Super Bowl Sunday

Posted: February 5th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 58 Comments »

Thank god the end is near.  The 2011 football season has pretty much been a nightmare for me.  As an Eagles and Penn State fan, things did not go quite as I’d hoped.  I cannot wait until this is officially over and we move on to 2012.

So tonight we get to watch the Pats play the Giants.  What, Al-Qaeda was busy?  NAMBLA can’t free up for the game?  I hated this matchup in 2007.  There is no way I can root for the Giants, but being a Patriots fan doesn’t exactly thrill me either.  This is like a Star Wars movie where you’re cheering for the Stormtroopers.

Normally I’m fascinated by the Super Bowl.  It is interesting to see how teams handle the big stage.  I also like studying the teams to see what the Eagles need to do to get there.  The Patriots are highly flawed, but have been so good for so long that they remain a team that you check out.  The problem is that you can’t copy Belichick/Brady.  Those guys are freaks at what they do.

So how about the Giants?  Here is where my true frustration shines through.  The Giants are not that good of a team.  The lesson from them is to have a QB, a DL, and plenty of luck.  Do I sound bitter?

I have no problem with giving credit when it’s due.  The Skins under Joe Gibbs (vol. 1) were amazing at times.  Those are teams worth studying.  Joe is one of the great coaches of all times.  The Giants with Bill Parcells/Bill Belichick were brilliant at what they did.  That was power football and 3-4 defense at its finest.  The Cowboys under Jimmy Johnson made me sick to my stomach, but you can bet I studied those teams a lot.  Jimmy did things that you could copy.  He really is a coach to check out thoroughly.

The 2007 Giants were a very good football team.  They went 10-6, but 4 of those losses were to 1 or 2 seeds (DAL 2, NE, GB).  That is pretty darn impressive.  They were outstanding in the playoffs, beating division champs in all 4 games.  The first 3 were on the road.  They allowed 286 yards a game.  They held 3 teams to less than 20 points.  And that was against Jeff Garcia, Tony Romo, Brett Favre, and Tom Brady.  Those Giants were pretty good.

This bunch?  The Falcons came out and played poorly in the first game.  Coach Mike Smith came away looking foolish.  The Packers played their worst game of the year and looked nothing like the machine that had gone 15-1 this year.  An elite receiving corps dropped passes left and right.  They couldn’t tackle.  The NFC title game was bizarre.  Both teams played good defense, but the Niners went away from their run game for some reason and QB Alex Smith was awful.  His WRs had 1 catch for 3 yards in the game.  PR Kyle Williams muffed 2 punts that led to 10 points and gave the Giants the win.

I do give the Giants credit for finding ways to win.  They’ve limited mistakes.  They’ve taken advantage of mistakes that the opposition made. Eli Manning has come up big when he needed to.  I just don’t think you can look at the Giants and say “let’s study this”.

I will be cheering for the Pats as much as humanly possible.  I will feel dirty for doing so, but that’s nothing a 12-pack of PBR can’t wash away.  Dealing with talk of the Super Bowl winning Giants for the next year would be torturous.  I’m not sure which level of hell Dante would rate that, but I’m sure he covered it.

The 2012 season starts on Monday.  Can’t get here soon enough.

* * * * *

Great piece from Chris Brown of SmartFootball on the Pats defense and the evolution of 1-gap / 2-gap techniques.

Jonathan Tamari offers some hope for 2012.

* * * * *

Someone told a funny story on Twitter.  Said he was in place in Indy when some Giants fans started a chant.  Some lone Eagles fan busted out with the E-A-G-L-E-S chant.  Said it was both sad and funny.  Kudos to our lone brave soul for doing that.

58 Comments on “Super Bowl Sunday”

  1. 1 Anonymous said at 11:51 AM on February 5th, 2012:

    Alien VS Predator: No matter who wins, we loose

  2. 2 Anonymous said at 1:47 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    I tried watching that movie, but it just didn’t work for me. So yeah, I guess that analogy works.

  3. 3 John Chaple said at 12:32 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    I will feel dirty for doing so, but that’s nothing a 12-pack of PBR can’t wash away.

    Well said, sir.

