why you ask?

Because our long national nightmare….is over. The joyous news rang out over our country, signaling the end of the torture put to us by Patriots and their arrogant and obnoxious fans. The elation of celebration rang through the land, with the call coming from the giddy sound of Giants fans chanting 18-1.

Grown men sobbed with joy and misery. Children danced in the streets, unfettered by care or worry. All raised their voices in a cacophonous roar to congratulate the heroes of the day, whose bravery and pure heart struck down Goliath.

Perhaps I’m being a bit overly dramatic, but my cup runneth over with schadenfreude. I honestly could not have been happier at the outcome. And the fact that the game itself was a close, tightly contested edge of your seat game made the results even better. It was exactly the kind of game you want to see, competitive, nail biting, two behemoths slugging it out until the final seconds tick away.

I wanted the Patriots to lose so much before this game, just to put an end to the ridiculous perfect season talk, that more often than not my ability for rational thought escaped me. At times, I probably sounded crazier than Mercury Morris. And I wonder how much champagne was drained in South Beach after the game? I’m taking the over on 1000 cases.

But I must say, watching them lose in the biggest game of the year, with everything on the line, was far more satisfying than a loss in the regular season or even an early playoff exit. Now, all of those records they set, the praise they received, the accolades that rained down upon them for months are all for naught. Well, except for one record, they are the first 18 win team to lose a Super Bowl. That means something now. Now their stellar season will only be remembered in the minds of non Patriot fans as a colossal upset, and them as merely losers and cheaters.

I found myself so excited and thrilled for the Giants it felt like Christmas and my birthday wrapped up in one. Their upset of the Patriots felt almost as good as if Pittsburgh won. Mind you, I said almost.

Boston’s claim to being the City of Champions disappeared with a beautiful fade from Manning to Burress. That distinction is still held unquestionably by one city alone. Three guesses as to which city that is, and the first two do not count.

So what have we learned from all this kids? Cheaters never win, and while New England’s offense has been the talk of the season, the old axiom still holds true. Defense wins championships.


Recap

35 seconds remaining and….18-1. Perfect for an entire season, except for 35 little seconds.

"The Giants certainly deserve it. They made more plays than us. We just didn't get it done. Fourteen points, that's our lowest total of the year. That got us beat. It isn't something that any of us prepared for. We're usually on the better side of those three-point wins.'' – Patriots quarterback Tom Brady following the game.

"It's the greatest feeling you can have in sports. We wanted to come in here and win a world championship. Our defense played phenomenal and on offense we just hung in there and tried to execute. We never got down on ourselves, never gave in even a little bit, and we made it." – Giants receiver Plaxico Burress

What did I say at the end of the regular season? The Patriots screwed themselves by not losing a game, and by doing that they ratcheted up the pressure to win exponentially. What happened to them after all this building pressure reached a head? When it mattered most, the team seized up and chocked, Brady got tight and rattled and Maroney disappeared with Moss. As a matter of fact, if it weren’t for Wes Welker, this game might not have stayed close.

Just to emphasize my point, see what happens to Moss when you pop him at the line? The Giants defensive backs did that all night. By the second half, Moss started getting lazy and disinterested. He’d run his routes half assed did terrible downfield blocking and looked sullen and out of the game most of the time. Except for the Patriots lone scoring drive in the 4th quarter, one could argue the Pats were playing with 10 men on offense from the 3rd quarter on.

Overall the Patriots came out flat and could not get into their game. They made numerous errors and looked like a horribly constructed shell of themselves. Most notably the offensive line which looked less than mortal all night due in part to losing all pro Stephen Neal for the game early in the contest.

The Giants on the other hand came out and immediately made the statement that they were not going to be the last sacrificial lamb in the Patriots quest for immortality. They started the game with a spectacular offensive drive that culminated in 3 points. While that result might not have been huge, the drive ate up just under 10 minutes of game time, and set the tone for the Patriot defense, which showed fatigue from such long drives later in the game.

The Patriots answered back by eating up the rest of the first quarter, and then punching into the end zone at the beginning of the second to make the score 7-3.

Many wondered if at this point the Patriots would assert themselves and take the game away from the Giants. But a funny thing happened on the way to Perfectville. The Giants defense stiffened considerably from their first drive. The questionable secondary covered perfectly, with the exception of finding a permanent solution to the Wes Welker problem. And the front seven took control of the game. They brought the kind of pressure that turns coal into diamonds. They ravaged the Patriots line, spooked them into uncharacteristic mistakes like false starts and finally, FINALLY, being called for holding.

