(One of the great things about pro football is in the impact a single play can have on a whole game)
1/24/12
I don’t claim any qualification to be a sports columnist. Oh, I’m a football fan alright, but as a student of the game I belong in first grade. I know good play when I see it, though, and what I saw from my beloved New England Patriots on Sunday didn’t rise to that level – not for the most part. They were only good enough to win the AFC Championship, and that on a missed, 31-yard field goal by Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff that left his teammates on the sidelines with their mouths hanging open, disbelief in glazed-over eyes.
Tom Brady snapped a post-season record of 18 straight playoff games with at least one passing touchdown. He did rush for one, from about a foot out, risking grave bodily injury in the process. Brady went up and over center, an airborne feat that put the ball over the plane, but during which Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis hit him hard in trying to stop the score, which must have hurt. But Brady, now a veteran at 34 years of age, showed no sign of injury, spiking the ball hard a la Rob Gronkowski. It wasn’t the sort of play to make coach Bill Bellichick feel comfortable, but at day’s end, it helped give New England the win.
Brady was not himself in the game. He had a pitiful rating of 56, completing 22 of 36 passes for no touchdowns and two interceptions. Yards per attempt, just 6.64 yards. This was not the Tom Brady who’s a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, probably the year after he retires. What’s up with that?
A lot of credit goes to the Baltimore defense, who took a page from the Steelers’ regular season win over the Pats, putting eight men in the box and knocking the receivers off their routes. Of course, that left an opening for the running game, of which New England’s Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis took full advantage. His total wasn’t great – just over 60 yards – but he tore off some crucial first downs and scored easily from eight yards out. New England’s O-line played excellent foot ball, and the defensive front, led by pro-bowler Vince Wilfork, kept the game close.
There’s a school of thought that says Brady was pressing too hard. Following an interception, Brady uncharacteristically threw a bomb into the end zone, intended for the seldom-targeted Matt Slater. But it was off by a yard, and turned out to be a Ravens interception on a tipped ball. Things were not looking good, with little time left and the Patriots clinging to a three point lead.
In the subsequent series, Baltimore mounted an effective drive to put their kicker in position to tie the game with what should have been a chip-shot field goal. That’s when Providence (not the city in Rhode Island) intervened. The kick, almost incredibly, went wide left. With eleven seconds left and the Ravens out of time-outs, Brady knelt on the snap and time expired. A big, if ugly, win for New England, advancing them to the Super Bowl for a rematch with the New York Giants, who beat them on a last minute touchdown in the Super Bowl four years ago.
In assessing the forthcoming match-up, it’s important to remember a couple of things. The first is that Tom Brady never has had two bad games in a row. He stands an excellent chance of tying Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks with four Super Bowl championship rings, further cementing him as one of the greatest QB’s ever to play the position.
Secondly, even if the vaunted Giants defense tries the Baltimore-Pittsburgh strategy, no quarterback ever has been better than TB at the quick snap, fast release tactic that finds wide receivers and two outstanding tight ends on crossing or post routes. When he’s on his game, Brady is the master of that maneuver. The question is, will he bring his ’A’ game to Indianapolis on February fifth. I say yes.
Brady has been working with the man who’s been his mentor since he was a 15-year-old high school quarterback. Tom Martinez is gravely ill with complications from diabetes, and may not live to see his star pupil play in Super Bowl XLVI – that’s 46, in case you’re not familiar with Roman numerals. But that hasn’t stopped him from acting as Brady’s adviser and, if I were a betting man, I’d wager he’s been urging Brady to settle down and play the way history says he can.
Giants QB Eli Manning has been playing the best football of his career in recent games, and the Super Bowl match-up promises lots of drama. When the final whistle blows, however, look for a ten-point Patriots win. It’s a matter of destiny.
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A Word About Football
(One of the great things about pro football is in the impact a single play can have on a whole game)
1/24/12
I don’t claim any qualification to be a sports columnist. Oh, I’m a football fan alright, but as a student of the game I belong in first grade. I know good play when I see it, though, and what I saw from my beloved New England Patriots on Sunday didn’t rise to that level – not for the most part. They were only good enough to win the AFC Championship, and that on a missed, 31-yard field goal by Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff that left his teammates on the sidelines with their mouths hanging open, disbelief in glazed-over eyes.
Tom Brady snapped a post-season record of 18 straight playoff games with at least one passing touchdown. He did rush for one, from about a foot out, risking grave bodily injury in the process. Brady went up and over center, an airborne feat that put the ball over the plane, but during which Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis hit him hard in trying to stop the score, which must have hurt. But Brady, now a veteran at 34 years of age, showed no sign of injury, spiking the ball hard a la Rob Gronkowski. It wasn’t the sort of play to make coach Bill Bellichick feel comfortable, but at day’s end, it helped give New England the win.
Brady was not himself in the game. He had a pitiful rating of 56, completing 22 of 36 passes for no touchdowns and two interceptions. Yards per attempt, just 6.64 yards. This was not the Tom Brady who’s a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, probably the year after he retires. What’s up with that?
A lot of credit goes to the Baltimore defense, who took a page from the Steelers’ regular season win over the Pats, putting eight men in the box and knocking the receivers off their routes. Of course, that left an opening for the running game, of which New England’s Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis took full advantage. His total wasn’t great – just over 60 yards – but he tore off some crucial first downs and scored easily from eight yards out. New England’s O-line played excellent foot ball, and the defensive front, led by pro-bowler Vince Wilfork, kept the game close.
There’s a school of thought that says Brady was pressing too hard. Following an interception, Brady uncharacteristically threw a bomb into the end zone, intended for the seldom-targeted Matt Slater. But it was off by a yard, and turned out to be a Ravens interception on a tipped ball. Things were not looking good, with little time left and the Patriots clinging to a three point lead.
In the subsequent series, Baltimore mounted an effective drive to put their kicker in position to tie the game with what should have been a chip-shot field goal. That’s when Providence (not the city in Rhode Island) intervened. The kick, almost incredibly, went wide left. With eleven seconds left and the Ravens out of time-outs, Brady knelt on the snap and time expired. A big, if ugly, win for New England, advancing them to the Super Bowl for a rematch with the New York Giants, who beat them on a last minute touchdown in the Super Bowl four years ago.
In assessing the forthcoming match-up, it’s important to remember a couple of things. The first is that Tom Brady never has had two bad games in a row. He stands an excellent chance of tying Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks with four Super Bowl championship rings, further cementing him as one of the greatest QB’s ever to play the position.
Secondly, even if the vaunted Giants defense tries the Baltimore-Pittsburgh strategy, no quarterback ever has been better than TB at the quick snap, fast release tactic that finds wide receivers and two outstanding tight ends on crossing or post routes. When he’s on his game, Brady is the master of that maneuver. The question is, will he bring his ’A’ game to Indianapolis on February fifth. I say yes.
Brady has been working with the man who’s been his mentor since he was a 15-year-old high school quarterback. Tom Martinez is gravely ill with complications from diabetes, and may not live to see his star pupil play in Super Bowl XLVI – that’s 46, in case you’re not familiar with Roman numerals. But that hasn’t stopped him from acting as Brady’s adviser and, if I were a betting man, I’d wager he’s been urging Brady to settle down and play the way history says he can.
Giants QB Eli Manning has been playing the best football of his career in recent games, and the Super Bowl match-up promises lots of drama. When the final whistle blows, however, look for a ten-point Patriots win. It’s a matter of destiny.
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This entry was posted on January 24, 2012 at 3:40 pm and is filed under general commentary. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: Super Bowl, Super Bowl prediction, Tom Brady
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.