Tuesday, February 3, 2015

More Thoughts on Super Bowl XLIX






AFC Champions

New England Patriots 


v.


NFC Champions

Seattle Seahawks



Please take a look at my article on the Super Bowl for the Guardian Liberty Voice:

Super Bowl Ending Very Memorable and Controversial:

http://guardianlv.com/2015/02/super-bowl-ending-very-memorable-and-controversial/


New England Patriots 28, Seattle Seahawks 24



Okay, so, the shock of what we saw at the end of the Super Bowl was still with me quite a bit when I wrote my review of the Super Bowl yesterday. But there has been a full 24 hours since, and perhaps the shock value is wearing down a bit.

Now, don't get me wrong: I still think it was the dumbest call that I have ever seen in the NFL, if not even, perhaps, in all of sports. I was trying to think about it, and was watching sports shows and radio much of yesterday, and heard others trying to draw comparisons. Evidently, one of the most common comparisons was from 2003, when the Red Sox kept Pedro Martinez in the deciding game, even though he was, by then, getting burned time and time again. But, the radio guys kept mentioning that at least that was defensible, since Pedro is the best in the business generally at that position, even if he was having an off night. You could see why someone would think keeping him in would be a good idea.

There was no way that you can justify calling that particular play that Seattle called, with a mere 26 or so seconds left in the biggest game. I mean, how often do you have a chance to clinch a championship, let alone back-to-back Super Bowl titles?

Almost as an unspoken rule, you expect teams that get that far to systematically proceed with extreme caution and, at the very least, avoid a mistake in philosophy. Well over 90 percent of teams out there would have run the ball in those circumstances, and that is likely a very conservative estimate. You have the best running back in the league in your backfield, a guy that just got you a four-yard gain on the previous play, breaking tackles along the way. Yet, you opt not to try and pound the ball in there with him even once?

But, that has been covered, time and time again, since the end of the game. It was a bad call. A very bad call. Anything could happen, including some very bad outcomes. Indeed, just about the worst outcome did happen for Seattle on that play. It cost them dearly, and now, the question is how both teams are going to respond to this Super Bowl.

By the way, this really was a great Super Bowl. Throughout the game, there was intrigue and drama. Solid play from both teams, and both teams seemed to own the momentum at certain points. There were times when it looked like the New England Patriots were capable of blowing the Seattle Seahawks away, and there were times, particularly in the third quarter, when it looked like just the opposite was possible. When Seattle took a 10-point lead, with that defense, you assume that the game is starting to run away from the Patriots a little bit.

But then, Tom Brady, to his credit, stepped up in a big way. He completed 13 of 15 passes for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and that against the best defense in the league and, really, of this era. I suspect that any legitimate doubts about his ability or his championship demeanor were erased with that performance. I consider him as solid as Joe Montana, and probably, those two guys are right next to one another now in the discussion about greatest quarterbacks in history. Montana never had to deal with such a defense on the biggest stage and, when he did have to deal with the toughest defenses of his era, he lost, and had bad games. The 49ers lost in the regular season to the 1985 Chicago Bears, probably the best team, and one of the best defenses specifically, in history. Against the Giants in both the 1985 and 1986 seasons, the 49ers scored a total of 23 points in three games combined, and lost each of them. Once again in the 1990 season, the Giants and 49ers met twice, including their epic NFC Championship game, and the 49ers scored 20 points total between those two games, winning the regular season meeting, and losing the most important one.

Brady, by contrast, has beaten the Steelers and Ravens at different times, when those teams has solid defenses. Now, he can add having what some are considering his best day ever against the supposedly toughest defense of it's time, as he threw for almost 400 yards, completed a record amount of passes, including four touchdowns! And that was on the biggest stage, not just during the regular season, or even a playoff game! Plus, when you look at it another way, he orchestrated three drives very late in the fourth quarter to win three different Super Bowls. Montana had that one against the Bengals, which admittedly was probably the most dramatic, and best, one. But Brady went 8 for 8 on the final drive, and threw that final touchdown pass to Edelman that gave New England the lead for good, as it turned out. That was with two minutes and change left in the game. And let us remember that, even though the Patriots ultimately lost, Brady did drive his team to a touchdown with just around two or so minutes left in Super Bowl XLII against the Giants. But all that people remember is that they lost, even though they probably would have won had Assante Samuel not dropped that sure interception. Montana was saved from a similar interception during Super Bowl XXIII, when he threw a bad pass directly to Chauncy Billups a play or two before he threw that legendary touchdown pass to John Taylor that clinched the Super Bowl for San Francisco.