  4. 4 Anonymous said at 12:33 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Because I can’t be with my Eagles on this special evening, I’ll drown my loneliness with whoever is available. Since they are from our Division, I’ll be with the Giants, but just for tonight. Like most one night stands, it will only work because I’ll be drunk.Tomorrow, when I’m sober, I’ll feel bad about the brief fling and try and forget all about it…

  5. 5 LCW - Pro said at 12:42 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    I don’t know about your rooting for the Stormtroopers analogy. For me, it’s more like watching A Phantom Menace, simply because it says Star Wars on the marquee and wishing for a proton torpedo to strike the cast and crew in order to make it watchable.

  6. 6 Anonymous said at 12:51 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Funny.

  7. 7 Anonymous said at 12:45 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Again, this is being shown on the BBC, Danny Amendola is a pundit (colour analyst?). After a promo for the game during Match of the Day (BBC’s flagship late night soccer show), Leicester born England hero, Gary Linekar announced, “Patriot versus the Giants, who needs that when coming up you can watch the Swans versus the Baggies”. That would be Swansea Town versus West Bromwich Albion.

  8. 8 Anonymous said at 12:52 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    So who do we cheer for…Swans or Baggies?

  9. 9 Anonymous said at 1:55 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Neither! We cheer for Leeds, it is every bit as futile and painful as following the the ’11Eagles or Nittany Lions.

    Nice thoughts regarding a Giants loss, the last time they lost a superbowl, we went onto to appear in 4 consecutive NFCCGs. Feel less dirty about want to see the machine Brady turn them over?

    Off-topic, have you watched Chronicle?

  10. 10 Anonymous said at 2:04 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Chronicle? No. Any good?

    I did watch Haywire and Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Very much enjoyed both.

  11. 11 Anonymous said at 2:21 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Chronicle isn’t really a movie I’d go and watch, but I spent the summer of 2000 with Max Landis, and was hoping for a review. No worries, I think I’ll just go and see.

    It was a strange summer, we got on favourably, I think because I once answered one of the countless people who’d ask who his film director dad was with the answer Russ Meyer. 🙂

  12. 12 Kammich said at 3:07 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    “Chronicle” looks really good. I’m getting kind of tired of both the super hero and “found footage” sub-genres, yet this mash-up of the two seems to be really well done. Haven’t had a chance to see it yet, but I plan on checking it out soon.

    Max wrote the scripts for the two episodes of the Shotime series “Masters of Horror” that his dad directed a few years ago. The screenplays were hit and miss, but it seemed clear that Max has the dark, sardonic wit that made his dad such a successful genre director in the 80s(before the whole, you know, Vic Morror black-listing thing, yikes).

  13. 13 Kammich said at 3:29 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    By the way, T_S_O_P, check this out if you haven’t seen it:

    http://www.slashfilm.com/votd-max-landis-the-death-return-superman/

    Pretty funny.

  14. 14 Alex Karklins said at 4:47 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    As a Leeds fan, I’m sure that you’ve seen “The Damned United.” It is one of my favorite sports films of the last few years, but I have no idea if it paints an accurate picture of what really went on. What did you think?

  15. 15 Alex Karklins said at 12:47 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    I am rooting for an undiscovered fault line to open up under Lucas Oil Stadium, swallowing both teams and coaching staffs shortly after kickoff.

    If that doesn’t happen, then I hope Belichick finds a way to blatantly cheat his way to another Super Bowl.

    No way to put lipstick on this turd sandwich . . .

  16. 16 Anonymous said at 2:10 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Something like the opening of the new Batman movie would do very nicely.

  17. 17 Anonymous said at 1:09 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Brilliant summation by Elizabeth at Snarkin’ The NFL:

    “Yes, since I can’t have what I really want – a time machine that will take us back to week 4, when the Eagles SHOULD have woken up (as opposed to week 12, when they actually did) – or what I wanted as an alternative – a Ravens/49ers Super Bowl – I’ll sigh, place my faith in the Pats, pray for a natural disaster, and watch for the commercials.”

    http://snarkinthenfl.blogspot.com/

  18. 18 Anonymous said at 1:32 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    I actually like observing America on Super Bowl Sunday. I know the NFL is king, but let’s be honest, there aren’t nearly this many “fans” from week-to-week during the season. All of a sudden everyone has a rooting interest and Super Bowl traditions. Super Bowl Sunday is really a national holiday, which is fun.

