Do people even understand or appreciate how extraordinary what the Patriots did this post-season was? The commentary on-line and on TV just seems mainly to point out a few plays and stories, they don't seem to get how great it was.
Let's look at it.
In the Ravens game, we had the Patriots looking frankly outclassed and winning through two mind-bending plays. The Edelman play, his first NFL throw, they'd waited 6 years for it. And I'm still looking (in another thread) for such long laterals.
OK, so the Edelman play, was incredible but not unprecedented. After all, other receivers have thrown passes, maybe not like that in that situation.
But the eligible receiver trick was incredible. For 40 years people have studied that rule. Noone in the NFL has EVER used it successfully. How can 40 years of coaches and players look at the same rule, and only one and only in this moment ("THIS IS OUR MOMENT") have that insight.
Then in the SB, you've got three incredible story lines, two of which are unprecedented:
(1) The Kearse catch - in the same place and at the same time as the helmet catch. Just AS A CATCH it would incredible, but to be AT THE SAME TIME AND PLACE as the helmet catch, it's incredible squared.
(2) The interception, which is incredible in four different ways:
All of this where three of the games big stars - Edelman, Butler, Brady - nearly didn't make the NFL, and Brady was written off early in the season. (There were other stars in that game, e.g. Gronk, but they weren't as obscure initially).
What I'm trying to say is that you choose ONE of these things (Edelman pass, ineligible receiver trick, Kearse catch, interception subplots), you've got something memorable. Here there are like 5, and several are just unprecedented in sports.
Yet I'm just not seeing people or media types appreciate it. Even the good websites like Grantland are turning over to basketball and pointless mundane nonsense. Don't these people appreciate what happened here?
Honestly it's infuriating to me. Am I the only one who can see the wonder of this, how this is not just another title but is extraordinary and unique?
Let's look at it.
In the Ravens game, we had the Patriots looking frankly outclassed and winning through two mind-bending plays. The Edelman play, his first NFL throw, they'd waited 6 years for it. And I'm still looking (in another thread) for such long laterals.
OK, so the Edelman play, was incredible but not unprecedented. After all, other receivers have thrown passes, maybe not like that in that situation.
But the eligible receiver trick was incredible. For 40 years people have studied that rule. Noone in the NFL has EVER used it successfully. How can 40 years of coaches and players look at the same rule, and only one and only in this moment ("THIS IS OUR MOMENT") have that insight.
Then in the SB, you've got three incredible story lines, two of which are unprecedented:
(1) The Kearse catch - in the same place and at the same time as the helmet catch. Just AS A CATCH it would incredible, but to be AT THE SAME TIME AND PLACE as the helmet catch, it's incredible squared.
(2) The interception, which is incredible in four different ways:
- The brilliance and gutsiness of Belichick risking it all by not taking a time out, something I think nearly all coaches would have done
- The luck of Seattle choosing to pass, and to pass using the EXACT PLAY that Belichick had practised
- The incredible interception. I've yet to find ONE INTERCEPTION as athletically extraordinary as that one, whether in regular season or playoffs or not. So one of the most skilled, shocking interceptions ever happens to be done at the most critical time in playoff series
- The fact that the interceptor was a guy who was so obscure, plucked out of division 2 or Popeye's after the Pats were the only team who even LOOKED at the guy.
All of this where three of the games big stars - Edelman, Butler, Brady - nearly didn't make the NFL, and Brady was written off early in the season. (There were other stars in that game, e.g. Gronk, but they weren't as obscure initially).
What I'm trying to say is that you choose ONE of these things (Edelman pass, ineligible receiver trick, Kearse catch, interception subplots), you've got something memorable. Here there are like 5, and several are just unprecedented in sports.
Yet I'm just not seeing people or media types appreciate it. Even the good websites like Grantland are turning over to basketball and pointless mundane nonsense. Don't these people appreciate what happened here?
Honestly it's infuriating to me. Am I the only one who can see the wonder of this, how this is not just another title but is extraordinary and unique?
