Why are ALL our SBs close?

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Teams don't **** in their pants in SBs anymore, at least for the most part. Close games should be the norm, considering the quality of teams that reach the game. For some strange reason, from 1983 to the turn of the century we saw a ton of anomalies.

Regards,
Chris

 

[Huckleberry1]

Because we play in the salary cap era.

A lot of SBs have been close in this era. Also I believe a large part of the issue is that the Pats usually go up against more physically talented teams which they need to squeak by to win. Picking last in the draft all those years has effected the talent they've had in these runs and usually the other team manages to stay in the game by talent alone.

I think it’s free agency coupled with the cap, and that the league is structured for parity.

 

[BostonWolverine]

I agree -- I treasure the memory of seeing Richard Sherman's face falling, and the Blank and dejected stares of Artie and his wife (especially sweet after their nauseating celebration dance.) It's nerve racking, but I'll take a Pats' comeback to victory over a SB blowout any day.

Not sure if 28-3 had anything to do with it, but Blank and his wife are going through a divorce right now.

 

[XLIX]

how many SB in the 2000's have been blowouts? 1 maybe 2. TB over Oakland, Seattle over Denver. League parity does show up in these games.

"Blowout" is a vague term, so I will say this:

There have been 18 Super Bowls this century, 8 involving NE and 10 which didn't.

All 8 of NE's were one score games, 4 of which were 3 points.
7 of those 8 games had the final go-ahead score come with 2:30 or less left on the clock.

Only 3 of the other 10 were 1 score games, with only 1 as close as a FG. 3 of those 10 games were 3 (or more) scores different.
Only 1 had the final go-ahead score come with 2:30 or less remaining.

NE Super Bowls are noticeably closer than the rest of the sample.

 

[fxmallon]

Perhaps the close games are in part due to prevent football. What a better time to employ it than when you have a lead in the biggest football game on the planet. So the losing team benefits first from prevent offense (the clock killing type) and then they have 4 down possessions against prevent defense.

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

I think this will be the first superbowl we blowout a team!

 

[SBLIII]

I think the Patriots will win this one by a comfortable margin. They are on a roll! Sony going to kill the Rams!

 

[Tony2046]

Other teams draft and develop players that possess Cat like quickness

Sammy! Say it isn't so.

 

[Adam Seward]

A 2009 Titans blowout wouldn’t be very fun or exciting. I more enjoy riding the edge to the very end.

 

[Jlaff]

We actually played good teams in the SB. Except for the Giants, most teams we played actually belonged in the playoffs

I thought this would be another way of describing it. But I agree with your original take as we.

 

[Jlaff]

Not sure if 28-3 had anything to do with it, but Blank and his wife are going through a divorce right now.

I'm surprised she held out for that long. Any details on whether he had a pre-nup, or did he actually think she loved him?

 

[supafly]

Clearly, Belichick takes two weeks off, and during his busy time to boot. Smh.

 

[TennisBallHead]

They didn't just happen to play the eight best NFC teams. Some is their own doing. Too conservative at the beginning (3 points in the 1st quarter, of all 8 Super Bowls total).

Some boneheaded plays and coaching decisions (end of half vs CAR and SEA, Brady with several bad turnovers).

For instance, they probably should have been up 17-7 vs Seattle and 14-7 vs Carolina. Instead it's 14-14 and 14-10.

Also some really bad fourth quarter collapses.

14 vs Rams
19 (!) vs Panthers
14 vs Giants
12 vs Eagles

I use the example of the Broncos vs the Panthers. They won by 14 with a QB that couldn't throw. Is there any doubt that the Pats would be down by 10 in the fourth vs CAR, needing two TD'S to win?

 

[TennisBallHead]

We actually played good teams in the SB. Except for the Giants, most teams we played were 1 or 2 seeds.

TB beat OAK by 27
PIT beat SEA by 11
NO beat IND by 14
SEA beat DEN by 35
DEN beat CAR by 14

No problem for them. Pats meanwhile are a +4 in scoring differential in eight ****ing games.

I don't need a 35 point win, but could just be up by 10 and run out the clock?

 

[TennisBallHead]

But I can see why the Pats gave up drives of 6/81/TD, 3/90/TD, and 7/80/TD against the Panthers. They were on the field for 38 whole plays before the fourth quarter. They were gassed.

 

[venecol]

A 2009 Titans blowout wouldn’t be very fun or exciting. I more enjoy riding the edge to the very end.

When is the masochist emoji coming out?

 

[Observer]

Our defense has had the unique ability to give up a touchdown within 1 minute from anywhere on the field at the end of games.

 

[Viper652]

This has the potential to being a blowout win for the Pats with the Rams crappy defense

 

[Viper652]

The Seahawks dismantling Peyton and that offense was amazing. I really loved that blowout and we were due for one

 

[PatsSox363804]

"Blowout" is a vague term, so I will say this:

There have been 18 Super Bowls this century, 8 involving NE and 10 which didn't.

All 8 of NE's were one score games, 4 of which were 3 points.
7 of those 8 games had the final go-ahead score come with 2:30 or less left on the clock.

Only 3 of the other 10 were 1 score games, with only 1 as close as a FG. 3 of those 10 games were 3 (or more) scores different.
Only 1 had the final go-ahead score come with 2:30 or less remaining.

NE Super Bowls are noticeably closer than the rest of the sample.

The only real blowouts though were the Ravens over Giants, Bucs over Raiders, and Seahawks over Broncos. 2 of those are at the beginning of the decade.

The colts game was one score going into the 4th.

The saints had a 7 point lead and colts were driving until manning threw the pick 6.

Denver only had a one score lead entering the 4th vs Carolina.

Pittsburgh had a one score lead on Seattle going into the 4th and that game was so badly officiated it was almost rigged.

So 15 of 18 were games into the 4th quarter.