Got home tonight and threw on the entire 4th quarter of XLIX. Had no idea everyone in here was reminiscing about the same thing but can't say I'm surprised. This thread is one of my favorite places on the internet and has been for 7+ years.
I was (relatively) optimistic after the Kearse catch that they could get a stop or respond w/ a FG, but absolutely blew my gasket when Belichick didn't take a timeout after 1st down. Was basically have a breakdown when the interception happened, and for one of 2 times in my life I blacked out b/c of excitement and came to on the complete opposite side of my buddy's condo, jumping into the wall. I can't imagine ever wanting a team to win a game more then that one unless my kids playing in it. Thank fucking god.
I was (relatively) optimistic after the Kearse catch that they could get a stop or respond w/ a FG, but absolutely blew my gasket when Belichick didn't take a timeout after 1st down. Was basically have a breakdown when the interception happened, and for one of 2 times in my life I blacked out b/c of excitement and came to on the complete opposite side of my buddy's condo, jumping into the wall. I can't imagine ever wanting a team to win a game more then that one unless my kids playing in it. Thank fucking god.
It's nice thinking about how the 1st title in each of their mini runs stopped a budding dynasty (with a killer nickname) dead in it's tracks:
-The 01 Rams had won 2 years earlier and had both the reigning MVP (Warner) and the OPOY (Faulk). After losing to the Pats, they would win just 1 playoff game in the next 16 years.
-The 14 Seahawks had won a year earlier, had a 26 year old QB with back to back to back pro bowl selections, and probably the best defense of the decade. Since losing to the Pats, they haven't gone past the divisional round.
-The 01 Rams had won 2 years earlier and had both the reigning MVP (Warner) and the OPOY (Faulk). After losing to the Pats, they would win just 1 playoff game in the next 16 years.
-The 14 Seahawks had won a year earlier, had a 26 year old QB with back to back to back pro bowl selections, and probably the best defense of the decade. Since losing to the Pats, they haven't gone past the divisional round.
This is the greatest game in football history, IMO. For the following reasons (and more, but here are a few):
1. It was the Super Bowl. Other games have been better games, but none have had these stakes.
2. It stopped a budding Seahawks dynasty, as the Pats knocked off the defending champs who were going for back-to-back titles.
3. It gave Brady his 4th, tying Montana.
4. It came with all the controversy of Deflategate (even though it was illegitimate, it was still a BIG deal).
5. It had the game's greatest player playing one of the best quarters in Super Bowl history.
6. It featured what was, at the time, the greatest comeback in SB history.
7. It had BB vs. Carroll, the last two Patriots' coaches.
8. Brady did what he did against one of the all-time greatest defenses.
9. It had some incredible plays and was filled with action (unlike Pats-Rams II).
10. It had the greatest single play in SB (NFL?) history.
11. It was a close game that came down to the wire.
12. It had, with all that star power, huge plays from two unknown players - Mathews for Sea and Butler for NE.
13. It was at the same location as when the Pats lost to the Giants on the Tyree play.
It was just...an unfathomably great football game, played at the highest level, played for all the marbles.
1. It was the Super Bowl. Other games have been better games, but none have had these stakes.
2. It stopped a budding Seahawks dynasty, as the Pats knocked off the defending champs who were going for back-to-back titles.
3. It gave Brady his 4th, tying Montana.
4. It came with all the controversy of Deflategate (even though it was illegitimate, it was still a BIG deal).
5. It had the game's greatest player playing one of the best quarters in Super Bowl history.
6. It featured what was, at the time, the greatest comeback in SB history.
7. It had BB vs. Carroll, the last two Patriots' coaches.
8. Brady did what he did against one of the all-time greatest defenses.
9. It had some incredible plays and was filled with action (unlike Pats-Rams II).
10. It had the greatest single play in SB (NFL?) history.
11. It was a close game that came down to the wire.
12. It had, with all that star power, huge plays from two unknown players - Mathews for Sea and Butler for NE.
13. It was at the same location as when the Pats lost to the Giants on the Tyree play.
It was just...an unfathomably great football game, played at the highest level, played for all the marbles.
I was reading this thread and clicked on the video above. After that, I went on YouTube to see if I could find the 4th quarter. Of course it showed up right in my YouTube feed without even searching for it. I specifically wanted to watch the plays after the interception. The Pats were backed up to the goal line, and would not have been able to take a knee if it weren't for Michael Bennett jumping offsides. Then all hell broke loose. So much fun, and again I can't believe that was 8 years ago.