And they were in Brady’s face early and often. Brady never had time to get comfortable. If he wasn’t rushing a pass, then he was picking himself up off the turf. They sacked Brady 5 times, by far the most he had gone down in any game all season. While the Giant offense was moving the ball, they had not yet found a way to put up points. None of this mattered, though. The defense was on a mission, and the mission was working well.

And the little things kept building, and it affected more than just Brady. The line falling apart was huge; it kept the Patriots not only from strafing the Giants secondary, but also from gouging the defense on the ground. Where was Lawrence Maroney, the man who carried them in the playoffs, all game? He was buried under an avalanche of Giants. On third and one, Maroney tried to string out the play, get to the edge and convert, no dice, one yard loss. And here was the really weird part. The Patriots, stung and confused, opted to punt instead of trying for the first down. Who is this team? It certainly did not look like the team that reveled in the humiliation of others all season.

These little things kept piling up as the game progressed. In the third quarter, when the Giants stopped the Patriots first drive, you started to get the feeling an upset was possible. They could move the ball against the Patriots; the Giant defense was keeping them from scoring. A feeling started emanating that soon the Giant offense would break through.

The fourth quarter brought reality to that feeling, as the Giants finally broke through with a touchdown pass from Eli to unheralded, and soon to be world famous, David Tyree. 10-7 Giants stood the score. The Giant defense held again, and Eli started to take over. But then, it all felt like it would go away in an instant.

When the Giants eschewed going for it on 4th and 1 and instead punting with over 7 minutes left, I felt like the bottom fell out. Coughlin looked like he was playing scared, and thoughts of the Ravens and Eagles choking the game away flashed before my eyes. Predictably, the Patriots made him pay for that decision. Using over 5 minutes of at this point precious game time, the Pats marched down the field to score and take a 14-10 lead, leaving only 2:45 left on the clock. More than enough time for Brady or even Peyton, but Eli, who knows? You cannot dance with the champs; you gotta punch them in the mouth. They were doing that all night, and it felt like when they decided to punt, they started to dance.

But sometimes the most amazing things happen when we least expect them. The collective football public watched Eli grow up before our eyes, and orchestrate one of the best game winning drives in Super Bowl history.

Manning started to move the ball, and got them to the Giants 44 on a third and 5 with 1:15 left. The next play turned out to be one of the most amazing plays in the history of the Super Bowl. Manning, facing unbelievable pressure from the blitzing Patriots, pulled a Roethlisberger and escaped a sure sack, bought some time, found a receiver downfield and unleashed a huge pass.

He found David Tyree, who leapt into the air to corral the ball. Rodney Harrison was right with him, and leapt too, doing whatever he could to dislodge the ball and bring down Tyree. The two fought the whole way to the ground, Harrison desperately trying to knock the ball way and Tyree hanging onto it, one handed, pinning it against his helmet. The two landed in a pile, with Tyree on top and the ball still firmly secured in his grasp.

"I don't know that there's ever been a bigger play in the Super Bowl than that play." - Giants coach Tom Coughlin

"That play alone took a few years off my life." New York defensive end Michael Strahan

What it did was throw Tyree into Super Bowl lure and bring millions of football fans to their feet, cheering and gaping in slack jawed amazement.

Manning coolly continued the drive, including hitting rookie Steve Smith for a crucial third down conversion. Smith, and his rookie partner at tight end Kevin Boss, was stellar throughout the game making big plays and ignoring the pressure of the biggest game of their very young careers.

But their star wide receiver would cap the game for the team. Plaxico Burress, hobbled all season with injuries and garnering a fresh one that week that kept him from practicing, came through in the end. Burress did not have a big day, he only caught 2 passes, Manning’s first and last passes. But the last pass, a fade to the corner of the end zone, changed the game. Eli floated a beauty to Burress, who caught it easily thanks to broken coverage, in the end zone with 35 seconds remaining. 17-14 Giants stood the score, with the Patriots looking at one last gasp at immortality.

And they did try. You have to be scared of the Patriots, considering what they did all season, when they have 27 seconds and 3 time outs. But tonight, it was not meant to be. The first down pass resulted in an incompletion. The second down brought the 5th, and my personal favorite, Brady sack. Third and fourth downs, both incompletions on long bomb attempts from Brady to a double covered Moss. And with that, the Patriots were out of chances, 2 seconds stood on the clock, and pandemonium began to reign as the unspeakable dream became a reality.

