I've said it before, and I'll say it again.
Tom Brady is NOT and never will be the greatest quarterback of all time, no matter how many championships he has "won". Yes, #5 was as tainted as the other four have been suspected of being, just more blatantly so.
Case in point: 4th quarter, Atlanta leading. New England's Dont'a Hightower sacks and strips Atlanta's Matt Ryan of the football before Ryan can begin a throwing motion. Alan Branch, who came over from Arizona as a free agent, recovers for New England. Ah, but wait. A few yards downfield, a New England defender had a hold of an Atlanta receiver's face mask. The officials ignored the call, which would've wiped out the sack/turnover. New England subsequently scores.
In overtime, the Patriots get the benefit of a bogus pass interference call against Atlanta, setting up 2nd year running back James White, who'd scored a game-tying 2-point conversion in the 4th, to run in for the game-winner two plays later. The inconsistency of the officiating in this game spoke volumes of the flaws with the NFL's officiating crews. They were letting them play, playground style, for much of the game, then the flags came cascading down in the 4th quarter, mostly against Atlanta, and, except for the bogus flag in overtime, the calls were legit, although you wonder how New England got away with the zebras looking the other way on that 4th quarter turnover.
It was the first overtime game in Super Bowl history, and it was tainted. The Falcons got screwed, and the media is spinning it, claiming Atlanta choked big time. No, they didn't. Because the media played up this season as the "Deflategate Revenge Tour" for the Patriots, kissing up to Brady, the biggest prima donna in football, as often as possible, you knew something screwy would happen, even after Atlanta ran out to a 21-3 lead at halftime.
Unsurprisingly, Brady was named Super Bowl MVP, but he doesn't deserve it. Should've gone to any number of other offensive players, including tight end Martellus Bennett, who made a number of key catches throughout the game; White, who was clutch at the end, after Albany native Dion Lewis was lost to a leg injury, and rookie receiver Malcolm Mitchell, who made some clutch catches in the 2nd half to kickstart New England's comeback. But, no, for the 2nd time in 3 years, Brady's ego gets stroked with another prize he didn't deserve. The running game was ineffective for much of the night, save for White and a 15 yard run by Brady, so Brady chucked it over 60 times for more than 400 yards, padding the stats as he's done all season. Talk about selfish play!
I lost respect for Brady 15 years ago in the "tuck rule" game vs. Oakland. That hasn't changed. He is the most overrated quarterback in history. He was sacked 5 times, gave up an interception returned for a touchdown, and then finds his mojo in the 2nd half, despite still being under intense pressure, all because he knew when the chips were down, the Patriots' secret weapons would come into play. They always do to protect Robert Kraft's biggest investment. That's the way it's always going to be until someone finally deflates Brady's & Kraft's enormous egos, once and for all.
Face it, Atlanta, you got robbed, just like so many others have. Back in the day, the argument against another prominent Boston area sports team was that officials in their league gave them preferential treatment. However, the Patriots make the Celtics look like choirboys by comparison.
Looking at sports websites today it appears quite possible for writers to hate New England and yet acknowledge that Atlanta choked in pathetic fashion in the fourth quarter. They would have won the game no matter what chicanery paranoid minds might imagine the Pats perpetrating had they run the ball three times after the big Julio Jones reception and kicked a field goal. It's also argued that the Falcons should have been running the ball the entire quarter to eat up the clock, and that had they done so, Ryan would not have set himself up for the crucial strip-sack. If the Patriots bought anyone off, as you insanely insist upon believing, it's more likely the men in red than the men in stripes.
ReplyDeleteThe Falcons' problem was their coaches trying to out-think Belichick, and it failed, obviously. However, that pass interference on Atlanta in OT was bogus, a ticky-tack call that often goes New England's way in times like that.
ReplyDeleteThey had a hard time thinking, period, by the fourth quarter. Many observers have pointed out how Atlanta stupidly snapped the ball with ten seconds or more left on the play clock much of the time, when the one thing you should be doing with every play is eating time. Better time management and offensive play calling probably would have ended the game Falcons 31 Pats 28, presuming New England scores after the field goal that should have been. The overtime PI call only hastened the inevitable.
ReplyDeleteMeh, whatever.
ReplyDeleteI'm satisfied that NO amount of "BS" will ever convince a true Football "Fan" that the whole show is rigged and it's YOU who are getting robbed of 3-4 hours of your life watching and giving a crap.
ReplyDeleteWatch..when The Brady bitch does retire they'll hand him another title.
This time someone behind the scenes put the end on the screen before it happened!! I'd like to think someone as tired of the crap as the rest of the country. (minus the rabid morons that call themselves patriot fans)
And still the diehard losers are like "Nuh-Uh!!" Coming up with all kinds of petty excuses because YOU GOTTA BELIEVE DON'T YA KNOW!?!?
But cheer up!! For those of you that simply MUST watch..MUST believe..
One day the quarterback that ruined the NFL will retire.
Then all those "Fans" of his can go back in their closets and get their Buffalo Bills stuff back out and put it on...
I have made it a point not to watch any Patriot games unless it is the Super Bowl. When the media sheep finally stop genuflecting toward Crybaby Brady, they'll wake up and realize that they've been protecting and enabling a shell game for the longest time.
ReplyDelete