LAST EDITED ON Feb-08-17 AT 08:58PM (MST)[p]Never been a Patriots fan but I'm always impressed with perennial winners. However, after they picked up Kyle Van Noy, (a kid I watched at BYU) my interest grew. So....... for this Super Bowl I was hoping the Patriots would win.
I was stunned at how #93 and #97 from Atlanta went through the Patriots front line like water through a sieve in the first half. They pounded Brady unmercifully. Brady was pouring sweat and missing his receivers on nearly every throw.
Atlanta's defensive line stopped the Patriots running backs, stone cold.
After half time, the Patriots started throwing short 4 to 6 yard passes, changed the tempo of the game completely. Brady's completion % went up, the sacks stopped and the Patriots started moving the ball. Patriot's defense started to get to Ryan. Turn-overs come when the defense gets going and they did.
Then Edelman, who hasn't done a thing (not his fault, bad throws) all day makes a "you can't script that" kind of catch, and the bottom falls out on Atlanta. Without that catch, I think Atlanta wins. The kind of concentration and effort that Edelman made on that play is why they pay some players millions. That one separated the men from the boys and will be a Super Bowl highlight forever.
I'll give Brady and the rest of the Patriots full credit for never quitting, in spite of the odds at half time and even at the beginning of the third quarter. And....... Wisz is right, in hindsight, Atlanta's coach made a couple of bad decisions, as it turned out. However without that sack those calls may have looked different. He obviously believed they needed another 7 points, at that point in the game.
Credit for the win? I'd give the change in strategy to old sober/grumpy faced Bill Belichick. (He reminds me a great deal of Coach LaVell Edwards, who was the nicest guy in the business and always looked like he was pissed off at the whole world. His players loved him.)
Brady and the boys had to play the game on the field but until ole grump face made the changes they weren't doing all that well. So I'm giving most of the credit to "Commander and Chief Belichick.
DC
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