So I guess the Patriots aren't among the best teams of all-time.
The Giants took care of that Sunday night, making the Patriots nothing more than a footnote in history - a team that went 16-0 in the regular season and didn't win the big one.
Was it a good season for the Patriots? Sure.
But the lack of a championship guarantees that they can't be discussed with the best of all-time.
The Giants beat the Patriots by putting an obscene amount of pressure on Tom Brady. They hit him. They hurried him. They sacked him.
And the New England offensive line was exposed for being not all that it had been cracked up to be.
Was Brady's ankle a factor? Probably. He certainly didn't look as confident or mobile as he had been earlier this season.
The Giants blitzed at times, but just as often, they got to Brady with a four-man rush.
And that's what you need to do to beat Brady. You can't blitz every play, because when it's picked up, you're in trouble. But if you can mix it up and get there whether you send six or send four, now you're in business because it becomes a chess game.
There's some fire in the smoke coming out about the recent news that the Patriots filmed the Rams in a walkthrough before the Super Bowl in 2001.
If there's proof, Bill Belichick could go down for a long time.
5 comments:
If it weren't obvious to any football fan already, the Giants proved why it's important to be able to build pressure with your DL.
I was really concerned about the Steelers DL after the 2006 season and when Aaron Smith went down this year, everyone saw with their own eyes what many have known for the last 4-5 years--that Smith can't be replaced with just 1 man.
I'm really worried about both lines this year. I really would like to see the Steelers use first day draft picks on both sides of the line.
The Giants caused all sorts of problems because they were able to pressure Brady with basically their front 4. This allowed the LBs stay back and took away a lot of Brady's quick pass options--which is where they made a living this year.
Lastly, thanks for all your great blogging this year. I look forward to you blog more than any other source of Steelers news!
I couldn't agree more with your observation about the Pats' OL. Matt Light and the RT were like swinging gates. Light was so bad, Belichek had to put Kyle Brady beside him at TE to help block. And Light was voted to the Pro Bowl! Now the whole league can see why NE used so much 3-step drop and short passes because of their less than stellar offensive line.
Also, I think the Pats are a team that is going to go downhill fast now. Their defense is old and they are losing one of their better CBs, Samuel, to UFA.
If this NE team played the 70s Steelers, NE would be blown out of the stadium.
It kills Tunch Ilkin that Matt Light has now mad as may Pro Bowls – two – as he did. He doesn't think much of Light at all. And I trust Tunch's evaluation of linemen very much.
It was one of the few times that New England was actually not allowed to hold nearly at will. The result was a line that was exposed. Spygate will continue to grow as a story in part because of Goodell's inept handling of the situation. Unlike Taglibue, Goodell has become an issue to himself. A big big mistake for a Commissioner.
It was great to see the mighty has ones fall. See how graceful they was in the loss, as when they where winning. Now more running the game scores up, a coach that showed the world what great sportsmanship person he is by running off the field before the game was completely over. I guess the saying is correct. Cheaper never win. Brady laugh when Plex showed little respect to his offense when he prediction them only score 17 points. Tom you only scored 14.
Yes Brady ankle might have caused some problems, but when it was the OL that was one of the problems. How passes in the winning drive could the Pats had either Int or knock the ball out of the hands. I give credit to the Giants heart. They just wanted it more and fought thru it all. Even Plex was injured and told the trainers he play no matter what. Pats thought they had this game, came in cocky and left with a lose. I will never be a Bill Belichck fan. He was caught cheating several times, how many tapes were there, how many times was they warn to stop. Does he think he has more power than the NFL? Maybe the NFL should show him who is the Boss.
I think our government has better things to decide on the sports issues. Why not check and see if Exxon is cheating us.
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