Post Superbowl General Thoughts

Taking a break from Bears opinions, last night at my superbowl party alot came up in conversation.  Alot of topics, although hammered--got me thinking this morning as I suck it up during the hangover.

1)  Who is the better QB, Joe Flacco or Eli Manning?  I hate both; dont care for either--good postseason performers, but regular season I'm hesitant.  Is Joe Flacco really worth Drew Brees like money that his agent is seeking, and probably will get after the win?

2)  Watching Flacco's pass protection make anyone else sick?  Highest paid player on that OLine is Marshall Yanda, making less than 5 million a year.  That makes me sick.

3)  Aldon Smith is incredibly overrated, he cant tackle either.  Did he miss 3 or 4 sacks?  Alot of "arm tackling."

4)  This "debate" (more like drunk talk) came up, and I was on the minority side; which surprised the $#!t outta me.  A great friend of mine (Browns fan, dont laugh) said the core of a great defense starts with an elite Cornerback.  I said I'd rather have the elite pass-rusher.  I lost 6-3 in the vote.  Alot of them said I was narrow minded, and because the league has changed to primarily passing, elite corners will be the new cornerstone of defenses.  I called them all idiots, or slurred it.  I think even elite guys like Darrell Revis or Joe Hayden would have 3 seconds on a damn good WR before losing him.  Its easier to plan away from an elite corner, I dont think its as easy to plan away from an elite defensive end. 

The opposition's antithesis to my argument is that "well you can double an elite pass rusher and take him out of a game."  My rebuttle was "that totally works on Jared Allen."  Not exactly the most brilliant comeback ever--but I was drunk. 

Does anyone agree with this sentiment?  Disagree like me?  Is it just me being a bears fan versus a browns fan? 

5)  Although I was rooting for SF, it was pretty funny to see Jimmy $#!t a brick and lose it.  Though that end of the game "great no call" hold on the fade on 4th down was horse$#!t. 

6)  I almost forgot what a tight end looked like until yesterday.  Then woke up this morning and still saw 87 on the roster......damn.

7)  I dont think the Superbowl is coming back to New Orleans for awhile.  That power outage was something......

8)  Hopefully, I dont have to hear about Ray Lewis for a long time now......or his "struggles" or "hardships" or how he "perservered through triceps pain."

9)  Colin Kaepernick played a hell of a game......even though the rest of his team looked braindead until that power outage.

10)  Refs were......all over the place. 

All I got, felt the need to hung overly vent.

Bump for anyone else who's a little hung over and stuck working.

1.)  Joe Flacco and Eli Manning are good QB's who play for extremely well run organizations.  You put either on a team like the Jags, Browns or any poorly run team and they are very average.  Just my opinion and Flacco had a great postseason, so I will take my hat off to him but neither should be mentioned in the same breath as Brady, Brees or Peyton.  I don't think he is worth $20 million a year but it comes down to who do you replace him with?  So in the end he will probably get that.  Ozzie may be a great GM but boy does he look like a fool now not getting an extension done sooner.  This may be something Emery needs to think about in dealing with Cutler this offseason...

2.)  Patg006, could not agree with you more on this statement and I thought about that multiple times watching Flacco throughout these playoffs.  Bryant McKinnie was a free agent a few years ago (Bears could have signed him) and started this season as a backup.  A backup I say.  So basically the Ravens backup LT was better than our starting LT.  This is another reason I think Flacco gets a little too much credit, his offensive line played lights out and gave him a minimum of 5 seconds to throw the ball.  He still had to make the throws but he had plenty of time to make his choice.

3.)  Don't think he is overrated but he did not play well, wish he played like that against the Bears.

4.)  Great defense starts with a great defensive line and the biggest part of great defensive line is an elite pass rusher.  I'm with you on this 100%.  You may be able to double an elite DE but than that leaves all the other guys in one on one battles.  Ask Henry Melton about that.  Tell your friend, he can have Darrell Revis to start his defense and I will take JJ Watt. 