100% in agreement. Just a great football game, and one of the very few Super Bowls I can recall in which both teams played very well on both sides of the ball. It was a war (and Brady put up a 87.5 QBR on 50 attempts while getting nothing from the running game, just a completely ridiculous, all time performance that I kinda feel doesn't get enough credit in retrospect).
Hey guys, Tom Brady is “lucky” that Dez Bryant didn’t make that catch: View: https://youtu.be/EtcjUE8_QV0
Salty fan-fic YouTubes are the best YouTubes.
Salty fan-fic YouTubes are the best YouTubes.
I'm sure the Cowboys and their 22nd ranked defense by DVOA would have presented a much bigger challenge than the number one ranked defense and number one ranked overall team by DVOA the Pats ended up facing.
Lost in all this is the last Super Bowl win against the Rams where the touchdown that iced the game was set up by running the same play three straight times but with different receivers.
I like that Cowboys fans forget they were gifted the win in Detroit.
The NFC playoffs were crazy that year.
Dallas was gifted a win in Detroit, then robbed of a win in GB.
GB was gifted a win vs. Dallas, and then completely blew the game to Seattle.
Seattle wins in miracle fashion against GB, and then loses in miracle fashion against the Pats.
It was all karma.
The lady that keeps moving in front of everyone else annoys the fuck out of me.
Also, those tools were celebrating like it was over before they took the lead. Noobs.
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I had not seen this one. Sorry for the non-Patriot response, but this one will always be the greatest.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8GCH5qf9IY
I was explaining to my wife, not a big fan of football, what happened. Then, Al and Cris were talking about and she told me to shut up! Plenty of joy and wonderment, still.
The thing about SB49, is that without the context of what happened in 2005-2013 (as well as DFG), is that it is really hard to explain just how meaningful it was. It's similar (but not nearly on the same scale) as the Sox winning in 2004. You had to know and understand about all of the previous failures, up to and including 2003, to truly appreciate it. With SB49, there was a legitimate question whether the Pats/Brady would ever win another title, and the craziness of DFG was just at peak insanity leading up to the game. After watching miracle catches in 2007 and 2011, and then another in 2014... the Butler pick was truly miraculous, and not only the best play in NFL history, but one of the most meaningful. Who knows what the alternate universe looks like if the Pats/Brady don't win there. Maybe Brady never wins a 4th. Instead he has... 7.
Yup. My feeling after the Kearse catch was pure despair, like, as much as you can have watching a sporting event. It was such a punch in the gut as Brady's reaction showed. He had worked so hard for #4 and had countless close calls in 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, etc. The 2014 team was better. They got Revis. Both Gronk and Edelman were finally healthy together. They smoked the Colts and then the entire world called them cheaters. Everyone was about to pour it on again x1000. And, in one great play, Malcolm changed all of that. Maybe they win in 2016 and 2018 anyways but you just never know. I think that SB win in 2014 unlocked another gear in Brady with the monkey of tying Montana finally off of his back.
I can watch this angle forever. It shows just how quickly Malcolm diagnosed the play. And I never noticed that Russell looked right before he hiked it. That might have tipped Malcolm off.
I thought that Brady played progressively tighter in the playoffs every year in the playoffs after 2007 leading up to 2014. He wanted it so bad that he was trying to play perfect. Completely agree that it unlocked another gear.
Agreed. I think 2007-2008 took a lot out of him mentally. You miss sports immortality because of a stupid lucky catch. Then, you tear your ACL the very next game you play in 2008. Your 2009 team clearly sucked and it looked like the window was kind of closing. It's a huge credit to Belichick the GM that 2010-2013 drafts got it back going and extended the window even further. Obviously, a big credit to Brady himself that he was able to remain in top condition into his late 30s.
You could see the next gear in the Chiefs OT. Place was wild. He was facing 3rd and longs all OT. And he didn't give a shit. He just calmly drove the team down and scored, as if he were playing catch on the beach.
Since the start of the 2014 playoffs Brady's teams have averaged 30 points per game in the postseason (in 22 games played), lol. 17 times his team scored 27 or more points.
This is the only time in my life I almost lost consciousness screaming at a television.
For some reason, probably work, I was behind about about an hour and watching on DVR. My wife was upstairs, knowing the final, and was running a live commentary of my antics on FB. It was a pretty funny documentary of me swearing, drinking, pacing, muttering and then hurling myself around the den in ecstasy. Good times. God bless Patrice.
