Super Bowl LI: Atlanta Falcons vs. New England Patriots

[Hollywood]

Also....LOVED the award ceremony with goodell getting bood loudly and Kraft admitting that this one, for reasons everyone knows, is the sweetest.

Tuis post was sent from mu smartphine so please excuwe any typos or gramatical errors

 

[Cheesebeef]

B A R F @ New England and their spoiled fans.
Must be nice

you now what the worst part about it is? it's not even like they just win these titles and it's old hat to them at this point, because seemingly EVERY WIN comes down to the LAST play of the game where they can go absolutely bananas like they just won for the first time. I mean, the first title came with a last second FG as a 14 point dog... the second came from a last second 47 yard FG... the third was kinda meh... but then, they hadn't won in 10 years, suffered two heart-breakers and then when all looked lost against the Hawks, they come up with the most improbably defensive play of all time... and then tonight, they get the greatest comeback ever with a sudden death W in OT.

SCREW THAT TEAM!!!!

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Never count out experience and coaching in a Super Bowl. Brady and Belichik never blinked and Atlanta celebrated its victory in the 3rd quarter.


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Just think...they were a missed extra point away from not even needing OT.


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[AsUpRoDiGy]

Just think...they were a missed extra point away from not even needing OT.


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Not necessarily true. Patriots wouldn't have gone for 2 point conversions had that extra point not been missed. Would've been same score regardless if that PAT was made or not.

 

[Covert Rain]

I agree. They need to tweak it where they get atleast a chance to tie it. This rule gives the coin toss winner more % to win in OT.

Yep. Exactly. Nobody is suggesting a marathon just an even chance of at least one possession.

 

[GatorAZ]

I'm dying.

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[Linderbee]

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How do you have most passing yards, Game, Tom Brady - 466, but most passing yards, Team, NE - 442?

 

[daves]

How do you have most passing yards, Game, Tom Brady - 466, but most passing yards, Team, NE - 442?

Sack yards are deducted from a team's passing yards, but not from the QB's passing yards.
...dave

 

[NJCardFan]

Let's face it. This Patriots team is the greatest team of all time. They'be been at the top for 16 seasons. 14 playoff appearances, 15 seasons with double digit wins(9-7 in 2002 only blemish), 11 trips to the AFC Championship game, winning 7, 7 Super Bowls, winning 5. Love them or hate them, you have to respect what they have done. I am convinced that Brady and Belichick have sold their soul to the devil. And here's the ironic thing. Their 2 Super Bowl losses, both to the Giants, it took 2 circus catches to put them in a position to lose. Yesterday, it took a circus catch to put them in a position to tie and eventually win. And now out SB is no longer the best one ever. The good news is the Falcons are still on the 'never won a SB' list.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

ESPN Stats and Information

Tom Brady has thrown 15 TD passes in the Super Bowl. There have been 45 quarterbacks drafted in the first round since Brady was drafted. They've combined for 15 TD passes.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

I know they're never going to call it but 61 completely hooked 45 which is how White got that cut back for the TD.

Freeman lost the game with that missed blitz pickup leading to the fumble. And Ryan again shows he's a very good not great QB by taking that huge sack when he had time to get rid of it.

He was holding bad on that play. They called it against Atlanta earlier on a similar play. I had said earlier to my family that they would let NE get away with holding if they were able to rally back.

How could the RB miss the guy running in on his side? Terrible whiff.

Ryan was holding the ball too long on some plays when he could have gotten rid of it and kept the team from losing yards on a sack.