5.)  I hate hearing people say it was a great no call.  If it is a penalty, it is a penalty.  I understand not calling a ticky tack penalty in the big games but the CB did not play the ball (HE NEVER TURNED HIS HEAD) he was draped all over him and Crabtree had no shot at making a play.  The "let them play" idea really pisses me off because with the Ravens jailhouse blitzing and the CB holding, it give the offense 0% chance of succeeding.  I think about if the 49ers were the Bears, as a fan I would be absolutey livid.

With that being said, I started scanning the sidelines for Mike Tice on those goalline playcalls.  Jimmy really sh*t the bed on those calls.  A fade route to Crabtree on 4th down?  Put Vernon Davis or Randy Moss out there if that is what you want to call.  They should have "Golden Tated" the DB since the refs were "letting them play".

6.)  Dennis Pitta was a 4th round pick in 2010.  With Martz being our OC at the time we never would have taken him that year but it shows you how a great GM finds talent in those middle rounds.  They get him in the 4th, JA finds Kellen Davis in the 5th.  Awesome.

7.)  I don't think so either, the Super Dome is old and outdated.  Plus, the city of New Orleans is not exactly a "fan friendly" place for the Commish who has a say in where the Super Bowl is played.

8.)  Agree with you 100% or about the Harbaugh's being brothers.

9.)  Kaepernick played well.  For all those who think we can win a Super Bowl just having a good defense, please watch this seasons playoffs.  The 49ers defense was as good, if not better than ours, but if they don't score, they are sitting home watching these games.  Offense rules unless it is the end of a Super Bowl and the refs decide to "let you play" and you can hold or do whatever you want to the WR's.

10.)  Refs stunk up the place this entire season. From the replacements to the real refs, they were absolutely horrible.  The "let them play" thing needs to be consistent.  You can't call the 49ers for pass interference on a crucial 3rd and 11 and then turn around at the end of the game and not call it then.  NFL referees need to be seriously improved, God knows they get paid a lot of money.

So basically the Ravens backup LT was better than our starting LT.

The back-up LT for the Cleveland Crush of the Lingerie Football League was better than our starting LT.

10.)  Refs stunk up the place this entire season. From the replacements to the real refs, they were absolutely horrible.  The "let them play" thing needs to be consistent.  You can't call the 49ers for pass interference on a crucial 3rd and 11 and then turn around at the end of the game and not call it then. 

Personally, I was happy that it ended up being a good game. But it could have been better.

I really didn't care who won or lost. I'm still a little pissed about how the 49ers thrashed us this year.... So if I was leaning in any direction, it was for the Ravens.

But the refs clearly screwed the pooch on that play. It was blatant PI. You can't pocket your flag in that situation. If it was incedental... No biggie. But he was holding, grabbed his jersey, and altered his route past 5 yards. It was a horrible "no call". If you do the right thing as a ref in that situation, no one today is talking about you making a bad call, because it was the right call to make. Instead, the whole world is talking about it. Even Ravens fans admit it was a bad no call.


And you know, calling the PI doesn't automatically give the 49ers the TD. They still have to get the ball in the endzone to win. And, most likely even if they do get the TD, the Ravens still have a chance - they get the ball back and only need a FG to win.

If I was a 49ers fan, I would be a really really pissed off guy today.

But the refs clearly screwed the pooch on that play. It was blatant PI. You can't pocket your flag in that situation. If it was incedental... No biggie. But he was holding, grabbed his jersey, and altered his route past 5 yards. It was a horrible "no call". If you do the right thing as a ref in that situation, no one today is talking about you making a bad call, because it was the right call to make. Instead, the whole world is talking about it. Even Ravens fans admit it was a bad no call.

The thing that drives me crazy is listening to the talk shows in the morning while driving to work, the former players who say, they didn't have a problem with it.  Oh really?  So if that is your team you wouldn't be pissed off?  Someone actually called that hand play.  Are you kidding?  The Raven DB was absolutely mauling Crabtree.  If they were handchecking I would not have a problem but he grabbed, pulled and never turned his head.  The key for a DB getting PI is normally if he is looking back at the ball.  The DB NEVER did, he was doing everything he could to impede Crabtree's progress.

