Super Bowl XLVI: Breaking down Patriots-Giants

 In what borders on a holiday in the U.S., just about everyone will be with friends and family on Sunday, watching the Super Bowl and consuming copious amounts of food and beverages.

About half of those around the TV are there to watch the game and the other half are there for the halftime show and the commercials, which undoubtedly will feature cute animals, attractive women, funny old people and foolish, emasculated men. For those of us who are Patriots or Giants fans, the commercials will be a chance to regain our composure and teeter back from the edge of our seats; Madonna at halftime will be an opportunity to take a deep breath and maybe bring our blood pressure back to normal after a suspenseful first half. But most importantly, it’s our chance to analyze the first half and try to convince ourselves why our team is going to come back or hold on in the second half.

Why the Pats will win:

1. Tom Brady. Already considered one of the best of all time, Brady is determined to win his 17th playoff game, which would be an NFL record, and his fourth Super Bowl, which would be tied for the most all time. If there’s one thing Tom Brady is, it’s proud – and he wants to redeem himself after his sub-par AFC Championship game, where he didn’t throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 36 games.

2. Revenge. Bill Belichick will do anything and everything not to lose to the Giants again. He, Brady and the rest of the Patriots want to redeem themselves not only for their Week 9 loss to the Giants and, more importantly, their loss in Super Bowl XLII. If there’s one thing I would always bet on, it’s Belichick and Brady when they have a chip on their shoulder.

3. Patriots Tight Ends. Never before have we seen a team with two dominant tight ends. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez combined for 2,237 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns this season. Gronkowski set an NGL record with 17 touchdowns in the regular season, and added three more in the playoffs. In their last meeting, they torched the Giants for 12 receptions, 136 yards and a touchdown each. If the Giants want to have a chance at this game, safeties Kenny Phillips and Antrel Rolle need to step-up big-time for the G-men. That being said – the entire game changes if Gronkowski’s ankle injury limits him on the field Sunday.

Why the Giants will win:

1. The Patriots defense. The Pats defense, decimated by injuries and draft picks who haven’t lived up to their supposed potential, allowed 4,703 passing yards in the regular season, ranking 31st in the league – lower than any team that has ever won the Super Bowl. Of the 45 Super Bowl champions, 11 ranked first in yards allowed, five ranked second and six ranked third. Thirty-eight defenses were ranked in the top 10. Of teams that lost the Super Bowl, the worst-ranked defenses were the Buffalo Bills teams of 1991 and 1993 that ranked 27th (in a 28-team league); no other runner-up even ranked as low as 20th; the average defensive ranking of the past six Super Bowl teams was 18th … and  the Patriots were significantly below that this season. Eli and his trio of receivers have ability to pick apart this mish-mash defense.

2. Giants receivers. It infuriates New England fans that a product of the University of Massachusetts, Victor Cruz, is an out-of-nowhere receiving star for a New York (yes, we know he is from New Jersey). For the 2011 season, he set a franchise record with 1,536 receiving yards and led the team with 82 receptions and nine receiving touchdowns. In the NFC championship against the 49ers, a great defense, he had 10 catches for 142 yards… which doesn’t bode well for the Pats defense. Cruz is young, hungry, and a big-play receiver. Put him alongside Hakeem Nicks (1,192 receiving yards) and Mario Manningham and you have the best trio of receivers in the game – a near impossible match up for the Pats.

After all of the analysis, it comes down to who wants it more – the Patriots, who’s thirst for redemption will overcome their sub-par defense; or Eli Manning and the Giants, who want to erase the memories of a 6-6 mid-season record and come out of the shadow of a certain big brother. Belichick and Brady won’t lose this game, so if they Giants want to take it from the Pats again, they’re going to have to play the game of their lives.

As I said before, I don’t bet against Belichick and Brady with a chip on their shoulder – Patriots 27-24.

Heading to a Super rematch

As I watched Billy Cundiff’s seemingly “sure thing,” 32-yard field goal attempt sail wide left, I felt the earth shift – all Patriots fans jumped up to rejoice, while Ravens fans fell to the ground in despair.

Throughout the game my blood pressure was on a rollercoaster ride: sure the Pats were going to pull it off; hopefully of a New England victory, but not wanting to feel too confident only to be brutally disappointed; and fearing that the evil Ravens were going to pound my Super Bowl dreams into oblivion.

