Super Bowl Wrap-up – The Game, The Analysis, The Prop Bets

I must admit, this was the least excited for a Super Bowl I’ve ever been.  The two long weeks leading up to the Bowl seemed like the game would never come.  The daily reports on the Gronks ankles, the consistent breaking news of the Jim Irsay / Peyton Manning saga, all made the two weeks between Championship Week and the Bowl unbearable.  I thought maybe that once Sunday came and the Bowl was actually here I would get amped up for it.  But unfortunately, knowing that my 49ers were supposed to be in Indy and playing in the game didn’t help in getting the juices following.  Nevertheless, it wasn’t going to stop me from watching the game.  It is still the Super Bowl, America’s greatest game, and a perfectly good reason for me to put down a jalapeno popper, or four. 

The Game – The game itself felt like it went by rather quickly.  Normally the Super Bowl tends to drag on and wears you down; but this game seemed quick, even though there wasn’t a whole lot of excitement to it early on.  I thought the Madonna halftime was about average at best, although I do have a soft spot in my heart for “Like a Prayer.”  And yes, I am one of those who watch the Bowl for the commercials, with my favorite being a tie between the Fiat car commercial and the careerbuilder.com monkeys.  I also can get enough of the Coke polar bears.  But overall, I felt it was a good Super Bowl.  When you have no rooting interest, all you can hope for is an exciting 4^th quarter and ending, and we got that.    

The Analysis – Let’s move onto the actual game.  I thought the Patriots were going to win this game.  I believe the Patriots should have won this game (for those of you who weren’t within 20 feet of a TV or radio, or you are Mrs. Armchair, the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17).  I believed that Belichick would find a way to neutralize the Giants pass rusher and that the fire burning inside Tom Brady from the Giants ruining the Pats perfect season in 2007 would compel Brady to get his team the victory.  For the most part, Belichick and Brady lived up to those beliefs; but unfortunately, the Pats receivers let them down.  As Mrs. Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, said to a hackling NY Giants fan “My husband cannot f&^*ing throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time.  I can’t believe they (Pats receivers) dropped the ball so many times.”  To her credit, she is right.  If Wes Welker catches that ball on that 2^nd and 10 go route with 4:05 left in the 4^th, or if Deion Branch just sits in the open pocket in the middle of the field on the next play, we have a completely different outcome to this game and I’m writing a blog post about how the golden boy (Brady) has comfortably placed himself on the Mount Rushmore of QB’s and solidified his legacy in the NFL.  Don’t get me wrong, Brady is still an all-time great QB, but we would be looking at Brady and talking about him in a different light if he has four Super Bowl notches on his belt rather than the three he already has with two bad, loses.

For the Pats to win this game, they had to find a way to neutralize and contain the Giants pass rush.  I thought they would accomplish this by keeping Brady in three or five step drops and having the receivers run shallow routes so that Brady could make quick reads and get the ball out of the pocket before the rush got to him.  The Giants pass defense has been suspect all year long and I felt that if the Pats implemented this offense game plan, the intermediate passes would be there for them and the Pats could not only move the ball down the field, but they would also be controlling and eating away at the game clock, dominating the ball.  I think it was Keyshawn Johnson or Cris Carter on ESPN’s Sportscenter after the game that made the point (negatively) that a Pats receiver didn’t average more than 9 yards a reception.  But see, it’s ok to average 9 yards a reception if you are getting a high volume of them.  I felt in the first half and that first drive in the second half, the Pats were implementing my game plan, and it lead them to a 17-9 lead in the middle of the 3^rd quarter.  They went away from the Mr. Armchair game plan and tried to throw the ball deep downfield, and that is when the wheels started to fall off and the game got away from them. 

I also believed that the Pats defense would play better in this game than they had all season.  I thought Championship week hero, Sterling Moore, despite getting beat on a perfect throw and a perfect catch by Eli Manning and Mario Manningham, played a solid game.  He was laying the wood to the Giants receivers, he broke up two passes in the second half on key drives, and he also forced a fumble on Victor Cruz that was recovered by the Pats, but unfortunately due to a stupid 12-man on the field penalty, the Pats had to give the ball back to the Giants.  The Pats defensive line also got good pressure on Eli, sacking him 3 times and getting 6 hits on him.  But unfortunately, when it mattered the most, the Pats defense faltered, and allowed Eli Manning and the Giants to march down the field for the winning score.