I could have cared less who won the game, I just always look at things thinking how I would feel if that happened to the Bears.  This brings up angry memories as well of the record setting PI performance by Alshon Jeffery against the Packers only to watch them do the same exact thing to us and not get it called.  I also just can't stand at the end of the game when the refs bury their flags in their pockets to "let them play".  If it is a penalty, it is a penalty.  There aren't two sets of rule books.  If you want to just "let them play" then why was everybody so irate about the Golden Tate pass interference, it is the end of the game the ref was just "letting them play".  That was just good hand play, lol.

I wonder what the score woulda been if the power didn't go out.  The 49ers couldn't get anything going and were awful on special teams.  

That being said, great game, fitting that the Ravens won the game with a defensive stand.  They ran that jailbreak blitz twice and Kaepernack had no answer.   

Hungover work was no fun. But that was a great game.

-an elite pass rusher is obviously more important to a defense than an Elite Cornerback. Yeah you can double an elite pass rusher, but that just guarentees everyone else on the line gets single coverage which is huge.  Plus, an elite pass rush is one of the best ways to defeat a great passing attack in a 'passing league' anyways. 

Compare that to a CB which can be easily gameplaned for, just dont throw it to him.



-The "no call" was terrible. Terrible Terrible Terrible. There are no excuses. It wasn't a hand battle. It wasn't two guys giving equal contact. No, that was as true of a hold as I have ever seen. The reciever on the opposite side of the field is getting held even worse, go back and watch it its true.

The no call ruined this superbowl for me. Sorry but that is just horrendous. It should have been called. THe 49ers likely score and take the lead and then its up to the Ravens to score. Thats how the game should have gone and its despicable that it didnt.

If that were the Bears getting jobbed like that........ I just. I dont know what I would do. I have so much sympathy for San Fran fans of the world. 

Thanks for the replies guys;

Hungover work was no fun. But that was a great game.

No it isnt.  

Great defense starts with a great defensive line and the biggest part of great defensive line is an elite pass rusher.  I'm with you on this 100%.  You may be able to double an elite DE but than that leaves all the other guys in one on one battles.  Ask Henry Melton about that.  Tell your friend, he can have Darrell Revis to start his defense and I will take JJ Watt.   

-an elite pass rusher is obviously more important to a defense than an Elite Cornerback. Yeah you can double an elite pass rusher, but that just guarentees everyone else on the line gets single coverage which is huge.  Plus, an elite pass rush is one of the best ways to defeat a great passing attack in a 'passing league' anyways. 

Compare that to a CB which can be easily gameplaned for, just dont throw it to him.

Good.  I'm not crazy.  I understand the two teams I'm basing this off of have different defensive identities.  Just......thought my buddy (and gf for that matter) understood the game enough to believe pass rushing beats elite coverage.  Does Tom Brady win 2 more superbowls if Justin Tuck, JPP and Osi Umenyoura arent rushing him?  I truly believe so.

Could Tom Brady and Deion Branch/Brandon Lloyd shred Darrell Revis if Tom has a pocket for 6 seconds due to an average pass rush?  I also truly believe so.

Given the choice between Jared Allen or Joe Hayden, I take Jared Allen.  10 times out of 10.  Apparently Frostee Rucker does it for some fans.  I get its more of a madden kind of debate now that I'm sober--but still--after looking like a tard posing the vote; Its better to know more people dont disagree with me.

The "no call" was terrible. Terrible Terrible Terrible. There are no excuses. It wasn't a hand battle. It wasn't two guys giving equal contact. No, that was as true of a hold as I have ever seen. The reciever on the opposite side of the field is getting held even worse, go back and watch it its true

Had I truly been emotionally invested in the 49ers, I'd be fighting tooth and nail right now.  But I wasnt, so I wont.  It was a horrible call.  If Chris Culliver gets called for grab assing Anquan Boldin, then mugging Crabtree should be a penalty.

 
 

1)  Who is the better QB, Joe Flacco or Eli Manning?  I hate both; dont care for either--good postseason performers, but regular season I'm hesitant.  Is Joe Flacco really worth Drew Brees like money that his agent is seeking, and probably will get after the win?

