Superbowl XLII

[JangoFett4Hire 0]

If the Giants actually somehow win this game it's got to be the biggest upset in the history of sports. Can you imagine Eli making Peyton eat crow if he was the one to take down the undefeated Pats?

The 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team says hello.

 

18-0 or not, the Pats are not the great team people think they are. Strugglling against an injured Chargers team confirms that.

 

 

Actually, I heard that a SD radio station interviewed Mike Eruzione this past week, to give hope to SD Super Chargers fans, and

Mike laughed that off, saying the Patriots were scarier than the Russians. Or something to that extent.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

I don't like the Patriots (OK, I'm just sick of the constant hype, really), but to say they're "not that good" when they're 18-0 is laughable.

[JHawk 0]

I don't like the Patriots (OK, I'm just sick of the constant hype, really), but to say they're "not that good" when they're 18-0 is laughable.

"Not that good" and "not the great team everybody says they are" are two different things. The "best team ever", as a lot of people are already proclaiming them despite the Super Bowl still being two weeks away, would have had that game out of reach early and had their second string in in the fourth quarter to give them playoff experience.

 

The Pats are a very good team that are undefeated based on a couple of breaks (which all good teams get, so no knock on them for that) and a phantom call that kept what became the winning drive alive against the Ravens.

[Boon 0]

If they win the Super Bowl, I assume you won't be jumping on the "greatest team ever assembled" bandwagon.

[NoCalMike 0]

I think there is a difference between having the best season ever, and being the best team ever. If the Pats win the Superbowl, then there is no argument to be made that they had the best season ever, but with "Best Team Ever" there will always be room for debate because of all the intangibles that teams go through during the NFL season.

 

I mean, for starters, while NE did look dominant for most of the season, when it has come to the post-season, they look like their usual, "just good enough to beat the competition"-selves as they did during their other superbowl runs. So the fact that they went 16-0 should not automatically or necessarily trump the fact that other teams might have gone 14-2 or 13-3 but once the playoffs started, they made fools out of their opponents.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Well, I don't like the idea of declaring a "best _____ ever" in any sport. It's pretty much unfair to compare one team in the current era to another team from 20 or 30 years ago. I mean, let's face it, the Patriots could win the Super Bowl and go undefeated through next season, and the Patriots wouldn't live up to the legacy of the Lombardi Packers, or the '72 Dolphins, in the minds of some fans, for example.

 

I think part of it is that we're in the age of ESPN and 24 hour sports radio. Can't people just enjoy the current games and players without endlessly making lists and trying to compare players from different decades, when it's really not that relevant?

[sfaJack 0]

Yeah, especially with a game/league like football (and the NFL in particular) that has changed so much over the years. Football players these days are so much faster, stronger, and bigger and the offensive/defensive schemes so much more advanced and wide open than they were even 20 years ago that there is no fair way to compare the teams and players these days to those of the old days. Not to mention all the rule changes designed to help the offenses, which would hurt great squads like Doomsday and the Steel Curtain.

 

Would great players from 1970 be as great if you gave them all the modern workout techniques and supplements and made it a year-round job like it is now? Sure. But since you can't do that, it is pointless to try and compare them. It's not even that much fun, really, because as Invader said, 95% of the fans are going to declare that their favorite teams/memories are superior to everyone else's just because that is their own personal bias.

 

Example: I think the Cowboys' Super Bowl teams of the 90's (especially the '93 team) are superior to the 2007 Patriots and would beat the Pats if they played tomorrow. We will never know for sure though.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I'm not so sure about that, Jack. The Boys' defense back then was pretty great, but their offense, even with Aikman, Irvin, and Smith, is no comparison to the monster that NE has on offense. Brady and Moss are better than Aikman and Irvin, and Maroney might turn out to be a pretty great back in his own right to rival Smith.

[cabbageboy 0]

The only one of those 90s Cowboys teams that I'd grant the time of day to is the 1992 team that was 13-3 and beat the Niners on the road for the NFC title, then destroyed the Bills (though some of it was the Bills melting down). The 1993 team was only 12-4 and had a much tougher time with the Bills in the Super Bowl.

 

If the Patriots win 1 more game they have to be considered the best ever. The 1972 Dolphins were also undefeated but they really didn't play anybody, maybe 2 teams in the reg. season with winning records. And their playoff run wasn't exactly dominant, 6 point win over the Browns, 4 point come from behind against Pittsburgh, 7 point Super Bowl win over the Redskins.

