The Super Bowl in Review

          I don't think football fans could have asked for a better Super Bowl. Now the commercials, that's a different story. Between the story lines of Eli Manning playing in the "House that Peyton Built," Eli potentially being a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback if he wins, Brady and Belichick losing back-to-back Super Bowls to the same team, the impact Rob Gronkowski's injured ankle would have on the game, Julian Edelman playing as New England's "shutdown" corner, the list goes on and on.
          On a side note, the NFL finally picked someone who can sing an appropriate National Anthem with Kelly Clarkson. It wasn't too long, it wasn't too dramatic, there were no wardrobe malfunctions, and it wasn't self-centered. Now to the actual game....
           The consensus of most of the talking heads, "know-it-all" fans, and everyone else in the United States with the exception of Boston residents and the direct family members of the New England Patriots seemed to be that the New York Giants were going to win. Some predicted NYG by a field goal, while others thought it would be a blowout in their favor, but the point is the same--that Eli would lead the Giants to victory over Tom Brady and the Pats in their second meeting in the Super Bowl. All things considered, I don't think anyone expected the Giants to start the game as strong as they did. When the first quarter ended at 9-0 in favor of the Giants, I thought the game would be over by halftime because New York would be winning by such a large margin. Seeomg Tom Brady commit an intentional grounding penalty resulting in a safety shocked me. While it may not have been Brady's fault, that's not something we've grown to expect from the Patriots or their franchise player. One of the keys to a New York win was for its front four to put pressure on Brady and to see Justin Tuck force two quick points by forcing him to throw a pass deep downfield to no one seemed ominous for the Pats. At the end of the first, Eli capped off a seventy-eight yard drive with a short touchdown pass to Victor Cruz. I'm not sure if the pass was skill or luck but Eli fit the pass in right behind Brandon Spikes,who was dropping back into coverage and never saw the ball. Cruz bobbled the catch a few times but there were no defenders around to knock it out of his hands.
          The Patriots responded in the second quarter and took the lead 10-9 going into halftime. Brady led New England on two long scoring drives of sixty and ninety-six yards, the second of which resulted in Danny Woodhead scoring on his first receiving touchdown of the season. Brady was lights out on offense in the second quarter and at one point he completed fourteen straight passes. With Gronkowski limited due to his injury, Aaron Hernandez, New England's lesser-known but equally-talented tight end, was Tom Brady's favorite target. Hernandez had eight receptions for sixty-seven yards and one touchdown.
          The halftime show was a huge improvement from the Black Eyed Peas' performance acoustic nightmare last year. I didn't think Madonna was amazing because, frankly, I think it is impossible to have an A+ performance at the Super Bowl, where artists are forced to recreate a multiple-hour concert in twelve minutes inside a dome filled with judgmental fans, half of which probably doesn't like that artist's music. The incorporation of younger, more modern artists made the show much more exciting, with LMFAO, Cee Lo Green, Nicki Minaj, and M.I.A. It's sad that M.I.A. had to flip off the camera, but we've grown to almost expect something scandalous from the halftime show.  While it was incredibly innappropriate, in the scheme of things, it was not nearly as bad as Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction," which is still fresh in our memory.
          The Patriots continued their scoring in the second half, when they received the opening kickoff of the third quarter and drove seventy-nine yards down the field for a touchdown as they extended their lead to 17-9. Lawrence Tynes hit a pair of field goals in the third quarter to bring the Giants' deficit to only two points entering the fourth quarter.
          Both teams exchanged punts before New York started its game-winning drive with 3:46 remaining in the game. Eli Manning had been fantastic in the fourth quarter all season long, and his late-game heroics continued when he connected with Mario Manningham on their first play for thirty-eight yards down the sideline, bringing the Giants to midfield. In the 2008 Super Bowl, the play that is still played over and over again is David Tyree's catch against his helmet over Rodney Harrison that led to New York beating New England at the end of the game. Different wide receiver. Different defensive back. Same team. Same game. Same result. Eli Manning made the pass of his life by fitting the ball in the narrowest of spaces to Manningham's outside shoulder, where he was able to catch the ball in double coverage and drag both feet on the ground before being forced out by Patrick Chung. The Patriots challenged the ruling on the field and lost, which also hurt them because they lost a timeout. With a few more short pass plays and a run by Ahmad Bradshaw, the New York Giants were at the Patriots goal line with roughly one minute left in the game. The Patriots decided to let the Giants score in order to give Brady a chance for a game-winning drive of his own, so Ahmad Bradshaw had a gaping hole to run through and tried to fall on the one-yardline, but ended up stumbling and squatting backwards into the endzone.
          Brady and the rest of the offense hustled onto the field to try to regain the lead, but dropped passes killed the Patriots. Both Wes Welker and Deion Branch dropped passes, but despite their shortcomings, Brady was able to launch the ball into the endzone on the last play of the game but it was batted down and the Giants won.
         