At the risk of being labelled a Flacco hater, I thought everything just perfectly fell into place during this playoff run for him. That's not to say he didn't play well, he sure did. That 70 yard bomb against the Broncos was a horribly horribly underthrown ball that would be picked off by 99% of safeties in the NFL. Were it not for that, nobody would be having this conversation. He was solid against the Ravens and 49ers but his o-line is awesome. Justin Smith was also hurt yesterday. If Jay had that protection, who knows what we'd see. Also, that long TD pass to Jones, where Culliver was beaten, was another poorly underthrown ball where coverage was just terrible. Still he deserves praise for not turning the ball over during the entire postseason.

Eli proved himself against a better 49ers defense last year, won twice in Lambeau in January, and twice led his team to game winning drives in the final minute of the Super Bowl. That's HOF worthy in my opinion. I'd still take Eli at this point. Flacco is surrounded with great talent at WR, TE, RB, FB, and as mentioned o-line.

I would love to see the Ravens throw 20 million to Flacco, crush themselves against the salary cap while Flacco struggles to lead them to the playoffs year after year. 

 3)  Aldon Smith is incredibly overrated, he cant tackle either.  

Not when he plays against Carimi.

 6)  I almost forgot what a tight end looked like until yesterday.  Then woke up this morning and still saw 87 on the roster......damn.

Forget Pitta, Ed Dickson could be a star for us.

I think that they should totally eliminate the officials in pro football other than the spotting of the ball. That was as bad an officiated game as they come. Both teams totally violated the rules and that crew just looked the other way. There was blatant holding on every play and on that last 49er play of the game, it was the most blatent display of terrible officiating ever.

So hell, get the officials out of there. They ignore the rules totally. Make football more like the old gladiator competitions.

The problem with the officials in the Super Bowl is it's an "all star" team of refs.  It's not a crew that works together on a weekly basis, but rather "the best" referee, umpire, back judge, etc.  It was obvious watching the game that the crew wasn't comfortable working together.  If you want a better officiated game, keep the crews that work together each week rather than this garbage.

The problem with the officials in the Super Bowl is it's an "all star" team of refs.  It's not a crew that works together on a weekly basis, but rather "the best" referee, umpire, back judge, etc.  It was obvious watching the game that the crew wasn't comfortable working together.  If you want a better officiated game, keep the crews that work together each week rather than this garbage.

WVU, I understand your point but just because he is not with his "normal" crew doesn't mean a ref can't see a blatant PI/Holding call.  This is supposed to be the best of the best, that is the scary part.  These guys get paid close to $200k for a PT gig and aren't even very good at what they do.  How do you get in that club?  The competition committee and league need to get together and make this better.  Far to many games this season were impacted by bad calls and I'm not just talking about the replacement refs.  The "real" guys whom everyone were clamoring for were not very good either.

The proof that they had no intention of throwing a flag at the end of the game can be shown on the punt in which the Ravens intentionally got a safety.  The blocking line on the punt team is INSTRUCTED to hold.  You can see every one of them putting bear hugs on the 49ers.  NOT ONE FLAG WAS THROWN FOR HOLDING!!!!  Are you kidding?  It did not impact the game greatly but the 49ers did lose at least 3 seconds on the clock.  Officiating is a complete joke in this league, I know I was in the minority but I really wish they did not bring back the refs and broke the union, these guys don't deserve a raise, they deserve to be fired. 

These guys need to be FT employees for what they are getting paid.  They also don't need to be 85 years old like some of them look to be.  I'm just tired of the wild inconsistency of these guys, it is just flat out ridiculous.

Does Tom Brady win 2 more superbowls if Justin Tuck, JPP and Osi Umenyoura arent rushing him?

Ask your friend to name the CB's for that Giants team?  I can't even think of one on that that Giants team and yet the other 3 just roll off the tongue without any thought.

Aggie,

I totally agree that it was a horrible call.  My point was that they should keep the crews together for continuity. 

The only solution to officiating is to have one member of the officiating crew up in the booth or down on the sideline in front of a monitor reviewing every single play. Make penalties reviewable but only by the official on the monitor, not by coaches. If he sees a call or a non-call that was wrong.......he has until the next snap to call for a review and change it.

This will never happen because it would undermine officials on the field and slow down games and so on and so forth. But it would be an easy way to remove some humar error from officiating.



