**The Official Super Bowl Thread - Patriots vs. Eagles**

Well here I am, after a heartbreaking loss to put my input in.

1. McNabb seemed out of it tonight, totally. Throwing the ball to receivers covered by 2 or more defenders, not trying to run when everybody said he would have to for the Eagles to win, poor leadership while the game was winding down, and a very bad showing in the red zone. McNabb can be a clutch performer, somebody said he wasn't, but he is definitely not a big game performer.

2. Terrell Owens showed a lot of heart and courage out there in the game. I still think he was wrong for playing but he got some great numbers for a guy coming off the type of injury he did. Even if you don't like guy you still should at least admire him a little for that.

3. The Eagles clock management can be blamed on others as well as McNabb. The coaching calls, the other players lack of urgency, and Westbrook catching that pass at the 4 when he should have dropped it.

4. The Eagles D and their inability to get to Brady. They only had 2 sacks on the night and rarely if ever pressured him.

5. Hats off to the Patriots. 3 titles in 4 years, great personnel, great team. To put together and do what they've done the past 4 years is incredible and I congratulate them and their fans on a great run and it looks like they'll be able to keep it together due to the fact that their players are willing to give up money to keep the team together and stay in New England.

 

Why did the Patriots have to act like idiots after every good play and do the Eagle thing? Made them look classless.

 

That is a good point, everybody talks about how the Patriots are a class act bunch and while I would have expected some of the Eagles players to act like that, I didn't expect any of the Patriots to act that way.

 

The Eagles could have won this game with smarter play from McNabb.

I can't believe people are calling the Pats a Dynasty...they have won by 3 points in all 3 games.

And in the first one they did not deserve to even get there, but got there by a fluke call (tuck rule) fumble against the Raiders.

Don't get me wrong the Pats are good, but the Steelers, the Niners, and the Cowboys were all better.

Hell, the Bills would have beaten them at least once.

DD

 

I have no problem calling them a dynasty, if you win by 1 or 100 it is still a win. I agree the other dynasties before them are better but I cannot deny that the Patriots are one especially in the day and age of a salary cap which is supposed to keep stuff like this from happening.

 

The Pats are definitely the best team of this era. They have won every big game that they've played. Who cares if they only win by 3 points in their SB matchups? They Win. It didn't matter who it was. Whether it was the "Greatest show on turf", hot Pathers team, Peyton Manning, McNabb and TO, they were all beaten by the better team. And to do it consistently like they have is incredible like that 21 game win streak. Including the playoffs, the Pats won 85% of their games during the SB years. That's defintiely kick ass and I would put them up with those great teams of the past. All hail Tom Montana.

 

They probably got tired of hearing talk from a team that had never done anything. By all rights, if any team had a "right" to talk trash, it was the Patriots. I guess it is just human nature to do what some of their guys were doing to shut up blowhards like Freddie Mitchell and company.

But yea I agree that it made them look as bad as the Eagles for doing that crap.

 

3 out of 4 Superbowls. That is a dynasty. No doubt. But McNabb should have won that game. He came out like a rookie and finished like a rookie. Experience was everything in this game.

 

Simple but well put about McNabb and experience.

 

I hear Freddie b****ell's family are worried about him. They haven't seen him since Sunday evening. Last known location was in Rodney Harrison's pocket. If you have any information, please call 1-800-OWNED.

 

BTW, what ended up being the over/under on burning cars in Philly and NE?

 

Here's a ggod question:

Will the Patriots be the first NFL team to three-peat?

 

I don't know, I heard Boston was pretty calm after the victory.

 

They should be. 3 championships in a little over a year.

 

McNabb should not be blamed. Yeah he made mistakes, but he was the Iggles offense. All 3 touchdown throws were GREAT throws, and 21 points (4 more points than I thought they could) ain't bad to put up against the Pats (especially given the no running game, see below).

In the superbowl runs of the Pats, McNabb made more big plays than the 2 time offensive player of the year (Manning), rookie of the year (Rothlesburger) and another former offensive player of the year (Warner), that is just off the top of my head. Some times you have to credit the opposition. If McNabb doesn't take chances with the narrow openings he has (just check how slim of margin his TDs were where he had to be spot on and was), the Igles lose like 24-6.

The bottom line is no team has gone 1 -dimensional offensively and beaten the Pats. McNabb made a good showing with his starting TE out (4th best WR), his best WR at 70%, and his 5th best WR out the 2nd half. If you want to blame the Igles offense, blame their O-line and Westbrook for not getting the run game going and allowing them to be balanced.

I am not saying McNabb is where Elway was when he was getting bombed in superbowls, but the guy is one tough QB to stop. I come close to hating the Igles as "hate" can be applied to professional sports teams, and I recognize the guy is good and one of the last guys I want with the ball trying to beat me. NE is simply superior in the trenches on both side, and in most other phases, and McNabb kept the score close.

BTW-Tom Brady stunk it up the first 25 minutes (missing wide open guys with all day to pass and just looking out of it) and if not for a phenom play by Branch on his careless, otherwise intercepted, 4th quarter throw (with no need to be so with a 7 point 4th quarter lead) would have let the Igles right back in it.

I have no doubt if you switched Brady and McNabb yesterday (Brady has been great other big games, but not this time) NE wins going away.

 

And with that post, my respect for Desert Scar grows.

 

Freddie Mitchell and who?

 

I'd like to know too. I also don't think what he said, outside of calling out Harrison (who's never ever ever ever ever trashed talked in his life...please) warranted any kind of response from the Patriots. They act like that's what they want, to be recognized as a team, then they flip out over that comment.

I think it's more to what Lil Pun said though. I didn't expect this kind of stuff from the Patriots. They're one of the only good teams that weren't my own that I really liked because they didn't seem cocky or too bad of trash-talkers. That changed last night.

 

I second that wanting to know. Now I can understand if you meant they got tired of hearing about the Eagles because everybody concentrated on Mitchell, Owens' ankle, etc. but as far as talking the only Eagle doing so was Mitchell and he didn't do sh!+.

 

The Patriots are not exactly a class team. Harrison is known to be one of the dirtiest players (Jon Runyun sp? is too) in the league. I remember during last year's playoffs they were acting like asses and I saw some cheap shots. Sorry I can't remember the specifics (maybe after the Indy game), but it was enough for me to start pulling for Carolina hard when otherwise I would have had no opinion on the outcome.

So both teams are dirty with their share of jackasses and cheap shot artists. But this is mostly true for all NFL teams though.

As for yesterday, it not bother me at all for the Pats to mock Terrel's flapping. I did think it was quite a joke the Igles secondary were acting they were all special after 4-5-6+ yard runs. I remember Lewis and Ware both doing this after good offensive plays by their opponents. I expected that crap from both teams.