"Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish. Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever, who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners."
- Psalm 146:3-7
Sunday, January 22, 2012
In an earlier comments thread I predicted this rematch. I'm not sure who will win, but I'll go ahead and just say the Giants, to balance out all the Patriot-love.
Who do you think will win? Let us know in the comments.
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Comments on "Rematch":
3. Bill
- 01/23/2012 6:56 am CST
I think NE has a good chance, but this will be a bigger test than the Ravens and certainly than the Broncos.
Winning a fourth Superbowl puts Brady in the top five all time. Heck, he's probably already there. But it's not a slam-dunk "best ever". That debate will never end, and certainly won't be cemented :-). Montana, Unitas, pick your quarterback. There will always be a debate.
I will say that Brady has done more with less than almost any other quarterback. But he has always had at least a few formidable weapons (like Gronkowski this year). I mean, Bradshaw won four SBs also but had Swan, Stallworth, Harris, and one of the best defenses of all time. So Brady is definitely a legitimate #1 (even if I don't think he's there. My pick is Montana).
And if he could have beat the Giants in SB 42 and had a perfect season the cement would be, if not hardened, at least hard enough that you could write his name in it (to strain a metaphor).
4. Tony
- 01/23/2012 6:58 am CST
both of them were more "lost" by the losers, than they were "won" by the winners.
Karl, nicely stated. The other teams mistakes were the reason the winners won.
Eli Manning is a lot tougher than he looks. That guy was hit hard a couple of times but he didn't get hurt.
How bad was Growkowski's injury? If he is not back for the big game or even not 100%, that will be a big factor.
The Giants don't look like a 9-7 team. It is anyone's game for the super bowl. They should give the trophy to whoever wins the coin toss and save everyone time ;)
5. Karl
- 01/23/2012 9:39 am CST
"The other team's mistakes were the reason the winners won."
Yeah, that's it. I was trying to figure out why I felt sort of a letdown afterward, when they had both been such closely contested and exciting games. Was it b/c the teams I did't want to win, won? At first I thought that was it. But then I realized that wasn't the main part of it.
I'd have felt differently if NE or the NYG had made some brilliant play(s) late in the 4th Q or in OT to win their games. Sometimes that happens and all you can do is shake your head and tip your cap at phenomenal athletes who just seized the moment. But instead of it being a case of "who is going to make a play?" to determine the outcome, both games were a case of "who is going to make the big mistake?" to determine the outcome. In both cases, the big mistake(s) kind of handed the outcome of what had up to that point been a hotly contested game, to the opponent on a silver platter.
6. damien
- 01/23/2012 9:46 am CST
i like the new overtime playoff rules.
and as pathetic as my team has been the last few years (redskins), they did manage to beat the giants twice this season. so in my twisted thinking a giants win will make the redskins look good. that's who i'm rooting for.
the last patriots/giants superbowl was a thriller.
8. Tony
- 01/23/2012 10:10 am CST
"both games were a case of "who is going to make the big mistake?"
The team that makes the least amount of mistakes usually wins the game. I forgot who was first to state this but I find this to be the case in football more often than not. Which team had the least amount of turnovers or penalties. Did the coach mess up on calling a time out or was there bad clock management? Did the receiver run the route he was supposed to? Was it good defense or did the offense fail to execute. Was it good offense or did the defense have a blown coverage.
If you consider Tom Brady to be a brilliant QB, or any QB for that matter, if you peel back the onion, isn't his (their) brilliance established on the foundation of "taking advantage" of defensive mistakes? Reading the defense and looking at the receiver match ups (linebacker covering a fast receiver); calling an audible to run instead of pass when there are 3 linemen and only 1 middle linebacker.
The NFL = National Fallible League ;)
9. Karl
- 01/23/2012 10:23 am CST
No question that the team making the fewest mistakes usually wins the game. But as a hotly contested game comes down to the wire, it is much more satisfactory to me as a fan, to see it finally determined by someone making a great play - or even just by making a succession of good plays - than to see it finally determined by one team or one player making a memorable gaffe like a missed FG or fumbled punt.
I'm not saying the winning teams yesterday didn't deserve to win. They made fewer mistakes; they didn't flinch in the big moment and their opponent did. But it is more fun to watch a game where down the stretch one team seizes the moment in a big way and refuses to be denied the W, rather than seeing the other team gack away their chances at a W through unforced error.
11. Bill
- 01/23/2012 1:23 pm CST
Andrew - ha!
Karl: But it is more fun to watch a game where down the stretch one team seizes the moment in a big way and refuses to be denied the W, rather than seeing the other team gack away their chances at a W through unforced error.
