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Analysis; February 2002


Time To Gloat

The Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. Hard to believe. Yet this is today's NFL. While certain organizations seem to always rise to the top (Bob Kraft's team is becoming one of those), the days of decade-long dynasties are over. I truly believe that one of the reasons the Rams were so highly favored to win is because many people are still romanticized by the notion of one team dominating the competition for years.

The Rams seemed to have all the makings of one of those teams. In the most macho and majestic of national sports, there is a certain allure in football towards building up the image of the unbeatable opponent, the impossible mission, the doomed underdog. All of this plays into the national perception and before you know it you have the Baltimore Ravens of 2000 being called the "greatest defense of all time" (nonsense) and the Rams of 2001 the "greatest show on turf". Well, as ESPN's Chris Berman is fond of saying, "That's why they play the games". How right he is.

As a native New Englander, I'm obviously excited about what the Patriots accomplished this past season, but more importantly, I'm excited about what the Patriots represented. Bill Belichek truly understands what football is all about; what makes it in my opinion the greatest game on the planet. Superstars don't win championships in football, teams do.

This is not always the case in other sports. In baseball, the Arizona Diamonbacks defeat the New York Yankees in the World Series not because they are a better team, but because they happen to have two of the top four starting pitchers in baseball. In hockey, I remember Patrick Roy standing on his head during the playoffs and helping an otherwise slightly above average Montreal Canadians team defeat the Los Angeles Kings for the Habs last title. In basketball, the Chicago Bulls represented the ultimate watering down of the NBA by winning five championships with basically a two-man team. The Lakers are doing the same now. The last great "teams" in the NBA disappeared at the beginning of the 90's.

In football the superstars shine only when the grunts in the trenches do their jobs. In football, if the 46th man on the roster misses a key block on special teams, it can negate the stellar play of your star quarterback.

The Patriots remind all of us that football is the ultimate team game. They left all opponents in the playoffs scratching their heads and pointing fingers to try to understand what was done to them. What was done was simple, they got their butts kicked. The more honest among their three playoff victims understood and acknowledged this fact. The players who hadn't figured it out yet said things like "Noone beats us if we play our game, we only beat ourselves."

The Call
My first order of business here is to dismiss all these whining Raider fans who think that their team got "jobbed". First of all, the head of officials confirmed after the game that Walt Coleman made the correct ruling on the field. According to the rulebook, it was correct. This is undisputed. If the same play had involved Rich Gannon as the Raiders were trying to come back, they would feel that justice was done.

Secondly, people like Charles Woodson should've seen to it that his team didn't spit up the bit at the end of the season and lose out on the first round bye that they had all but wrapped up, and they wouldn't have been in that stadium in those conditions to begin with.

Third, how many opportunities did Oakland have to make plays after that call was made, and failed to do so? How do you fail to pick up a first down after having a 2nd and 2 with the Patriots out of timeouts? Where is the Raider to pounce on Troy Brown's fumble on the ensuing punt return? How do the Raiders not block Adam Vinatieri's low line drive kick to tie the game? How does Tom Brady complete nine straight passes in overtime? Face it, the Raiders didn't perform when they most needed to, and that's why they went home. End of story.

"Sometimes the better team doesn't win".
The above quote is of course from the lips of Kordell "maybe next year" Stewart, who obviously, like his coach, doesn't realize as of yet that special teams are one-third of your football team. Are you the better team if your opponent completely shuts down everything you want to do, both on offense and defense? Are you the better team when your opponents' special teams almost outscore your own offense? If so, then the Patriots will gladly allow you to think of yourselves as the "better team". Just remember to shut off the lights on your way out of the stadium, because your season is over.

"No-one can beat us if we play our game."
This last quote came off the lips of Marshall Faulk, a few minutes after Super Bowl 36 was over. Excuse me, Marshall, but which game were you playing out there, someone else's? Did you loan it to someone and they forgot to give it back before kickoff? Maybe you were under the impression that it was a best-out-of-five and you were just "setting them up" for game two? Maybe, just maybe, you read a few too many of your own press clippings and couldn't accept the fact that the Patriots put an old-fashioned whoopin' on ya. Maybe that's it, huh?

Final thoughts on the season that was....
Whichever team ends up winning the Drew Bledsoe sweepstakes will win their respective division next season. Count on it.

Donovan McNabb is a P-L-A-Y-E-R. Wow.

Mike Martz was exposed as an immature head coach by Bill Belichek in the Super Bowl. He doesn't deserve the team he inherited.

Tampa Bay made the right decision by firing Tony Dungy, and Indianapolis made the right decision in hiring him.

As great and magical a season as Tom Brady had this year, he had no business making the Pro Bowl over Steve McNair. Neither, for that matter, did Kordell "maybe next year" Stewart.

The fact that Dennis Green was not approached for any of the head coaching vacancies available makes me wonder about the validity of accusation of racism among NFL owners. Green is far and away the most qualified candidate for any of the jobs. Dennis Green lost his job because of one player....Randy Moss.

Next year Mike Holmgren will lose his job because of one player....Matt Hasselbeck. I personally know Matt Hasselbeck and his father, a former All-Pro tight end for the Patriots and player union represenative, and I still say that he will cost Mike Holmgren his job next year.

Daniel Snyder's team can't lose enough games for me to be happy, even though the Redskins are a beloved team in my eyes.

I wonder if Jerry Jones ever thinks about what it would be like to still have Jimmy Johnson around?

It is a huge mistake for the 49ers to allow Steve Mariucci to leave, and if he does they will be set back for years as a franchise.

What the heck happened to the New Orleans Saints?

It will not be possible for teams to "copy" the Patriots formula for success, because you can't buy toughness. Also, Belichek can only work for one team at a time.

The Ravens are one or two more key players away from imploding and having to rebuild. This only two years removed from their high water mark as a franchise. This is today's NFL.

The Super Bowl champion Patriots are still in the midst of rebuilding, believe it or not.

The Cincinnati Bengals may be the surprise team of 2002.

Jon Gruden is a lame duck coach, which boggles my mind. What is Al Davis' problem, anyway?

Brian Billick might be the most overrated coach in all of sports. Am I being too harsh?

Why did Jets' coach Herman Edwards receive so many accolades this past year? Am I missing something? What did he do any differently than Al Groh did the year previous? Someone please explain to me why I am supposed to be impressed with him.

I'd like to attend the ceremony for David Terrell's induction into the Hall of Fame....anyone know the date?

Ever notice that getting Coach of the Year is like a guarantee to get knocked out in the first round of the playoffs? Think about it.

The problem with trying to play cornerback against Randy Moss is that you never know if this is the play he decides to try.

If Jerome Bettis gets any fatter he'll become "The Expedition".

Baseball is just a diversion to pass the time until football season.

The Patriots defensive gameplan in the Super Bowl looked eerily similar to the Giants defensive gameplan against the Bill in 1991. Gee, wasn't Belichek the defensive coordinator for the Giants then? Hmmmm. If I recall, the Bills were heavy favorites in that game, too.

Ever notice that public perception of a team or player is usually a whole year behind reality? I still run into people who are shocked that the Ravens didn't make it back to the Super Bowl. What do you say to these people? I'm sorry?

I'll start watching the Olympics when they start showing real sports instead of figure skating. Until then, see ya.

I'm counting the days until draft weekend. Hoo-rah!

Dave


Previous Articles

The Winning Ingredients

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About the Author;
Dave LeBlanc is a part-time freelance writer with a life-long NFL addiction. Trust me ... I know!

He can be reached at Dave@boomerjournals.com and looks forward to your comments