Post Mortem, ad Pukem
"3 lousy points... The Patriots were good, but not invincible, so what went wrong?" -- Loyal (dare I say, "phaithful") Balls, Sticks, & Stuff reader Iain
That question really hits the proverbial nail on the head -- out of the mouths of Brits. The Patriots are an excellent team, a team which some are calling a dynasty, but they were by no means the Mings or the Yogis on Sunday night. This was a team ripe for the taking, the victim of a combination of turnovers, penalties, and overturned calls in the first quarter of play. Had the Eagles played their normal game, had they displayed the decision-making and execution that we have come to expect over the last season, they would have had control of the game the entire time and would have held up the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the evening.
Instead, we saw an Eagles team reminiscent of several years ago. Donovan McNabb was completely uncomfortable in the pocket, resulting in wayward passes, which resulted in prevalent incompletions and occasional interceptions. We also saw a running game that struggled to make it back to the line of scrimmage and a defense that at times reverted to the "bend but don't break" mentality (except they did break on four out of five Patriots possessions), rather than the "turn it back to your boy" mentality Jeremiah Trotter installed in his teammates midseason.
And despite the reversion to former form, the Eagles still found themselves with an opportunity late in the fourth quarter to gain a victory. Down by ten points with just over five minutes to play, the Eagles managed to move the ball down the field for a touchdown, drawing to within three points. However, the drive that gave them hope is also the drive that sealed their fate. With a complete disregard for haste or urgency, the Eagles used a large amount of time (3:45) calling and executing plays on the drive, leaving under two minutes in the game. Such little time forced Andy Reid to try the always low-percentage-of-success-onside kick, which was recovered by the Patriots, and while the Eagles defense held the Patriots to three plays and forced a punt, the field position the Patriots obtained as a result of the onside kick allowed them to punt the ball deep into Eagles territory, forcing the Eagles to have to march 96 yards in under one minute of play. The Eagles could not create a drive, turned the ball over with just a few seconds left to play, and the Patriots had won their third NFL Chmpionship in four years.
Had the Eagles moved with a greater sense of urgency on their last touchdown drive, Andy Reid would not have been forced to try an onside kick, and the Eagles would then have had much better field position, much more time, and therefore a much better chance to try and get within field goal range for David Akers to tie the game. The lack of awareness and sense of urgency on the part of the Eagles reminds me of a quote from another Philadelphian, Ben Franklin:
"For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for the want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for the want of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the enemy, all for the want of care about a horseshoe nail."
On Monday, ESPN Radio ran a poll asking, "Did the Eagles lose the Super Bowl or did the better team win?" To me, it was both. The Patriots are probably the better team, but the Eagles did not take advantage of a prime opportunity to steal a win.
Where do we go from here?
As for the Eagles, I believe their best bet is to make few changes in personnel. Jermiah Trotter (unrestricted free agent) and Brian Westbrook (restricted free agent) should certainly be retained. Outside of that, the only item on my Eagles wishlist is a wristwatch for Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb.
As for this author, I will attempt to be patient until March when baseball's spring training begins and early April when the regular season starts and the Masters is held. I may even attempt to watch some college basketball, the Duke/Chapel Hill game tommorrow night is supposed to be interesting. Should that not pacify me over the coming weeks, I may resort to reading a book or dode over the azaleas in my backyard.
(sigh) Is it April yet?
Imagine If
...If the Eagles had won the game, Terrell Owens performance would be placed right up there with Kirk Gibson's homerun in the 1988 World Series and Michael Jordan's "flu-game" in the playoffs.
...If Todd Pinkston had thought to have a cup of Gatorade at some point during the game, he might have been able to finish the game rather than leave because of cramps.
Breaking up the Pregame Monotony
Readers may recall, I returned to Pennsylvania for the game. My thinking was that if the Eagles won, I wanted to be able to tell my grandkids in 50 years (because let's face it, they will ask me, "Grandpa, why do you root for teams that haven't won championships in X number of decades?") that I watched the game with my brother and father. At any rate, there is an incredibly enourmous Cabela's near my brother's apartment, which, given our overdose on pre-game analysis and overwhelming curiosity (we are by no means "outdoorsmen" and did I mention this place is huge?), we decided to scout. The spectacle prompted this exchange:
Me: Now I know how Larry the Cable Guy would feel in a Golf Galaxy.
Brother: This would be a great place to go if you wanted to form a militia.
Thank you, Gracias, Grazie, and Merci
By the way, at some point over the weekend, the 10,000th visit occurred at Balls, Sticks, & Stuff. Sure, most of those were by an accidental Google, but to the three of you who meant to come here and continue to come back, I thank you.
