Postgame thoughts on Super Bowl LI

[Bryan]

*Weird Super Bowl when you look at the stats. Atlanta lost 44 yards in sacks yet still averaged 7.5 yards per play. Matt Ryan had a passer rating of 144+. Yet the Patriots had several sustained drives in the 2nd half and had a big advantage in 1st downs.

*It seemed like the Patriots thought they were going to be able to run the ball on the Falcons, yet Blount was completely shut down. The Patriots had some initial success throwing, and Blount’s early fumble was big as the Patriots had the momentum.

*Atlanta’s first scoring drive had two immediate big pass plays to Julio Jones. The Falcons went up 7-0, and Jones was pretty much an afterthought until the end of the game. Only 4 targets (yet 4 catches).

*The Patriots thought they could free themselves from Atlanta’s tight coverage with shallow crossing routes over the middle. This did not work, yet the Patriots kept at it. Brady was unusually inaccurate with his short throws, and Atlanta reacted quickly to tackle the WRs after they caught short passes. New England had better success throwing wide to their WRs in the 10-15 yard range, and IMO this changed the course of the game. Even when Atlanta got sacks, Brady was unfazed and could regularly complete his intermediate passes for 1st downs.

*I thought the INT return TD was big, as New England was driving and seemed to be on their way to getting the score 14-7 at half. The Atlanta safety did not lay back, as the Patriots had stopped throwing deep, and correctly guessed another crossing route. After the Atlanta DB caught the ball, I gave Brady about a 5% chance of tripping up the INT returner. It didn’t happen (although he came closer than I thought).

*In the 2nd half, when the Patriots offense was still misfiring on their crossing routes, I thought the Falcons had the game well in hand. Just pound the ball, don’t turn it over, and New England won’t have enough time to come back.

*James White was important, as he had the ability to make the quick-reacting Falcon defenders miss him and then get past the 1st down marker. Brady really went to him in the 2nd half.

*I thought the Gostkowski PAT miss was deflating, and then the onside kick was somewhat questionable. The fact that Atlanta couldn’t even get a FG (which might have clinched the game) after recovering the onside kick was one of the biggest factors in losing the game. Going up 31-9 would have been big. People ripped on Atlanta for not running the ball enough, but in that instance they get a holding penalty on a 2nd-and-1 running play, forcing them into a passing situation.

*When the score was 28-12 in the 4th, I felt that NE really had a shot to tie, but the biggest plays in the comeback would be the 2point conversion plays. I give Belichick credit for not losing his cool and allowing his offense to move downfield in short chunks. There was enough time for a comeback at that point.

*Matt Ryan’s fumble was the biggest play, IMO. It gave the Pats the ball in good position, and it cut down on the amount of time NE needed to make their comeback. That’s the one play call I really question..3rd and 1 pass play. The Pats sacked Ryan quite a bit in the 2nd half, and Atlanta had success all year dumping the ball off to their RBs. This seemed to work for Atlanta in the Super Bowl, too, yet Ryan still was getting rushed.

*Patriots TD was another outside pass to Amendola that was open all 2nd half. The 2pt conversion was an interesting use of motion to get White in the backfield and run up the middle.

*After Julio Jones’ big catch to put the ball near the NE 20…I figured the Falcons would go exclusively to the ground, burn up NE’s timeouts, and kick the FG to make it a two score game. The recent Falcon drives had featured sacks and penalties, so a conservative approach seemed best. But Atlanta penalized and sacked themselves out of FG range, which IMO was the biggest strategic mistake in the game.

*The Edelman tip catch was nice, but I had a feeling that the Pats were going to score a TD regardless. They had enough time. Their offense was moving the ball. Had that play been incomplete, then Brady would have simply completed another pass. I thought Atlanta’s best chance was stopping the 2pt conversion. It seemed like Atlanta was in a good defense to stop NE’s 2pt play, but Amendola crossed the goalline before getting pushed back. Freeney jumping offside was kind of dumb, as the play was going to be a quick-hitter regardless.