Agreed! That's been somewhat of a story these playoffs, for at least some of the games. The Texans spotted the Ravens 14 points of really dumb turnovers (muffed punt and rookie mistakes on interceptions). In both games yesterday the mistakes were the story.
I think the game that most lined up with the "big play for the W" scenario was the Broncos/Steelers game. That ending was awesome.
13. Bill
- 01/23/2012 5:13 pm CST
Yes. I'd include "The Grab", the final touchdown pass when the 49ers beat the Saints (although that game was also pretty well defined by New Orleans' mistakes)
14. Bill
- 01/23/2012 5:15 pm CST
Bill, nice pictures. So dramatic
Thanks, although the one of Brady isn't actually of him celebrating a big play. This was his reaction when he found out that Jared's new book Gospel Deeps is coming out this year.
16. Tony
- 01/24/2012 1:47 pm CST
nhe,
Is it because of the strike / lockout thing with the NBA? If so, every major sport has gone through some sort of lockout because of business reasons. Even the NFL had a lockout just before this last season started:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_NFL_lockout
They were fortunate to negotiate prior to missing any real games though.
17. nhe
- 01/24/2012 2:56 pm CST
nothing to do with that actually Tony.....
This will sound strange, but I think the best live venue of the 4 major sports (college or pro) is college basketball.....and the worst live venue of the 4 is pro basketball.
I just dislike the NBA because in the regular season games there is no urgency (or real defense) until the 4th quarter. It's the best athletes in the world (I truly believe that) giving half-hearted effort for the majority of the games they play (and that we pay to see)....and that really drives me nuts....the college BB game is coached and played with passion and urgency from the opening whistle to the final horn.......that's just an opinion of course.
18. Karl
- 01/24/2012 4:23 pm CST
nhe, we are going to have to find some things we disagree on. But whatever those things are, the NBA isn't one of them. I do enjoy the NBA playoffs, especially conference finals and the NBA finals. But not as much as college ball, conference tourneys and March Madness. And the regular season? "Meh" to the NBA regular season - for the reasons you articulate. Too often the NBA regular season atmosphere feels almost like a glorified exhibition game or Globetrotters appearance.
I'm with you on college sports being better, although my personal preference for best live venue is probably college football over basketball. Tough call there though. I might be able to be persuaded.
19. Andrew
- 01/24/2012 5:27 pm CST
I think Karl and nhe are the same person.
Regarding college basketball vs. the NBA: I have trouble enjoying college hoops because all the best players spend a year in the league and then leave. There is no continuity. If the NCAA could somehow institute a three-year rule or something like that, I'd be down with that.
In any case, the Super Bowl is a no-win situation for me, and college basketball isn't the least bit interesting until March, so I'll stick with the NBA.
20. nhe
- 01/24/2012 6:26 pm CST
Karl......I much prefer pro sports to college, except for basketball (I'm a HS BB referee, maybe that has something to do with it).....the NBA also has a "sense of entitlement" vibe among its millionaires and big names that other pro sports don't seem to have as much - that may be what bugs the most.........NBA playoffs are mildly interesting, but never enough for me to actually tune in.
Anyway, back to the Super Bowl. I actually attended one - the '82 Super Bowl in Detroit (SF/Cincy).......great game, but having soaked in the live experience (I got a free ticket through a friend) I'd MUCH rather watch it on TV. Pro football is MUCH better on TV - but I agree that the college FB atmosphere live is pretty cool.
21. Bill
- 01/24/2012 9:05 pm CST
Agreed with you on watching football on TV versus live. We really enjoyed the Baylor/UT game that we attended this year, but in general I see so much more of the game when watching it on TV. (Plus, the snacks are cheaper)
And, like Andrew, I've come to the conclusion that Karl and nhe are the same person. Either that or Karl is nhe's doppelganger.
22. Karl
- 01/24/2012 9:58 pm CST
No question you see more of the game in football watching it on tv vs. watching live. But the atmosphere of a big time college football game is something special. And if you are fortunate enough to have (or know someone who has) seats near field level, TV can't even come close to conveying the jaw dropping athleticism and violence, the crazy size and speed of high level D1 athletes playing a collision sport at that level. Some of my most memorable moments as a sports fan have come in Lane Stadium during big VT Hokie football games, when I couldn't hear what the person next to me was trying to say even if he/she screamed in my ear and watching future pros like Calvin Johnson, Clinton Portis, Edgerrin James, Vince Wilfork, Matt Ryan, Sean Taylor, Eddie Royal, Matthias Kiwanuka, Demetrius Thomas, Hakeem Nicks, Matt Schaub, Michael Vick and others from the distance you'd watch a high school game. But even with that, I admit that watching the game at home you have a wider-angle lens on it all, and (usually but not always) a better sense of what went on.
