Great analysis as always, Ken.
Obviously, down 28-3, the chance of getting back were small, but I never completely lost faith, thinking of the 2013 comeback against the Broncos and the (almost) 28-points comeback against the 49ers in 2012. I thought that, being so far ahead, the Falcons would go into a run-only mode, leading to shorter drives and more stops. Well, I was mistaken...but in the end, their pass-first mentality didn't close the game either. Which lead me to my next point...
Matt Ryan. I believe people never change. Obviously, players gets better over time (until they get old, except for Tom Brady), but at the core they don't change. Peyton Manning never was a great player under pressure. The 2 Super Bowls he won, his defense won them for him. Ryan is no different; might be a great regular season QB, but in the playoffs, under pressure, he'll do a mistake. Tom Brady has mistakes too, but he's able to put them behind, and he does not let these mistakes affect him for the rest of the game. Ryan's play just crumble when it happens. Once the Pats started to get closer, Ryan just had a meltdown. I don't know why he got that 'Matty Ice' nickname, that's just not him. Taking all those sacks in the 4th quarter, that's just bad football.
Lesson learned from the past : I always hated it when Belichick started to get after points too early. Super Bowl 42 4th and long instead of going for a 47-yard field goal is an example. Going on 4th down 2 times against the Broncos in last year AFC Championship, missing out on easy field goals. This time however, he took the points each time, and it ended up being the right decisions. I don't think anybody would have blame him to try to go for a touchdown down 21-0 at the end of the first half, or down 28-9 with less than 10 minutes in the 4th quarter. But he didn't, and in the end the Pats needed these 2 field goals to tie the game.
Julio Jones : I wonder how he feels today. The guy caught all 4 passes thrown to him, and the last one, at the Pats 22 yard-line, should have put the Falcons in a position to win. But instead of going for a 40 yards field goal, the Falcons next 3 plays were all negative plays, putting them out of field goal range. Football is the ultimate team game, but I guess he probably feels he did his part, and the rest of the team let him down.
Jamie Collins : yes, he got his contract...with the Browns. I wonder if he watched the Super Bowl at all, or just didn't care. If he would have listened to the coaches here, he would have been a 2-time Super Bowl winner. I might be unfair, but I think he just didn't care, he'll take the money over championships.
PS. I'm watching the Parade, and Belichick is on the mic saying 'no days off, no days off !' to a group of people who just skipped work to go to the Parade...funny stuff !