Got to hand it to Browner too. He points out the formation to Malcolm and he knows right away that the play was made.
yea watching the game i was struck by how much talent they added to the D since the previous SB (2011) between the draft (Jones, Hightower, Collins all Pro-Bowl caliber players), Revis + Browner in FA, and re-tooling guys (McCourty to FS, Chung into is hybrid linebacker role). It was basically an aging Wilfork and Ninkovich that carried over as "impact" players, tho that might be a little unfair to kyl arrington who i thought got a bit more hate the deserved.
10000% agree, T4W. It was completely monumental. Malcolm Butler literally changed the course of Tom Brady's career, and that of the entire Patriots franchise.
Watching it again, it was an INCREDIBLE play by him.
1. Read the situation completely.
2. Broke on the ball INSTANTLY. If he doesn't do that, he's too late.
3. Collided with Lockett at the moment the ball arrived, so he was trying to catch it while being knocked sideways.
4. Somehow caught it instead of just knocking it down.
5. Didn't fumble when Hightower made contact with him after the pick.
Just an amazing play. Not lucky. AMAZING.
I had no idea how close to disaster that play could have been until several hours after the game. And now I get uncomfortable every time I see it. Ditto for the Hightower stop on Lynch. Still can’t believe he didn’t score.
When I was 18 I broke my hand punching a hole through a door after a soccer game, just glad no one ever recorded my ridiculous sports related meltdowns before I mellowed out with age.
Two huge injuries for the Seattle defense that day: Jeremy Lane, who intercepted Brady at the goal line in the first quarter, broke his arm on the runback. They had to play a backup CB the rest of the game (Simon) and he wasn't nearly as good. And then Cliff Avril, who suffered a concussion later on in the game. He averaged 9 sacks a year from 2010-2016, so he was a big loss. Otherwise, that defense was absolutely stacked. Defensive ranks, from 2012-2016:
2012: #1 points, #4 yards
2013: #1 points, #1 yards
2014: #1 points, #1 yards
2015: #1 points, #2 yards
2016: #3 points, #5 yards
AVG: 1.4 points, 2.6 yards
The Pats got them smack in the middle of that stretch of Uber-dominance. By comparison, here's the mid-late 80s Bears:
1984: #3 points, #1 yards
1985: #1 points, #1 yards
1986: #1 points, #1 yards
1987: #4 points, #2 yards
1988: #1 points, #2 yards
AVG: 2.0 points, 1.4 yards
And the mid-70s Steelers:
1974: #2 points, #1 yards
1975: #2 points, #4 yards
1976: #1 points, #1 yards
1977: #17 points, #7 yards (wtf happened there?)
1978: #1 points, #3 yards
AVG: 4.6 points, 3.2 yards
2012: #1 points, #4 yards
2013: #1 points, #1 yards
2014: #1 points, #1 yards
2015: #1 points, #2 yards
2016: #3 points, #5 yards
AVG: 1.4 points, 2.6 yards
The Pats got them smack in the middle of that stretch of Uber-dominance. By comparison, here's the mid-late 80s Bears:
1984: #3 points, #1 yards
1985: #1 points, #1 yards
1986: #1 points, #1 yards
1987: #4 points, #2 yards
1988: #1 points, #2 yards
AVG: 2.0 points, 1.4 yards
And the mid-70s Steelers:
1974: #2 points, #1 yards
1975: #2 points, #4 yards
1976: #1 points, #1 yards
1977: #17 points, #7 yards (wtf happened there?)
1978: #1 points, #3 yards
AVG: 4.6 points, 3.2 yards
14. I was there.
I've posted about it in previous years. Lucked into a ticket through a long shot connection with my wife's work about a week before the game, scrambled to find a flight and hotel - and then was there. One second I was trying to make myself feel better saying "hey - at least you can say you got to see your team in the Super Bowl." The next second I was screaming and jumping up and down like Brady and hugging strangers.
I have a framed collection of our tickets, a few photos, and the program that I am looking at right now.
Just THE best.
Jesus fucking christ, I knew they were great, but the 2012-2015 run is absolutely bonkers. What the fuck.
Speaking of injuries, I always believed Edelman suffered a concussion after getting crunched by I think Chancellor at midfield. Would he even be allowed to continue with today’s concussion protocol?
Oh yeah he totally got knocked for a loop on that one. Totally concussed. When he got up you could see his eyes were glazed over.
That was, by the way, a totally illegal helmet-to-helmet hit by Chancellor. Uncalled.
But yes, if that happened today, absolutely he would have been taken off the field and in no way would he have been allowed to return. He was clearly concussed.
