Super Bowl
 

Seems like it could be a close game.

Seems Giants have had best defense in playoffs.

And with Gronkowski injured we think, could be tough for Patriots.

Will it be high scoring or low scoring?

Turnovers may make difference in game along with special teams.

I am leaning toward Brady. And Patriots winning close for some reason.

I don't really have a clear vibe about this one. I'm just hoping for an entertaining game as the last pro football we'll see live for the next five+ months. Can't wait for the draft.

Today, bring on the goofy and offensive tv commercials. That's what most people seem to focus on.

NBC did a feature about the former Saints player who now has ALS. They did a quick montage of other NFL players who had ALS and had a quick snippet of an Oiler running with the football that they identified as Glenn Montgomery. But the player had a number in the 30s and looked, as best as I can remember, like Marcus Robertson. Montgomery, if you'll recall, was a defensive tackle who probably wore a number in the 70s or the 90s (I want to say 95 but I'm not totally sure of that). Anyway, it certainly wasn't the skinny Oiler they showed carrying the football.

Shame on NBC Sports for that. Surely even a still black and white photo of the real Glenn Montgomery would have been more appropriate than trying to make viewers believe you have a video clip of a player when you don't.

(Update: Montgomery wore #94)

The Texans with a healthy Matt Schaub were better than both of these teams.

That is all.

That was all I could think. Two seriously flawed teams with big holes. The nfl playoffs are a pick em for the top 6 or 8 teams. Just be good enough, healthy and catch some breaks. We missed our first chance as a team who was legitimately good enough.

Yeah, enjoyed the game, ads , and halftime show.

And Texans are right there.

In my book one of the most entertaining SB games with the outcome uncertain until, well to the very last play of the game. And the Pats could have just as easily been up with Manning/Giants throwing the hail marry at the end. How much difference did it make for the Pats with their big TE "Gronk" being basically a non-factor because of injury ?
Like most fans I'm still trying to figure out why the Pats were favored in the first place, but their defense did play better than I expected.
So what do you think, is Pierre-Paul now possibly the best Dlineman in the game ? And is Eli Manning as good as his brother and/or Brady ?

Brady sure looked rattled under the pass rush. Very jumpy, but still made a few plays here and there. I would definitely agree that not having a 100% Gronk was a huge factor. Pats D was respectable I thought.

Other than the Manningham catch/Eli throw down the sideline, I thought the game really lacked the "WOW" plays. Nothing special.

David Carr has a ring now. God Bless America.

As many as Peyton Manning. I've been trying hard not to think about this.

I see a number of areas where the Texans and the Giants are remarkably similar. They have better depth at receiver and a better secondary but both teams with with their pass rush and a controlled offense. I've never thought of Eli as elite but I'm being forced to revise that. One thing for sure is he reads blitzes well and does not make too many stupid decisions.

I think we have a clearly better secondary. Aside from CB#2 none of those guys would start for us. And when it is Allen on the field, even that position is not a big difference.

I think QB and WR are where the Giants are better. I also think their pass rush is a little more consistent. We have times where we cannot scheme pressure and the fact that we don't have elite individual rushers hurts us (1st 25 minutes against Baltimore).

But our run game, TEs, LBs (middle guys, since I am comparing our OLB with the DE), OL, are better.

Plus maybe the biggest difference, they didn't drop any punts.

Right. I wasn't trying to initiate a position by position comparison necessarily, just observing that the two teams are similar in that they rely heavily on a sometimes dominant pass rush and have solid, careful offensives rather than explosive ones.

But the exciting thing for all of us I think is the discovery that the Texans are (finally) absolutely competitive with any of the six or eight best teams in the league.