Octopus Overlords

coopasonic wrote:It's still the largest comeback, but last night was more significant and I can see the title being taken away.

This will be the greatest comeback in SB history, but not playoff history. And you can't just change that.

Forgive me my pessimism, the Patriots just won the damn superbowl again.

James White scores the Pats first TD, gets the 2-pt conversion on their second TD, scores the game-tying TD, plus the walk-off TD in overtime... but Brady gets the MVP? Come on.

msteelers wrote:James White scores the Pats first TD, gets the 2-pt conversion on their second TD, scores the game-tying TD, plus the walk-off TD in overtime... but Brady gets the MVP? Come on.

Dude. You know how I feel about Brady. Even I am perfectly fine with giving Brady the MVP here.

Apparently this is the largest comeback in Patriots franchise history. The previous record was coming back from down 24 against the (Manning-led) Broncos in November 2013 (and I also remember that game, that was awesome). They picked a great game to do it in.

RunningMn9 wrote:Dude. You know how I feel about Brady. Even I am perfectly fine with giving Brady the MVP here.

That's not a knock on Brady. It's annoying that the MVP is almost always the quarterback. Even Disney thought it should be White.

I understand I guess, but on a night when the Pats executed the greatest comeback in SB history, and Brady broke Warners passing record for yards in a SB game, I mean, the QB is getting the award.

Yeah, White was huge in the game, and might've been the next MVP choice after Brady, but it's hard to say that he was more valuable to the Patriots than Brady was.

RunningMn9 wrote: And what the hell were the Falcons doing, snapping the ball with 10-15 seconds on the clock every play? Have they never run a 4 minute drill?

So much this. Not only were the play calls idiotic, but they weren't even trying to take time off the clock.

I'm going to disagree slightly with gameoverman, though. Atlanta seemed to think that they needed to keep passing to maintain the lead, ignoring the fact that they had gashed the Patriots in the first half by running the ball. If they just take the clock down to one second and run the ball every play in the 4th quarter, the Patriots just simply don't have time to come back.

And seriously, of all people Dan Quinn should know when to run the ball against the Patriots in the SB...

They were just following the advice of their new clock management consultant.

msteelers wrote:

RunningMn9 wrote:Dude. You know how I feel about Brady. Even I am perfectly fine with giving Brady the MVP here.

That's not a knock on Brady. It's annoying that the MVP is almost always the quarterback. Even Disney thought it should be White.

Why oh why couldn't White do that during my FF "Super Bowl" game? I might have one a shitload more $$$ if he did rather than his typical suckage.

Jeff V wrote:

msteelers wrote:

RunningMn9 wrote:Dude. You know how I feel about Brady. Even I am perfectly fine with giving Brady the MVP here.

That's not a knock on Brady. It's annoying that the MVP is almost always the quarterback. Even Disney thought it should be White.

Why oh why couldn't White do that during my FF "Super Bowl" game? I might have one a shitload more $$$ if he did rather than his typical suckage.

The only reliable Patriots fantasy players are Brady and Edelman. Any other player is a lottery pick given Belichick's tendency to emphasize different players at unpredictable times.

Blount was very reliable this year. During weeks 14-16 he had 18, 17, and 20 carries. Many years, though the RB position is unpredictable with one back getting 20 carries one week and 2 the next. I think this was the first year since Corey Dillon that a Pats RB was consistent throughout the year. Gronk is quite reliable when healthy as well.

El Guapo wrote:The only reliable Patriots fantasy players are Brady and Edelman. Any other player is a lottery pick given Belichick's tendency to emphasize different players at unpredictable times.

He was my last-string RB when the season started and I was forced to start him when two others died horribly in the first 2 weeks and the scrap heap had none better.

What, no blatantly blown PI no-call/call? No ref on the front page?

A roaring success!

I don't think anyone posted this yet - Atlanta led for 41 minutes and the Pats never led until they won the game.

I'm still in so much shock. And I need a nap.