Eli may not have had numbers for the game reminiscent of the type typically posted by his brother, but he came up huge when it mattered most and showed his big game mettle. The third down play to David Tyree, in which Manning escaped a sure sack and made the completion was the most telling of his mettle, forged under the intensity and pressure of a do or die situation in the big game. Ernie Accorsi must be feeling quite proud, and at the moment is looking like quite the genius.

And boy do I owe Tom Coughlin one huge apology, since I happily rode the dump his can bandwagon for several year now. Thankfully, I’m not the only one who should be performing a mea culpa in regards to the coach. He did a fabulous job all season, changed his style and approach toward the game and the team, and molded them into a unit that believed in their team, their system, each other and that they could overcome anything. And in the end, they did. Lucky for me, he never reads press clippings. Outstanding job coach Coughlin.

Belichick, for all his genius, once again showed us his true colors. He immediately left the field after congratulating Coughlin at least he did that much, but before the game had officially ended. In the frenzy that ensued after the Patriots failed fourth down play, 2 seconds remained on the clock. Only the officials noticed, and desperately tried to get the teams back on the sidelines for one last play to finish off the clock. Coughlin and Belichick met at mid-field congratulated each other and the referee informed them they needed to run one last play. Coughlin went to work getting his team back on the sidelines and Belichick left for the locker room. In the end, Belichick abandoned his players and walked off, leaving them fend for themselves. Real nice move there coach classy. And that little move put the final exclamation point on the end of what really was a perfect game.


NFL, the alternative Universe

There were only two possible outcomes for this game. Either we would hear about how great the 2007 Patriots were until the end of time, or we would see the Manning boys in commercials until the end of time. I’m comfortable with the outcome. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll wear a bigger shirt while I buy a Citizen watch with my MasterCard as I talk with a friend on my Sprint Mobile phone and nosh on some Double Stuffed Oreos.

Speaking of advertising, the crop of commercials for this year’s Super Bowl was, for the most part, darned entertaining. There were a few stinkers in the mix. I’m still not sure I want to live in the post apocalyptic world created by Under Armour, nor have I figured out exactly if the Salesgenie people are stupid or racist. And can we finally get a moratorium on babies being CGIed to look like they’re talking? Those commercials left cute and clever long ago and now reside in the land of creepy and disturbing.

Despite those examples, overall the gems shined on throughout the game. My favorites? The Planters ad featuring the uni-browed lady wooing gentlemen with her Planters perfume, and the Budweiser commercial, showing the Clydesdale training to make the team with the Dalmatian as his coach/trainer. Even Rocky had a montage.

Remember that book the Boston Globe was going to put out? What was the title, oh yeah, it was 19-0: The Historic Championship Season of New England’s Unbeatable Patriots. I thought I’d check the listing on Monday after the Super Bowl. Here’s what it said:


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It is to laugh.

The NFL announced over Super Bowl weekend their latest additions to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Redskins’ receiver Art Monk and cornerback Darrell Green, New England linebacker Andre Tippett, San Diego/San Francisco defensive end Fred Dean, Minnesota/Denver tackle Gary Zimmerman and senior committee choice, Kansas City cornerback Emmitt Thomas all made the cut this year. Kudos to the committee for recognizing defense and linemen this year. All these gentlemen are highly deserving of this honor, and for more than a few it is long overdue. Congratulations to all. We’ll hear more about each one when Hall of Fame time comes in August.

The Giants defeat of the Patriots made history in many ways, including garnering the top spot as the most watched Super Bowl of all time, drawing in 97.5 million viewers.

Eli Manning garnered MVP honors for the game, following in Peyton’s footsteps from the previous year. A typically predictable reaction by the media and voters to give the award to an offensive player. In my humble opinion, and in that of many others, the true MVPs of the game were the Giants defensive front 7. They should have been given the award en masse. Their work produced a forced fumble, 5 sacks, numerous knockdowns and hits on Brady and repeatedly terrorized the Patriots offensive line, whom everyone had been speaking of leading up to the game in hushed, reverent tones. No doubt in my mind they controlled the outcome of the game.

My runner up for MVP would be the Giants offensive line. They gave great protection to Eli all night, opened up holes for Jacobs and Bradshaw and picked up the Patriots blitzes with skill and deftness. This last point should not be ignored, since the Patriot defense started selling out on the blitz as the game progressed and the linemen had tons of game action already to add to their weariness and exhaustion. A stellar performance by that group that should be applauded, as they got a ton less press leading up to the game than their New England counterparts.

