The New England Patriots are the Superbowl champions. Again. The game didn’t go anywhere near the way I predicted, but the outcome is what matters. The game was very un-Patriot like. A lot of stupid (and costly) penalties. Poor tackling early on. A Brady fumble. But as great teams do, they found a way to overcome their mistakes and execute when needed.
The Eagles, on the other hand, were not able to correct their mistakes (4 turnovers) and basically let the game slip away with terrible clock management. Why were they still in the huddle with the seconds ticking away down by two scores? Hey Andy Reid, didn’t have time to fit the 2-minute offense in your two weeks of planning?
T.O. had a huge game. The guy is a player. The defense was tough, a lot tougher than I gave them credit for. McNabb was inconsistent, brilliant at times, but more often off-target with his throws. He made no attempts to run which was once a huge threat. Whether the opportunities just weren’t there or his stubbornness not to be “a running QB” came into play, that part of the Eagles’ game was missed. And I thought there was a guy names Mitchell that was supposed to play. Good thing he’s “the people’s champ”, ’cause he ain’t the Superbowl champ.
The Patriots got plays from the usual suspects as well as from unlikely heroes. Brady was Brady, running the offense and doing whatever is needed to win. Dillon got some tough yards. Faulk stepped up for change of pace rushing yards. Branch was huge, as evidenced by his MVP award. Troy Brown made a couple of very big catches on third down, despite what I thought to be a horrible effort on defense for him. Vinatieri is money. The defense struggled early with tackling, but the regulars came up big, as always.
Congratulations to Billy for nailing the score exactly and bringing home the coveted Bellhorn shirt for his effort.
Now, on to baseball, and Red’s excellent adventures in the Evil Empire.
