Quick Thoughts - Super Bowl XXXIX
Of all the things Schoolhouse Rock has taught me in life, from How a Bill Becomes Law, to Conjunction Junction, to the Energy Blues, I think the one thing I will always keep with me is this…
Three is a magic number.
Three Super Bowl wins, by three points each. The Patriots have just reached the Holy Trinity of professional football, winning three of four Super Bowls. Bill Belichick is the only Head Coach to accomplish that feat (The Cowboys’ titles were shared between Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer). The Patriots’ “Kool-Aid” is flowing freely my friends; c’mon over and have a drink.
I’ve got to say, the Eagles impressed me last night. The offense made mistake after mistake, and still the defense found a way to keep them in that game. They should have turned the ball over five times at the half, but two penalties and a challenge reversed three of them. Unfortunately, they had the look of a team that was just happy to “get the monkey off their back”, which they accomplished two weeks ago when they beat the Falcons. They didn’t want it enough. Terrell Owens seemed to be the only Eagle on offense with his head on straight and focused on the goal, and that’s a scary thought.
For now, I, along with much of New England, get to live a dream. We get to say, for at least the next nine months, that we are home of the defending World Champion Patriots and defending World Champion Red Sox. Wow. Think back ten years ago, or even five years ago. Would this have even seemed possible? When Bob Kraft fired his coach to go out and get some defensive coordinator whose only head coaching experience was a disaster in Cleveland, did anyone think that in just four years, people all over the country would be calling him the greatest coach ever, or calling this Patriots run the best team ever?
I’m still trying to get my head around that. Who deserves the most credit for this run of dominance? Bill Belichick? Tom Brady? Charlie Weis? Romeo Crennel? All of the above?
How about Pete Carroll, for being so gawd-awful as Patriots’ head coach that Bob Kraft canned his ass in favor of Belichick? Or how about Mo Lewis, for severing an artery in Drew Bledsoe’s lung that allowed some no-name 6th round pick, 4th string QB to step in to the spotlight? Or maybe it should be Walt Coleman, for correctly interpreting a useless, stupid rule that saved the Patriots’ season on an obvious fumble in the snow of Foxboro Stadium?
Anyone of those breaks could have swung the other way, leaving the New England Patriots mired in the mediocrity that had claimed the first 42 seasons of their existence. Instead, they took every single advantage. And they never looked back.
Quick Thoughts while wondering how many Pro-Bowlers will be on the team the Patriots defeat in Super Bowl XL…
§ 9 Catches for 122 yards. Guess T.O really was healthy after all. Too bad it was a wasted effort. Helluva a good time to step up his game though…
§ Although 11 catches for 133 trumps it by just a little bit. Deion Branch is now third in all-time Super Bowl receptions with 21… in just two games. #1 here he comes!
§ Of all my predictions about the game, including the overall pick, I got exactly one correct (Donovan McNabb with at least 2 INTs). I was close with Westbrook having 140 combined yards (he had 105), and Richard Seymour did have one sack, but no forced fumble. That’s it – I’m never picking playoff games again.
§ I can’t even count the number of times during the game that I stared up at the screen and thought to myself (or screamed out loud) “God – I LOVE this team!”
§ Speaking of team – Boomer Esiason had a good thought on the radio this morning. Since very few of these guys will make the hall of fame (Brady, Vinatieri, Bruschi, maybe Law and Harrison, and Seymour if he stays healthy), perhaps Canton should simply take every player from the last three titles, take one photo of all of them along with the coaching staff, owners, trainers, everyone, and put them on a plaque with the words “One Team – the way it should be”. It could start a revolution with the Hall of Fame. Maybe they could just have a “Team Wing”. I know, I’m babbling…
§ Glad to see Freddie Mitchell brought his “A-Game” last night – 3 passes thrown to him, 1 catch for 11 yards. Oh yeah, way to earn that paycheck chief. You certainly taught us a lesson… (Never listen to the hype)
§ Did I miss anything at halftime? I took the opportunity to go hit a blackjack table for half an hour. Caught a nice hot shoe too…
§ Meeting Thurman Thomas was great. Didn’t get to talk to him very long, because the line of people behind me was growing longer with every second, but I did get to shake his hand and speak with him for a few seconds. Like I said before – he’s the reason I’m as big a football fan as I am. I grew up watching him and the Bills dominate the AFC for four straight years (sound familiar…?), and I loved the way he played the game. I’ll ignore the short time with Miami…
§ Emmitt Smith retired? How did I miss this news? Oh, that’s right – because I thought he retired three years ago…
§ Best moment of the night for me? Watching Bill Belichick, Charlie Weis, and Romeo Crennel share a group hug after the clock hit double zeroes. Really sums up the team philosophy. They did this together, and they’ll leave together, as champions. It just feels right…
And finally, if you ever want to have some fun at the expense of your mother/sister/girlfriend/random chick that happens to be a casual football fan, try this game. On the drive home last night I challenged my mother to name ten players on the Patriots. I didn’t care if it was offense, defense, starters or reserves. Coaches didn’t count. But she had to give first and last names.
The first three were easy and obvious: Tom Brady, Adam Vinatieri, and Tedy Bruschi. Then she stunned me with Mike Vrabel. Of course, her next six choices were downright hysterical, at least at midnight on an hour-long drive…
5) Sydney Harrison
6) Marshall Faulk
7) Jason Varitek (no, that is not a joke)
8) Peyton Manning
9) Frank Wycheck (she was convinced that the Patriots had a guy named either Wycheck or Walzyck. I just gave her Frank Wycheck to get her off the topic.)
10) “That guy, you know the one, he always catches the ball…” (Finally figured out she meant Deion Branch, after I gave her the hint of “Trees have lots of these…” Wow.)
At least she finally got Corey Dillon and Roosevelt Colvin (with some help). And she did change “Sydney” to “Rodney” after a little help from Jay and I, singing “Ro-Ro-Ro your boat…” until she got the hint.
So much material, so little time…
Later this week I’ll have my 2004 NFL season wrap-up and 2005 predictions. And as a parting thought, I’ll leave you with this:
“Three is a magic number
Yes it is, it's a magic number
Somewhere in that ancient mystic trinity
You'll get three as a magic number…”
posted by Big D @ 11:07 AM
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