Super Bowl discussion thread

[Detritus]

If you feel like posting about the game, either during the game or after, do it here. It's about an hour and a half until kickoff right now...

[carmachu]

Brady's ankle.

Earlier in the week he's been said to say he had some pain. Today NE says tehre is no pain. Last week when he was walking around in a boot in NYC it was said(by BB I think, reporting from boston radio) that is justa small sprain and nothing serious.


Hidden issue or just NE coach gamesmenship?

[Detritus]

We won't really know until he hits the field.

The Giants look decent after 5 plays.

The crowd is really loud for a neutral-site game. Interesting.

[carmachu]

Manning looked good on the first drive.

[Detritus]

Huge pass interference in the end zone that the Giants took. Can't make mistakes like that and beat the Pats.

[Detritus]

That third Giants' drive was pretty forgettable. They were extremely lucky not to lose that fumble.

EDIT -- Two straight three-and-outs for the Patriots. Dare I say that we're seeing the makings of a defensive struggle forming? :D

[BattleNymph]

Right now Giants look like toast. It will be interesting to see what they come up with after half time.

[Detritus]

Right now Giants look like toast. It will be interesting to see what they come up with after half time.
What game are you watching?! I'm not guaranteeing a Giants' win, but they're right in it through the first half. The Giants' defensive line killed the Patriots' O-line in the first half. The Pats' D has had to bail them out so far.

[BattleNymph]

What game are you watching?! I'm not guaranteeing a Giants' win, but they're right in it through the first half. The Giants' defensive line killed the Patriots' O-line in the first half. The Pats' D has had to bail them out so far.

yeah, but I think the Pat's defense will keep doing that. They have more to lose than the Giants do. And I think the offense is going to really step up this half.

[Detritus]

yeah, but I think the Pat's defense will keep doing that. They have more to lose than the Giants do. And I think the offense is going to really step up this half.
The Giants are one play from being in the lead. That's not being toasted by any definition I'm familiar with.

[carmachu]

yeah, but I think the Pat's defense will keep doing that. They have more to lose than the Giants do. And I think the offense is going to really step up this half.

Your insane. They held the pats to 91 yards ini the first half....

[Detritus]

The Giants will be toast if they keep making stupid plays. 12 men on the field on a punt? WTF?!

EDIT -- Good moves by Faulk on 3rd and 13. #43 for the Giants looked like an idiot -- missed tackle and then knocking Faulk past the first down marker.

EDIT2 -- Strahan's still got it. Big stand by the Giants' D. Still a defensive struggle. :D

[carmachu]

D saving them. That was a nice sack.

Pull hamstring for the defensive NE player cant be good.

[Detritus]

Welker looks unstoppable right now. He's the guy who could end up toasting the Giants.

EDIT -- More stoppage by the Giants' D. HUGE drive for the Giants coming up here. If they don't take the lead after this one, they may not get another chance to do so.

[carmachu]

NICE throw and run on the giants part!

[BattleNymph]

ARGH! Touchdown.

Come on Pat's, eat more bananas!

[carmachu]

Pats are making some stupid errors and giving up penalties...and its costing them.

[Detritus]

That was a hell of a drive by the Giants. Now the Pats get their chance to answer like champions.

[carmachu]

That was a hell of a drive by the Giants. Now the Pats get their chance to answer like champions.

Giants D is holding.....

[Detritus]

Giants D is holding.....
Yep, still a long ways to go, though. It'd be really nice for the Giants to come up with another TD drive.

EDIT -- Plax, loafing on the scramble. D'oh! Big tackle on 3rd down, too.

[carmachu]

yeah...lets see if giants D can hold again.

[BattleNymph]

Yep, still a long ways to go, though. It'd be really nice for the Giants to come up with another TD drive.

No it wouldn't! What are you thinking?



(chants) go Pats go Pats go Pats



As a note, here at my house we have 3 girls all watching and totally involved in the Super Bowl. :D The high pitched squeals when someone we're rooting for makes a good play are just odd.

[Detritus]

No it wouldn't! What are you thinking?
That it would be great for the Giants if the Giants had scored another TD. :D

[BattleNymph]

Ok now, the Will Farrel bud light commercial was just funny.

[Origen]

It's not looking good for the Giants. The Pats are methodically working their way down the field.

[carmachu]

yeah they arent holding. But good news is giants will get another chance to score if the pats score here.

[Detritus]

Giants dodged a bullet on 1st and goal. Big 3rd down here, obviously.

EDIT -- You backpedal on Moss at the goal line, you pay the price.

[BattleNymph]

YES!!!!!!!!!


And even a field goal won't tie it up. :D

[Detritus]

YES!!!!!!!!!