 

[Mitch]

In the first half and much of the 3rd quarter, the Patriots looked like the 2016 Cardinals:

* Costly turnovers while in or close to the red zone
* Interception thrown into double coverage
* Dropped passes
* Overthrows
* Getting pressured and sacked
* Giving up chunk plays on defense
* Trying to cover fast RBs with slow LBers (looked like the Pats missed Jones on the edge and Collins at LB)
* Untimely PI penalties
* Missed extra point

But then some genius coaching nuances and quarterbacking took place:

* Rushing Hightower from the edge (his sack strip turned the game around)
* Moving Flowers inside over rushing him over C Alex Mack (broken fibula) and getting inside pressure on Ryan
* Getting their best CB, Malcolm Butler, settled in to take away Gabriel, while doubling Jones with Rowe and McCourty
* Masterful execution of two 2-pt. plays (how many times do you see a team tie the game on 2 possessions, down 16 pts.?)
* Double teaming Grady Jarrett, riding the DEs wide, and creating clean pockets for Brady in 4th quarter and OT
* Masterful decision and execution to kickoff short of end zone to one side, to pin the Falcons deep

But, to be fair, the Patriots were also the beneficiaries of some extraordinary luck:

* Falcons electing to pass in red zone well into FG position---much akin to the Seahawks electing to pass on 1st and goal from the 1 yard line (which led to sack and then holding penalty and no FG attempt at all)
* The incredible catch by Edelman
* Winning the coin toss in OT (with the Falcons' defense gassed)
* The PI at the goal-line in OT
* Not intercepting the ill-advised fade pass to Bennett on 1st and goal at the 2

Yes, the Patriots:

* Avenged deflate-gate in the most thrilling of manners
* Won anyway despite trading away two of their most athletic defensive players (Jones and Collins)
* Will now receive a high draft pick or two for Jimmy Garoppolo
* Will be just as good if not better next year
* Are prepared to compete in any situation, pre-season, regular season and post season
* Remain the envy of the NFL and the model of how to prepare and how to work free agency, trades and the draft
* They even got a way with Tom Brady filming a commercial with a 5th Super Bowl ring (prior to the game)---talk about defying even superstition and the football gods.

 

[Osbern61]

Glad I'm not a Falcons fan. I can't go a week without seeing a snippet of that Santonio Holmes catch in '08 somewhere on TV, but this? Even as a glass half full guy and always looking for doom approaching, I would have felt comfortable imagining a parade up 28-3 well into the third quarter.
My worst loss as a Card fan was that Bears Monday night collapse in '06, but that is peanuts compared to this. Falcons fans will be haunted by this big time unless they win one.

 

[BillsCarnage]

ESPN Stats and Information

Tom Brady has thrown 15 TD passes in the Super Bowl. There have been 45 quarterbacks drafted in the first round since Brady was drafted. They've combined for 15 TD passes.

Those combined are in the SB, right? Just to clarify. And of those 15, half probably belong to Rogers and Rothlisberger

 

[Russ Smith]

Has there in recent memory been a player with a nickname that less suits his actual performance than Matty "Ice?"

 

[Lorenzo]

He was holding bad on that play. They called it against Atlanta earlier on a similar play. I had said earlier to my family that they would let NE get away with holding if they were able to rally back.

How could the RB miss the guy running in on his side? Terrible whiff.

Ryan was holding the ball too long on some plays when he could have gotten rid of it and kept the team from losing yards on a sack.

Between Ryan and the play calling they were poor playing with the lead. They are very explosive but they seemed to struggle with the lead as if they were not sure what to do. Then when it got tight they tried to go back to their identity of attacking vertically but that meant Ryan holding the ball too long and taking terrible sacks. The fumble was terrible and shows that being a good running back is more than just running(and their rbs lost way too many yards). But the sack to go backward out of fg range with the holding penalty. To me that's were atl lost the game. Not that I would call a kneel but A kneel down and field goal maybe ends the game there.

 

[Linderbee]

Sack yards are deducted from a team's passing yards, but not from the QB's passing yards.
...dave

Thank you!

 

[NJCardFan]

Truth be told, the Patriots didn't cheat. The officials didn't blow it. Kyle Shannahan simply blew it. No risk it no biscuit my ass. You're up 8 with 5 minutes left on your opponents 23 yard line on 2nd down. You run the frigging ball plain and simple. You keep the ball in the middle of the field or go for the hashmark your kicker prefers period. Even if you simply walk to the line, allow the 40 seconds to tick off, and go into victory formation and take knees. That whole sequence reminds me of our game last year against the Packers where up by 7, Arians chooses to pass it instead of running it, kicking a field goal, and icing it. You get no points for dick measuring when it shoots you in the foot. You play to win, not to see who's more manly.

