We’ve seen this movie before. For a generation, NFL fans have grown accustomed now to seeing Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and some version of the New England Patriots find their way into the Super Bowl. They’re also usually favorites as well apart from their first appearance where they were huge underdogs against . . . the St. Louis Rams. This year they’ll face the now Los Angeles Rams led by young coaching phenom Sean McVay and young quarterback Jared Goff. The current line has the Patriots favored by 2.5 points, which has grown from a slightly smaller opening spread and money jumped on the Patriots.
We’ve seen this movie before. The Patriots have some early season struggles, people questions whether Brady and company have started to slip, and then Belichick & co. make adjustments and get back to dominating most opponents.
The latest “adjustment” involves featuring first-round draft pick Sony Michel in the running game. He rushed for over 100 yards last week against the Dolphins and followed that up with another solid performance last night against the Colts. Meanwhile, Julian Edelman returned last night, catching 7 passes from Brady, and Josh Gordon caught his first TD pass from Brady as well.
The Chiefs and Jaguars certainly look like two of the best teams in the weaker AFC, but don’t count out the Patriots just yet.
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The NFL has had a rough year, but the league keeps delivering with incredible Super Bowl games and great finishes. Last night was no different as Nick Foles and the underdog Eagles defeated Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots dynasty in an instant classic.
The 41-33 win came down to another excellent game plan by Doug Pederson who has established himself as one of the best and most innovative coaches in the NFL. Last night he was able to beat the master and Nick Foles played just as well as legendary Tom Brady.
They’ll be celebrating this one in Philly for a LONG time . . .
Comments Off on Eagles outlast Patriots for epic Super Bowl victory
This was the greatest Super Bowl ever. The ending was stunning in so many ways, from Tom Brady leading a fourth quarter comeback against the Seattle defense, only to be followed by another miraculous catch that seemed to spell doom again for the Patriots, to what can easily be described as the worst play call in NFL history.
Here are some thoughts with some real time tweets mixed in:
– I’m not a Russell Wilson fan, and I wasn’t looking forward to eating even more crow had he managed to win his second straight Super Bowl. Still, there’s no way I can blame Wilson for the last interception that cost Seattle the game. We can pick apart his throw and the decision (some are explaining you have to throw that ball low at the goal line), but this all comes back to Pete Carroll and Darrell Bevell making that asinine play call. Also, looking at this shot below, you can see why Wilson threw the ball and just how brilliant Malcolm Butler was as he broke to the ball to make that play:
Gregg Doyel makes some excellent points in his recent column, and his point about Bill Belichick’s comments about Wes Welker are echoed in part by Brian Billick in the video above.
Belichick tried to call out Welker as a dirty player, but the tape and the circumstances make his claim ridiculous. The bottom line here is that Belichick outsmarted himself by letting Welker go and trying to replace him with Danny Amendola. The experiment failed miserably, and he had to watch Welker help Peyton Manning to a record-setting season, capped off by an easy win over the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. Belichick comes across as very bitter here. Even pathetic.