And even a field goal won't tie it up. :D
Right, but the Giants still aren't toast yet, just like they weren't at halftime. ;)

EDIT -- If Eli keeps throwing floaters off his back foot, the Giants are toast. Someone might want to remind him of that during the two-minute warning.

[BattleNymph]

Right, but the Giants still aren't toast yet, just like they weren't at halftime. ;)

Maybe, they have a good record coming from behind in the 4th... but 2 minutes isn't very much time.

:go:

[Detritus]

Maybe, they have a good record coming from behind in the 4th... but 2 minutes isn't very much time.

:go:
Two minutes is an eternity with three timeouts. Eli's sudden venture into bad throwing mechanics is bad news for the Giants, however.

EDIT -- Another throw off the back foot. That is going to kill him, I predict, if he keeps doing it.

[BattleNymph]

Two minutes is an eternity with three timeouts. Eli's sudden venture into bad throwing mechanics is bad news for the Giants, however.

No kidding. He kind of has to complete the passes for it to work....

If the Giants win it at this point though, they will have totally earned it and I will cheer for them.

[carmachu]

4th and go for it....

[Detritus]

OK, that was an amazing escape and catch right there.

[BattleNymph]

OK, that was an amazing escape and catch right there.

Holy crap yes! How he got out of that I have no idea.

[carmachu]

OK, that was an amazing escape and catch right there.

Oh my god that was awesome.

[carmachu]

That was awesome! Touchdown!

[Detritus]

Great route by Plax. The old post-corner.

There's still time for NE. Don't go to sleep on them...

[BattleNymph]

Great route by Plax. The old post-corner.

There's still time for NE. Don't go to sleep on them...

ARGH!!!!!!!

[carmachu]

There's still time for NE. Don't go to sleep on them...

Yeah...35 seconds is a LONG time with 3 time outs.

[carmachu]

A sack! A sack!

[Paulypalooza]

It's official. Cheaters never win.

[carmachu]

Giants win, Giants win!

[BattleNymph]

*sighs*


...... :)

[Origen]

And then again, there's Eli Manning.

This was the first Superbowl I ever watched, and part-way understood.

[BattleNymph]

And then again, there's Eli Manning.

This was the first Superbowl I ever watched, and part-way understood.

It's fun isn't it. :)

[carmachu]

And then again, there's Eli Manning.

This was the first Superbowl I ever watched, and part-way understood.

And what did you understand? I'm curious.

[Paulypalooza]

And what did you understand? I'm curious.

and what didn't you understand?

[Wook]

HOW ABOUT THEM GIANTS!!!

Belichick is seemingly a sore loser even. I'm somehow not surprised.

[Cranky Dog]

And what did you understand? I'm curious.
That half-time shows suck!

And that fourth quarters are the shiznit!


Cranky Dog
"I have a Superbowl generalization opinion, international!"

[Detritus]

This one ranks right up there with the Montana-to-Taylor game-winning TD in SB 23 and the two St. Louis Rams SBs (36 & 38) as the best games I've seen in the Super Bowl. It might be the best ever -- that was a whale of a ball game.

[Paulypalooza]

That half-time shows suck!

And that fourth quarters are the shiznit!


Cranky Dog
"I have a Superbowl generalization opinion, international!"



Somehow I don't think the bard will share your assessment of half-time shows.

[Paulypalooza]

This one ranks right up there with the Montana-to-Taylor game-winning TD in SB 23 and the two St. Louis Rams SBs (36 & 38) as the best games I've seen in the Super Bowl. It might be the best ever -- that was a whale of a ball game.

I'll still take the Giants-Bills game as the best I've ever seen.

[Paulypalooza]

Eli as the MVP? that honour should go to a defensive lineman. Without the pressure they put on Brady the Pats could have run away with this game.

[Detritus]

I'll still take the Giants-Bills game as the best I've ever seen.
I forgot about that one. That was a pretty good one, too.

[BattleNymph]

Somehow I don't think the bard will share your assessment of half-time shows.

Face it, this one sucked. The Prince half time show was better than this one.

[silverwhisper]

if anyone should be the MVP, it's justin tuck, the man who was slated to replace michael strahan if he retired.

woo-hoo!

[carmachu]

That half-time shows suck!

And that fourth quarters are the shiznit!




I was at the wing place at half time and they were backed up and I was waiting...there were some 19/20 year oldish guys there and a women in her 40's....and the guys didnt know who tom petty was and the older woman had to explain....

She felt so old.

[Kalzazz]

Huh. I didnt expect this, why not

[Origen]

I didn't even watch the half-time show. I think they went for a bland one that couldn't offend anyone. It worked.

What did I understand? The flow of the game. Mostly generalities that knowledgeable viewers probably take for granted. I knew that the Patriots were working their way methodically down the field, and that the Giants would only have a very short time span to flip it around.

