Who wouldda thunk it? We got an action-packed, high powered offensive Super Bowl in Minneapolis that featured over 1,100 yards of offense and maybe 2 punts. There were 4th down attempts near mid-field, passes to the quarterback by both teams and a game that came down to the final play. Who invited these two Big – 12 Conference teams to play? For SU, this much more preferable than a 13-10 slugfest with 7 punts in the 1st quarter where the coaches are playing field position with their defenses. I just can’t watch that style of football anymore. The reality is that if player safety matters, this may be the future of the NFL – less hard hitting and more up and down the field.
It was a great game – close throughout and you felt it would come down to whoever had the ball at the end of the game. The refs got the two calls right on the touchdowns that were closely reviewed even though SU says that in the regular season both calls get overturned. It’s time to change the rule on the ball moving in the receiver’s hands. There is no way the refs on the field can see that in fast motion and let’s allow them to focus on whether they get the feet in-bounds. Replay is fine but not for overkill purposes. SU does note that the head referee, Gene Steratore, is the same ref who changed a possession call with 8 seconds left when Michigan played Purdue that was ridiculous. Apparently, he has learned from his mistakes.
Chris Collinsworth is taking a beating on Twitter today by questioning both calls. SU still likes him as an announcer but the Philly fans are not happy. SU is wondering why Malcom Butler did not play on defense for the Pats after starting all year. They were torched all night long. Odd move by Belichick but of course he has been right much more than wrong in his career.
Tom Brady is the only QB in all of NFL history to throw for over 500 yards, 3 touchdowns or more and no picks to lose a game. Crazy.
So, about those predicted scores. Let’s review who weighed in:
- SU: Eagles 31 – 24
- PBok: Eagles 31 – 30
- Mark N: Pats 24 – 17
- Steve: Pats 27 – 24
- David Ball: Eagles 30 – 28
- David Stockel: Pats 27 – 23
- Robert A. Rifkin: Pats 27 – 23
- Tom: Pats 34 – 20
Hmmmm. Final score was Eagles 41 – 33 – an 8-point differential. Who was closest? Wait for it…….. Ah, SU! I guess I get to keep the SU travel bag and windbreaker for another year.
Do the Eagles have a QB competition next season? Will Nick Foles be in high demand when he becomes a free agent in a year? Or is he only good in Philadelphia? Do the fans that abandoned the NFL over player kneeling come back now after an exciting Super Bowl? SU suspects that if the President stops talking about it, this will go away. SU also suspects that ain’t going to happen. And so it goes.
Super Bowl comments? Did the Pats get robbed on the TD calls?
Sports Update Intergalactic 
If this is what it takes to keep Super Bowls entertaining to the very end, I guess I’ll take it. But besides being entertained, it’s hard to say we saw anything amazing. We did some some incredibly athletic catches and some trick plays but I like to see some defense. Even a little bit. When offenses can go that deep into the trick playbook and take all those gambles on 4th down, it’s clear that they think very little of the people lining up to stop them. When defense plays such a small role, how do you evaluate what you saw from the offenses?
I’m fine with the touchdown catches. They were great efforts and they looked like catches, live and on replay. It is only after scrutinizing exactly the point where the ball stopped moving that the question arises and, by that standard, I agree with Collinsworth. This is exactly the type of thing that was getting overruled all season. Seems odd that the replay folks decided to get reasonable during the final game of the season.
Nobody was “robbed” on those calls. Both were close and could have gone either way. It was really a great game with the wrong outcome, but a great game nonetheless.
Nobody was “robbed” on those calls. Both were close and could have gone either way. It was really a great game with the wrong outcome, but a great game nonetheless.
I totally agreed with Collinsworth’s analysis in the two reviewed touchdowns. I watched a ton of football this year, and I GUARANTEE I can find at least 10 plays this year that were very similar to the Smallwood play, and every one of them was ruled incomplete. Nobody is asking the refs to be right on the field all the time with those calls, that’s why they have replay, and there’s no way that was a touchdown. His analysis of the second one was basically to throw his hands in the air and give up, and I don’t blame him. Also worth noting that the Foles touchdowns catch should not have counted; they only had 6 on the line of scrimmage and should have been called for illegal formation. Had nothing to do with the play but it is the rule. I had no major rooting interest in the game, just wanted Brady to play well, but to me the game was a little marred by a rule that clearly needs to be clarified.
It is hard to understand Belichick’s reasoning for keeping Butler off the defensive field for the entire game. I truly believe that contributed to the loss not only because one of the league’s best defenders was not playing, but because it also caused a distraction for the team. Just the tears and consoling caused others to lose focus. Of course I also believe that Alabama would have beaten Clemson in the prior National Championship game if Saban had not fired Kiffin the week of the game, but what do I know? I am not in their locker room nor do I make millions to lead a football program. Good for Foles. I always liked him and thought he was dealt a bad hand when Chip Kelly traded him for a QB with bad knees. I see him playing QB for Arizona this coming year as the Eagles will stick with Wentz and do not want any QB controversy going into the 2018 season.
As for Collingsworth… at least we did not have to listen to Joe Buck.