 

[Russ Smith]

Truth be told, the Patriots didn't cheat. The officials didn't blow it. Kyle Shannahan simply blew it. No risk it no biscuit my ass. You're up 8 with 5 minutes left on your opponents 23 yard line on 2nd down. You run the frigging ball plain and simple. You keep the ball in the middle of the field or go for the hashmark your kicker prefers period. Even if you simply walk to the line, allow the 40 seconds to tick off, and go into victory formation and take knees. That whole sequence reminds me of our game last year against the Packers where up by 7, Arians chooses to pass it instead of running it, kicking a field goal, and icing it. You get no points for dick measuring when it shoots you in the foot. You play to win, not to see who's more manly.

Yep that and the fumble were entirely avoidable by better coaching and in the first case Freeman understanding where the rush was coming from.

 

[NJCardFan]

Yep that and the fumble were entirely avoidable by better coaching and in the first case Freeman understanding where the rush was coming from.

Even that wasn't the end of the world because Atlanta got the ball and drove up field into scoring position. Shannahan simply blew it.

 

[NJCardFan]

I was on my way to work when it happened but I didn't realize that on the fumble that the Falcons had a 3rd and 1. It was like Arians was calling the plays yesterday. Don't know what Shannahan was thinking. "We just ran it twice, once for 8 yards and then for a yard. If we run it again and get stuffed, we're on our 36 yard line so a punt would put the Patriots in a long field but we're up by 16 so no problem...nah, let's pass it". I mean, stupid doesn't even begin to explain it.

 

[daves]

I was on my way to work when it happened but I didn't realize that on the fumble that the Falcons had a 3rd and 1.

Yeah, while the play was happening i was screaming at the TV, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?" Not only a pass, but a slow-developing pass with Ryan standing back there like a statue, staring down a receiver on the left side and waiting for him to get open, without ever looking to the right, where the DE was bearing down on him. It was like the whole play was happening in slow motion, and the whole world could see what was coming, but Ryan was oblivious to it. And Freeman, whose strength is clearly not pass blocking, totally whiffed on his attempted block.

You can't coach not to lose, and a quick pass would've been fine there, but that was just a really poor play call and execution, which turned out to be the momentum-changing play of the game.

...dbs

 

[pemory09]

Yeah, while the play was happening i was screaming at the TV, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?" Not only a pass, but a slow-developing pass with Ryan standing back there like a statue, staring down a receiver on the left side and waiting for him to get open, without ever looking to the right, where the DE was bearing down on him. It was like the whole play was happening in slow motion, and the whole world could see what was coming, but Ryan was oblivious to it. And Freeman, whose strength is clearly not pass blocking, totally whiffed on his attempted block.

You can't coach not to lose, and a quick pass would've been fine there, but that was just a really poor play call and execution, which turned out to be the momentum-changing play of the game.

...dbs

Yesterday was truly an example of coaches letting the players down. Just a horrible, horrible job of "coordinating" by Shanahan. In fact, read his quotes from after the game: talk about the moment being too big...he couldn't even recall his play selections or down & distance during the 4th quarter meltdown. On the other hand, the Cards will benefit from his lousy work as the Niners will continue to struggle with him as their HC.

 

[GatorAZ]

Has there in recent memory been a player with a nickname that less suits his actual performance than Matty "Ice?"

I mean he just won the MVP and had a perfect passer-rating thru 3 qtrs of the SB.

Btw that was a legacy performance from Julio and his team blew it for him.

 

[Russ Smith]

I mean he just won the MVP and had a perfect passer-rating thru 3 qtrs of the SB.

Btw that was a legacy performance from Julio and his team blew it for him.

But he seems going back to early in his career to have NOT come up big in the big games?

Before this year in the playoffs he was 9 TD's 7 INT's. This year he was great 9 TD's 0 INT's but again in the biggest stage when his team needed him to come up big he has the fumble where it's partly on him, and then takes a sack where the pressure came right at him. Career wise by far his lowest passer rating is 4th quarter, significantly worse in OT.

He was great this year no question, but again when they needed it he couldn't get it done.