I saw missed opportunities. When the Patriots nearly caught that one pass, I knew it would have ended the game if they intercepted. I actually understood that the whole game pivoted on that interception, and understood it.

[Paulypalooza]

THIS JUST IN:

Don Shula breaks his hip celebrating the Giants win in the Superbowl

film at 11:00

[carmachu]

I saw missed opportunities. When the Patriots nearly caught that one pass, I knew it would have ended the game if they intercepted. I actually understood that the whole game pivoted on that interception, and understood it.

there were a few spots the game was in balance on....The pats last TD...the reciever slipepd chasing Moss.

But if you notice the reciever also slipped when the giants scored last time too.


That was one of teh best games I've seen in a while. Vegas has to be hurting on teh betting.....

[carmachu]

Belichick is seemingly a sore loser even. I'm somehow not surprised.

We knew that BEFORE the superbowl.

[Detritus]

there were a few spots the game was in balance on....The pats last TD...the reciever slipepd chasing Moss.
I think the dropped INT by Samuel was the first play where either side could have clinched the win, though. Even if Webster doesn't slip when he's covering Moss, the Pats are still looking at a game-tying FG unless Webster actually comes away with the interception, and Moss is still a decent bet to come down with the ball on those up-for-grabs situations.

[Detritus]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/columns/story?columnist=chadiha_jeff&id=3229351

Point #1 is spot-on about Eli's Houdini act at the end of the game. That was a play for the ages, on both ends, actually.

[Baelfyre]

*sigh*

Well, at least I didn't lose any money.

[Wook]

I didn't even watch the half-time show. I think they went for a bland one that couldn't offend anyone. It worked.

Tom Petty was bland? Not a fan of Mr. Petty I take it?

[Starhawk]

Petty's set was both brief and pretty bland. Some of his already-slow songs seemed to be slowed down and quieted down an extra notch.

Don't get me wrong: it wasn't a musical atrocity like the Stones or Aerosmith shows were in years past. They didn't insist on stuffing a bunch of talentless popstars into the act, one after another. There were no awkward duets. Petty and the Heartbreakers just got up there, strummed out four songs, and got the hell off the stage.

IMHO Prince set the bar mighty high last year and this show didn't deliver in comparison. (That's said as someone who isn't a Prince fan, but was mighty impressed by the show last year.)

[silverwhisper]

so i thought that the pats WR corps was going to outclass the supposedly-exposed giants DBs, that this was going to be an incredible mis-match.



funny, that.

[carmachu]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/columns/story?columnist=chadiha_jeff&id=3229351

Point #1 is spot-on about Eli's Houdini act at the end of the game. That was a play for the ages, on both ends, actually.

I was going to mention that this morning as a nother turning point. They sack him there and the giants drive was over.....

[silverwhisper]

yesterday, the mrs and i attended church, as we knew we'd be visiting her parents for a while. during the prayer, just before the sermon, the minister asked that we all receive the courage to grant us <i>giant victories</i>.

now, i thought that was pretty funny, and indeed the entire sermon had what i considered a decidedly football-related subtext--but perhaps that's just me.

i was reading the ESPN stories about the game: specifically, this (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/columns/story?columnist=chadiha_jeff&id=3229351) one by jeffri chadiha. chadiha actually picked the giants to win the game, one of only a handful of brave souls who did--heck, even i didn't! but as i was reading the article, a quotation by randy moss really struck me:

randy moss quoth:
i think their intensity from the beginning snap to the end of the game was really higher than ours. we just couldn't meet that intensity.

OK, obviously the giants defense confused tom brady into looking every bit as mortal as he did in the AFC championship game against san diego. he was off the field until there were 5 minutes left in the first quarter and after that drive, couldn't seem to find a rhythm.

but here's what i don't understand: you can make a case for bill belichick being the greatest coach in league history. heck, i might have been inclined some day to make that argument myself.

so how is it that belichick's team didn't have the intensity? the same coach whose obsessive attention to detail are legendary around the league, the coach who's been preaching a "one game at a time" mantra all season and postseason-long, the coach who doesn't let his men feel too good about themselves and instead gets them to focus just as obsessively on the mistakes?

could it be that they (the players, not belichick) were buying into the media's hype about them being "the team of destiny" and showed up in arizona to be annointed, not to play the game?

could it be that belichick simply was the lesser coach on the two sidelines on this given sunday?

why, yes. yes, indeed it could.

[Brother Brian]

Eli as the MVP? that honour should go to a defensive lineman. Without the pressure they put on Brady the Pats could have run away with this game.

True, but drive the team with 2 minutes left, get the MVP.

