SUPER PATS

It wasn't pretty. It lacked style. The East German judge gave it terrible marks for artistic impression. But at the end of the night, a win is a win and for the New England Patriots, it means another Super Bowl Championship. And although it was a bit anti-climatic for this Patriots fan, it was still very satisfying, made more so since it had significant historical implications.

The game itself was very sloppy. Donovan McNabb played as if Rush was playing as a nickel back on the other side of the line. Andy Reid coached as if he were competing in a Herman Edwards costume contest. And Bill Belicheck was more conservative then an evangelical Southern governor as he tried to close the game out. There were plenty of three and outs and with all the Super Bowl commercials, it felt as if the game was moving ahead at a glacial pace. In the first half, the game lacked any rhythm. Neither team could really get anything going and when they did, it usually resulted in a turnover. The Pats were committing some stupid penalties to hinder their drives while Donovan was doing his best to keep the game scoreless ahead of McCartney's three song gig at halftime. (By the way, I watched the game at a bar and some freak behind me was actually dancing during Hey Jude.)

I got to admit I was a bit worried when the Eagles went up 7-0 twenty minutes into the game. The Pats had done almost nothing up to that point on offense and I felt that they needed the next score or Bill and company might be in some trouble. So what happens, Brady gets the ball and drives the Pats right down the field where he proceeds to fumble. For a second, I thought Drew Bledsoe was taking snaps. Luckily, the defense had a nice stand the Brady got the ball back with great field position. From there, the Pats straightend things out and it was 7-7 with a couple minutes to go. But then disaster struck.

If you had asked me before the game for a player that the Pats simply could not afford to lose - other then Tom Brady - I may have coughed up Eugene Wilson. Aside form being a terrific player, Wilson is one guy on the team who simply does not have a credible replacement. With him out, my mind wandered back to Super Bowl 38 where Jake Delhomme picked apart the Pats depleted secondary. Wilson left that game with a torn groin and from that point on it was game on for the Panthers. At 8:30 last night, I had a terrible feeling that history was going to repeat itself. Luckily, Andy Reid had his first stroke of the night when play resumed as he was content to go into halftime tied instead of pressing ahead for a late a score.

In the second half, Brady and company finally got things going. Brady hit Branch for a huge third down conversion and that eventually led to seven points, courtesy of Mike Vrabel. After Philly tied things up, the Pats got the running game going and that led to a 21-14 lead with about 13 minutes to go. A three and out series ensued and at that point, I thought the game was in the bag. But Belicheck got a bit conservative in the red zone and instead of going for the jugular, he settled for going up 10. I can understand he had some confidence in his defense considering that they had been playing well in the second half, but his secondary was bending and it seemed to me that he should have taken a shot at the end zone on third down rather then settling for a Corey Dillon run up the middle from the five. So at that point, the Pats are up 24-14 and all was well in Beantown.

Things got better moments later when Teddy Bruschi seemed to have secured a game ending pick. Up ten with seven minutes to go and with the ball. The game was over right? Wrong! Two Dillon runs and an incomplete pass and the Eagles were back in business. But a funny thing then happened - Reid suffered his second stroke of the night. The Eagles took the ball and moved as if they were down a point with five minutes to go, when in fact, they were down two scores. It really seemed as if Reid misread the scoreboard. His team moved with no urgency whatsoever. McNabb was out for a walk in the park while his center was fuming and pressing his teammates to hurry up. These protestations were in vain. It seemed as if the Eagles had conceded the game. After 12 plays, McNabb did connect on a beautiful pass over Dexter Reid and the game was interesting once again, but there were now less then two minutes to play. Had they scored a minute earlier, the game may have had a different ending. By the way, I thought Belicheck was ready to fire Cornell after that scoring play. How he could leave Dexter Reid one on one with a speed guy is beyond me and Mr. Belicheck seemed to agree.

So the Pats recover the onside kick and what does Belicheck do. He runs a couple times to burn up Philly's remaining time outs. And then on third down, he runs again. This chews up some clock, but why not try to pick up a game winning first down at that point? I thought this was very out of character for Belicheck. He is usually a hammer guy and what I saw last night was nothing of the sort. Luckily, Josh Miller hit a great punt and the game was basically over.

The Pats won for many of the resons that I mentioned in my preview. Kearse and the eagles vaunted pass rush was non-existent. They got some pressure on Brady with some blitzes, but Dillon and Faulk did a good job blocking and Brady, as a result, had pretty good protection. Dillon didn't have the monster day that I predicted, but he and Faulk were able to get some things done, esepcially on the second half drive that put the Pats up 21-14. The defense was solid as well, especially considering Wilson's injury. The Pats defense took Westbrook out of the game and I thought McNabb's passing yardage was a bit misleading. As is their style, the Pats came up with some big plays and McNabb ended up being more of a hindrance then hero. Seymour and the linebackers were solid once again and the secondary played well at times although after Wilson got hurt, the young guys seemed to get a bit more conservative. Nonetheless, they only gave up a couple big plays and that is about all you can expect from a secondary comprised of three guys who didn't start on opening day. As for Brady, he stepped up when plays had to be made - there is simply no one better at key moments then number twelve.


So it wasn't pretty, but a win is a win and those are always nice when they come in the Super Bowl. And so there it is - the Pats have won three championships in four years. It is a helluva an accomplishment given the leagues effort to level the playing field. And even in victory last night, the core of this team stayed on message. There was no gloating. There was no taunting. It was all class. And while last night lacked some of the excitement of Super Bowls past, it was still very satisfying. The culmination of another special season. Perhaps this team has finally earned some of the respect that it so rightly deserves. After all, the Pats became only the second team in history to win three super bowls in four years, matching the Dallas Cowboys. The Pats have now earned the right to be considered among the greatest of all time. With a win next year, they will take the top spot!