I guess falling asleep half way through the 3rd quarter when it was 28-3 was a mistake. There was apparently much drama to be had.

Improbable comeback led to my winning squares for the first time ever! If I were not already a Brady fan I would be now. Won me money during the season for FF and now won me more for that amazing comeback. Go Tom!

RunningMn9 wrote:I understand I guess, but on a night when the Pats executed the greatest comeback in SB history, and Brady broke Warners passing record for yards in a SB game, I mean, the QB is getting the award.

Warner needs to be kicked out of the HoF, stat. Not even a record holder anymore

geezer wrote:

RunningMn9 wrote:I understand I guess, but on a night when the Pats executed the greatest comeback in SB history, and Brady broke Warners passing record for yards in a SB game, I mean, the QB is getting the award.

Warner needs to be kicked out of the HoF, stat. Not even a record holder anymore

He's lucky he got in on Saturday.

RunningMn9 wrote:

geezer wrote:

RunningMn9 wrote:I understand I guess, but on a night when the Pats executed the greatest comeback in SB history, and Brady broke Warners passing record for yards in a SB game, I mean, the QB is getting the award.

Warner needs to be kicked out of the HoF, stat. Not even a record holder anymore

He's lucky he got in on Saturday.

If Troy Aikman is in (which I am fully on board with) then Kurt Warner should be in.

Trent Steel wrote:If Troy Aikman is in (which I am fully on board with) then Kurt Warner should be in.

I hear ya, but I don't think there is any argument that exists for Troy Aikman other than SB wins. Which is fine, if that's your thing. But there is absolutely no statistical argument for his entry into the HOF. And I get that. And thus I ultimately "get" Warner. I just think that their cases are built more on mythology than anything else. And that's probably fine. It's the Hall of FAME. I just wouldn't have voted for either of them.

Averaging less than 200 yards passing per game for your career? That should be disqualifying in the modern era.

morlac wrote:Still processing and throwing up but damn if that wasn't the most Atlanta Sports thing ever.

Bad Atlanta:
4th qtr play calling. Really, WTF?
Stupid penalties. Young and dumb.
Freeman blown block. Hadn't done it all year, Caused a fumble and changed the game. Julio was cutting across the middle and had the safety turned around. He would of ran a while on that play.

Good Patriots:
Never Gave up
Great adjustments as always
Brady. Went from a bad game to Glory. He is just unbelievably good.


Hats off to Patriots they earned it. Brady and Belichick can go retire now....please.

You missed Atlanta not resting their starters on the DL. They were completely gassed in the 4th quarter and OT after mostly dominating the first 3 quarters. They desperately needed to substitute more liberally and use the OT timeouts to get them some rest.

Pyperkub wrote: They desperately needed to substitute more liberally and use the OT timeouts to get them some rest.

Speaking of which, all three of Atlanta's TOs in the second half were wasted. The first two TOs were called early in the 3rd quarter and the last was used to challenge the Edelman catch even before they even saw the replay. It sure would have been nice to have those TOs on the last drive of the 4th quarter...

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:

Pyperkub wrote: They desperately needed to substitute more liberally and use the OT timeouts to get them some rest.

Speaking of which, all three of Atlanta's TOs in the second half were wasted. The first two TOs were called early in the 3rd quarter and the last was used to challenge the Edelman catch even before they even saw the replay. It sure would have been nice to have those TOs on the last drive of the 4th quarter...

And on the challenge, the catch happened at 2:03. I think Quinn could've just let the clock tick down to 2:00, then used the two minute warning to figure out whether it made sense to use the challenge. Seeing the replays presumably would've convinced him not to use it.

It was a complete reactionary challenge; Quinn clearly lost his head in the moment.

Pyperkub wrote:

morlac wrote:Still processing and throwing up but damn if that wasn't the most Atlanta Sports thing ever.

Bad Atlanta:
4th qtr play calling. Really, WTF?
Stupid penalties. Young and dumb.
Freeman blown block. Hadn't done it all year, Caused a fumble and changed the game. Julio was cutting across the middle and had the safety turned around. He would of ran a while on that play.

