Consiracy theorist are almost always either insane or incredibly stupid. Calling this game rigged would fall to those categories. No defense can sustain 90+ snaps and not get tired. Kind of hard get constant pressure when you are on the field the whole freaking game.
about the hold calls : THE HOLD CALLS WERE CORRECT! Look, I hate the pats too but damn, that was a fair call from the refs. Overall the refs did a good job. Atl blew it, be mad at them.
i actually turned the game OFF when it was later 3rd quarter, 28 -9......not with the thought that the falcons had it wrapped up but thinking that i couldn't watch the pats come back. and they did, and i didn't watch, but it still bugs the crap out of me.
The Atlanta coaching staff (and Matt Ryan) choked. Ryan fumbling on his own 25 yard line: why is he throwing in the first place? Instead of keeping the clock going (at that point NE's worse enemy) and then punting it to make NE go the long field (burning up more time) Ryan gets sacked, stops the clock while giving NE a very short field. Ryan comes back and hits Julio Jones to the NE 23 yd. line setting up the game-clinching FG (40 yarder, indoors, synthetic turf; that's an 85-90% gimme). But once again Atlanta's coaching staff goes full-Seattle and plays like they're behind. Too clever for their own good. Matt Ryan turns into Geno Ryan and violates a cardinal rule by taking a sack in FG position. Should've said shove it the OC's play calling and run the ball on 2nd down....and on 3rd down.....and either burned the clock or made NE take timeouts. This wasn't the Jets/Doug Brien in Heinz Field - this is indoors with a rock-solid kicker. Julio Jones won the game. The Atlanta coaching staff and Matt Ryan lost it. *and give an assist to the Atlanta kick return team for botching up two consecutive kickoffs (deciding to run the ball out on the 1st kickoff, then playing too far up field and having to run backwards to field the 2nd one) and putting themselves in horrible field position at the end*
I know this sounds incredibly weak, but I would have rather not made the super bowl than to lose it like that. If that was the Jets I would never have gotten out of bed this morning and probably all week.
This season with the Jets disappointment and the historic patriot victory has been on big sh*t sandwich.
There was also a missed face mask called on the play before the strip sack, which would have negated the holding penalty which set back Atlanta 10 yards. But ultimately they have no one to blame but themselves. Brady was garbage and gifted them potential interception after interception on the final two drives. The fact that people are calling him the GOAT because of that performance is laughable
It actually started last Super Bowl with old friend Jerricho Cotchery having his first three dropped passes of the season.
Well said Joe, that 2nd kick return where he had to go back and get the ball was so cringe-worthy. Right then and there, I knew the Falcons would lose that game.
it should be common sense to pick it up in the end zone and take a knee if you're a returner and you have to run backwards towards your end zone to retrieve a punt/kickoff ATL kickoff returner cost them like 25 yards by being an idiot. That was far less damaging than ATL continually passing and not running the play clock down in the 4th, but it still mattered. after the Falcons went up 28-3, they only ran the ball five more times
There was an offensive and defensive face mask on that play. You can argue it was a good no call or you can argue that they both should have been called and the penalties off-set. I guess it depends on who you're rooting for. Kind of a funny loophole if you think about it. One team can get 2 penalties and the other team 1 on the same play and they off-set. Win for the team with 2 penalties I guess.
So true, although it's hard not to blame Freeman as well as he totally whiffed blocking his man on the sac fumble and then the miracle Edelman catch made me cry. This game was a meltdown of epic proportions. Screw Atlanta for failing so hard.
I don't blame them too much for passing on the strip sack. There was no reason to be running what seemed to be routes into the end zone in New England's zone though. Two runs and a quick screen to setup your money field goal kicker for at most a 45 field goal if the plays net negative yardage on the plays. I really can't believe that happened.
Wow, like, last night was the equivalent of the Idaho Fartsniffers finally winning the superbowl after 4 cheating scandals negated the previous victories. The scandal in this case probably revolves around BB and company faking being the weak team for 3 quarters so they could heap "greatest of all this that and the other thing" around like Donald Trump, who is their buddy. They knew perfectly well before the game that they could crush Atlanta, but just laid back to get the headlines. Trump is the mastermind behind all of this, you'll see. Ron
That's a crazy stat if that's the case.... Other than Shanahan, what was Dan Quinn doing just sitting there letting it happen? Gotta take control, especially since you came from a Seahawks team that lost the SB on a bad pass play call 2 years prior.
