Hello everyone..
Below are my thoughts about the upcoming Super Bowl with who I like and the reasons why, personally I am not buying into the Belichick mystique, is Belichick one of the best in the league? OF COURSE he is...but Philly HC Andy Reid is no slouch either.
With HC Andy Reid leading the charge these Eagles have actually won more games since the start of the 2000 season than any other team in the NFL, a side by side comparision shows that Philly has gone 66-25 over this time frame while the patriots have gone 61-27, the difference is that the patriots have two SB wins while the Eagles have three NFC Championship losses.
What has made the patriots so successful is the patience that they play with, HC Belichick is not a football god or anything of the sort, he actually doesn't do anything different than any other HC with regard to putting 8 or 9 in the box to stop the run and puts 8 or 9 in coverage to stop the pass.
What makes Belichick so good is his attention to detail, the assistants that he has in Weis and Crennell, and the QB he had under center, like any other head coach Belichick harps on not making the big mistake and thus not beating themselves, instilling a sense of patience has allowed the patriots to make a living off the mistakes of other teams....and it certainly helps to have a little luck on your side as well!!
Look at the patriots Super Bowl run of 2001, they were losing 13-10 at home in a driving snow storm and were all but defeated by Oakland, Raider CB Charles Woodson hits Brady and the ball pops loose with Woodson making the recovery, if the play stands Oakland advances to the AFC Championship game...instead we found out about the "Tuck Rule" which allowed the patriots to keep the ball and kick the tying FG to send the game into OT where they won the coin toss and kicked the winning FG.
In the 2001 Super Bowl the patriots needed a 48 yard FG as time ran out to defeat St Louis, the patriots were 14 point underdogs but made up the difference by not turning the ball over while forcing the Lambs to turn the ball over three times.
In last years Super Bowl the patriots were installed as 7 point favs ( just like this year ) but Carolina was able to stay in the game by limiting their mistakes as each team committed just one turnover apiece, the end result is that the patriots once again needed a FG as time ran out to win 32-29.
A look at this years playoffs show that the patriots had a combined T/O ratio of +7 against the Colts and Steelers and have not turned the ball over once themselves, meanwhile, the Eagles came out of their two playoff games with a T/O ratio of +2...this could lead to a sense of "False Security" by the patriots should the tables be turned in this years Super Bowl.
This years Super Bowl reminds me alot of the Tampa Bay/Oakland matchup of a couple years ago, the Raiders were said to be the more balanced team offensively and defensively and Oakland QB Rich Gannon was said to be unflappable ( like Brady ) in leading an offense that had won 9 of their previous 10 games entering the SB.
Tampa Bay was not given a chance because they had a lackluster running game and a so so offense devoid of any star power, the Bucs were called a "One Trick Pony" by the media because the only thing they had going for them was their defense.
We now know of course that Tampa Bay pulled the upset over Oakland and intercepted Raider QB Rich Gannon 5 times in that game with three of the INT's returned for TD's enroute to a huge 48-21 win, the real stars of that game turned out to be the defensive secondary of the Bucs led by Dexter Jackson who won the MVP.
Am I predicting that the same thing will happen this year? Of course not, but I really wouldn't be surprised if it did because this years Eagle team is similar to that Tampa team with regard to having a veteran QB under center to limit mistakes and a defensive secondary that ranks near the top in the NFL.
The Raiders entered that contest against Tampa Bay a bit too cocky after breezing thru the playoffs with wins over the Jets ( 30-10 ) and over the Titans ( 41-24 ) and like the patriots this year had been the beneficiaries of a huge edge in the T/O ratio department during their playoff run.
The Eagles this year have been very proficient in limiting their mistakes as they have accumulated a T/O ratio of +8 this year including playoffs and Eagle QB Donovan McNabb actually has better overall numbers than patriot QB Tom Brady with regard to McNabb's TD to INT ratio of 35 to 8 versus Brady's 31 to 14, McNabb has a superior completion percentage over Brady of 63.9% to 61.3% and McNabb has a better passer rating of 105.3 to Brady's 94.1.
McNabb will be facing a patriot defensive secondary that is ranked 17th in the NFL, meanwhile Brady will face an Eagle defensive secondary that has three pro bowlers and attained a ranking of 7th in the NFL, the key for the Eagles will be to remain patient and limit their mistakes, if the Eagles can do this I believe they have an excellent shot at pulling the upset.
PHILLY +7 for 3 units....UNDER 48 for 1 unit
take care and good luck!
