Posted on 01/24/2005 6:37:11 AM PST by piperpilot
Now that we all know that the New England Patriots will be meeting the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX next month in Jacksonville, it's time to start building the hype, so let the games begin!
I heard on talk radio..
- Tickets on E-bay start at $6,000
- A motel single in Jacksonville starts at $5,400. Apparently Jacksonville is way under-Hoteled.
Not sure. I would not worry about something that happened 4 years ago. The AFC has ruled the NFC this season. Not even close.
The Pats are 8-0 in the playoffs, the Eagles have not won the big game yet.
Brady has always stepped up in big games.
I am also an Eagles fan from my younger days but I do not see, baring the Pats being so over confident or making 5 turnovers, how the Eagles match up with the Pats.
That's why we had to bring in the ships.
2003 was the year. And I should correct the record, it was Spencer Frederick and he was drafted by the Saints in the 2003 draft and not the Chiefs. He played the TE position for the University of Montana Grizzlies of the Big Sky Conference.
Given how poorly I did with my playoff predictions to date, I won't even bother pontificating on the Super Bowl. I will, however, be cheering full-force for the Patriots.
Patriots 36, Eagles 17
I know the kicker, David Akers, for the Philadelphia Eagles. He and I went to school together at the University of Louisville. But I am sure he will be flooded with ticket requests, many more than even he can fill.
Actually, I expect that the Eagles will return to their base defensive scheme. They will blitz Brady a lot, and from all angles. It may work better than it did for the Steelers, because the Eagles have a better secondary (though a lot of people thought the Steelers had a good secondary before last night).
That's why they play the games, as they say.
Actually, I've been saying that the Steelers' lone defensive weaknesses were on the deep the short out passes. I just didn't think New England would be capable of effectively exploiting those weaknesses (I thought the Colts or Chargers would have had better chances).
New England will be able to run the ball much better on Philly than they did Pittsburgh. This will lead to 1-on-1 coverages downfield that Brady should be able to capitalize on, regardless of the quality of the Eagles' secondary.
(So much for my non-progronsticating pledge.)
Oh the Steelers do have a good secondary. It's just not good enough.
Forty years after the Beatles rocked the Gator Bowl, Paul McCartney will return to Jacksonville to perform at the Ameriquest Mortgage Super Bowl XXXIX Halftime Show. That's only part of a full week's worth of events and excitement to be held in Jacksonville. The Friday night concert before the game will be highlighted by Josh Gracin, an up-and-coming country music superstar who first appeared on American Idol 2.
Grammy Award winner and multi-platnum recording artist Alicia Keys has been added to the lineup. Keys will perform "America the Beautiful" on the field as part of a pregame show that will include Gretchen Wilson, Black Eyed Peas and John Fogerty. But before Super Sunday, make sure to check out Patti LaBelle and a group of inspirational stars at the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration.
Turned out yesterday the Steelers secondary was only as good as their pass rush. They're mostly young back there and should get better with experience. And they're still loads better than the secondary of 3 years ago (the "why bother to run" secondary), but there's definite room for improvement.
You mean the pre-game has ALREADY started? [g]
How about what the Eagles did to Vick? All anybody talked about was how Vick was going to run over the Eagles, and how they would be left in the Cold for a 4th straight year. Seems the Eagles also crushed their two opponents. The Pats got very lucky vs. the Steelers. The interception off the tip on the first drive was a fluke. The Bettil fumble was a fluke, the defender slipping allowing the Pats to walk into the endzone from 10 yards out was a fluke, the reciever tripping leading to the pick returned for a td was a fluke, and on the third interception the ball slipped from Roethlisberger. Also Cowher deciding not to go for it on 4th and goal from the 2 to make it a one possession game was a huge mistake. The Pats will not always get as lucky as they did against the Steelers. That said, shame on the leagues number D for letting the Pats get 40 points.
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