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I work on Sunday night. So I have a reasonable excuse to not watch the game.
It’s overtime. So I am actually making money.
Hi Opal!
Even though I won’t be watching the game I can still make chili cheese dip and keep that warm in a mini crock pot.
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Two weeks is pretty long for concussion protocol. I think most players miss only one game.
The point is that the haters are going to see it as a fix by the NFL. Just like suspending Brady last year was supposed to give him fresher legs for the postseason.
I felt throughout the season that the Eagles were the best team in the NFL this year. When Wentz went down, they seemed to lose all that separation and basically returned to the pack of “good teams” going to the playoffs. I think, however, they’ve adjusted to the change and Nick Foles has settled down to doing a good job.
Brady may still have the edge on Foles, but the Eagles defense is ferocious. The key is that they can get good pressure with just their front four, so they can keep the rest of their people in coverage. I’m thinking that, overall, they have more talent man for man and will win the game.
However … The Patriots are great at adjusting, and they are incredibly opportunistic. Just ask the Falcons. The Eagles can’t afford big mistakes, especially in the second half, and they had better not take their foot off the gas pedal even if they have a fourth quarter lead.
So often you hear opposing players in interviews say they have to play perfect football to beat New England. That always means they already know they’re going to get beat somehow or other, because nobody ever plays perfect football. Confidence means a lot, and part of New England’s dominance is that they always have it, even when they’re down 28-3 with 17 minutes left, and they can keep their opponents from getting it, or find a way to take it back.
(bolding mine)
The Eagles are an excellent team with a stellar defense, solid run game, capable receivers, and good coaching. They have almost all (can’t say all since Wentz got hurt) of the pieces put together and I think they have a better chance than most people give them credit for. They’re running on roughly the same formula that got wins for the Ravens and Giants in recent years and I would not be at all surprised to see them beat the Patriots, who have at times both looked and been eminently beatable this year.
But Brady “has the edge” on Foles like Godzilla “has the edge” on my house.
I’m stuck at work with a non-football fan as a coworker. I hope he’ll let me stream the game, but it isn’t the same without a cold beer next to me and some comfort food. Somehow a Lean Cusine and a water bottle isn’t the same.
It’s amazing to me how the Patriots get away with having such small receivers. They had Randy Moss in his prime and they couldn’t win a SB with him, but they win with the likes of Amendola, Welker, etc. EVen their current crop of WR’s that actually see playing time are smaller guys. Gronk is the only big target that they have that’s really good, and he’s hurt almost every year.
Just to get you singing, here’s another tribute to Leonard Cohen with “Amen-Dola”.
In Randy Moss’s first year with NE, 2007 (his 10th NFL season), he caught 23 TDs. Brady torched defenses with 50 TD passes. NE went 16-0 and only missed perfection by one spectacular David Tyree helmet catch, which came from a spectacular escape by Eli Manning. The Pats should have won that Super Bowl, just like they should’ve won last year’s.
But that’s coulda-shoulda-woulda.
It is amazing that they win with smaller receivers. But that’s Tom Brady — in his career he’s done much more, with less, for a lot longer, than any other QB.
Step aside, Joe Montana. Tom Brady is the QB GOAT.
The goat, you say? I remember Montana being the hero of a few Hyperboles, but never the goat.
I’m not all that interested in this game. It really is getting boring with the Patriots. Oh and now they’re playing a team with their backup QB. Yawn. Hard to imagine how NE can lose this one.
What I do find interesting is that Bettor X has put a ton of money on the Eagles. Bettor X, in case you don’t know, is an anonymous bettor who went on an historic run last fall in MLB betting. He was a thorn in the side of multiple Vegas casinos just in World Series betting alone. He bet all but one game in the WS, I think, and got every game right for huge sums of money. So the line for the Super Bowl started out NE -5.5 and as of today it’s NE -4. What does he know?
Looks like the 'Skins are kicking Kirk Cousins to the curb. Not that that has anything to do with the Super Bowl (and won’t for many years) … but I didn’t see it mentioned elsewhere.
It’s also the particular role that those smaller receivers play in the Patriots’ offense.
Wes Welker (5’9"), Julian Edelman (6’0"), and Danny Amendola (5’11") all typically play / played in the slot receiver position. They rack up a lot of catches (Welker had 5 seasons in which he caught 111 or more passes), but not for high yardage, because they’re often running short patterns, and the Patriots are essentially using those pass patterns as running plays with very long, forward handoffs.
Did you even watch the first 3 quarters of last year’s Super Bowl?
Did you even watch Super Bowl XLIX, when Pete-the-dumbFuck Carroll didn’t hand off to Beast Mode at the goal line to beat New England?
The Pats are great, truly great, and I get it that people are bored with their winning, but Tom Brady is 40 years old and his performance is waning. When will he fall off so far that his career is over? It’s started already, but he could play great on Sunday. Or not, and the Eagles win.
That’s why they play the game. Look up Super Bowl XLII, when the Patriots were hugely upset by the NY Giants and David Tyree’s helmet.
The Pats may crush Philly. But I love football, it’s the greatest sport this world has. So I will watch.
Looking at his stats, I don’t see any particular sign that he’s noticeably “waning” just yet. 66% completions in 2017, 32 TDs and 8 INTs, and a quarterback rating that was higher than four of his past five seasons, all of which led to the Patriots having one of the top-rated offenses in the NFL this year (#2 in points scored, #1 in yards), and a probable MVP award.
What are you seeing in him that leads you to feel that his performance has declined?
I’m not Bullitt, but I’ll answer for myself. The place I see slippage isn’t in his arm or his head - it’s in his feet. He’s losing mobility and there are times he looks genuinely creaky when he tries to move around. Now, he’s never exactly been Randall Cunningham; mobility isn’t a fundamental part of his game so the loss isn’t showing up in the game day results yet. But a bit more deterioration in that area and he’s going to start getting hit more and harder, and then the outcomes will get worse and the likelihood of drastic injury will get higher. I mean, Dan Marino never stopped being able to throw the football, either; just one day he turned into the R.M.S. Titanic and that was the end of that.
I agree with most of this. Brady’s greatest asset besides his head and his coach has been his pocket awareness and his almost uncanny ability to slide around in the pocket as it starts to collapse, always keeping his eyes downfield and looking to make the play as he narrowly avoids would-be tacklers. Once that’s gone, then it’ll be over for Tom.
He was getting hit a lot early this season, but believe it or not, it’s been pretty typical for the team to be out of sync for the first 3 or 4 games of a season before all the new guys gel. Brady’s hits and sacks stats for the latter part of 2017 and into the playoffs have not been out of line.
Yes, some day his body is going to wake up and realize it’s over 40. It does seem that athletes over 40 lose it suddenly rather than gradually, and he’s not immortal or immune. But *this *year, even though he’s the oldest non-kicker in the league, he has turned in an MVP performance.
I think Nick Foles vs. New England’s defense is the match-up. If New England can make Nick Foles look like the guy who played backup QB for a few years, then the Patriots will win. But if Nick Foles can play like he did in 2013 and like he has the last 2 weeks, the Eagles will win - and they might actually win by 2 touchdowns.
We already know that if it’s a tight game and Philadelphia’s struggling on offense that Brady will find ways to make the Eagles pay for their offensive struggles. But don’t expect Philadelphia to choke the way that Atlanta did last year and Jacksonville did last week. The Eagles are one of the best coached teams Bill Belichick has faced in a long time. If they get out to a 24-10 lead in the 4th quarter, they’ll win. NE might make it interesting, but they can’t fall behind against Philly the way they have against other opponents.