In the end, it was Vince Wilfork on defense and Cundiff’s missed kick that sent the Pats to Indianapolis (although, if Cundiff had made the field goal, who knows what would have happened in overtime – Tom Brady the assassin very well could have returned.)

Brady, in his own words, “sucked pretty bad,” in the game; though, to be fair, his numbers were far from awful - 239 yards, with two interceptions however, for the first time in 36 games, no TD passes… but he did run in the game-winner. But for Brady, that’s a bad game. Usually he doesn't need much assistance when it comes to big games, but Sunday the Patriots' highly-criticized defense came through and was the deciding factor in the game (Cundiff’s foot aside).

After the game finished, I had only a few minutes to regain my composure and let my blood pressure settle before I was thrown into another game. I wasn’t ready for another championship game; I wanted to savor the Patriots good luck for a few hours. But Roger Goodell wouldn’t have it and I was thrust into the 49ers-Giants rumble.

During this game I was torn – who do I cheer for? I hate the Giants and I like the 49ers, but I also want to Pats to have a chance to avenge their last Super Bowl loss. That being said, I’m just a tad superstitious – because of that, I try to be realistic and not overly confident because my confidence may madden the football gods and cause the Patriots to lose, and I would rather lose to San Francisco than the Giants. So as you can see, I was torn. Seeing as how cheering for a New York team just about makes me physically ill, I couldn’t bring myself to cheer for the Giants (watching them celebrate brings the taste of bile to my mouth).

In the end, it was the football gods (and poor Kyle Williams) who decided the outcome, and now my Patriots have the opportunity to avenge their Super Bowl XLII loss.

With this matchup, I am forced to remember back to that game in 2008. Try as I might to forget it ever happened, over and over I am forced to watch David Tyree and the helmet catch thrown in my face by ESPN, Fox and the like.

I went into that game as confident as a fan can be – after all, my team was 18-0 and the Giants finished the regular season 10-6 (just like this season… I’m feeling sick). As the game wore on I remember asking myself: “Why are the Patriots playing like they’re trying not to lose? My Patriots always play to win! Who is this team? Where are my Patriots?!”

Then the unthinkable happened, and after “the touchdown” I got up, and locked myself in my room. A tear or two may have been shed and I refused to talk about the game or turn on ESPN for a week.

Now the Patriots have a chance to avenge that fateful night… they better not blow it, or I may actually have a heart attack.

My Super Dilemma

(2/3/11)

We are in the midst of “Super Week” and I’m in the midst of a super predicament – I can’t cheer for either team in the Super Bowl.

This has never happened to me before – I’ve always been able to choose one team over the other. In the past, either my team was playing, or I could cheer for a team because there was something innately likeable about one of the teams playing, such as was the case with last year’s Saints, or I could cheer against one of the teams because there was something innately unlikeable about them. And having a team to cheer for – or against – is what makes the Super Bowl so entertaining. But this year, the Steelers and Packers have made my decision an impossible one.

My husband is a Minnesota Vikings fan, and therefore, his enemy is the Green Bay Packers.  Consequently, if I want to stay married, I absolutely cannot cheer for Green Bay under any circumstance whatsoever.

In any other game my choice would be easy – cheer for whoever the Packers are playing against. But how can I cheer for the Steelers, a team of such unlikeable guys?

First and foremost in the unlikeable category – for me – is Ben Roethlisberger, who, for those of you living under a rock, was accused of sexual assault this past offseason. He wasn’t charged in this particular instance, but the league felt there was enough evidence to prove he had at the very least violated the NFL's personal conduct policy. Big Ben is at the worst is a sexual predator, and at the very least an idiot.

Strike number two against Pittsburgh in the unlikeable category is James Harrison, the guy who threatened to retire earlier this season when the league decided to start penalizing and fining players for flagrant hits, specifically to the head. What Harrison implied with that reaction was “I like to play dirty.” Hitting players in the head is cheap, dirty and can lead to nasty injuries. But Harrison chooses – openly – to play this way.

