By: Adamo Marinelli
This will be a quick video, but I just want to take a few minutes to talk about everything that happened in the Super Bowl yesterday. Or well, I’m here to talk about the lack of things that happened in the Super Bowl yesterday night. How ironic.
First of all, as much as I hate the Patriots, it is undeniable they are a great team and that they have established a dynasty, and so I congratulate them on their sixth ring.
In all seriousness, yesterday’s Super Bowl was hands down the worst game in Super Bowl history. It was the worst rated Super Bowl since Super Bowl 43 in 2009 when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals.
Also, in an offence oriented league: where it has never been easier to score points; where it is so much harder to play defence; where contact/tackling rules have gotten way too strict, to the point where bad calls ruin games; and in a league where the average points per game this season was over 35 points, putting up only 16 points in a Super Bowl is unacceptable. Even more concerning: the Patriots put up 13 points, meaning the Rams only put up three. You don’t deserve to win if you put up only three points in a Super Bowl. That is disgraceful.
Both quarterbacks struggled and had a very bad game. Goff struggled more than Brady, but that is understandable, he is younger and more inexperienced. Tom Brady completed 21/35 of his passes for 262 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. Jared Goff completed 19/38 passes for 229 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception.
A normally consistent and very talented Rams’ run game was contained and held to just 62 total yards. They averaged over a 130 yards per game in the regular season. The Rams were incapable of getting a run game going because their offensive line didn’t do a very good job blocking and was just dominated by the Patriots’ front seven. But the Rams’ front seven dominated the Patriots offensive line too. This game was akin to a game from the 1970s, where there would be very few points because you would win the game in the trenches with your defence.
Neither team was very consistent on offence, all game long, but the Patriots put together one touchdown drive, capped off with a Sony Michel two-yard rush touchdown, which ultimately was enough to win the title. Gostowski added two field goals on three attempts. The Rams’ only three points came on a Greg Zuerlein 53 yard field goal late in the third quarter. He missed his only other attempt that came with five seconds left in the game when the Rams were already trailing 13-3.
However, the reason for this offensive ineptitude on both sides was because both
defences played amazing. The Rams’ defence did a good job applying pressure to disrupt Brady’s rhythm. They had one sack, one forced fumble and they forced Brady to leave the pocket frequently, especially in the game’s early stages, forcing his interception. They also played pretty well against the run, but still gave up 154 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Arguably, the Patriots’ defence played better than the Rams’. They held the Rams’ offence, third best in the league behind the Chiefs and Saints, to three points, held them to only 62 yards, and took advantage of Goff’s inexperience and confused him with their disguised coverages. McVay did a good job play calling, Goff just couldn’t scan the field effectively with the Patriots’ coverages. Good job to the Patriots’ defence. This defence has improved since they got scorched by the Eagles in Super Bowl 52. Patriots’ cornerback Stephon Gilmore had a great game too, with one huge, game-sealing interception, one forced fumble on a C.J. Anderson carry, fortunately for the Rams, the ball bounced out of bounds, and five pass breakups. He should have been called for quite a few penalties, but other than that, great game. He would’ve been a great candidate for Super Bowl MVP if Julian Edelman with 141 yards on 10 catches didn’t get it. Even Sony Michel could’ve made a case.
Because of the defensive deadlock, both punters were huge. Patriots’ punter Ryan Allen had five punts for 215 yards, an average of 43 yards per punt. His longest was a 53 yarder. Rams’ punter had nine punts for 417 yards, an average of 46.3 yards per punt. He also set a record for longest punt in a Super Bowl, with his longest kick of 65 yards. Honestly, can the punters win MVP? But imagine paying $1000 for a ticket to watch a Maroon 5 concert and a punting competition. Because that’s all this game was.
Finally, there were some bad calls, that shockingly only hurt the Rams. The Rams center John Sullivan was called for a hold on a perfect block which negated a Todd Gurley first down run early in the fourth quarter which stalled the Rams’ drive and forced another punt. There was also a bad personal foul call on Nickell Robey Coleman for making a perfect and clean textbook tackle on Rex Burkhead, a missed defensive holding call on Stephon Gilmore, who hooked Cooks 10-15 yards upfield before the game-sealing interception and finally Stephon Gilmore got away with a defensive pass interference call on two occasions: on a potential Brandin Cooks touchdown, and on a deep ball to Josh Reynolds on the Patriots seven-yard line in the second quarter. But alas, the penalties weren’t called, so I guess it doesn’t matter. The Patriots still won the game 13-3 and their sixth Super Bowl.
In conclusion, the game was truly a boring one and possibly the most boring game in Super Bowl history. It was so hard to watch and it felt like the game lasted forever because nothing interesting happened, at least on offence. Sure, both defences were great, but even in defensive deadlocks, teams still put up a minimum of 30 points, like when the Broncos beat the Panthers 24-10 in Super Bowl 50. Compared to that game with great defence and at the same time, lots of offence and points being scored, this game, ending with a score of 13-3 looks pathetic.
Didn’t this game just feel like a filler episode of your favourite TV series? Don’t worry, the next episode will be better. Next year’s Super Bowl will be better. At the very least, the halftime show was good. They could’ve played the whole Sweet Victory song performed by Spongebob and the Bikini Bottom band before Sicko Mode by Travis Scott, but we’ll take what we can get I suppose. Until next year football fans, I bid you adieu.
No comments:
Post a Comment