Exhuasted today after the Superbowl. The Pats won their third Superbowl in 4 years and I'm elated. I watch these games a little too closely and when I know I can't replay something (for instance, when we go over to a friend's apartment to watch the game) I watch all the more intensely. As you can imagine, watching a game with me is a real treat.
Due to this rather over-intesnse style of watching a game, I am a great arm chair coach. And, as TMQ says, all my advice is guaranteed or your money back! The big question from the Superbowl is why did the Iggles develop a bad case of vapor lock (not to be confused with Todd Pinkston getting cramps during the game and having to leave) at crunch time, I've developed two theories. My effort is trying to see things from Andy Reid's perspective and it's possible he played it the best way it could have been played. I certainly expected them to go no-huddle (as did the rest of planet earth) but it's entirely possible that Reid felt McNabb would throw an INT instantly if they did. That McNabb was just too shell-shocked to run the thing effectively. The way the Pats D played, I don't blame him. Dealing with that crew must be like steering a ship in a hurricane.
My other theory is that Reid knew his D only had one stand left in them and he needed to give them time to rest. Going hurry-up would have had his offense off the field (scoring or not) too quickly and the D just had nothing left in the tank. When they scored to pull within 3 with so little time left, he knew he could tell his D to get one last punt, and they did. Of course that put the game back in McNabb's hands which wasn't where Reid wanted it, but at that point he'd done all he could. And, naturally, McNabb threw the INT when under pressure. This is the weaker of the two theories as Reid's post-game comments indicate that he was himself a bit shell-shocked.
Anyway, those are my two theories.
Finally, these have been the best years to be a Boston sports fan there ever will be. Starting really with Pedro's incredible year in '99 and rolling right on to the Superbowl-World Series-Superbowl trifecta, there's been nothing like it in Boston history. It won't last (perhaps it ended last night) but I've made the effort to soak in every last minute of it. It has been and continues to be one of the things in life that you just sit back and enjoy while it lasts.
tag: sports
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