Good Patriots:
Never Gave up
Great adjustments as always
Brady. Went from a bad game to Glory. He is just unbelievably good.


Hats off to Patriots they earned it. Brady and Belichick can go retire now....please.

You missed Atlanta not resting their starters on the DL. They were completely gassed in the 4th quarter and OT after mostly dominating the first 3 quarters. They desperately needed to substitute more liberally and use the OT timeouts to get them some rest.

But that problem was created by the poor offensive playcalling in the second half. Instead of trying to run the ball more and retain possession the OC went nuts with the passing game.

It now seems to me that Atlanta had the better team but Q was completely outcoached by The Master.

Apollo wrote:
It now seems to me that Atlanta had the better team but Q was completely outcoached by The Master.

Sort of. Atlanta was certainly good enough to beat New England, but they're pretty close I think in general talent level and I wouldn't say that one was clearly better. The 21-3 halftime lead was significantly a function of two big plays that Atlanta got in the first half - Blount fumbling at the Atlanta 25ish line, and Brady throwing the pick six at about the same spot. In both cases New England was within reasonable field goal range, and both lead to Atlanta points. Assuming that New England probably gets at least a field goal each time, that's at least a 13 point swing. But for those two plays, the score at halftime is probably something more like 14-9 Atlanta.

By going for the kill I mean they(Atlanta) needed to play as if they were the team down 28-3. Instead you could see they relaxed. It's not about playcalling to me so much as it is about attitude and a sense of urgency. The failed onside kick is where Atlanta should have been able to put the game away but the Patriots were the ones who had a fire lit under them. I put that on the coaching. You can't allow your players to think the game is in the bag. You get things like blown blocks when players aren't playing like their lives depend on it.

El Guapo wrote:Sixth Super Bowl Win Continues To Elude Patriots.

Some other fantastic headlines further on down the page...

The Onion wrote:Controversial Puppy Bowl Star Shits During National Anthem

The Onion wrote:Roger Goodell Dumps Box With Broken Pieces Of Lombardi Trophy In Front Of Tom Brady

Pyperkub wrote:

morlac wrote:Still processing and throwing up but damn if that wasn't the most Atlanta Sports thing ever.

Bad Atlanta:
4th qtr play calling. Really, WTF?
Stupid penalties. Young and dumb.
Freeman blown block. Hadn't done it all year, Caused a fumble and changed the game. Julio was cutting across the middle and had the safety turned around. He would of ran a while on that play.

Good Patriots:
Never Gave up
Great adjustments as always
Brady. Went from a bad game to Glory. He is just unbelievably good.


Hats off to Patriots they earned it. Brady and Belichick can go retire now....please.

You missed Atlanta not resting their starters on the DL. They were completely gassed in the 4th quarter and OT after mostly dominating the first 3 quarters. They desperately needed to substitute more liberally and use the OT timeouts to get them some rest.

Not really. Only so far you can spread 99 freaking snaps and 40 minutes on defense. Some of these guys played more snaps in SB than they did all year.

I give credit to the Patriots coaching for keeping the team focused. I also give credit to the players for not giving up and just getting frustrated, especially at 28-3. No one would have expected anything else from them at that point, yet they stayed in the game mentally. Experience of course helps with this, the Patriots leaders especially have tons of experience in big games. Even with a complete second half fail on Atlanta's part, that game doesn't end with a Patriots win unless the team doesn't give up.

NE defensive coordinator Matt Patricia post game wardrobe

That is nearly as good as the lusty welcome the fans gave him during the trophy presentation.

Anyone find a stable stream for the parade? I've tried WBZ, but it is incredibly choppy.

Sorry, this is all I got.

Yeah, like I'm clicking a youtube link.

NESN is stable for me.

stessier wrote:Yeah, like I'm clicking a youtube link.

NESN is stable for me.

you realize NESN.com is embedding a youtube link...