My take on all things Super Bowl.LI...
The greatest Super Bowl ever? The first half was all Atlanta, as bad as the NFL regular season and playoffs. The Falcons looked faster, younger and seemed to be ready to blow out the worn-out, tired, aging Patriots. Then came the intense fourth quarter...
New England coming back from down 25 points was thrilling to watch. Even if you weren't rooting for New England ( and I wasn't) the momentum snowballed and you wanted the game to be close in the end. It was the perfect storm. A combination of Atlanta mistakes, turnovers and dumb play-calling.
Did the Falcons choke? Yes..As I pointed out in a post earlier in the week, in which I picked the Patriots to win, 34-17 ( they won 34-28 in overtime), I thought the Pats had too much incentive to fail in the Super Bowl, especially after Deflatgate. I thought the Falcons were too inexperienced, which would show if the game was tight.
But I think it was more Tom Brady and New England taking the game. The Falcons could've blew the game with turnovers and bad decisions, but the Patriots had to execute and turn those mistakes into points. One failed attempt and New England could not comeback from so far. Usually, when a team erases such a huge deficit, they run out of gas after coming close or tying the game, spending so much energy catching up that they can't quite get over the hump.
Not New England. One touchdown seemed to feed the next. Plus they had to execute two 2-point conversions just to tie. The Patriots had to overcome their own blunders, including a missed extra point, but they were perfect when it counted in the fourth quarter.
I grew up with Joe Namath and Joe Montana, but Brady showed why he is the best ever. He is money in big games. He is surgical in his play. When the Falcon defense ran out of gas late in the game and was forced to play zone defense, Brady picked them apart.
One great catch after another. Plus the biggest mistake was Falcon play-calling late in the game. All they needed was a field goal with 4 minutes to go, to put Atlanta up by 11 points and stop the momentum. Instead, with the ball at the New England 22 after a fantastic catch by Julio Jones, Atlanta choose to throw the ball, and proceeded to get a costly sack and a holding penalty which took the Falcons out of field goal range. The Falcon kicker, Matt Bryant, is one of the most reliable kickers in football. But he never got the chance to seal the win.
Mat Ryan, or "Matty Ice" melted down in the fourth quarter. The Atlanta offense was off the field for over an hour at one point. New England had the ball for over 40 minutes in the game, and ran a phenomenal 93 plays. After running the ball effectively in the first half, Atlanta went away from the ground game when they had the lead, which was stupid only in the fact that bleeding the clock would give s time for a Brady comeback.
The loser in the Super Bowl has enough trouble getting back to the big game and playoffs the next year. This choke is going to be tough for the Falcons to forget. They have a good, young team, and will return to the Super Bowl in the future. Just not next year.
The team wearing the white jersey now has won the Super Bowl 10 out of the last 11 games. It was great to see President George Bush and his wife during the opening coin toss ceremony. Speaking of the coin toss, New England called heads to win the overtime toss. They took the ball, scored a championship-winning touchdown, and Atlanta never saw the ball again.
I'm not a Lady Gaga fan, but I have to admit she did a good job during halftime. She gave us an athlete, solid 13 minutes of entertainment. I couldn't name you 3 Lady Gaga songs, yet kind of recognized them. She was energetic and fun, very millennial, and made former Super Bowl entertainer Madonna seem tired and old.
The Super Bowl commercials were mostly misses. My favorites were the Terry Bradshaw and Tide ad and the Humpty Dumpty bits. Bringing back Spuds McKenzie was cute. It seemed like every phone ad was anti-Verizon.
The odds are out already in Vegas for next season. New England is favored to win Super Bowl LII with 5-1 odds. Dallas is second at 7-1. Atlanta is 12-1 to return to the big game. The longest shot is Cleveland at 200-1.The Eagles are 42-1 to win the Super Bowl next season.
I guarantee that Atlanta won't get back. New England? You can never count them out, however, I don't think they will be as hungry next season. Sooner or later age will catch up to 39-year-old Tom Brady. And once again, a bulls eye will be on the Patriots' back.But as long as they get home field advantage, and teams must go through snowy, cold New England, the Pats will still be the ones to beat.
How awkward was it after the game, when dopey NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had to present the Lombardi Trophy to New England owner Robert Kraft. After Goodell present the award, he quickly left the podium before Brady could speak.
Instead of saying "Take this trophy back to New England..." I'm sure the embarrassed commissioner wanted to say, "take this trophy and shove it!" instead.
How bad was it to be a gambler and have the Falcons + 3? At one point, that bettor had a 28 point cushion. Easy win? It had to be agony, watching the lead slowly melt away. Imagine the gamblers all around the world, hanging on every play in the fourth quarter
Finally, President Trump will be happy to greet his friend, Tom Brady, at the White House down the road.
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