[GDT] SUPER BOWL LI: Atlanta Falcons vs. New England Patriots

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by troutman

It's loser talk to post about cheating, complain about refs, attaching asterisks, to say "I'm not taking anything away". That's exactly what you are doing. Admit the obvious without qualifications. The best team won again.

Don't be a bad winner dude. As I posed above this was as much about Atlanta losing it as it was the Patriots being the "best" team. Brady deserves a lot of credit here for making the key passes and fully deserved to be game MVP but the game should have never got to OT.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Will Michael Floyd get a Super Bowl Ring despite being inactive? I really hope not. You shouldn't inherit a ring because you were driving with a blood alcohol of .217 and were released only to be picked up by the Patriots.

I'm assuming he will. Ugh......

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Don't be a bad winner dude. As I posed above this was as much about Atlanta losing it as it was the Patriots being the "best" team. Brady deserves a lot of credit here for making the key passes and fully deserved to be game MVP but the game should have never got to OT.

Every team that ever lost a game, made mistakes in that game.

[SuperMatt18]

Yeah - it's tough to say what happens one way or another the more I think about it.

We all blame them for the pass play that ended up in a Ryan sack, but the next play was a run play that ended with a holding call and that is what truly put them out of FG range.

Just as easy as the sack there could have been a fumble or another holding call on that first play and the outcome is no different.

Game shouldn't have went to OT because you should never blow a 28-3 lead - but props to the Patriots for coming back and executing the plays they needed to execute to win the game. Not easy to convert on two TDs and two 2-Pt conversions either.

[Senator Clay Davis]

The Patriots deserve as much credit for winning as the chance they had down 28-3 with 5 minutes left in the third quarter: 1%. Great job not quitting, but Atlanta had to do absolutely everything wrong after 28-3 to lose that game, and do everything wrong they did. It doesn't mean you have to give it back Pats fans, or that it means less. It's just Atlanta choking is what is always going to be the story of this Super Bowl. Biggest choke in sports history usually does that.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

http://www.tsn.ca/brady-suspects-sup...tolen-1.665299

That's pretty sketchy.

You can't sell that stolen jersey and you can't boast that you have it so what's the point?

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

but Atlanta had to do absolutely everything wrong after 28-3 to lose that game, and do everything wrong they did.

Did Atlanta really do a lot of things wrong? The hold and the sack were the key but other than that maybe not running the football was the only culprit. Atlanta went up 25 points mostly because of two INTs so perhaps Atlanta wasn't really playing as well as the scores would indicate.

Or perhaps scoring two consecutive TDs aren't really that rare in the NFL.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

You can't sell that stolen jersey and you can't boast that you have it so what's the point?

Yeah, it will eventually show up like what happened to Crosby back at the Vancouver Olympics.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by troutman

Every team that ever lost a game, made mistakes in that game.

Absolutely but teams that lose to the better team are typically not called chokers. That's reserved for teams like the Falcons yesterday and the Stampeders on most occasions in the playoffs. I give the Patriots lots of props here because they had to make a 4th down gamble and two 2-point conversions. Most teams afforded the breaks the Patriots got yesterday would have not been able to complete the comeback. Still though Atlanta like the Seahawks (lesser choke there) kind of lost the game as much as the Pats won it.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by darklord700

Did Atlanta really do a lot of things wrong? The hold and the sack were the key but other than that maybe not running the football was the only culprit. Atlanta went up 25 points mostly because of two INTs so perhaps Atlanta wasn't really playing as well as the scores would indicate.

Or perhaps scoring two consecutive TDs aren't really that rare in the NFL.

Once New England adjusted to the pass rush, Atlanta did not have an answer. Just horrendous defence, but everyone knew that was likely going to happen anyways. It just took took almost two quarters for Brady to get going, and by that point most people thought the game was too far out of reach. If Atlanta had been smarter with the clock, I don't think there would have been enough of time.

[Erick Estrada]

Felt bad for Arthur Blank and his wife as the camera kept panning over to them where it went from jubilation in the 3rd quarter to stone faced at the end. As bad as that loss was for fans, players, and coaches it has to be crushing for the owner who puts all the management and coaching in place but really has no control of the outcome.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by darklord700

Did Atlanta really do a lot of things wrong? The hold and the sack were the key but other than that maybe not running the football was the only culprit. Atlanta went up 25 points mostly because of two INTs so perhaps Atlanta wasn't really playing as well as the scores would indicate.