 

The Patriots have beaten EVERYBODY this year. Indy, SD twice, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh...all AFC playoff teams. They already beat their SB opponent, the Giants in addition to the Cowboys and Redskins from the NFC playoffs. Green Bay is really the only solid team they haven't faced, and they can't now because the Packers blew that opportunity.

[RepoMan 0]

The fact that the Giants played the Pats close is just going to motivate the Pats even more. Bellechik is going to run up the score as a final fuck you to the rest of the country.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Im so sick of the Patriots, I think we should all just agree that they'll never lose another game ever with the best QB that ever walked the face of the earth and just announce them as the Super Bowl Champions for the next 10 years and start the process of building a New England Patriots Greatest Professional Sports Team Ever wing at the Hall of Fame.

[Precious Roy 0]

I think we should all just agree that they'll never lose another game ever with the best QB that ever walked the face of the earth and just announce them as the Super Bowl Champions for the next 10 years and start the process of building a New England Patriots Greatest Professional Sports Team Ever wing at the Hall of Fame.

 

Agreed

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

If the Patriots win 1 more game they have to be considered the best ever. The 1972 Dolphins were also undefeated but they really didn't play anybody, maybe 2 teams in the reg. season with winning records. And their playoff run wasn't exactly dominant, 6 point win over the Browns, 4 point come from behind against Pittsburgh, 7 point Super Bowl win over the Redskins.

The '72 Dolphins went from game #5 until the AFC Champ. game without their starting QB, using a 38-year old backup QB after Griese broke his ankle. Do the Pats stay undefeated if Brady goes down in, say, game 6 or 7, with Matt Cassell playing out the rest of the reg. season? Do the theoretical Matt Cassell led Pats beat the Jags in the playoffs?

[KingPK 0]

But like people are saying, it's all relative. In 1972, offenses were predominately rushing offenses: 13 teams had over 2,000 total yards rushing compared to just 7 in 2007. The Jets had the most total passing yards with 2777, which would have put them about 28th out of 32 this year and averaged just 5.8 YPC, which led the league. The worst pass offense this year (San Francisco), averaged THREE more yards per completion.

 

There just is too much difference in each era to really say if one team is the "greatest".

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Oh, I agree. I just take exception when people discount what the '72 team did just because they had an easier schedule.

 

The Dolphins actually had 2 1000-yard rushers that year, the (I believe) 1st time it was done.

[Fartsauce 0]

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was photographed Monday with what appears to be walking cast on his right foot. The Boston Herald and Boston Globe had the photos - credited to infphoto.com - on their Web sites. A video of Brady walking with a slight limp from an SUV to girlfriend Gisele Bundchen's apartment in New York is available on TMZ.com. The Patriots beat San Diego 21-12 on Sunday and play the New York Giants in the Super Bowl in two weeks.

 

OMGZ DRAMA

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Strength of schedule is a silly argument to make in favor of New England. They're in the softest division in the NFL. They had six easy wins, and Baltimore was obviously playing WAY above their week-to-week performance when they almost pulled off the upset. That team was crap. They played the Browns early in the season, too. That's half of their season.

[sfaJack 0]

I'm not so sure about that, Jack. The Boys' defense back then was pretty great, but their offense, even with Aikman, Irvin, and Smith, is no comparison to the monster that NE has on offense. Brady and Moss are better than Aikman and Irvin, and Maroney might turn out to be a pretty great back in his own right to rival Smith.

See, that's what I'm talking about! I'm biased to the Cowboys, but the honest truth is we'll never know. Maroney MIGHT rival Emmitt someday (big 'if' there though), but '93 was Emmitt's prime and the fact is he was better then than Maroney is now. New England wouldn't have an answer for Jay Novacek (nobody else ever did) without having to let Emmitt run wild. And that Cowboys' defense WOULD get some pressure on Brady, which would slow down the NE offense.

 

It's a close game either way, for sure. But still...we'll never know. And that is why it's largely pointless to spend a lot of time arguing about it.

 

The only one of those 90s Cowboys teams that I'd grant the time of day to is the 1992 team that was 13-3 and beat the Niners on the road for the NFC title, then destroyed the Bills (though some of it was the Bills melting down). The 1993 team was only 12-4 and had a much tougher time with the Bills in the Super Bowl.

