Saturday February 5, 2005

Since all of you come to my blog for in-depth sports analysis (heh), here goes.

The Patriots have all the pressure on them. They’re the dynasty-to-be, if they pull this game out. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick (much to my dismay) have been annointed The Next Great Quarterback and The Next Great Coach, respectively. Both of them have plaques in Canton resting on this game. Conversely, Philadelphia has zero pressure. Just getting to the Super Bowl, in their fourth consecutive attempt, was an accomplishment in and of itself. The problem, however, is that New England has superior talent.

The Eagles, though, will have Terrell Owens, the Human Publicity Machine. He also happens to be an above average wide receiver. Claiming that God has healed his broken ankle, he will trek out onto the field. The Philadelphia fans and players will be ecstatic. Philly’s offense will be a relatively well-oiled machine, at least between the twenties, in the first half. Meanwhile, Brady and Co. will be a bit sluggish coming out of the gate, with Corey Dillon having to face the glare of the intense big-game spotlight for the first time after many miserable years in Cincinnati. Like last year, defense will dominate early. Philadelphia 9, New England 7 at the half.

Fortunes change in the third quarter, however, when Tom Brady — always appearing to make the big play in big games — makes a spectacular pass to Deion Branch for a seventy-yard touchdown. The New England malaise ends and the Patriot defense tightens up dramatically. With fifteen minutes remaining, it’s New England 17, Philadelphia 12.

In the fourth, even with good offensive execution, the defenses step up to the challenge. Dillon, despite more than thirty carries, barely scratches out 100 yards. Neither quarterback passes for much better than 50%. Most noteworthy of all: Terrell Owens will have been largely ineffective, catching only three passes for about 25 yards. Philadelphia kicker David Akers is responsible for all of the Eagles’ points, tying a Super Bowl record with four field goals.

That is, until Philadelphia gains possession with three minutes left. Suddenly, McNabb is able to channel the spirit of John Elway. Most unbelievably of all, he’s able to complete several passes to the injured savior. Owens gains many of the Eagles’ yards. Finally, despite the fact that Philly has been kept out of the end zone the entire game, McNabb finds T.O. on a fade route to the corner. Touchdown! The Eagles fail on the two-point conversion, but who cares? Philadelphia 18, New England 17! T.O. is the hero! Hand him the MVP trophy right now!

The Eagles, however, left fifty-five seconds on the clock. After New England gets a solid kickoff return, the spectre of darkness and inevitability that is the Patriots permeates Alltel Stadium. With all three timeouts in their back pocket, New England is able to march methodically down the field. Belichick’s always-dour face and Brady’s ice-cold veins have been here before. Before long, a series of short passes out of the five-wide set are able to advance the ball into Philadelphia territory. Then New England pulls something completely unexpected — a quarterback draw? Brady stumbles his way to a first down.

After a couple of incomplete passes, the moment of truth arrives. Five seconds remain. The Patriots are out of time, so they point to their kicker, Adam Vinatieri. He won their last two Super Bowls for them on buzzer-beating kicks, so why stop now? This one, however, is a fifty-three yarder: quite long, even in the NFL. Even with THOSE odds, even with the Philadelphia kick blockers jumping high into the air, even with the pressure of the entire game on Vinatieri’s right foot, we all know how this story ends. We’ve seen it all twice before.

The kick barely clears the crossbar, just inside the left upright. New England 20, Philadelphia 18. Final.

Brady and Belichick clinch their immortality, much to my dismay. Terrell Owens is destroyed on the sidelines, as is the entire Philadelphia team. Brady wins his third Super Bowl MVP, even though he played a less-than-excellent game. Really, the award should go to Corey Dillon, but Brady is the prodigal golden boy from Michigan who could do no wrong. (Oh, how I loathe him.) Cleveland fans are left to wonder how Belichick could have been so incompetent as the Browns’ coach yet the greatest team leader of the modern era with the Patriots. Philadelphia tastes still another incredibly sour defeat with everything on the line, a sensation to which they have become accustomed.

Oh yes, I’m a pessimist. I’d love to be proven wrong, just like I was ecstatic when the Red Sox defied my nightmares and slew the Yankees in absolutely unbelievable fashion (they really, REALLY came back from 3-0 down! the miracle came true!) last October. Let’s hope I’m wrong. I’m pullin for you, Philadelphia.