Things I took away from Sunday's game....

- The day of the pocket passer has not yet passed. Flacco was brilliant. He avoided the rush well and kept his eyes downfield. Talk about the read/run option all you want.......the best plays in this game were made from the arms of the two QBs and the O-lines that were protecting them.

- It's nice to have receivers that fight for every pass and will bail out a QB in durress.

- It's also nice having a tight end that can catch a pass.

- Baltimore is yet another team that proves it's not about dominating the regular season but getting hot at the right time and carrying that momentum into February. Making the playoffs and getting hot at the end is what matters.

- Lost in the Ray Lewis drama is the career of Matt Birk. Good guy that had a really good career and can retire with a ring now. I don't agree with his political and social leanings but it's pretty clear he's a good human being that worked his ass off on the football field and got rewarded for it.

- Flacco is about to break the bank on his contract on a team that really should focus on the defensive side of the ball and the need to replace some long time leaders there. On offense, they have potential to be very good for a while. But you gotta wonder if Flacco's pay day, which is obviously gonna be huge, hurts them more than it helps down the line.

- I can't think of one #1 announce team on any channel that I would actually look forward to listening to. I hate Phil Simms. Not a huge fan of Buck or Aikman. Gruden sucks. Mike Mayock is good but he is the only good announcer the NFL network has. Collinsworth has good knowledge but talks too much and takes too long to get out a point. I think my favorite announce team is Kenny Albert, Darryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa. And those guys will likely never do a Super Bowl.

- Officials costing me money pisses me off. That is all.

- I can't think of one #1 announce team on any channel that I would actually look forward to listening to. I hate Phil Simms. Not a huge fan of Buck or Aikman. Gruden sucks. Mike Mayock is good but he is the only good announcer the NFL network has. Collinsworth has good knowledge but talks too much and takes too long to get out a point. I think my favorite announce team is Kenny Albert, Darryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa. And those guys will likely never do a Super Bowl.

I was amazed at how bad that announcing crew was also, particularly Simms. Definitely not the brightest bulb on the tree is he? It seemed that he was arguing with himself and trying to figure out where he stood on events happening around him. I do like Mayock because he doesn't piddle around and talk for the sake of talking like so many of these guys do. He also seems to be the most knowledgeable all around on all of the positions. Moose Johnston also is very good and Tony Siragusa is the best guy as a sideline reporter by far.

Simms and Nantz are a bunch of tools, I pretty much hate all the announcers though.  Mayock is pretty good though, I will give you that.  Albert, Johnston and Siragusa is probably one of the best.  My favorite play by play guy who I don't think gets enough credit and usually gets the low end games is Gus Johnson.  Guy gets equally excited for both teams and has an excitement in his voice that isn't irritating like Buck is.  Then there is the opposite end of the spectrum with Nantz who always acts like he is calling a golf tournament.  I know some people get turned off by Gus's excitability but I like it, as long as you act that way for both teams.

The day of the pocket passer has not yet passed. Flacco was brilliant. He avoided the rush well and kept his eyes downfield. Talk about the read/run option all you want.......the best plays in this game were made from the arms of the two QBs and the O-lines that were protecting them.

I have been saying this all along.  I will take a guy who can throw any day of the week over these flash in the pan runners.  The thing that makes Kaepernick good in my opinion is that he can sling it.  The running is an after thought or bonus.

Kaepernick's biggest plays were with his arm and his legs make him a scary weapon on scrambles which is how mobility should be used.  Plus, Kaepernick doesn't take hits like RGIII does, he takes what he can get and then either gets down or out of bounds.   49ers are going to be tough again next season and as long as that guy is around, he looked pretty damn good for a QB that only played 10 games prior this season.

Ask your friend to name the CB's for that Giants team?  I can't even think of one on that that Giants team and yet the other 3 just roll off the tongue without any thought.

Ironically enough, he knew Prince Amukamera; but only because Justin Tuck injured him this past year throwing him into a hot tub.......

To put it to rest, I guess to each his own.  But--if its indicative who's "right" in this argument--bears went 10-6 with an elite pass rusher, (Vikes too), Browns are picking 6th in the draft.