The general feeling that it was over started after that offensive holding call that even Romo called out as being pretty iffy. I was pretty bored watching the Rams' inept offense against a fundamentally sound but not amazing defense. I feel like this may have been a much more exciting Superbowl if Gurley wasn't on a snap count, and Kupp was still healthy. Instead we got 2012 Jets offense, and its ineptitude was magnified by the Saints controversy 2 weeks prior. Even the Patriots offense looked off, minus Edelman. In the end, despite the low scores, I didn't feel like I was watching amazing defense at all, like the Seahawks or Broncos in Superbowls prior.
The number's deceptive because the QBs who draw the most roughing the passer penalties are scramblers. If you control for scrambles, Brady gets a lot of flags thrown on his behalf.
Yeah, plays like that phantom holding call are what the Patriots dynasty is built on. All those little moments that casual fans don't see or notice, but real football fans notice and they happen in almost every big Patriots game. Huge turning points.
Stats without context . Maybe today will be the day you learn that and see it clearly without Brady balls blocking your vision. Or maybe not
Most of the time if a team dominates but doesn't put the other team away it's usually a bad sign for the team that dominates. Momentum usually dictates a shift at some point. In this game at 3 to 0 I never felt the Pats were remotely in trouble. I felt they were methodically wearing out the Rams D and could score late if needed. It was a classic game of field position and TOP dominance. The Pats really looked like they were happy to eat the clock and play field position football. The Rams did show some heart on O. They didn't have the weapons. Gurley was on a snap count and with Kupp out they simply didn't have the horses to threaten the Pats. Goff had 1 opportunity and he was late with the ball. The pressure got into his head. The Rams D showed up but they were methodically beaten down and I never once thought that if the Pats needed a score late they wouldn't get it. I thought it was a decent game but I like to watch teams play solid field position and TOP football in a defensive struggle. The game was boring because it was so methodical and there was a never a doubt about the Pats winning.
