This And That
A few post-Super Bowl observations, some of which are pretty obvious, though you’d never know it from reading the newspapers or listening to the radio:
The New England Patriots won Super Bowl XXXIX. “Really?” you respond. “You don’t say. Any other news to break?” Well, that’s not what I mean. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all know the deal. New England came out ahead 24-21, posting its third Super Bowl win and cementing its dynasty status. Don’t think the Pats are a dynasty? Good for you. Go get your own blog and fucking say so there.) Fair enough. But the question I keep reading and hearing is, “Did the Patriots win or did the Eagles lose?” Fuck, man, both. Of course. But the point of the question is, “By what degree may we devalue the Patriots’ victory?” And the answer is, not at all. You’re damned right the Patriots won the Super Bowl. No, they weren’t perfect. Yeah, they didn’t score every time they made it into the red zone. And yeah, the Eagles made some mistakes. Doesn’t matter. The Pats scored enough points to win the game. They completely shut down the Eagles ground game, to the point where Philly simply abandoned the run. They confused not only the Eagles players on the field (on both sides of the ball), but the coaches on the sidelines, who should have been able to see something of what the Pats were doing and make some adjustments. And more important, those Eagles mistakes didn’t happen in a vacuum. The Pats forced some of them by keeping after Donovan McNabb, and they paved the way for others by mixing up their sets on offense and defense, making constant adjustments to their game plan that even the announcers failed to pick up, and leaving Andy Reid and the rest of the Philly coaching staff standing dumbstruck as their team failed to make an effort to do what it needed to do at the end of the game. That’s a win. And fuck you, media, for even suggesting otherwise.
I believe the Patriots can become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. I’m not saying I believe they will do it — clearly, the 2005 regular-season campaign in the AFC (and particularly the AFC East) is gonna be absolutely fucking brutal — only that they can. In terms of players, the Pats should only get better. They’ll have players — like Tyrone Poole and Ben Watson — who missed much or all of this season coming back into the lineup. They’ll doubtless make some great draft picks. And recent history suggests they’ll make at least one key free-agent acquisition, perhaps shoring up their defensive secondary or offensive line (which has played brilliantly, but which could use a little help). We’ll see what happens with the coaching situation. Whether Eric Mangini sticks around to pick up where Romeo Crennel left off will be big. But either way, I expect Bill Belichick will find the right guys to be his new coordinators. And as long as Dante Scarnecchia is still around, you can expect to see the offensive line continue to play at the high level that has allowed Tom Brady and Corey Dillon to have the kind of success they’ve had this season.
I suspect that if the Patriots do make it to Detroit (Detroit? what the hell was the NFL thinking?) for Super Bowl XL, they could very well find themselves in the first consecutive-years Super Bowl rematch since Dallas stomped Buffalo in Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII. The Eagles also stand to get better in the off-season. They’ve got tons of room under the salary cap and very few real needs. If they can find a running back (there are several talented guys available in free agency) and allow Brian Westbrook to catch more balls, find a decent second receiver (pushing Todd Pinkston to three, where he belongs and dumping Freddie Mitchell, who should be playing in the Arena League), they’ll be in damned good shape come next season. They’ve also gotta make some adjustments on D. Blitzing every play just doesn’t work. But they can do that. And the NFC could be an even weaker conference next season. So they should be able to get back to the show if all goes well.
I, for one, would love to see a second Patriots-Eagles Super Bowl matchup. I’d just be so happy to see an Eagles team with a healthy Terrell Owens lose to a Patriots team with a healthy defensive secondary. Then, Eagles fans would almost have to shut up about how their team “could have won, if only … .” (They couldn’t have, because they didn’t, and that’s that. But it would be nicer if there were no room to ask stupid questions.)
Super Bowl XL will be played February 5 at Ford Field in Detroit. To date, there have been three Super Bowls played in the month of February. All three have been won by the New England Patriots.
There are 74 days until the 2005 NFL draft. There are 212 days until the beginning of the 2005 regular season. I’m already champing at the bit.