*Not sure what Matt Ryan was doing spiking the ball near the end of regulation. That just ensured that NE would get the ball back. I thought for sure Belichick would do an 11-man rush on the punt, and was surprised that he went with a normal return. The fumblerooski play to end regulation was interesting, but I think you had better odds of blocking the punt.

*The legacy of this game would have been weird had Atlanta won the OT coin toss, scored a TD, and won the game. When NE won the coin toss, I figured they were going to win. Atlanta’s defense was reeling. It would have been great/ballsy if Atlanta did an onside kick to start the OT, and concede a FG in an effort to get possession of the ball.

*Things pretty much went as expected in the OT, except when NE had a 1st and goal from the 2. I thought the Pats would try to punch it in, but instead they tried a fade pass to Martellus Bennett. Nearly a disaster as Vic Beasley got a hand on the ball and perhaps could have had an INT. The Pats handed the ball to James White the next play, Edelman had a big block, and the Pats won.

*I can buy into some of the hyperbole. I think Brady is the best QB of all-time, but I thought that before this game. Belichick’s reputation is great, but I think Paul Brown’s influence on all coaches makes it difficult to say the Belichick is the greatest coach of all-time. That said, Belichick is a worthy #2 coach of all-time. The Patriots ‘dynasty’ is a tricky question, as there is a big gap between title periods and the roster turnover has been great. One thing I do know is that this wasn’t the greatest Super Bowl ever…it was the most frenzied finish, but not really a ‘great’ game IMO.

[Rupert Patrick]

One thing I do know is that this wasn’t the greatest Super Bowl ever…it was the most frenzied finish, but not really a ‘great’ game IMO.

The fourth quarter in a lot of ways reminded me of the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XXXVIII between New England and Carolina, where both teams were scoring back and forth, except this time it was all on the New England side. There have been other frenzied finishes also, the two New England-Giant games, the Arizona-Pittsburgh game, the Rams-Titans game, the Patriots-Rams game, the 49ers vs Cincinnati second game, the 49ers vs. Ravens, Seattle vs. New England, the two Super Bowls between Pittsburgh and Dallas from the 70's, the Green Bay-Denver game. One thing we really have to appreciate about the past 20 years is how many really good Super Bowl games we have had, as so many in the first 30 years (particularly the 80's) weren't really very entertaining and were often blowouts or weren't really as close as the final score indicated.

I've already seen people calling this the greatest comeback of all time, but it wasn't. In the 1992 Bills Oilers Wild Card game, Buffalo was down 35-3 less than two minutes into the third period, and had scored to make it 35-10 (25 point deficit) with nine minutes to go in the third. In Super Bowl LI, New England was down 28-3 (25 point deficit) with about eight and a half minutes to go in the third, which is about equivalent to what Buffalo faced after Buffalo had already scored their first TD. And the Bills were using their backup QB, while New England had Brady. Super Bowl LI was the second greatest postseason comeback of all time.

[Reaser]

I've already seen people calling this the greatest comeback of all time, but it wasn't. In the 1992 Bills Oilers Wild Card game, Buffalo was down 35-3 less than two minutes into the third period, and had scored to make it 35-10 (25 point deficit) with nine minutes to go in the third. In Super Bowl LI, New England was down 28-3 (25 point deficit) with about eight and a half minutes to go in the third, which is about equivalent to what Buffalo faced after Buffalo had already scored their first TD. And the Bills were using their backup QB, while New England had Brady. Super Bowl LI was the second greatest postseason comeback of all time.

Plus the Bills comeback came in an era where defense was allowed to be played. Which along with everything else made it shocking/surprising to everyone watching.

I don't think anyone who watches a lot of football these days was surprised or at-worst wasn't overly surprised that NE came back. Speaking for myself, I never once thought the game was over. Also felt similar as Bryan, once they got down 16 I thought the two TD's would be 'easy' to get and that the two 2-points would be the determining factor. The TD's were almost a given, to me.

[Mark L. Ford]

The 1958 NFL title remains "The Greatest Game" because of the enormous cultural impact that it had. However, it would be a tall order in the next 83 years to top Super Bowl LI, so "The Game of the Century" might not be too much of an exaggeration.