23. Bill
- 01/24/2012 10:50 pm CST
Wow Karl - that's awesome!
I agree - the closer to the field, the better the experience.
On a side note: Observation: I've never seen Karl and nhe comment at the same time . . . coincidence?
24. Karl
- 01/25/2012 7:53 am CST
Well Bill, with that said, I changed jobs in 2011 and lost access to those 3rd row up from the field , 50 yard line seats (owned by my former boss).
Went to a couple of games this past fall and sat further up in the stands and it was fun, but not the same experience. Being field level the noise all rains down on you and you really get to hear and feel the violence of the game and the incredible athleticism of the players (I can remember looking at the late Sean Taylor and thinking "If he hit me, I would probably die"). It's one thing to see a guy like Ray Lewis or whoever on TV and think that, but you really get a sense of it when they are close enough to you that you can see with your own eyes how massive + insanely fast they are compared to the average human.
Being way up in the stands, it's actually more like watching it on tv, with the added hassle of all the time it takes to get there and get home, plus not being able to hear the commentary and see all the replays etc. Tailgating and soaking up the college gameday atmosphere is still lots of fun though - to each his own, I guess. A big ACC (or Big East, or Big 12 I'm sure but ACC is what I know) basketball game is also an incredible in-person atmosphere and if nhe prefers that to college football I'd be hard pressed to argue - IMO that's more a matter of personal taste between two awesome atmospheres. I'm sure a big NFL gameday in a rabid NFL city would have a similar in-person vibe but there's just something a little more "pure" in the feel of college sports to me, even though I know it's big business. And unlike sitting close to the field in Blacksburg for several years, every NFL game I've attended I have been way high up in the stands, so haven't had that same sense of the even-crazier athleticism of NFL players that one would get at field level. Maybe for "best in-person atmosphere no matter where you are sitting" nhe is right - it's hard to beat college basketball for that, especially in one of the older, more intimate on-campus gym venues.
BTW, I've watched a few NFL Texans play in Blacksburg - Matt Schaub, Xavier Adibi (no longer w/ Texans I think?), Duane Brown, Andre Johnson, Andre Davis are a few I can think of.
nhe and I are going to have to find something to fight about in order to kill this talk.
28. Karl
- 01/25/2012 4:25 pm CST
While if push comes to shove, I probably am Arminian in my soteriology, I am prone to argue with someone who is dogmatic in either direction. Neither Arminianism nor Calvinism seems (to me) to do full justice to the entirety of the scriptural witness when worked all the way out into a logical system. Both end up ignoring, discounting or (to my mind) tortuously twisting certain truths or passages in order to make their argument that the Bible supports their position. I'm content to leave it in God's hands re. just how his sovereignty and human responsibility coexist.
The Thinklings masthead featured a Tozer quote a day or two ago. Another Tozer quote I like is:
"God will not hold us responsible to understand the mysteries of election, predestination, and the divine sovereignty. The best and safest way to deal with these truths is to raise our eyes to God and in deepest reverence say, " O Lord, Thou knowest." Those things belong to the deep and mysterious Profound of God's omniscience. Prying into them may make theologians, but it will never make saints." -AW Tozer
33. Bill
- 01/28/2012 10:16 pm CST
Now I'm starting to think you and Jared are the same person . . .
35. Andrew
- 01/29/2012 1:05 pm CST
nah, Jared comes to his mad Pat love geographically with an assist from the very likeable Brady....I come to my Pat love as a jaded Falcon fan who just wants the team that beat my team to go DOWN!
Brady, likeable? Ambiguous identity aside, you have gone to the dark side.
37. Bill
- 01/29/2012 5:27 pm CST
I find a lot to admire in Brady as a sportsman. He had possibly the greatest single season of any NFL player in 2007. He's a legitimate contender for the title greatest QB ever. Lots to admire as a football player. But as a man, not so much.
38. nhe
- 01/29/2012 6:27 pm CST
This dichotomy is everywhere Bill.........I think Ray Lewis is the best "team leader" in professional sports, but he has some really troubling off-the-field stuff in his wake....."heroes" should have more nobility, but liking a player (for me) is a lot about what happens on the field and in the locker room.
39. Bill
- 01/29/2012 9:05 pm CST
Agreed, nhe. And I know I should have more grace toward Brady. I may not have the whole story, and I'm hoping that he's playing a role (certainly financial, but hopefully personal) in his son's life.
Leave a Comment:
Frustrating. The two teams I least wanted to make it, made it. And while the two games today were exciting, both of them were more "lost" by the losers, than they were "won" by the winners. Coulda-shoulda had a Ravens-49ers Super Bowl instead.
I think it'll be a close game but I'll pick New England to get their revenge on the Giants.