Post 258 – Super Bowl: The Morning After

I know some think the game was boring because of the low score, but I enjoyed the game and the way both defenses played…..Neither Brady nor Goff had their best games, but Brady made his passes when it mattered on the game winning drive…..Julian Edelman deserved the MVP award, as he caught everything in sight…..I thought New England had the edge in the first quarter.  The Patriots could have had points, but an interception and missed field goal prevented that.  At some point in the first half, New England had an eight-to-one edge in first downs…..The on-screen graphics curse reared its ugly head during the game.  As the Patriots lined up for a field goal attempt, the graphic said no kicker missed a field goal in Mercedes-Benz Stadium and what happens?  Gostkowski missed the field goal. It also mentioned Brady was not sacked during the post-season and not long after that, he was sacked…..In the second quarter, Brady connected with Rob Gronkowski for 14 yards and while it did not get a first down, it enabled the Patriots to pin the Rams down deep in their own territory on a punt.  That’s why teams will complete a pass that doesn’t yield a first down: field position.  New England’s field position advantage led to a field goal and the only points in the first half…..It looked as if the Rams might do something in the second quarter at midfield, but a bad sack taken by Goff of more that ten yards forced them to punt…..Greg Zuerlein tied the game with a 53-yard field goal late in the third quarter and Zuerlein, out of Missouri Western State, is making a big name for himself in the postseason…..Stephon Gilmore mad a key interception in the fourth quarter to keep the Rams off the board…..As good as Edelman was, Gronkowski made the big reception to set up the go-ahead touchdown.  He is at the point where we can call him one of the best tight ends ever and if he decides to retire, he will go out on a high note…..I miss the old post-game celebrations when they had it in the locker room and players were spraying champagne all over one another.  The current celebration is too much of a Las Vegas production and there is too much confetti flying around…..Speaking of post-game scenes, the mob around Brady was a circus and poorly organized, to say the least.  There was a massive wave of bodies pushing to get a close-up or to take photo of him.  BCS reporter Tracy Woolfson looked like she lost her microphone and it was passed over the crowd to her.  Meanwhile, it was getting in the way of players congratulating Brady…..The best commercial of the game, to me, was Charger coach Anthony Lynn speaking to first-responders about his experience in a crash, followed by his being introduced to the ones who rescued him.  The second best was the one before the game where actor John Malkovich tells off Peyton Manning….I have been critical of Tony Romo for not shutting up during a broadcast, but I thought he cut down his chatter last night.  If he keeps working on this and gets better, he can be a good color man. I still miss Phil Simms, though. …..The halftime show was disappointing and I think Maroon 5 could have done better.  At least it was better than Justin TImberlake last year, but not on the level of Bruno Mars from five years ago…..Congratulations to the Patriots on winning their sixth Super Bowl in eighteen years.