Finally, there is their supposed “nice guy” Hines Ward, who in 2009 was voted by his fellow NFL players as the dirtiest player in the game. Not meanest, not toughest – dirtiest. That means cheap shots, poking eyes in a pile, etc. In 2008, he broke the jaw of Bengals rookie linebacker Keith Rivers with a “surprise” downfield block, which ended Rivers' season. After that hit, another player said about Ward, "That's what he's known for. He's a blind-side guy." Not such a nice guy after all.

Not to mention that the Steelers have won two championships in the past five years, and I really don’t want them to win again – especially again with this loathsome team.

So I look at my options – send my marriage to counseling or cheer for a team of, in my opinion, vile men.

I’m in such internal turmoil over this game that I’ve seriously contemplated not watching at all. But how can I be the only person I know who doesn’t watch the game?

So what can I do? I have to become resigned to the fact that one of the teams I can’t like is going to win, and I will be emphatically unable to bask in the glory of the championship. In the end, all I can do is celebrate is that one of these teams will lose, which I realize makes me a bitter person.

The only way this game could be worse was if the Jets were playing – then my home would be an athletic war zone.

No longer America's pastime

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? If a team wins the World Series and no one watches, does it matter?

Baseball has long been considered “America’s Pastime,” but with viewership on a rather steady decline for the past 15 or so years, since the strike of 1994-95, that name has become more and more of a formality.

Many people say that they’re sick of the teams with the money winning every year – the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, etc. But this year, the Texas Rangers, with one of the lowest payrolls in MLB (27th of 30), made the World Series, and people didn’t watch. The San Francisco Giants won the Series for the first time in 56 years, and no one outside of the Bay area cares.

So, fans don’t like when the Yankees or Red Sox win, but they also don’t watch when the low-payroll teams are playing. How can baseball win?

Sadly for the league, we are in a time where people are getting sick of highly-paid athletes with the “me, me me,” mentality that is omnipresent in baseball (and basketball, which has also taken a viewership hit in the past few years) – which is why football is flourishing. It is by far the sport that depends most on the “team.” In baseball, A-Rod could go 0-for-5 and they Yankees could still win by 10. In football, if Drew Brees throws for only 60-percent completion with four interceptions like he did in Week 7 against the Cleveland Browns, the Saints are going to have a hard time winning.

Sure, certain NFL positions are the “glory” positions and get more attention, none more so that the quarterback, but any football player will tell you that the lineman are just as important – how can Peyton Manning complete 75-percent of his passes without his line keeping away those would-be sackers? And Adrian Peterson would have a hard time making a 15-yard run down the middle without the line making that hole for him.

But really, the ratings tell the story of the sport.

The day after the Super Bowl, that’s all anyone is talking about. Tuesday when I walked into my office, one of our Soldiers actually said “I didn’t even know the World Series started.”

That would never – never – happen the day after the Super Bowl. Whether you’re a football fan or not, everyone knows that the Super Bowl is going on.

On Oct. 18, baseball at its finest went against the NFL. Game 3 of the American League Championship Series between the Rangers and Yankees, featured some of the biggest draws in baseball – Cliff Lee, Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Josh Hamilton and Vlad Guerrero – and was held in baseball’s biggest market, New York; the game drew just over 8 million viewers. That same night, Monday Night Football featured two of the NFL’s smaller-market teams – the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars. According to the Nielsen Ratings, that game drew the lowest number of Monday Night Football viewers this season – 9.5 million. You can’t argue with numbers.

My point is that the time of baseball being the glamour sport is long-gone. In part it might have to do with the commitment of baseball – 162 games per year vs. 16 in football. It’s a lot easier to get really pumped up once a week to watch your team than to watch every single night. No matter who is playing, all football fans, and even casual and non-fans, watch the Super Bowl. Clearly, the same can’t be said for the World Series.

Sadly, I’ve fallen into the “I don’t care unless it’s my team playing in the World Series” mentality. I didn’t watch a single minute of the World Series – and I consider myself a huge sports fan.

If people like me aren’t watching, what does that say about MLB? It says that only those directly invested in the game are watching any more, and that means trouble for Bud Selig and Major League Baseball.

SUPER SUNDAY

No excuse for the long absence, other than I was swamped with school, work, and other matters :)

Anyway, what better time than to make my comeback than just in time for the Super Bowl?!