Who wants to bet both Asante Samuel and Randy Moss suit up for other teams next year? Anyone? No one? Awww come on!

You know one sweet little factoid about this game? Now Jared “Rod Farva” Lorenzen has a Super Bowl ring. Farva’s #1, Farva’s # 1!

Even though he did not play a snap, and had nothing to do with either team other than being the brother of one of the starting quarterbacks, Peyton Manning still managed to grab some post game camera time in the locker room. Oh, he’s good. He’s really good!

Finally starting to see a few people state what I’ve said for weeks. The 2007 Giants are like the 2005 Steelers. Honestly, I was surprised neither Feagles nor Strahan called it a career on the podium Sunday night.

I wonder how this guy felt come Sunday night.

You know, I find this article nothing but hilarious. Especially taking into account how many people questioned Tony Romo’s focus before the Cowboy’s game against the Giants. Perhaps Tom was thinking a bit too much of things other than the game itself as well.

And the cheating news involving uber coach Bill Belichick gets deeper and more salacious!

Speaking of cheating, I got it wrong. The true scandal of the Super Bowl really was Spy Gate II. That’s the problem of posting on the Friday before the big game, the impact of the Specter/Goodell meeting and the renewed questions of cheating had not fully materialized until Friday evening/Saturday morning. Whether this cat really has some dirt on the organization has yet to be seen. But the rabbit hole does look to go much deeper.

In continuing fall out for Spy Gate II, as it has been affectionately dubbed, Arlen Specter has requested a meeting with Roger Goodell about what exactly has happened. More on the results of this meeting next week. (I can’t get into it this week, I need time to process it, plus I’m just too worked up over it.)

Ok, I found this recently and could only sputter one question, are you kidding me? Patriot fans will complain about anything, and try any desperate ploy to change the results of what happened to reflect what they want. Hey, you kiddies can bitch all you want, but you got BEAT, plain and simple. It’s called karmic payback, get used to it. Perhaps if those reports of how far back the cheating really goes are true, I’ll set up a petition to strike the results of the 2001 and 2004 AFC Championship games.


Upon Further Review

All the talk of the perfect season, the most dominant team of all time, the greatest accomplishment in professional football, all shot down the drain in 60 minutes of game time. Well, so much for that. And so much for…

Belichick equaling Noll’s Super Bowl record.

Brady being the current version of Joe Montana. Joe never lost the big game, nor did he ever scream at his teammates when things were going poorly. I think we can now take away this comparison for good. As a matter of fact, more than a few people have noted that this makes two years in a row that Brady has been bounced from the playoffs by a Manning. So Tom, who’s the big game quarterback now?

The Perfect Season

Brady becoming the first regular season passing leader to win a Super Bowl

The Patriots being the greatest NFL dynasty of all time. Granted, what they’ve done with free agency has been stellar. But by my count no dynasty team, not the 60s Packers, 70’s Steelers, 80’s 49ers or 90’s Cowboys, ever lost a championship game during their run. This is a first.


She really is a bitch

I’ve been saying, harping, begging for Karma to come back and bite the Patriots all season. I did not merely want it, but desperately needed it. I needed to know that bad deeds do go punished in our world. Now, I have the proof, and the satisfaction, I desperately craved. Going undefeated all season only to lose the last game, to be 35 seconds from the ultimate victory, must be excruciatingly painful. But it is merely karmic payback for the many misdeeds and indiscretions from the Patriots. This loss is payback for…

…Letting Super Bowl winner Adam Vinatieri walk. Did anyone else notice Gostkowski flub a kick off, or Belichick preferring to go for it on 4th and 13 rather than let his young kicker make an attempt at a 48 yard field goal?

…Treating team first guy Troy Brown like crap. Do you realize that Troy Brown, who has given his heart and soul to the team, done everything asked of him including playing defense, gone far beyond the call of duty for the team, suffered the indignity of being cut and resigned for less money, watched his position being taken over by hired guns and said nothing, was placed on the inactive list for the biggest game of any Patriots career? Why would you do that to someone who has given so much?

