What I learned is that coaching matters.

You never throttle back against good teams.

That seems to be something that a majority of coaches never learn. You never throttle back.

Man, most disappointed that I have been in a SB since Manning's Pick 6 against the 'Aints.

#WorstSuperBowlEver


Cheers,

I mean the T.O.P. stat was skewed towards New England after the first half IIRC.

but like others have said. At one point Atlanta needed a fieldgoal and could have just given Freeman the ball and even taken a 1-2 yard loss on a run play. Instead Shanahan went full Pagano (Never go full Pagano) and overthunk the shit.

Yeah, we are screwed with Pagano still the coach, because he's full Pagano all the time.

If Matt Ryan doesn't take 2 of the most dumbass sacks I have ever seen, Falcons win that game.

Hard for me to get too up in arms about Shanahan when a MVP QB can't even recognize when to throw a damn ball away.

If I'm the Colts, I make Andrew Luck watch that tape several times this offseason to make sure he learns from Ryan's mistakes.

o


Or simply make his own call in the huddle and/or audible at the line of scrimmage for a running play.

Just because your offensive coordinator (and/or your head coach) are acting like imbeciles does not mean that you are absolved of the responsibility of recognizing their incompetence, and acting accordingly.


One of my most distinct moments of Peyton Manning's career came in the 2005 season divisional playoff loss to the Steelers. Down by a score of 21-3 with the 4th quarter about to start, Tony Dungy told the punt team to take the field. Realizing that that would have essentially been conceding the game, Manning defied Dungy and told the punt team to get the hell off of the field. The Colts went for it on 4th and 2, got the first down, and proceeded to score a touchdown on that drive to cut the lead to a manageable 21-10.

If Manning can directly defy his head coach by telling the punting team to get off of the field, then other quarterbacks (such as Russel Wilson 2 years ago, and Matt Ryan yesterday) can certainly tell their 10 teammates in the huddle to ignore the moronic play called by the offensive coordinator, and do as he (the quarterback) says.
o

As much as it pains me to say it, you have to tip your hat to NE. They have a way of making teams pay for their own stupidity. Scratch and claw back into a game they have no business winning and take it on a fluke catch and a QB who forgets how to play in the 4th quarter.

However, Brady was not the MVP of that game.

I went to bed last night hoping I wouldn't still be so angry over this.

Nothing has changed.

while this is true, shanahan should have known better than to put his QB is that position. They were in field goal range. Run the ball (you were averaging 6+ ypc) then kick a field goal. that puts you up by two scores. NE would have needed a TD, 2 pt conv, onside kick, and field goal then.

It's a moot point if Ryan doesn't take that sack (or a previous sack, really). Then they still kick the FG and go ahead.

Shanahan's playcalling was far from flawless. But no one complained when Ryan hit Gabriel for 40yds or Jones for 20yds that same drive. At some point, your MVP QB has to understand the freaking situation.

Optimal strategy is to run 3x then kick, because you bleed clock and go up 2 scores. Patriots were going heavy with a bear front, though, so I get throwing to win too. Not my choice or the best clock management choice, but you'd been doing it that drive anyway. Problem was throwing on 2nd down to stop the clock, and then Matt Ryan just being a total dumbass.

Basically: I think Matt Ryan is getting way too much slack, and Shanahan way too much blame, for that result.