With any luck, this column will be therapeutic; at least moreso,
hopefully, than watching countless hours of Puppy Bowl IV, while
wondering why the New England Patriots lost 17-14 to the New York
Giants on Sunday.
With any luck, this column will be therapeutic; at least moreso, hopefully, than watching countless hours of Puppy Bowl IV, while wondering why the New England Patriots lost 17-14 to the New York Giants on Sunday.
My prediction, as usual, crumbled with my argument. I won’t even repeat what I said would happen in Super Bowl XLII, but from my tone so far, I’m sure you can tell I was off just a tad.
But, then again, it’s always impossible to see when a team’s failure to adjust will finally come back to haunt them.
When Eli Manning lofted the game-winning touchdown to Plaxico Burress in the left corner of the end zone Sunday, I didn’t think it was over. The Patriots have shown time and time again they can drive the length of the field when need be, even when nothing seems to go their way, even when they are getting completely out-played, even when they fail to correct their game plan (read: Super Bowl XLII).
But unfortunately for Pats fans – myself included – New England reached a level of seeming invincibility this year, and it hit Goliath-like proportions in the Super Bowl.
The Giants defense did a remarkable job Sunday, holding likely the greatest offense ever to just seven points at halftime. But while New York stifled the Patriots’ attack, New England had its chance to win, and they let the belief that they were unbeatable beat them.
This kind of invincibility is pretty rare in sports, although we are just wrapping up the Goliath Era of the USC Trojans, where Pete Carroll and his semi-pro college football team believed they were so good, they could do no wrong.
USC’s era pretty much concluded with their loss to Texas in the 2005 Rose Bowl, which, rather appropriately, was the time their role of Goliath came crumbling down.
In the Rose Bowl, the Trojans held a 38-33 lead with 2:13 remaining in the game. On fourth-and-two, from the Texas 45-yard line, USC went for it. They could have punted, pinning Texas deep and forced to score a touchdown, but they decided, well, they were better than that.
Invincibility breeds predictability, in this case, and the Longhorns stuffed USC’s attempted rush up the middle, which everyone and their grandmother knew was coming.
Texas went on to win 41-38.
On Sunday in Glendale, Ariz., we may have just wrapped up New England’s Goliath Era, as the Patriots underestimated the role of David, played by the Giants, of course.
With the clock ticking down toward halftime, and the Pats sitting on New York’s 31 with a fourth-and-13, New England went for it instead of kicking what would have been a 48-yard field goal attempt.
Yes, the Patriots went for it, failed, and ended up losing by three points.
Invincible? Eighteen wins a row might do that to you, unfortunately.
Feeling unquestionably unconquerable, New England sealed their fate in their final possession. Trailing 17-14, the Patriots had the ball at their own 26 with 35 seconds left and three timeouts.
Not a whole heckuva lot of time, granted, but a game-winning drive is something they have done before.
Instead of throwing underneath the coverage to Wes Welker or Kevin Faulk (like they’ve seemingly always done whenever they need to get in field-goal position), the Pats opted to throw deep, in triple coverage, to Randy Moss.
They went for the win because they thought they’d get it. They thought they’d go 84 yards in 35 seconds and beat New York 21-17. Just like USC did in 2005, New England shot themselves in the eye with a sling shot.
Invincibility breeds predictability, in this case, and the Patriots lost 17-14.
The Pats have been invincible all season, but when a worthy opponent stood in their way, they figured what worked in the past will work today eventually.
I never thought I’d say this, but Belichick failed to make the appropriate adjustments.
And that’s not something adorable puppies can remedy.