…Dumping team leaders because of age/skills. Everyone lauded the Patriots for years for dumping players after they deemed them too old, too expensive or of too much diminished skill. The list of former Patriots that fit this category reads like an all star team. Ty Law, Willie McGinest, Lawyer Milloy, Deion Branch, Adam Vinatieri. All of these gentlemen had key roles in the Patriots ascension to glory. And all of them were mercilessly dropped the minute they became a perceived burden. I know football is a business, and the successful businesses do whatever is needed to be done to keep winning. But there is also something to be said about leadership, loyalty and the bond of a team, and somewhere along the way the Patriots forgot that and threw away those who had it, and taught it to the younger guys. This Super Bowl featured only 9 men who had been with the team when they won their first crown. Only 9 lasted 7 years. By comparison, the Steelers 4th championship team featured 22 players that were with the team when they won their first. 22 lasted 8 years. This is what comes home to roost when you forget who brought you to the dance.

…cheating. Remember kids, cheaters never win. They may come close, but they always falter when it matters most, especially against an opponent with a tenacious defensive front.

…the smug arrogance. Who likes someone who walks around acting better than anyone they encounter? No one. Who likes someone who talks to you as though you are stupid? No one. A Patriot fan I know said before the game that everyone could hate all they want; the results will be the same. Who wants to hear that? And constantly, for five months straight? The Pats carried themselves with an air of superiority all season, and now they can carry their shattered egos home in a bucket.

…the 2004 ALCS. Typically, I avoid baseball and the whole contrived New York/Boston rivalry. But something tells me that Boston’s defeat of the Yankees in 04, and then following that with 3 straight years of taunting, had something to do with this.

Conversely, Karma rewarded the Giants for becoming a team, getting behind their coach, turning their backs on the locker room cancer that was Tiki Barber, playing their hearts out in a meaningless game at the end of the season, and ultimately rewarded two long time players, Jeff Feagles and Michael Strahan, with the ultimate prize.

Superstitious Boston fans can blame the red hoodie, the Boston Globe for anticipating the victory by pre-selling that ridiculous book, Bill Simmons for comparing the 07 Patriots with the 86 Celtics or any other omen of doom they wish to find. On this day, none of it mattered. This outcome was meant to be.


Idiot of the week

We’ll keep this short and sweet. We have co-winners, and it’s not the broadcasting crew. I became so engrossed in the game I missed a good portion of the stupidity of Joe and Troy. Not all of it, mind you, and they did work pretty hard to grab the award this week. Joe two notes for you, it ALWAYS depends on the spot of the ball and face guarding is LEGAL. Look it up. And Troy, when you’re down by 4 points with 1:40 left in the 4th quarter and you’re facing a 4th and 1 situation, of COURSE it’s a good decision to go for it. It’s the ONLY decision.

No, this week the trophy goes to Tiki Barber and Bill Belichick. Tiki how does this feel? Despite how you threw Eli, Coughlin and others under the bus numerous times as what ails the Giants, it seems from all outward appearances that the real problem was you.

And Belichick, once again displaying how classy and noble he is, made his required march to Coughlin to congratulate the coach, then beat a hasty retreat to the locker room despite the referee telling him they had to run one last play. Did he stay till the clock showed all zeros, taking the defeat like a man? Nope, he ran like a thief into the night, abandoning class, dignity and most importantly, his poor team who suffered the most all evening. I’d feel bad for them, but hey, they had it coming. Now they know the true nature of the man who leads them.

Congratulations to both of you. You are genuine idiots.


On Tap This Week

Wow, I never knew how good it would feel to have both the win, and the satisfaction. It’s like savoring a fine wine, or hitting big in Vegas. Just an extraordinary feeling, I must say.


Last week 1-0
Playoffs to date 6-5
Season to date 173-94

One last game, one last time.

The Pro Bowl

AFC vs. NFC

Let’s be honest, this is more of a tropical vacation than a football game. Heck, some guys opt out for family commitments, lingering injuries or because they’d rather sit at home with the Xbox 360. It seems that once the announcement is made to who was selected, every week we hear of 2-3 players who will not make the game, and who will replace them. Not like we’re getting the highest level of competition. Some guys only play a short while, and hardly anyone goes all out. No one wants to start the off season with an injury. But, they play it anyway, mostly I believe for the camaraderie and the chance to hang out with the boys one last time. And since it is a game, and there must be a winner, why don’t we go with the team that will be most fired up thanks to the new Super Bowl Champions.

NFC All Stars over AFC All Stars


Editors Note: While this is being posted long after the Pro Bowl is concluded, thanks in part to some planning snafus, the author has not watched the Pro Bowl, nor seen any highlights, or even a score. So, he’s like most people outside of Hawaii. But he will make an effort to at least look up the final results before next week’s season ending blowout.