[Rupert Patrick]

The 1958 NFL title remains "The Greatest Game" because of the enormous cultural impact that it had. However, it would be a tall order in the next 83 years to top Super Bowl LI, so "The Game of the Century" might not be too much of an exaggeration.

I am going to have to go back and watch LI again in the next week or so, but at this time I don't feel it was the best Super Bowl I've ever seen. There was the fourth quarter collapse of the Falcons, the fact that a lot of viewers nearly bailed on the game late in the third period when the Patriots were down by 25, and the sense going into OT that the Falcons were already finished. It was a thrilling game, but there have been a lot of great Super Bowls from beginning to end.

I know it was a Super Bowl and a memorable game, but I can't rank it with the 1981 Dolphins Chargers Divisional Playoff game as the greatest game I have ever seen. I don't know where I would put this game, surely in the top hundred, surely in the top 50, probably in the top 25, maybe or maybe not in the top ten. Someday I have to make a list of the greatest games I have ever seen.

[jeckle_and_heckle]

People seem to be in one of two camps: those who believe the Patriots had a great comeback, and those who believe Atlanta blew the game. I'm in the latter camp. Simple, competent game management would've sealed victory in the second half. But the Falcons played not to lose the second half, and they lost. I've always believed more games in the NFL are lost than won.

[BD Sullivan]

I know it was a Super Bowl and a memorable game, but I can't rank it with the 1981 Dolphins Chargers Divisional Playoff game as the greatest game I have ever seen.

That game was much like Sunday's game, since San Diego had jumped out to a huge 24-0 lead and looked to be in the process of blowing out Miami. I imagine there's a fair amount of people who weren't around at that time who think that it was some back-and-forth contest throughout instead of just the second half and OT.

[Bryan]

That game was much like Sunday's game, since San Diego had jumped out to a huge 24-0 lead and looked to be in the process of blowing out Miami. I imagine there's a fair amount of people who weren't around at that time who think that it was some back-and-forth contest throughout instead of just the second half and OT.

But there wasn't any back and forth in the Super Bowl. The back-and-forth in the 2nd half and OT of the Chargers-Dolphins game was unreal. You thought the game was over at several different points...but then Franklin fumbles the ball, Winslow blocks Von Schamann's FG at the end of regulation, Benirschke misses a 29-yard FG, Von Schamann has a second FG blocked. The ups and downs of emotion were memorable.

[Bob Gill]

I don't think anyone who watches a lot of football these days was surprised or at-worst wasn't overly surprised that NE came back. Speaking for myself, I never once thought the game was over. Also felt similar as Bryan, once they got down 16 I thought the two TD's would be 'easy' to get and that the two 2-points would be the determining factor. The TD's were almost a given, to me.

I had the same thought about the conversions. It was easy to imagine an ending like the AFC championship game last year, where the Patriots got the TD at the end but failed to get the two-pointer.

All credit to the Patriots, of course, for hanging in so well against the odds.

[jeckle_and_heckle]

I don't think anyone who watches a lot of football these days was surprised or at-worst wasn't overly surprised that NE came back. Speaking for myself, I never once thought the game was over. Also felt similar as Bryan, once they got down 16 I thought the two TD's would be 'easy' to get and that the two 2-points would be the determining factor. The TD's were almost a given, to me.

I had the same thought about the conversions. It was easy to imagine an ending like the AFC championship game last year, where the Patriots got the TD at the end but failed to get the two-pointer.

All credit to the Patriots, of course, for hanging in so well against the odds.

The difference being, of course, the Broncos are (were) a defensive team that knows how to close out games. Despite Dan Quinn's defensive pedigree and the occasional great play on defense, the Falcons still gave up 25 points a game in 2016 and were led by their offense.

Did you noticed how much less effective the Falcons defense was in the second half after having their way with the Patriots' O-Line in the first half? Contrast that with last year's AFC Championship game, when the Broncos were just as effective if not more effective in the second half pressuring Brady. After the game, Belichick credited Wade Phillips for his great calls. If you don't change things up on New England, Belichick's game day adjustments will get you.

Broncos stymied New England again this year. Held them to 16 points, which is doubly impressive when you consider the Broncos offense only scored 3.