[Brother Brian]

yesterday, the mrs and i attended church, as we knew we'd be visiting her parents for a while. during the prayer, just before the sermon, the minister asked that we all receive the courage to grant us <i>giant victories</i>.

now, i thought that was pretty funny, and indeed the entire sermon had what i considered a decidedly football-related subtext--but perhaps that's just me.

i was reading the ESPN stories about the game: specifically, this (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/columns/story?columnist=chadiha_jeff&id=3229351) one by jeffri chadiha. chadiha actually picked the giants to win the game, one of only a handful of brave souls who did--heck, even i didn't! but as i was reading the article, a quotation by randy moss really struck me:



OK, obviously the giants defense confused tom brady into looking every bit as mortal as he did in the AFC championship game against san diego. he was off the field until there were 5 minutes left in the first quarter and after that drive, couldn't seem to find a rhythm.

but here's what i don't understand: you can make a case for bill belichick being the greatest coach in league history. heck, i might have been inclined some day to make that argument myself.

so how is it that belichick's team didn't have the intensity? the same coach whose obsessive attention to detail are legendary around the league, the coach who's been preaching a "one game at a time" mantra all season and postseason-long, the coach who doesn't let his men feel too good about themselves and instead gets them to focus just as obsessively on the mistakes?

could it be that they (the players, not belichick) were buying into the media's hype about them being "the team of destiny" and showed up in arizona to be annointed, not to play the game?

could it be that belichick simply was the lesser coach on the two sidelines on this given sunday?

why, yes. yes, indeed it could.

It happens all the time. It's harder for Goliath to get psyched up.

Josh McDaniels, Offensive Co-Ordinator had it in his head that if NY blitzed, then they'd be able to go long with Moss / Stallworth. Throughout the game, he tried that.

You'd think after the first half dozen times where the Giants D-Line over powered the Patriots, and Brady couldn't get out from under there to throw long, he might have noticed that Welker and Faulk were his blitz breakers, and followed the plan that got them through the playoffs. "Take what they give you".

That last TD drive for the Pats worked because rather than fly after fly route from Moss, they started bringing him across the middle.

Belechick is a Defense guy. He trusted McDaniels to run the offense, and always has had his offensive co-ordinator call the offense.

And McDaniels looked every bit as young as he is.

[silverwhisper]

i've felt since week 17 that welker (really the first pats game i saw all season), not moss, is the key to the pats offense--would you agree w/ that assessment?

i dunno, it just seems odd to me that as careful as belichick is, something like that could happen.

[Wook]

Was it welker that made moss dangerous or Moss who made Welker dangerous? Take away one and I think that NE would have been much less of a team ove the season.

[silverwhisper]

i haven't seen many pats games very closely--only the 2 involving the giants--and it seemed to me that the giants did a good job of containing him, even in the week 17 game. moss had one long reception for a TD in that game, but otherwise, his numbers were distinctly ordinary: welker, OTOH, still got over 100 yards in both games, IIRC.

the man's a damned superstar, no question in my mind.

edit: hey, that doesn't really answer the question though, does it?

[Origen]

there were a few spots the game was in balance on....The pats last TD...the reciever slipepd chasing Moss. But if you notice the reciever also slipped when the giants scored last time too. That was one of teh best games I've seen in a while. Vegas has to be hurting on teh betting.....

Oh, there are a THOUSAND little nuances I'm sure I missed. If nothing else, I appreciate more than ever before the complexities of the game.

But, today, during an interview, I had someone ask me if I watched the game last night. I launched into a discussion of the Giants and their defense, Eli Manning and the biggest overturn in NFL history.

I almost sounded like I knew what I was talking about. For a light fanboy, anyways.

Tom Petty was bland? Not a fan of Mr. Petty I take it?

Not really.

[silverwhisper]

well done, olde bean! :D

[carmachu]

It happens all the time. It's harder for Goliath to get psyched up.


To be fair, Boston isnt use to being looked at as the evil emipre, much like folks look at teh yankees.....

[carmachu]

Oh, there are a THOUSAND little nuances I'm sure I missed. If nothing else, I appreciate more than ever before the complexities of the game.

But, today, during an interview, I had someone ask me if I watched the game last night. I launched into a discussion of the Giants and their defense, Eli Manning and the biggest overturn in NFL history.

I almost sounded like I knew what I was talking about. For a light fanboy, anyways.


*nods*

Which is why I had said no one can teach you about football....watching it is the only way to learn....

You did know.

[silverwhisper]

i'm reminded of how i came to learn about computers.

i started reading PC magazine. i didn't take a class, the only computer-related classes i ever took were AP comp sci (i scored a 1 on the AP exam, i shouldn't have bothered). but immersing myself in it, i began to learn by osmosis, as it were.

[Detritus]

*bump for purposes of comparison*