Oklahoma punt returners
So far, give R.W. McQuarters the slight edge in the Oklahoma punt returners derby. Wes Welker, who went to Heritage Hall and Texas Tech, has one return, for 15 yards. The Giants’ McQuarters, who went to Tulsa Washington and Heritage Hall, had a 16-yard return and a 2-yard return, the latter on a nifty play when a short punt started bouncing pretty lively, which could have been a big yardage-loser for the Giants had not McQuarters fielded the punt.
Watch for more Welker & Moss
Prediction. New England soon quits messing around with running the ball. The Patriots have run seven times for 16 yards. They just had a 2nd-and-2, ran Laurence Monroney — who I love — twice in a row and didn’t make the first down. Tom Brady has thrown just once to Wes Welker and not at all to Randy Moss, who has only two catches total in two playoff games so far. Expect that to change. The Patriots aren’t particularly patient. They are used to imposing their will, and the best way to do that is using Tom Brady’s arm.
Appreciating Welker
Check out the Giant receivers so far, and you know why the Patriots like Wes Welker so much. So far, New York has dropped three passes — tight end Kevin Boss and flankers Plaxico Burress and Steve Smith have done the honors so far. Smith’s drop led to Ellis Hobbs’ interception. It wasn’t a classic drop; a quick throw by Manning went off Smith’s hands, but he should have had it. Smith sort of tapped the ball into the air for Hobbs.
Eli Manning is a solid of 7-of-11 so far, but he has played better than that, and the only interception he’s thrown so far in the playoffs should not have happened.
Bang-bang quarter
New England scored on the first play of the second quarter to take a 7-3 lead, and what shaped up as a good first 15 minutes turned ominous for the Giants. You can’t kick field goals and beat New England. I think San Diego showed us that, kicking four field goals and losing 21-12 to the Patriots in the AFC title game.
The quarter definitely showed that the Giants would hit New England in the mouth. On New York’s possession, Brandon Jacobs ran over cornerback Brandon Meriweather, which is sort of acceptable since Jacobs has 64 pounds on Meriweather. But 198-pound halfback Ahmad Bradshaw carried 300-pound Patriot defensive end Ty Warren for several yards before finally we had a tackle.
That’s what the Giants have to do. Control the ball and hit New England in the mouth. And score touchdowns. This game is over if the Giants don’t score touchdowns.
Great start for Giants
The Giants settled for a field goal, but it would be hard to imagine a better start. On their first possession, Eli Manning burned off one sixth of the game. A 10-minute drive that resulted in four first downs and led to Lawrence Tynes’ 32-yard field goal.
That’s exactly how the Giants will have to beat New England. That’s how the Giants beat Buffalo 20-19 in Super Bowl 25, using 40 minutes of possession time. Keep the ball away from Tom Brady, and this game is anybody’s.
Countdown to kickoff
The Super Bowl puts on a heck of a pre-game show. Loud, but entertaining. And I’m not just talking about the Hollywood glitz.
Four hours before kickoff, a series of NFL Films plays on the video boards. Quality stuff. Super Bowl histories, in-depth features on the teams this year and in the past. I saw some Bill Belichick items I never had seen anywhere before.
80 minutes before kickoff, Alicia Keys staged a 10-minute concert, which I assume was good if you like that sort of thing.
Later, the NFL did a memorial, showing all the NFL veterans and personnel who had died since the last Super Bowl. People like Jim Ringo and Ernie Ladd and Sean Taylor and Bill Walsh. Sort of like what the Oscars do. A solid tribute.
The crowd is definitely pro-Patriot. I’d say 2-to-1 New England over New York. When Eli Manning was introduced on the video board probably 90 minutes before kickoff, welcoming the fans to the stadium, a heavy dose of boos followed. When Tedy Bruschi was shown, the cheers were abundant.
The Super Bowl is a game in which everyone arrives early. First, there’s plenty to see at the stadium. Second, if you don’t get here early, you’re always risking not getting here at all.
American Idol Jordin Sparks just sang the national anthem, and did an excellent job. I liked the Frankie Valli version in the Fiesta Bowl, and a lot of people got worked up, because Frankie sang an unorthodox rendition. Sparks’ was traditional, which is fine, but how can you get mad at someone for creativity and expressing themselves with a national anthem of a country that is all about freedom and self-expression? Never made sense to me.
Familiar face on Super Bowl Sunday
I’m sitting at University of Phoenix Stadium, three hours before kickoff, and it’s already been a memorable day. I was at the airport at 6:15 a.m. for the Southwest flight to Phoenix, and right behind me in the security line was Rod Warner. Yep, Wes Welker’s high school coach. Warner and some friends came out to spend the day and take in what could be an historic game.