Or perhaps scoring two consecutive TDs aren't really that rare in the NFL.

The playcalling and clock management were worse than anything Andy Reid has ever done when applying the context of it being the Super Bowl. The Falcons coaches blew the game the most, not the players. They needed to get basically one play right, and they had a good eight chances to get that one play right, and they definitely would win the game, and they couldn't do it. It's like blowing eight match points in tennis.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

The playcalling and clock management were worse than anything Andy Reid has ever done when applying the context of it being the Super Bowl. The Falcons coaches blew the game the most, not the players. They needed to get basically one play right, and they had a good 8 plays they had to get right once to win the game, and they couldn't do it. It's like blowing 8 match points in tennis.

I hate how Jack Del Rio is overly conservative but there is no doubt he would have ran the ball up the middle three straight times and taken the Super Bowl winning FG.

[habernac]

If the Pats win any more Super Bowls in my lifetime, it will strictly be a bonus. Pats lose that game 99 times out of 100. Brady & Co needed two 2 point conversions, a ridiculous Edelman catch, some real head scratching clock management and play calling by Atlanta and some luck to pull that off.

The amount of #### that was being thrown at me on my phone, Facebook, Twitter, etc was enormous. So I don't feel bad at all about enjoying this. Unbelievable.

[zukes]

Originally Posted by habernac

If the Pats win any more Super Bowls in my lifetime, it will strictly be a bonus. Pats lose that game 99 times out of 100. Brady & Co needed two 2 point conversions, a ridiculous Edelman catch, some real head scratching clock management and play calling by Atlanta and some luck to pull that off.

The amount of #### that was being thrown at me on my phone, Facebook, Twitter, etc was enormous. So I don't feel bad at all about enjoying this. Unbelievable.

I'm with you, from halftime until mid way through the 3rd quarter my phone was blowing up. I just wrote back, "it's not over". Every single person did text back and ate crow, many of them had still not agreed that Brady is the best of all time, they all agree now.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

The playcalling and clock management were worse than anything Andy Reid has ever done when applying the context of it being the Super Bowl. The Falcons coaches blew the game the most, not the players. They needed to get basically one play right, and they had a good eight chances to get that one play right, and they definitely would win the game, and they couldn't do it. It's like blowing eight match points in tennis.

But doesn't Matt Ryan have any say? Can't he go back the bench and say "hey dude why are we snapping the ball at 15 seconds?"

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

But doesn't Matt Ryan have any say? Can't he go back the bench and say "hey dude why are we snapping the ball at 15 seconds?"

Players deserve some blame too, but how do Quinn or Shanahan not tell him "Slow it down, we're in no rush"? But it was a bad clock management game from both sides, had New England not won because they ran out of time Belichick would have gotten the Andy Reid treatment post game. It is pretty crazy the Falcons were running plays as fast or faster than New England was until Atlanta's last drive with the lead.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Felt bad for Arthur Blank and his wife as the camera kept panning over to them where it went from jubilation in the 3rd quarter to stone faced at the end. As bad as that loss was for fans, players, and coaches it has to be crushing for the owner who puts all the management and coaching in place but really has no control of the outcome.

He jinxed them.

Second he came down from the Owners box is when the game started to turn in the Patriots favour.

[CliffFletcher]

Brady was sacked 5 times and hit 16 times, before marching the ball 91 yards down the field for the tying touchdown. Then he made 10 completions in a row in the 75 yard winning drive in OT. In the fourth quarter and overtime, Brady threw for 234 yards.

Forget coaching, forget the Falcons' choking - Brady showed astonishing poise and clutch play to win that game. It's sour grapes to take anything away from him.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Brady was sacked 5 times and hit 16 times, before marching the ball 91 yards down the field for the tying touchdown. Then he made 10 completions in a row in the 75 yard winning drive in OT. In the fourth quarter and overtime, Brady threw for 234 yards.

Forget coaching, forget the Falcons' choking - Brady showed astonishing poise and clutch play to win that game. It's sour grapes to take anything away from him.

Just to put that into context - Denver hit Newton 20 times in last years Super Bowl and we all remember how shell shocked and defeated he looked.

Brady took that type of punishment over 3 quarters and then still decided that he needed to comeback and put up 19 points in the 4th quarter and drive them down the field in OT.

One thing I do think got over looked was that the Falcons defense was gassed in the 4th quarter and OT - Time of possession was 40 minutes to 23 minutes. A lot of time for that defense to be on the field.