And how can we not talk about the catch?  That throw by Eli Manning and that catch by Mario Manningham may have been the best throw and catch I’ve seen this season, maybe in the last few years.  For Eli to put that ball where he did so that Manningham can catch it and then Manningham’s ability to not only catch the ball but keep his feet inbounds as he is getting tackled was awesome to see.  I can’t determine which was better.  The more I see it, the more I’m impressed by it.  Some will argue that the route should have never been there as the safety rolled over late in the Cover 2; but it did happen, and it was spectacular.  I don’t care who you are a fan of, any football enthusiast enjoyed that play.  And it ultimately won the Giants the game and supplanted Eli as an elite quarterback who can make the big time throws.  I won’t be one of those who say that he is better than Peyton now, but the debate of whether or not he is an elite quarterback should be put to bed.           

The Prop Bets – Now, the best part of the Super Bowl is all of the betting that you can partake in so that watching the game is more enjoyable, especially when you have no rooting interest.  There are many prop bets that you can place, both related to the play on the field and those not-so related.  I do consider myself a betting man; therefore, here were my prop bets, and real bets, made on the Super Bowl:

-  Pats -3, $50.00 to win $47.62  LOST

-  Giants +115 (money line) and Under 53.5, $30.00 to win $93.14  WIN

-  Super Bowl MVP Aaron Hernandez +1200, $1.00 to win $12.00  LOST

-  Color of Gatorade dumped on coach – Blue +1000, $1.00 to win $10.00  NO ACTION

-  Color of Gatorade dumped on coach – Red +800, $1.00 to win $8.00  NO ACTION

-  Who will the winning Super Bowl coach thank first – Coaching Staff/Owner +400, $2.00 to win $8.00  LOST

-  Who will the winning Super Bowl MVP thank first – Teammates +200, $2.00 to win $4.00  WON

-  Will Madonna wear an NFL Jersey or shirt at any point during halftime show – Yes +300, $2.00 to win $6.00  LOST

-  Will Madonna wear fishnet stockings at any point during halftime show – Yes -115, $2.00 to win $1.74  WON

-  Will Kelly Clarkson be wearing a dress during the Singing of the National Anthem – Yes +140, $2.00 to win $2.80  WON

-  How long will it take Kelly Clarkson to sing the Anthem – Over 1 minute 35 seconds -130, $2.00 to win $1.54  LOST

-  Will the Patriots score a rushing TD – No +150, $1.00 to win $1.50  WON

-  Will the Giants convert a 4^th down attempt – Yes +150, $1.00 to win $1.50  LOST

-  Will the Giants score a first half rushing TD – Yes +130, $1.00 to win $1.30  LOST

-  First turnover of the game will be – Fumble +130, $1.00 to win $1.30  WON

-  Will there be a successful 2 point conversion – Yes +350, $1.00 to win $3.50  LOST

-  Will there be a defensive or special team TD – Yes +150, $1.00 to win $1.50  LOST

-  Will there be overtime – Yes +650, $1.00 to win $6.50  LOST

-  Will there be a safety – Yes +750, $1.00 to win $7.50  WON

-  Team to score last in the 1^st half – Patriots -125, $1.00 to win $0.80  WON

-  Team to commit the 1^st penalty – Patriots -even, $1.00 to win $1.00  WON

-  Jersey number of the player to score the first TD – Under 80.5  -even, $1.00 to win $1.00  WON

-  Team to use coaches challenge first – Giants -115, $1.00 to win $0.87  LOST

-  Distance of first punt of the game – Over 44.5 -125, $1.00 to win $0.80  LOST

-  Will both teams made a 33 yard or longer FG – Yes +140, $1.00 to win $1.40  LOST

-  Shortest TD of the game – Over 1.5 yards +115, $1.00 to win $1.15  WON

-  Will the first kickoff result in a touchback – No +150, $1.00 to win $1.50 WON

-  Team to receive the opening kick – Patriots +200, $1.00 to win $2.00  LOST

-  Team to win the coin toss – Patriots -105, $1.00 to win $0.95  WON

-  First score of the game – Any other score beside TD +155, $1.00 to win $1.55  WON

-  Team to score first – Patriots -115, $1.00 to win $0.87  LOST

-  Coin toss result – Tails -101, $5.00 to win $4.95  LOST

So now we are on the watch, not knowing what to do with ourselves for the next 6 months.  Currently, we have bad NBA basketball and March Madness on our horizon.  The glimmer of hope is that pitchers and catchers are to report to Spring Training in about 2 weeks, and the rest of the players will report at the end of the month, so baseball is right around the corner.  But for now, post February 5^th, my weekends and I are at the mercy of Mrs. Armchair.  Goodbye, Football.  Hello, Macy’s, The Limited, Express, Trader Joes, Michaels, and Costco. 

Mr. Armchair Speaking