  19. 19 Anonymous said at 1:41 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    For decades, I supported the NFC East rep, unless it was the Cowboys. As you say, Gibbs & Parcells did cool things. Sort of like college conference loyalty. Not this year; I have to hope the Pats win. Seems that many in the media (and posters) have taken a perverse pleasure in using the Giants’ success as an indictment of the Eagles’ failures. Silly, really, to take the mediocre team that has gotten hot as a measuring stick and then beat us about the head with that stick.
    As for Dante, we’re in Circle #1: Limbo. Since 1960. Virtuous pagans who have never hoisted the Lombardi.

  20. 20 Anonymous said at 1:49 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Thanks for the Dante info. I’ll buy that.

    And yeah…division pride is out the window today. Go Pats!!!

  21. 21 Anonymous said at 5:37 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Yeah, nothing good can come of today, but we’ve had two weeks to digest that. I decided early on that the lesser of two evils was the Patriots.

    Last time I wanted the Giants to prevent 19-0, and the wounds from our Super Bowl loss to them was still fresh. This time, we need the Patriots to prevent the carbon copy of our franchise (look at the records over the past several years, or under Coughlin and Reid) from riding a second hot streak to a Super Bowl title.

    Also, the Giants-Eagles rivalry has changed since then. Although the Giants are still the NFC East rival I respect the most (as opposed to the hateable Cowboys and laughable Redskins), there’s now some bad blood (see Osi, LeSean).

    It would hurt for Giants fans, or Osi, Antrell Rolle and Brandon Jacobs, to gloat about another Super Bowl win. Especially since we’ve owned them of late.

    It wouldn’t hurt for the Patriots to win again. What are their fans’ arguments? That they’re the best franchise of the decade? That Belichick and Brady are all-time greats? Tell us something we don’t know.

    I just find in this case the Patriots’ dominance is easier to accept. The Giants I think would be much better as that team that rallied from a ton of preseason injuries and from 7-7 to make a Super Bowl, only to lose to one of the all-time great franchises.

    If there’s a God, the Patriots have to win.

  22. 22 Anonymous said at 1:49 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    I’ve lived half my life in Philly and half in NY. The Giants are from our division and we’ve beaten them once this season – so if they win, we can once again delude ourselves on how close we are to the grand prize. The Patriots, on the other hand, are for me the soulless AFL equivalent of the Dallas Cowboys – no way anybody who considers themselves an Eagles fan could ever root for them. Go Giants.

  23. 23 Anonymous said at 2:05 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Fair enough.

    Merrill Reese is cheering for the Gmen. He’s been friend with Coughlin since Tom was a WRs coach here in Philly in the 1980s.

  24. 24 Anonymous said at 2:34 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    I just can’t root for a division rival.

    However, if they do win, I can look back and appreciate how good they were when it really counted.

    Plus, I just can’t get enough of Tuck, Osi, and the gang with that look of defeat.

  25. 25 Anonymous said at 5:38 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Oddly, I like Tuck. But Osi needs a boot to the face more than he needs another championship ring.

  26. 26 Anonymous said at 2:16 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    On that preacher’s note: let’s go Pats! Bring on 2012.

  27. 27 Anonymous said at 2:35 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    There’s always Downton Abbey on PBS.

  28. 28 Anonymous said at 2:55 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    I haven’t watched any of it. Should I pick up at this point or find a way to go back and start from the beginning?

  29. 29 Anonymous said at 2:58 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    No, start from the beginning. You can stream the first season on Netflix.

  30. 30 Anonymous said at 3:00 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    After the Jets dropped the ball against the Giants, Downton Abbey was the only thing that made Sundays worth waiting for.

  31. 31 Kammich said at 3:11 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    All I know is, “Walking Dead” returns next Sunday. Huzzah! I’m also catching up with “Breaking Bad” from the beginning on Netflix, and Walt and co. are slowly starting to consume my life.

