Patriots Pride In The Name Of Love
Last night I watched a hard fought Super Bowl between the Patriots and the Giants. Unfortunately, the Patriots came up short in their 21-17 loss to the Giants in the Super Bowl. When I woke up this morning I heard a classic song by U2 that put the Super Bowl in perspective for me. All I feel right now for the Patriots is "Pride In The Name Of Love".
I want to first give the proper credit in this Super Bowl as the Giants were better, and deserved the title. Eli Manning and his teammates made the plays when they needed to seal the victory.
I am hearing and reading all the "what if" scenarios that played out last night for the Patriots. I am not going to focus on those situations as it doesn't change the result. Sometimes your team just gets beat, and that is what I witnessed on Sunday.
What I watched from the Patriots is a team that battled for four quarters, and gave it everything they had to get the victory. There was nothing left on the table for the Patriots.
I don't feel the Patriots choked in the end of this game at all. There were some bad throws and drops, but that happens in every game. When you are in the Super Bowl, the mistakes are magnified because of the stage you are on.
I saw a defense that played really well, and in the fourth quarter made every effort to stop the Giants. Manning just made some incredible throws, and credit the Giants receivers for making clutch receptions.
As a fan of the New England Patriots, all I can ask for is that the team comes to play. On Super Bowl Sunday I watched a team that was well prepared, and did their job. Unfortunately, the other team made a few more plays, and that is the difference between winning and losing.
If you sit back for one second, and think about how the Patriots got to the Super Bowl, it is actually quite extraordinary, and should not be over-looked. Please don't forget the victories against the Broncos and the Ravens in the play-offs. It is an accomplishment to get to Indy, and I am very proud of the 2011 New England Patriots.
I have heard for the past six months in the media how the Patriots defense was terrible, and that it would hurt them in the end. I think it is safe to say that the defense was much better than the reputation it received. The Giants moved the ball last night, but the Patriots defense did not make it easy on Manning and his unit. New York earned every point they got from a defense that battled until the end.
On offense, the Patriots offensive line deserves a huge amount of credit for how they played. Justin Tuck did get 2 big sacks, but over the course of the game the line did their job.
Rob Gronkowski was definitely not at 100% and it showed, but he fought through the pain to give it his all along with his teammates. The receivers picked up the slack, and I feel were giving it everything they had to win this game. Aaron Hernandez had 8 receptions for 67 yards, while Wes Welker had 7 catches for 60 yards. There were players that dropped balls, but as I stated earlier, it is going to happen. It shouldn't take away from the fact that these players gave an incredible effort.
This Patriots season was dedicated to Myra Kraft, and I feel the players, and coaching staff did her very proud on Sunday. The Patriots left it all on the field.
It certainly hurts to come so close to winning the title, but the journey to get there was seriously incredible. I feel all 53 players proved their critics wrong as they played together as a team to the bitter end. Patriots fans have much to feel proud about regardless of how the season ended. I am one fan that has Patriots Pride In The Name Of love.
