|
Super Bowl
2/3/05
| Super Bowl |
| Sunday, Feb.
6th 6:30 EST |
| NE
vs PHI - 6:30 PM EST - AD |
|
For The Season
(163-93) Straight Up - 63.6%
(145-106-5) Against The Spread - 57.7%
N.E. Patriots (-7) vs. Philadelphia
Eagles
We’ve been hearing a lot about Freddie Mitchell this week,
even though the real stories of this Super Bowl clearly involve
Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb.
Last week and the week before, I took a lot of heat from Philadelphia
fans for two reasons. First, I took the underdogs in both games
— Minnesota and Atlanta — and second, wasn’t giving them much respect
while doing so.
How about this, Eagles fans? I’ll give the entire organization all
the respect it deserves when they accomplish two things. First,
they have to win a Super Bowl. That’s not an unreasonable request,
is it? Let’s count the teams that haven’t won the big game. I’m
talking about the Buffalo Bills, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Houston
Texans, the Tennessee Titans (formerly the Houston Oilers), the
Baltimore Ravens (formerly the Cleveland Browns), the Cleveland
Browns (expansion), the Cincinnati Bengals, the San Diego Chargers,
the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota Vikings, the Atlanta Falcons, the
Carolina Panthers, the New Orleans Saints, the Arizona Cardinals,
the Seattle Seahawks, and the Philadelphia Eagles. Not a really
short list. In fact, it’s half the league. Of the 16 teams that
haven’t won the Super Bowl, seven have not even appeared in one.
Of the remaining nine, six have appeared in only one, and then there’s
the Bengals, Vikings and Bills, who have lost multiple times.
Right now, I’ll give the Eagles — as an organization — the same
amount of respect I give the non-expansion teams in the same boat,
which includes the Chargers, the Falcons, the Ravens and the Titans.
And that’s not still not a lot, by NFL standards.
The second thing the Eagles must do — for everyone’s sanity — is
get rid of Freddie Mitchell. I know everybody’s sick of him, so
I’ll make my comments about this narcissistic megalomaniac brief.
He was a 1st-rounder in 2001, and since then has 90 catches in 63
games over four seasons. With five career touchdowns, he’s not necessarily
the go-to guy, but if you ask him, he’s the bright shining star
in the NFL. He even refers to himself in the third person.
Mitchell is exactly what’s wrong with the NFL. Owens, I can tolerate,
since his numbers show he’s ready for Canton whenever he retires.
Mitchell still talks like he’s big man on the UCLA campus, and still
plays like an overly-touted college receiver. Mitchell flaunted
his disrespect when he poked fun at the anonymity of Patriots secondary
and remarked that he had something for New England safety Rodney
Harrison. Mitchell may have seen the highs and lows of NFC championships,
but Harrison has seen the highs and lows of the biggest game of
all.
In January 1995, when the San Francisco 49ers cruised to an easy
49-26 victory in Super Bowl XXIX, Harrison was a rookie safety with
the San Diego Chargers, a team that was outgunned and frighteningly
overmatched. 49ers QB Steve Young threw six touchdown passes — including
four in the first half — picking apart the Chargers secondary with
ease. Harrison was just an NFL neophyte stuck in special teams and
dime packages, but he began to turn heads as he smacked opposing
helmets and rang up fines.
During the better part of the next decade with the Chargers, a team
that unceremoniously released him after nine seasons, Harrison never
made it back to the Super Bowl. He never even sniffed the slightest
aroma of postseason glory. That was before Harrison was picked up
by the Patriots in the 2003 offseason, and before a capable cast
started receiving the obvious messages he was sending with his huge
hits, fiery attitude and solid leadership skills. He led that defense
last year, and along with LB Tedy Bruschi, he leads this defense
now. So let’s forget Freddie Mitchell and his silly comments. He
probably won’t play much of a factor in the game Sunday, although
Owens and McNabb might. When T.O. takes the field, Eagles fans will
heave a collective sigh of relief, although they should probably
wait until he gets hit a few times. Remember, playing in the Super
Bowl is not the ultimate experience. Winning it is.
And Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have won a couple. The third title
will be the one that clinches their place in NFL history. Brady
will assume his position among the top five Super Bowl quarterbacks
of all-time, along with Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, John Elway
and Troy Aikman. Montana and Bradshaw were 4-0, Elway was 2-3, Aikman
was 3-0 and Brady is currently 2-0. Right now, Brady’s on par with
Jim Plunkett, who won with the 1980 and 1983 Raiders teams. Everybody
always says defense wins championships, but what wins or loses Super
Bowls? Historically, it’s turnovers.
Montana won four Super Bowls, throwing 11 touchdown passes, and
zero interceptions. Bradshaw, Plunkett, and Aikman were 9-0 combined
in their appearances, with 18 TD passes and only 5 INTs. That’s
13 Lombardi trophies in 13 appearances, and 5 interceptions between
the four winning quarterbacks. Those are some pretty overwhelming
statistics, and they come from even more overwhelming performances.
Elway is the exception to the turnover rule, having thrown 8 INTs
and just three TD passes during his Super Bowl career (1 TD, 2 INT
in wins and 2 TD, 6 INT in losses). But he scored four times in
those five games on TD runs, including one apiece in each of the
wins.
Brady is right on track to join the exclusive crew, with 4 TD passes
and just one INT in his two appearances. He is poised in the big
game, a trait which should lead to another win for New England.
But it’s not just Brady. Montana, Bradshaw, Plunkett and Aikman
all had great coaches to help them through the fire. Bill Walsh,
Chuck Noll, Tom Flores and Jimmy Johnson were all brilliant commanders
and motivators, and their QBs proved their merits. Belichick and
Brady are most like Walsh and Montana, although they rely more on
defense and opportunities created by turnovers.
The Eagles’ Donovan McNabb has all the tools to be a part of the
elite list of QBs mentioned above. He’s smart, effective, makes
the most of opportunities from turnovers and is every bit as mobile
and dangerous as Elway, Plunkett and Montana.
The true test will be if McNabb can find the end zone more than
he finds any of the Patriots defensive backs. If the Eagles can
prevent turnovers, they have an honest chance at beating the Patriots,
who have made the most of their opportunities in both the Super
Bowls they won.
I think this game will feature lots of big hits, a few keys turnovers
and two key plays on special teams. But what else is new in the
world of post-2000 Super Bowls?
Final Score: Patriots 30, Eagles
24
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