  32. 32 Kristopher Cebula said at 3:32 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    +1

  33. 33 Anonymous said at 3:45 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    “Walking Dead” could be renamed “Talking Dead” at this point. They lost me early in Season 2. Lots of standing around discussing things versus action = loss of suspense. It made “Downton Abbey” look like a Jason Statham movie.

    I guess Matt Weiner held AMC hostage for a “Mad Men” raise and budgets for “Walking Dead” and “Breaking Bad” were the collateral damage (hence only one more season of “Breaking Bad” despite great numbers/accolades).

  34. 34 Kammich said at 4:33 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Haha, yeah, I’ve heard the “Talking Dead” qualm before. And I see where you’re coming from. There were definitely budget cuts, as that was the reason show-runner Frank Darabont left before the season 2 premiere.

    I don’t mind the lack of brain-eating, though. I read the entire run of the Kirkman “Walking Dead” comics before the show premiered last year, and to be honest, the books are the same way. At times the books would go 7-8 issues without ever showing a single zombie. They’re more like “Lord of the Flies” than any of George Romero’s zombie films, honestly.

    All I can say is that if you can last until season 3 starts next year, they’ll be entering a passage from the comics(the “prison” stuff) that is some of most compelling writing I’ve ever read.

  35. 35 Anonymous said at 3:39 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Agree on the watch-from-beginning plan. You’ll be surprised how addictive it is…

  36. 36 Kammich said at 3:17 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    I will always be bitter towards the Pats about their ridiculous amount of post-season success, especially considering that a huge portion of that came against us in Jacksonville 7 years ago. That said, they’re a very different team now. Besides Brady, Wilfork, Light and Belichick, I don’t think any key pieces remain from that 2004 squad. And, to be honest, I actually like a handful of the players they’ve added in recent years… big fan of Gronk, Woodhead, Hernandez, McCourty, etc.

    As for the Giants? Fucking hate ’em. Plain and simple. Can’t root for them, won’t root for them. I’m hoping for a 72-0 Patriots victory.

    And I want the last play of the game to involve a cocaine-addled Jim Irsay running onto the field and sacking Eli. And then Peyton rushes the field to save his brother, only to pull a Hulk Hogan-to-nWo swerve and heave an elbow drop onto his fallen brother Eli. Shock and awe.

    Shock and awe.

  37. 37 Anonymous said at 3:29 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    That’s a Super Bowl dream that I can get behind. I would drop my beer and simply bow to the TV.

    Kudos for greatness.

  38. 38 Kristopher Cebula said at 3:33 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    i can definitely get on board with this

  39. 39 Anonymous said at 5:42 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Lol, love it.

    I saw a chart yesterday that listed the starters for both teams in ’07 and today. I think there were only seven repeats for the Giants, not including Tuck, Jacobs, Bradshaw, etc., who were all on both teams but not starters, and six for the Pats.

    The most stark difference was the Patriots’ defense, which included Wilfork, Seymour, Seau, Bruschi, Vrabel, Asante and Rodney Harrison in 2007 and includes Wilfork and Jerod Mayo now.

  40. 40 Corry Henry said at 4:23 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    This is like choosing between a shit sandwich (Giants) and a shit sandwich with mustard (Patriots). Guess I’ll go for the mustard…

  41. 41 Anonymous said at 6:07 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    I wish I had thought of this myself. Such a perfect description.

  42. 42 Brian Stetler said at 4:48 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    This is the first Superbowl that I”m planning on just completely skipping. (There were a few of the Broncos’ blowout losses during which I went to the basement and played Nintendo by halftime).

    I’m forever bitter toward NE that they probably cheated against the Eagles in a Superbowl that they only won by. Probably not, since the Eagles closed the scoring gap on Lewis’ too-little, too-late TD, but maybe one play, one more first down could have made a difference. I can see how videotaping could have affected.

    But anyway…I’m still rooting against the Giants.

  43. 43 Kammich said at 4:56 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    I was at that Super Bowl live, and that Greg Lewis TD is still probably the craziest I’ve ever acted after one play. It was still a long shot at that point, but immediately my Dad and I turned and looked at each other and said, “Shit, we are still in this!” An amazing catch. Those few fleeting moments of optimism were really a great feeling.