          That win did not guarantee Eli a spot in the Hall of Fame, but as Mike & Mike said on their radio show today, he is on the trajectory of his career to someday be a Hall of Famer. While Eli played very well in the Super Bowl, I don't think he outplayed Brady. Their numbers were very similar and Eli has a much better receiving core. Gronk was out for the Pats, Ochocinco and Branch are old, so Welker and Hernandez were Brady's only two legitimate options. Plus, the game may have had a different ending if the Patriots' receivers were able to hold onto the ball on their final drive. Even though New England lost, the season was by no means a failure. They overachieved if anything. They went 13-3 in the regular season and still made it to the Super Bowl with a sub-par defense, especially in the secondary, and Tom Brady ran the entire offense with virtually one threat alongside him. And don't forget that they only beat one team with a winning record all season long, so it's very impressive that they made it that far by beating teams that were .500 or worse. They shouldn't have drafted Ryan Mallet in the third round of the draft last year when they knew he won't play for at least five or six years. They need to make some major improvements  on defense, the offensive line, and with their wide receivers for next season if they want to capitalize on the Brady-Belichick Era before Brady starts his decline. Their schedule next season lacks any elite quarterbacks on the opposing teams, so the Patriots will most likely host a playoff game again next season.

Super Bowl Preview 2012

From the Press Box 1.26.12

Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots

"I think Joe was kind of rattled a bit."

"I think a couple times he needed to get rid of the ball. It just didn't look like he had a hold on the offense."

"He can't play like that."

Ed Reed earned his pay last week by getting under the skin of his quarterback Joe Flacco and can arguably add the titles of head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach to his resumé in doing so. At the time it seemed reckless, deserving a Caution: Highly Flammable label for criticizing the most important player on the field before the biggest game of the year. Did the long-time standout safety on defense take one too many hits to the head? What was he thinking?

Not only did Flacco show up to play in Foxboro against the Patriots, he did something that was thought to be unthinkable--outperform Tom Brady in the NFC Championship (a.k.a. "Uggs vs. Suggs"). The mustache-growing, illegally skateboard-riding Flacco was 22-36 for 306 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He counterpart for the Pats was 22-36 for 239 yards with two picks. In a season where Ray Rice put the Ravens' offense on his back game after game, it was Joe Flacco who carried Baltimore to a near victory. Had Lee Evans held onto the game-winning touchdown pass with twenty seconds remaining in the game, Flacco would have been paraded out of the stadium on his teammates shoulders and hailed in the state of Maryland as the hero who took them to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2000. Give Flacco credit, he set his team up to advance to the Super Bowl and his teammates couldn't finish it for him. The players I do feel bad for are Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. The former "The U" defensive stars are both growing old in terms of football years and probably have less than four years combined left in the NFL. They carried the Ravens for years and finally were set to make it back to a Super Bowl and their offense let them down. That would have been one hell of a way for them to go out-win their second championship after shutting down Brady and Manning, and then retire.

Speaking of the defense, the Ravens had two of the most acrobatic interceptions of the season. Ladarius Webb caught one diving backwards, followed by a deep pass to the endzone that was tipped to Jimmy Smith and returned for 39 yards.

                                                                                   Courtesy of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIb1kgqJ_vA

San Francisco 49'ers vs. New York Giants
The other conference had an equally thrilling matchup, that sadly, was won off of mistakes. Who would have ever thought that Ted Ginn Jr. would be such an important player in the NFL. Ginn, one of the most electric special teams players in the league, did not play in the NFC Championship Game due to an injury. His backup, Kyle Williams was sent deep to field punts for the 49'ers on Sunday. Williams didn't turnover the football once, but twice against the Giants. In the fourth quarter, he let a bouncing ball scrape his knee deep in San Francisco's territory and it was recovered by New York. Even though the game was one of the best playoff matchups I've ever watched, I hated to see it be decided by mistakes as opposed to phenomenal plays.

Give Mike Singletary some credit. Even though the former Bears linebacker was fired after a 5-10 season coaching the Niners, he deserves some praise for San Francisco's success this year. Singletary lit a fire under Vernon Davis, going as far as sending him to the locker room after a personal foul penalty after a touchdown. Davis was a young, cocky player and Singletary was trying to tame a wild horse. Harbaugh showed faith in Daivs and has developed into an All-Pro Tight End.