Yeah I think they're the only defense in NFL history to be #1 in points allowed four straight seasons.
During the season in 2014, they were 27 points allowed better than the #2 team (KC), which is a bigger margin (27 points) than between #2 (KC) and #7 (Houston). They were 541 yards better than the #2 team (Det), which is about the same margin as that between #2 (Det) and #8 (Bal). They allowed 15.9 points and 267.1 yards a game that season. New England got them for 28 points (12.1 above their average) and 377 yards (109.9 above their average).
Seattle was GREAT. An all-time great defense. But the Pats took it to them that day.
I caught the end of SB 51 last night for the hundredth time and the penultimate play still makes my stomach flip. I mean, Vic Beasley came uncomfortably close to pulling a Malcolm on that play, and that would have hurt awfully bad after that comeback.
Of course, we'll never know if the ATL offense would have cashed in or not. That's the great thing about a classic game like that. You can never let up, not even for a split-second, or you risk everything crashing down. Just glad it didn't in this instance.
Of course, we'll never know if the ATL offense would have cashed in or not. That's the great thing about a classic game like that. You can never let up, not even for a split-second, or you risk everything crashing down. Just glad it didn't in this instance.
Yup. Pats were lucky that he was an edge guy without much coverage skills. A better coverage LB makes that play. On the flip side, Falcons were lucky that Bennett didn't catch the ball that set up the goal line conversion. That looked like a surefire TD out of Brady's hands, even with the contact.
Maybe it's my homerism but I don't buy it. His hip was injured, you can see it when he gets up after the play, and then again later in the drive. Do guys who get concussed immediately turn up the field for another 10 yards?
Edit: the hit was also directly to Edelman's shoulder pad, not his helmet. And Chancellor delivered it with his shoulder. Looks completely legal to me. Our memories and minds play tricks on us sometimes.
Here's the play
View: https://youtu.be/0RFXLwZV_fA?t=5718
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He literally got drilled directly in the head by Chancellor's helmet. And he got up and started running even after he CLEARLY was down - both his knee and elbow.
1:35:13
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RFXLwZV_fA&t=1146s
You hear the helmets CRAAAACK on contact, even getting Collinsworth to go whoa!!!
And after he got up his eyes looked like this:
In real time he looked totally dazed. Still shot doesn't quite do it justice.
Yeah he had a hurt hip, but he looked woozy.
But whether or not he was actually concussed, a helmet to helmet hit like that would have gotten him taken off the field for evaluation at least.
I guess you see what you want to see because when I watch that both in regular speed and slow mo, I see shoulder to shoulder.
Edit: shoulder pads can make a loud sound too.
Edit 2: they cut back to Edelman live like 20 seconds later and he looks totally fine. Gassed, but clear eyed. The screen grab you showed was a split second.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2015/02/02/bill-belichick-julian-edelman-concussion-super-bowl#gid=ci025583edf0052580&pid=malcolm-butler-interceptionjpg
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/julian-edelman-hip-injury-not-concussion-super-bowl-xlix-seahawks/
From the CBS article: "Three plays later, on third-and-14, Edelman took the hit from Chancellor. Though it was certainly a violent collision, it was not a helmet-to-helmet hit. It was a helmet-to-shoulder pad hit. "
@CFB_Rules what's your take?
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Here’s an article about the defensive alignment deployed by the Patriots on the Butler interception, and how New England forced the pass
https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2018/6/5/17426540/seahawks-patriots-super-bowl-49-malcolm-butler-interception-run-the-dang-ball
https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2018/6/5/17426540/seahawks-patriots-super-bowl-49-malcolm-butler-interception-run-the-dang-ball
Another sequence from the Atlanta game I had forgotten about when watching last night. After the Pats finally scored a TD to make it 28-9 (Ghost missed the extra point), they tried an onside kick that the Falcons got on a penalty. Atlanta had great field position and were on the Pats 32 yard line, but a holding penalty, incompletion and sack knocked them out of FG range and they punted.
The girl in the back left that laughs when bergeron ties it is my favorite part.
Loved the way Browner recognized what was coming, pointed to let Butler know who to take, he blew the play up, Butler immediately jumped the route and picked the ball off.
They had Revis and Browner as CB's that year, then both of them were gone.....................I wonder how the AFCCG vs the corpse of Manning plays out if both were still on the team.
Jamie Collins was the one covering the TE, so no impact.
One of the few plays ever that I am mad at Brady for was the pick by Von Miller that game.