Warned told me he went to the Super Bowl last year in Miami, courtesy of Welker, who then was a Dolphin. Of course, the Dolphins weren’t in that Super Bowl. Welker’s Patriots are in this one, and Welker is a national phenomenon, with 112 catches for New England. At the OKC airport Sunday was a woman wearing a Welker jersey; I figured it was a family friend or something. Nope, Tamara Holloway of Norman was on her way to Las Vegas but wanted to show her support for Welker by wearing his jersey. She became a fan when Welker played for Texas Tech.
Late in the morning, on what seemed like deserted streets of downtown Phoenix, I entered the NFL Media Center and received a pleasant surprise. The security guard at the entrance — yes, even the media center has checkpoints — saw my badge and asked me if I was anywhere near Spavinaw.
Maybe you’ve never heard of Spavinaw, Oklahoma, but most baseball fans have. Spavinaw is the birthplace of Mickey Mantle. It’s also about five miles north of my dad’s birthplace, in Salina, which is in eastern Mayes County, some 45 miles east of Tulsa. Anyone who talks Spavinaw gets my interest right quick. The guy, probably in his 50s, said he saw Mantle’s last home run, off DennyMcLain at Tiger Stadium in 1968. I looked it up; it appears McLain indeed gave up Mantle Homer No. 536, although the Internet is crawling along at University of Phoenix Stadium, so I can’t be sure.
Anyway, it was a pleasant Oklahoma start to Super Bowl Sunday.
The Patriots are the pick
I think New England will win the Super Bowl, not because the Giants aren’t capable, but because their margin of error is so slim. New York must play a near-perfect game to beat the Patriots. And who knows if that will be enough?
Jacksonville played a near-perfect game for more than three quarters but still failed to keep pace with New England and lost 31-20 in the AFC semifinals.
The Giants are no pushover. Eli Manning has grown up as a quarterback. Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer are cagey receivers. New York can run the ball. The Giants’ front four is big-time good. The Giants can cover receivers.
But New England’s offense is just too tough. Too explosive. I will be pulling for the Giants, though I’m torn on who I want to win.
I have a hard time cheering against history. When Tiger Woods gets in Grand Slam territory, I’m on the bandwagon. When Mark McGwire took aim at Roger Maris, I cheered (foolishly, it now is apparent) likle the rest of America. Same with New England. I would like to see the ’72 Dolphins dethroned as the most accomplished team in NFL history. The attitude of the Dolphins — publicly cheering for no team to go unbeaten — gets old. New England’s 18-0 season would come crumbling down with a desert defeat and restore the ’72 Dolphins’ status.
On the other hand, who wants to cheer for Bill Belichick? The Patriot coach is as warm as an ice storm, and his character can be questioned after Spygate. New England broke NFL rules; I don’t think it was a big deal in terms of game competition, but I do think it speaks to Belichick’s character. And while Wes Welker is easy to cheer for, Randy Moss is not.
As for the Giants, they are easy to like, for a New York team. Eli is an egoless budding star; the Mara family provides some of sports’ classiest ownership; and the Giants’ Cinderella role (three road playoff wins) plays well.
So all in all, I’m pulling for the Giants. But I don’t think they will win.
New England 38-27.
Super Bowl strategy
You know, I agree with Tom Brady, who was skeptical of Plaxico Burress’ prediction of a 23-17 Giants victory in the Super Bowl. Seventeen points for the Patriots? Not bloody likely, as the United Kingdom journalists in Arizona would say.
Here’s the truth about the Patriots. They will score on about half their possessions. That’s a phenomenal rate in the NFL. Simply phenomenal, but also very dependable. They won’t all be touchdowns, some will be field goals, but New England will score. That offense is too good.
So here’s what New York must do. Control the clock. Run the ball. Shorten the game. Limit the Patriot possessions. Let me explain.
If New England gets eight possessions, then that’s four scores and probably three touchdowns: 24 points. If New England gets 10 possessions, that’s five scores and probably 27 points. If New England gets 12 possessions, that’s six scores and probably 34 points. The Giants conceivably could win this game 27-24, or maybe 28-27. But no way the Giants win 35-34.
So how do the Giants limit possessions? By grinding the ball, the way they did with a 92-yard drive against Tampa Bay to seal that playoff game and they way they did by controlling the ball for 40-plus minutes of the 63 minutes played in Green Bay. By running the ball and Eli Manning throwing short passes to Burress and Amani Toomer. And also by not letting Tom Brady throw home run passes. No deep balls to Randy Moss. Do what Jacksonville and San Diego did to stay in the game with the Patriots; limit Moss to one (short) catch in each game. Make other Patriots beat you and take more time doing it.
If the Giants can produce that strategy, they can keep it close, and either team could win a close game. But let New England score quickly, or have short, fruitless drive themselves, and this Super Bowl could get away from the Giants.