3 receptions, 112 yards, 2 touchdowns. To prove that's not a fluke performance, the game prior he set the record for most receiving yards in a playoff game with 180 on 7 receptions for 2 touchdowns.

Other than Rob Gronkowski, Davis is the best tight end in the NFL. I would argue that if Davis was on the Patriots, where Tom Brady was targeting him ten times a game, he would be a better receiver than Gronk.

We can all settle down on Alex Smith, including myself, because I know as a reactionary NFL fan, I thought the number one pick in 2005 was the greatest thing since Sony TV, which I got the week previously. However, the real Alex Smith showed up on Sunday--an above average quarterback, but one who is nowhere near elite or skilled enough to reach the Super Bowl. Completed less than half of his pass attempts for under two-hundred yards. Smith can work as Harbaugh's QB in a rushing offense in a weak division but as long as he stays in San Francisco, the 49'ers will remain on the verge of the Super Bowl.

Time to sign or trade for Peyton Manning? I think so. Jim Harbaugh, Peyton Manning, Vernon Davis, Frank Gore, the 49'ers defense. Give Peyton one legitimate threat at wide receiver and I think you can pencil in San Francisco in the Super Bowl representing the NFC next season.

Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Syracuse Orange

I turned on the TV Monday night believing that UC would win. I wasn't being optimistic, I wasn't being irrational, but I was being realistic. The Bearcats beat #22 Pittsburgh, #11 Georgetown, and #11 UConn all on the road. Cincy developed a new identity ever since the Crosstown Shootout--a guard-heavy team with center Yancy Gates down low. Syracuse was coming off of their first loss of the season against Notre Dame, which I think gave them the motivation to not double their losing streak at Fifth Third Bank Arena.

The game seemed to be a perfect opportunity for UC. Syracuse was at their weakest point of the season after dropping three spots to #4 in the country (which seems ridiculous to me since they only lost one game, on the road, in the Big East), as well as the Orange were without seven-foot center Fab Melo (possibly one of the greatest sports names ever, especially with the combination of the Fab Five and Carmelo Anthony) due to academic reasons. Melo, whose head is only five feet below the basket and weighs nearly 250 pounds would have been a huge difference maker in the game against Yancy Gates. 'Cuse lacked a big body in the paint to slow down Gates.

I would put my money on the line saying that UC's fans have never been as excited for a game as they were for the Syracuse game. The arena was sold out nad the student section did an amazing job whiting out the stands. I doubt there were any fans sitting in their seats during the first ten minutes of the game. Cincinnati started out looking like they were going to beat the Orange by double digits. Their first trip down the floor resulted in a deep three from Sean Kilpatrick. Cashmere Wright decided to play horse with his teammate on the Bearcat's next possession and swished an even deeper three. Cincinnati started the game on a 13-6 after two more threes from Wright. However, UC lives and dies by the three. They cooled down after their initial lead and finished shooting 32% from behind the arc and 34% overall as Syracuse's zone defense expanded beyond their typical positions.

Cincinnati's guards besides Cashmere Wright cooled down and the lack of height on the court hurt them in the battle of the boards. Their only rebounds that were grabbed by Gates were mostly from tips to open teammates. The Orange  picked up their defense and forced turnover after turnover, causing eleven total. The Bearcats had been extremely protective of the ball in the games leading up to  Monday and they picked the wrong game to be loose with the ball. Syracuse finally reached their first lead in three halves and went into halftime up 28-25.

UC started the second half with a driving floater from Cashmere Wright. Justin Jackson showed his potential to develop into a heads-up passer with a handful of no-luck and behind-the-back passes but they were too out of control for his teammates to handle. Yancy started wandering outside of the paint occasionally on offense and defense, which was highly questionable since Syracuse clearly lacked a defender to cover him. The crowd was at its peak when Jackson blocked Rakeem Christmas from behind on a lay-up and the arena erupted. As the game approached its end, the Orange were dominating off of the dribble-drive offense and led by eleven with two minutes remaining. UC dropped the deficit to six with twenty-six seconds left and had the opportunity to make the game closer but Yancy Gates failed to grab a rebound after a missed Syracuse free throw. Syracuse ended up winning 60-53 as UC fans walked away downtrodden. Kris Joseph finished with 17 points and 6 rebounds for the Orange and Scoop Jardine has 13 and 6 assists. Cashmere Wright scored 17 (5-9 for three) and Gates had the only double-double with 16 and 10.