As broken hearted as I am that my Patriots didn't make the playoffs, how can you not cheer for the formerly-lowly Arizona Cardinals? Yeah, the Pittsburgh Steelers are a tough-guy, blue collar team, but I really can't cheer for a team who's quarterback is referred to as just his first name, and a safety who has more hair than me (and I have a lot). Plus, the Steelers won it all just 3 years ago... I think it's time for someone else to take that silver football-topped trophy.

Reasons why I like the Cards and want them to win:

Let's start with my #1... Larry Fitzgerald. I've loved him since his days at Pitt, and I've had him on my fantasy teams most years, when I can get him. What's not to love? Acrobatic receiving skills that are pretty much unbelievable unless you witness them, he loves the game and doesn't showboat, he's from Minnesota (I have an affinity for men from there :-P ), his dad is a sportswriter, he's got an awesome Boston-Irish sounding name, and he was born in the best year ever, 1983.

Okay, so most of you probably only care about two of the above six reasons, but for me that hexagon of reasons adds up to him being my receiving bad-ass fave. Plus, he had three touchdowns in the FIRST HALF against Philly, and I don't like teams from Philadelphia, well, I don't like their fans and I enjoyed watching them cringe each time Fitz (yeah, that's what I call him, we're real close) ran into the end zone last Sunday.

Kurt Warner
Yeah, his wife is annoying and so is his sometimes "holier-than-thou" attitude... but really, the guy used to be a grocery bagger and has worked his ass off to get where he is. Plus, brother's mad old, and playing some of the best football of his career the past few weeks. He's not the MVP Kurt Warner of the "Greatest Show on Turf" (man I hated that team), but, I think more impressively, he's led a team of lesser-knowns to the same place - the Super Bowl.

Anyway, I have to cheer for the guy who put Matt Leinart in his place cause boy has let me DOWN. I was Leinart's biggest supporter coming out of college, I ever wrote an editorial raving about him when he came out of USC, how he was going to be a good, solid NFL quarterback. Instead, all pretty boy's done is show that he's more interested in partying and having a good time than being the Cards starting-QB. Anyway, I hope that Warner playing out of his mind at age 37 will show Leinart he isn't owed anything, he isn't God's gift to the quarterback position, and if he really wants to be a GOOD NFL quarterback, he needs to get back to the trenches and work his ass off.

Edgerrin James
First of all, I have to give props to his mom... anyone who comes up the name Edgerrin, henceforth giving his son the nickname "The Edge" is alright in my book.

There are many things to dislike about James... he went to the University of Miami, he used to have nasty dreds and gold teeth, and he left his plum job with the Colts to jet for more money in Arizona. All of that aside, a few weeks ago he was washed up, and now he's a key component to the Cards' playoff run. I almost felt bad for him a few weeks ago, when he had something like 90 yards in the six games leading up to the Super Bowl. But then, the coaches started utilizing him cause, let's be honest, the man can run. The man has somewhat quietly rushed his way to 12th on the all-time list, and since he's cut out his thug image that I think sets a bad example for young kids who look up to athletes, and now looks like this. Anyway, I'll be rooting for him to run all over the Steelers and their joke of a candidacy for "best defense ever." Speaking of...

The Steelers defense calling themselves the "best ever"
I hate any team or individual who calls themselves the best ever. Not only is it egotistical, its disrespectful to the historically great defenses. Now, you can't really compare a defense from the 60s to a defense today, when players are about 50 pounds heavier and pure muscle, but if the Steel Curtain teams of the 70s had the same training and facilities of the pansy 2008 Steelers, I have no doubt this question would be laughably answered in favor of the older teams. Plus, I really can't stand Troy Polamalu for some reason... I think it's the hair. I don't get why people he's trying to cover don't just pull it and call it a day.

Finally, I hate the "we're the underdog, no one believes in us!" role all underdog teams take, so I'm not going to give that to the Cards. That being said, I like rooting against to the expected winner*.

But really, in the end, unless you are a fan of either team, and let's be honest, there are maybe 100 "true fans" of the Cardinals, the Super Bowl is just an excuse to hang out with friends, eat lots of fatty, disgusting and delicious food and drink too much on a Sunday and have an legit excuse for it.

*unless it's my team, of course