Deb
Below are my thoughts about the upcoming Super Bowl with who I like and the reasons why, personally I am not buying into the Belichick mystique, is Belichick one of the best in the league? OF COURSE he is...but Philly HC Andy Reid is no slouch either.
With HC Andy Reid leading the charge these Eagles have actually won more games since the start of the 2000 season than any other team in the NFL, a side by side comparision shows that Philly has gone 66-25 over this time frame while the patriots have gone 61-27, the difference is that the patriots have two SB wins while the Eagles have three NFC Championship losses.
What has made the patriots so successful is the patience that they play with, HC Belichick is not a football god or anything of the sort, he actually doesn't do anything different than any other HC with regard to putting 8 or 9 in the box to stop the run and puts 8 or 9 in coverage to stop the pass.
What makes Belichick so good is his attention to detail, the assistants that he has in Weis and Crennell, and the QB he had under center, like any other head coach Belichick harps on not making the big mistake and thus not beating themselves, instilling a sense of patience has allowed the patriots to make a living off the mistakes of other teams....and it certainly helps to have a little luck on your side as well!!
Look at the patriots Super Bowl run of 2001, they were losing 13-10 at home in a driving snow storm and were all but defeated by Oakland, Raider CB Charles Woodson hits Brady and the ball pops loose with Woodson making the recovery, if the play stands Oakland advances to the AFC Championship game...instead we found out about the "Tuck Rule" which allowed the patriots to keep the ball and kick the tying FG to send the game into OT where they won the coin toss and kicked the winning FG.
In the 2001 Super Bowl the patriots needed a 48 yard FG as time ran out to defeat St Louis, the patriots were 14 point underdogs but made up the difference by not turning the ball over while forcing the Lambs to turn the ball over three times.
In last years Super Bowl the patriots were installed as 7 point favs ( just like this year ) but Carolina was able to stay in the game by limiting their mistakes as each team committed just one turnover apiece, the end result is that the patriots once again needed a FG as time ran out to win 32-29.
A look at this years playoffs show that the patriots had a combined T/O ratio of +7 against the Colts and Steelers and have not turned the ball over once themselves, meanwhile, the Eagles came out of their two playoff games with a T/O ratio of +2...this could lead to a sense of "False Security" by the patriots should the tables be turned in this years Super Bowl.
This years Super Bowl reminds me alot of the Tampa Bay/Oakland matchup of a couple years ago, the Raiders were said to be the more balanced team offensively and defensively and Oakland QB Rich Gannon was said to be unflappable ( like Brady ) in leading an offense that had won 9 of their previous 10 games entering the SB.
Tampa Bay was not given a chance because they had a lackluster running game and a so so offense devoid of any star power, the Bucs were called a "One Trick Pony" by the media because the only thing they had going for them was their defense.
We now know of course that Tampa Bay pulled the upset over Oakland and intercepted Raider QB Rich Gannon 5 times in that game with three of the INT's returned for TD's enroute to a huge 48-21 win, the real stars of that game turned out to be the defensive secondary of the Bucs led by Dexter Jackson who won the MVP.
Am I predicting that the same thing will happen this year? Of course not, but I really wouldn't be surprised if it did because this years Eagle team is similar to that Tampa team with regard to having a veteran QB under center to limit mistakes and a defensive secondary that ranks near the top in the NFL.
The Raiders entered that contest against Tampa Bay a bit too cocky after breezing thru the playoffs with wins over the Jets ( 30-10 ) and over the Titans ( 41-24 ) and like the patriots this year had been the beneficiaries of a huge edge in the T/O ratio department during their playoff run.
The Eagles this year have been very proficient in limiting their mistakes as they have accumulated a T/O ratio of +8 this year including playoffs and Eagle QB Donovan McNabb actually has better overall numbers than patriot QB Tom Brady with regard to McNabb's TD to INT ratio of 35 to 8 versus Brady's 31 to 14, McNabb has a superior completion percentage over Brady of 63.9% to 61.3% and McNabb has a better passer rating of 105.3 to Brady's 94.1.
McNabb will be facing a patriot defensive secondary that is ranked 17th in the NFL, meanwhile Brady will face an Eagle defensive secondary that has three pro bowlers and attained a ranking of 7th in the NFL, the key for the Eagles will be to remain patient and limit their mistakes, if the Eagles can do this I believe they have an excellent shot at pulling the upset.
PHILLY +7 for 3 units....UNDER 48 for 1 unit
take care and good luck!
Deb