In any case, I am getting ahead of myself. My main point there was simply to appreciate what we have in Brady, because he is far better than most people, particularly the detractors, will suggest. And he proved it on Sunday, leaving no doubts, in my opinion. Of course, I already considered him among the very greatest, but that puts him into even more elite territory - where only Joe Montana probably resides.

But now that the game is done, how will both teams respond? After all, great as he may be, Brady will be closing in on 38 soon enough, which means he will be pushing 40 in the relatively near future. Can we expect New England to keep on going strong for years to come? Possibly, but how strong will their drive be, now that they finally managed to reach the mountaintop after a decade long absence?

Then again, the Patriots never really descended far from the mountaintop, did they? They never went more than three consecutive seasons in between Super Bowl appearances during this Brady/Belichick era. Would it be right to expect at least one more appearance in the big game?

I certainly would not rule it out. But they will have to contend with their lineup being raided, and with some players, notably Brady on offense and Wilfork on defense, not getting any younger, and/or possibly retiring in Wilfork's case. But Belichick always seems to find a way to make the most of the available talent, and to field a solid team year after year. I think we can, and probably should, expect that over the next few seasons. And I certainly would not rule out another Super Bowl as a real possibility.

What about the Seahawks? How can they possibly recover from such a devastating and humiliating loss? Will this loss finally teach them a bit of humility?

Here's the thing about Super Bowl losers: they rarely ever come back to win the big game in the near future anymore. The only two exceptions that I can specifically remember would be Washington, a team that lost Super Bowl XVIII in epic fashion when they were also, like these Seahawks, trying for back-to-back titles. But they came back to win Super Bowl XXII four seasons later. And now, these Patriots, who lost Super Bowls XLII and then XLVI, just three seasons ago, and came back to win this Super Bowl, much to their credit. Which means that the Seahawks can learn from the examples provided by the opponents that they lost to in this game.

But they will have a long offseason in front of them. It is said that few Super Bowl losers are remembered, although there are some. The Baltimore Colts of 1968, everyone remembers. The 2007 New England Patriots, a team that went undefeated up to that point, but lost in the final minute of the Super Bowl, will be remembered. I suspect that last year's Denver Broncos, with their record shattering offense, will be remembered, but I could be wrong about that.

These Seahawks, I am sure of it, will be remembered. More to the point, the play call that ultimately cost the Seahawks this Super Bowl will be remembered. No team ever had a Super Bowl win essentially in the bag, then gave it away. Let's face it, the Patriots were given a gift - a huge one - on Sunday, and that is why they, and not Seattle, are celebrating this epic Super Bowl victory.

So, can the Seahawks recover?

I suspect that they can, although it will not be easy. Right now, they will be defined by this loss, until they do what the Patriots did when they were defined by those Super Bowl losses, and force their way back and erase that image a bit. Not that the Super Bowl losses by New England did not happen. But winning the Super Bowl is surely the best tonic for losing one.

Seattle's Super Bowl nightmare happened. They will not live this down. But if they use it as fuel for another Super Bowl run, then they should be fine. True, they are in a tough division, and they certainly will not have an easy time of it in trying to get back. But they are young, and strong, and certainly have the talent to make it back. If they use this loss as motivation, then they should have the drive, as well.

Let's see what happens.

Otherwise, I thought that I would also mention the Super Bowl halftime show, which was pretty impressive. Specifically, the visuals were out of this world, with that strange tiger that Katy Perry came in on. The music was not bad or anything, although she is not my favorite artist. I do not dislike her, and sometimes when she comes on the radio, I'll keep her on. But that show's visuals were pretty phenomenal, I felt, and it seemed something worth pointing out.

Below, I added some interesting articles related to the Super Bowl. The first is one about Richard Sherman and Tom Brady, specifically, a moment that they shared together at the end of the Super Bowl, which was captured in snap shots. Then, an article on how that one play that cost Seattle this Super Bowl might impact what seemed to be their budding dynasty. Finally, the last one is about the offensive coordinator for the Seahawks, the guy who called that ridiculous play, placing the blame of it's failure on his wide receiver, who he said did not fight hard enough on that play and, presumably, cost Seattle the championship. I don't know, buddy. I think there's plenty of blame for you to assume, given such an asinine call at such a key point in the contest. Don't deflect blame now that a high-risk play erupted in your face, with the world watching.





Richard Sherman, Tom Brady combine for the defining photo of Super Bowl XLIX By Jay Busbee of Shutdown Corner, February 2, 2015:





Was Seahawks’ bad beat so painful it snuffed a dynasty? By Mike VaccaroFebruary 2, 2015:




The guy who made the Seahawks' dreadful play call blamed his wide receiver By Rodger Sherman, Feb 2 2015:


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