While Cincinnati blew a major opportunity to be tied for the lead in the Big East. The Bearcats look to be in good position to make the tournament and have shocked the basketball world with their wins on the road against ranked teams so far this season and no one can fault them for losing to one of the best teams in the country.

Full-Court Shot at the Buzzer

Even though North Carolina is leading their in-state rival NC State 72-49 and there has been no reason to watch the game because of the blowout, Wildcat guard Lorenzo Brown made a shot from behind his own free throw line at the buzzer for halftime. While the shot had absolutely no significane, I've never seen a longer shot made in college basketball.

                                                      Courtesy of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TygnoaW2hs

From the Press Box 1.16.12

5 Takeaways from the Weekend

1. The Packers affirmed what we learned from the '07 Patriots. It's not about being the best team during the regular season in the NFL, it's about being the best team at the end of the season. I would go so far as to say that the Giants are the best team in the league right now. They're playing and winning very similarly to when they won the Super Bowl, so I wouldn't be surprised if they make it back there again.

2.  There's this really good quarterback named Tom Brady. I don't know if many of you have heard about him because of the never-ending Tebow hype, but Brady was the real quarterback in Foxboro. I'm not anti-Tim Tebow. I admire his leadership as a young player, his religious faith, and ability to respond to adversity, but I think he has a limited future in the NFL. In case anyone forgot, this was his first full season in the league, which means that opposing teams had extremely little film to study and absolutely no experience with his play style. This game was over within the first ten minutes, 14-0. Brady tied the playoff record for most passing touchdowns in a game by halftime. If Bill Belichick had Brady go 100% in the second half, he could have doubled the record! Tebow got his playoff win over the Steelers at home, but that was against a banged up Ben Roethlisberger and a Pittsburgh defensive coaching staff that decided they wouldn't change their approach despite Tim Tebow's long pass completions.

The New England Patriots were in the bottom two defenses in the league during the regular season, so one would think that Tebow would have increased chances of putting up big numbers on Saturday. Well that was a whiff of a prediciton if there ever was one. 9-26, 136 yards with no touchdowns passing and five rushes for thirteen yards with his longest run being for fourteen yards.

3. The last four minutes of the 49'ers vs. Saints game may have been the most exciting four minutes ever of a football game. Luckily for me, I was only able to watch the last ten minutes of the game. I turned on the TV to San Francisco leading 20-17. It blows my mind how the teams were able to be sound defensively for most of the game and practically double the score in the final four possessions. Alex Smith matched Drew Brees throw for throw in the fourth quarter.

Guess what? Alex Smith is not a bust.

I know no one ever dreamt of speaking those words but stranger things have happened. Give the guy some credit. Seven offensive coordinators in the same number of years. All he needed was a good coach like Jim Harbaugh to put all of his eggs in the Alex Smith basket and give him the support he needed. If the 49'ers win, Smith is playing in the Super Bowl. Mark Sanchez has never done that. Joe Flacco has never done that. Philip Rivers has done that. Even if San Fran loses its next game, he will still get a multi-year contract and try to repeat this season's success in the future.

It's pretty incredible that New Orleans was able to stay competitive against such a good defense like San Francisco when they turned the ball over five times. Brees was still on the doorstep of 500 passing yards in the game but it's next to impossible to win on the road when the home team gets that many gifts. If the Saints can improve on defense while Brees is still in his prime, they can make another run at the Super Bowl.

4. I wouldn't want to face the Ravens' D. Ed Reed. Ray Lewis. Terrell Suggs. I don't know about you but typing those names is making me curl up in a ball in the corner of my room and hide under a blanket. Baltimore's defense is filled with big-time playmakers and heavy hitters that would make me not want to face them in the playoffs. Two fourth quarter interceptions, plus two forced fumbles on special teams. New England better hold onto the ball next weekend or at least score enough that turnovers don't matter.

5. As much as I like Indiana's basketball team, they are not the same team on the road. First with their loss last month on the road in East Lansing against then #17 Michigan State and then on Sunday at Ohio State. A 74-70 win at home is lightyears different from an 80-63 loss on the road. At a neutral court I would take, Ohio State by about ten. IU should be a three of four seed in the tournament unless they win the majority of their ranked opponents, in which case, they'll be a two seed. The Hoosiers are definitely a threat and I would favor them in most matchups, but I think the nation has gotten ahead of itself slightly on the Hoosiers bandwagon. We'll find out in March how good Tom Crean's squad really is and if the Assembly Hall Hoosiers can play the same way outside of their own arena.