The 1993 Cowboys were better than the '92 version. You forget that they played (and lost) their first two games of '93 without Emmitt, who was holding out. Once they got him back, they went 12-2, steamrolling just about everyone they played (and that would have been 13-1 had Leon Lett not fucked up on the blocked FG on Thanksgiving vs. Miami). They also beat the living shit out of both the Packers and Niners (again) in the playoffs and dominated Buffalo in the second half of the Super Bowl.

 

And why would you think there's shame in not beating Buffalo by 35 points again? 30-13 is a pretty thorough ass-kicking and it isn't as if Buffalo was a shitty one-year wonder Super Bowl team (see: Atlanta Falcons).

[Angle-plex 0]

The strength of schedule debate for any team might be the worst thing ever. It's not like the teams are picking which games they want to play.

[sfaJack 0]

Agreed. Especially when you're bitching about the schedule of an opponent within your own division (i.e. Marvin's bitching about the Steelers this year).

[JangoFett4Hire 0]

Im so sick of the Patriots, I think we should all just agree that they'll never lose another game ever with the best QB that ever walked the face of the earth and just announce them as the Super Bowl Champions for the next 10 years and start the process of building a New England Patriots Greatest Professional Sports Team Ever wing at the Hall of Fame.

 

 

Do you want some HD Cheese to go with that HD coughxcough syrup?

 

Here's an idea, instead of watching the Pats win yet another Super Bowl, go get your ass LAID.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Im so sick of the Patriots, I think we should all just agree that they'll never lose another game ever with the best QB that ever walked the face of the earth and just announce them as the Super Bowl Champions for the next 10 years and start the process of building a New England Patriots Greatest Professional Sports Team Ever wing at the Hall of Fame.

 

 

Do you want some HD Cheese to go with that HD coughxcough syrup?

 

Here's an idea, instead of watching the Pats win yet another Super Bowl, go get your ass LAID.

That's my plan, actually.

[Guest tonyjaymzretro]

Im so sick of the Patriots, I think we should all just agree that they'll never lose another game ever with the best QB that ever walked the face of the earth and just announce them as the Super Bowl Champions for the next 10 years and start the process of building a New England Patriots Greatest Professional Sports Team Ever wing at the Hall of Fame.

 

 

Do you want some HD Cheese to go with that HD coughxcough syrup?

 

Here's an idea, instead of watching the Pats win yet another Super Bowl, go get your ass LAID.

That's my plan, actually.

 

 

sex on a sunday? blasphemy!

 

 

[Guest Vitamin X]

Im so sick of the Patriots, I think we should all just agree that they'll never lose another game ever with the best QB that ever walked the face of the earth and just announce them as the Super Bowl Champions for the next 10 years and start the process of building a New England Patriots Greatest Professional Sports Team Ever wing at the Hall of Fame.

 

 

Do you want some HD Cheese to go with that HD coughxcough syrup?

 

Here's an idea, instead of watching the Pats win yet another Super Bowl, go get your ass LAID.

That's my plan, actually.

Thirded!

 

Although there's no reason both things couldn't be accomplished on the same day, particularly on the west coast where the game ends early.

[JHawk 0]

Get laid during the halftime show. Then you don't even need to wait for the game to be over to fall asleep

[RonL21 0]

This Tickled Me...

 

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

Two years ago, I rooted on the Seahawks for rather obvious reasons if you read my posts in football threads.

 

Last year, I rooted on the Colts because Peyton Manning entertains me greatly.

 

This year, I'm rooting on the Patriots because I want to see history.

 

I don't really get sport hate. The team that wins the Super Bowl is the best team of the year. In fact the two teams that make the Superbowl are the two best of the year by virtue of defeat. The #1 in the AFC against the #1 in the NFC. Isn't that enough of a draw? I mean, you also have a chance at seeing a team do what no other has ever done. I can't see why you'd hate a team that much to not want to see them do it or at the very least TRY to do it.

 

I'm really looking forward to this game. It should be a great game if the Giants can keep the Patriots from scoring too often and if Eli Manning continues to have such a great run.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

MVP prediction poll up.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I predicted Randy Moss because I figure he'll make the big plays against the Giants secondary and Brady's already won the MVP for the Pats in Super Bowls- twice now, I believe.

[JHawk 0]

Brady will win MVP because Joe Buck needs a cock to suck for four fucking hours.

 

Seriously, I think the goal of every football announcer these days is to see which one can verbally fellate Tom Brady the most.