It's time again for LaRocque and I to ask each other questions about our respective teams as they prepare to do battle. (Check out our Posts from week 17 Here and Here) This time the stakes are higher. Two men enter, one man leaves.
Q: The last time we corresponded like this, the Patriots were 15-0, and one game away from perfection. During that time, you said that as great as 16-0 would be, the most important thing was a super bowl championship. Now, your team is 18-0, and has put together the greatest season in history. Now, if the Patriots were to lose this game (unlikely, but obviously still a possibility), how would you remember this season? Would you remember it fondly as the longest winning streak ever and a Super Bowl appearance? Would you have negative feelings when you thought of it? Either way, the team accomplished a great deal, but I can't imagine what it's like to have so much riding on one game.
This is a good question. As I was watching the previous meeting between these two teams my uncle Steve brought up a great point as the issue of the perfect season and how hard you play debate was being waged over chicken wings and beers. What he said was that, in a sense, the perfect regular season would be perhaps the most memorable achievement, because it was the most unlikely feat to be replicated by a future team. Every year somebody wins a Super Bowl, but it had been 35 years since someone went through the regular season undefeated. So, from now on, every single unbeaten team will face comparisons to the 2007-2008 Patriots until they lose a game. Maybe another 35 years, most likely more than that.
That being said, and I wrote this during our earlier correspondence, it would seem like a waste if Randy Moss wasn’t standing on stage holding up the Lombardi Trophy next Sunday night. Believe it or not, I think a lot of pressure has been lifted from the Patriots. They don’t have to worry about “next week” anymore. It finally is a one-game season for them. And, they know that they can beat the Giants. IF they do lose the game, I am going to deny—until my death—that this season ever happened.
This is a good question. As I was watching the previous meeting between these two teams my uncle Steve brought up a great point as the issue of the perfect season and how hard you play debate was being waged over chicken wings and beers. What he said was that, in a sense, the perfect regular season would be perhaps the most memorable achievement, because it was the most unlikely feat to be replicated by a future team. Every year somebody wins a Super Bowl, but it had been 35 years since someone went through the regular season undefeated. So, from now on, every single unbeaten team will face comparisons to the 2007-2008 Patriots until they lose a game. Maybe another 35 years, most likely more than that.
That being said, and I wrote this during our earlier correspondence, it would seem like a waste if Randy Moss wasn’t standing on stage holding up the Lombardi Trophy next Sunday night. Believe it or not, I think a lot of pressure has been lifted from the Patriots. They don’t have to worry about “next week” anymore. It finally is a one-game season for them. And, they know that they can beat the Giants. IF they do lose the game, I am going to deny—until my death—that this season ever happened.
Q: Let's take a moment to congratulate each other on the Chargers being eliminated from the playoffs. I first want to thank your team for knocking those crybabies out for the second year in a row, and I also want to thank you for setting the record straight on LaDainian Tomlinson's nickname. The Sports Guy has also been pushing for a while for him to get rid of "LT." Certainly, I haven't yet met a Giants fan that calls LaDainian "LT". But, it is reassuring to hear non-Giants fans making the argument. LT might have been the most dominant player at his position of all time. He changed the game. Please use this answer as an opportunity to A) make disparaging remarks about the Chargers, B) praise Lawrence Taylor, C) offer up a new nickname for LaDainian Tomlinson, D) make some commentary on an unrelated issue, or E) All of the above.
Here we go...
A) Nothing brings me more joy as a Patriots fan than a Chargers loss. Each year there are a few things that are a guarantee with San Diego: They will go on a run where they win several games in a row and begin to proclaim that they are the best team in the NFL. They will mouth off to opposing teams coaches, fans, and players. They will hire an inept coach, and our last shot of him will be on the sidelines following a playoff loss to the Pats looking like he just shit his pants at a dinner party.
LOSERS.
B) I cannot say enough good things about Lawrence Taylor. The “Between the Lines” Lawrence Taylor is one of my favorite sports shows of all time. Whether it was coming to college practices drunk and still dominating to showing up to a team meeting wearing a prostitute’s hand-cuffs, this guy is a legend by any standards. I also heard that he used to eat shotglasses at the Bar. (re-read that sentence, yep, badass) Plus, I dare say there has not been a more intense, gifted, dominant, defensive player in the NFL since he retired.
There is a lot of leather in this picture.
C) From this day forth LaDainian Tomlinson will only be known as………..Complainian Tomlinson... also, Darth Hater would work nicely as well.
In addition I propose: Philip “Cry me a” Rivers.
D) As far as Global Warming goes, I think we’re all fucked.
E) Done and Done.
Q: Randy Moss has not been a major statistical factor in any of the playoff games. What impact has he had on the victories despite this lack of stats, do you think the allegations against him have had an effect on him, and what do you expect from him in the Super Bowl?
Moss has had a huge impact on the playoff games. One needs only look as far as Lawrence Maroney’s statistics to see this. Both Jacksonville and San Diego made the calculated choice to game-plan against the hellacious deep-threat that is Randy Moss. Both teams committed a cornerback and safety to Moss on almost every single offensive play. Jacksonville hardly even blitzed the whole game, choosing instead to drop 7 and 8 guys into coverage consistently. If you do the math, that leaves 4 on 3 and 5 on 4 matchups favoring the Patriots offensive line all game long. That is why Maroney has rushed for 100 or more yards 4 out of the last 5 weeks (The Giants held him to 46, but he had 2 TDs.) He has put in back to back 122 yard games against two of the “best” defenses in the league. NO defense in the NFL can stop the Patriots running game with 3 or 4 guys in the box.
Moss has had a huge impact on the playoff games. One needs only look as far as Lawrence Maroney’s statistics to see this. Both Jacksonville and San Diego made the calculated choice to game-plan against the hellacious deep-threat that is Randy Moss. Both teams committed a cornerback and safety to Moss on almost every single offensive play. Jacksonville hardly even blitzed the whole game, choosing instead to drop 7 and 8 guys into coverage consistently. If you do the math, that leaves 4 on 3 and 5 on 4 matchups favoring the Patriots offensive line all game long. That is why Maroney has rushed for 100 or more yards 4 out of the last 5 weeks (The Giants held him to 46, but he had 2 TDs.) He has put in back to back 122 yard games against two of the “best” defenses in the league. NO defense in the NFL can stop the Patriots running game with 3 or 4 guys in the box.
Careful with that finger RandyHowever, despite Maroney’s success in the past few weeks I think that teams are still going to try to make him the primary option for the Pats, because, lets face it, scoring points on the ground usually takes more plays, more time, and doesn’t offer the same opportunity for the quick-strike as a 60 yard bomb to Moss does. Teams are so afraid (and for good reason) of falling behind the Patriots early that they have begun resorting to playing 3rd and 36 defenses on 1st and 10. It is the classic “Pick Your Poison” dilemma. You can’t win, in fact, no one has all year.
I really don’t believe that the off-field stuff will have an effect on Moss. I guess we will have to wait until the hearing on Jan. 28th for a definitive answer, but on the surface this just seems like a case of stinky-pinky gone horribly awry. Moss will have several catches and 1 touchdown, but I don’t think this Super Bowl will be his finest hour statistically. Remember, he has already had the greatest season ever by an NFL wide receiver, so winning this game is really all that he, and the Patriots, are worried about.
Stay Tuned for more Q and A throughout the week.
1 comment:
Nicely put sir, that global warming is a bitch.
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