    Argh. Can’t reminisce too much about that game, because my current wavering goodwill towards the Patriots goes out the window. Fuck you, Rodney Harrison. You communist swine.

  44. 44 Anonymous said at 5:02 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Don’t think of it as cheering for the Patriots. You’re cheering for Penn State’s new head coach.

  45. 45 Tyler Phillips said at 5:15 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    I will be trolling every Giants player on twitter with that SB XLVI Champs Gaffe from the website if they lose

  46. 46 Anonymous said at 5:25 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    I find myself in a crappy mood today so I must say thank you for all the funny comments. I’ve laughed pretty hard at a few of them. Kudos.

  47. 47 Brian said at 5:42 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    When was the last real Superbowl blowout? We’ve been spoiled for the past several years to have thrilling, down to the wire games. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to a mid 90s style stomping, only this time with the AFC coming out on top.

  48. 48 Kammich said at 6:04 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    TB/OAK and BAL/NYG were over just about as soon as they started. Otherwise, like you said we’ve definitely been spoiled with games worthy of the title “Super” Bowl.

  49. 49 Anonymous said at 6:10 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Been thinking the same thing.

    Seeing the Giants get humbled would be very satisfying.

    I hope Woodhead has like 3 TDs. Why not?

  50. 50 Anonymous said at 7:13 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    To paraphrase the great Duane Thomas — MVP of the ’72 SB for the ‘boys — if the game really were so super, then why do they play it every year?

  51. 51 Anonymous said at 8:41 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    So far, so good. 17-12 good guys. More please.

  52. 52 Anonymous said at 8:59 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    If memory serves, the Eagles could have interviewed Bill Belichick in 1999 — when he was the Jets D.C.

    Laurie wanted an offensive guru, I guess. And BB hadn’t done so well in Cleveland.

    I wonder if Laurie would like a do-over?

    On the other hand, I wonder if BB could have won any SBs in Philly — or anywhere else — without TB?

  53. 53 Anonymous said at 9:08 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Belichick without Brady isn’t the same guy. Is a good “What if?” question.

  54. 54 Anonymous said at 9:09 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    The Giants and fumbles…so damn lucky. Argh!!!

  55. 55 Anonymous said at 9:40 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    This is awful watching the giants about to win another superbowl.

  56. 56 Anonymous said at 9:41 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    This is awful watching the frigging gints win another one

  57. 57 Anonymous said at 10:09 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Giants win because they have a great QB (at least a guy who plays lights-out every couple years or so) . . . and a pass rush.

    The Eagles have a good shot next year. Whether they have Luke Kluechly or a veteran MLB.

    BUT the Giants won a 2nd SB in 5 years because of their QUARTERBACK.

    So — since the Eagles can sign London Fletcher next year — trade a boatload of picks for RGIII.

    Vick’ll be good next year. But — and I hope I’m wrong — he’s NOT *elite*.

    Get RGIII — and get the Eagles to the next level.
    ___________________

    In the PDN today (not sure who wrote it), but someone pointed out that 10 teams have won more games than the Eagles over the past 6 years — including the Giants.

    Whether Reid stays or goes, the key is the QB.

    T-LAW . . . I just don’t see Vick as the man.
    ____________________

    Even with the Eagles’ last 4 games . . . they are NOT at the same level of the Patriots or Giants.

    The Giants shut down Brady twice this year.

    And Brady blew the Eagles out.

  58. 58 Anonymous said at 11:34 PM on February 5th, 2012:

    Transitive properties don’t work in football. We had a better conference record than the giants and split our games against them. In one game that means jack shit. The Giants matchup with the pats better than we do. That’s why they won. We can beat the giants next year and so on. But can we get to and win the big game. Who knows. Right now coughlin who was on the hot seat is set for at least 3 more years. Oh yeah and there GM who was tweeting immature messages to fans at the beginning of the year….well he got the last laugh. This is bizzarro world where flawed teams left and right can win the SB and we can’t even get a sniff.