Soft (& Poorly Executed) Superbowl?

[Louie]

Perhaps you're going to see my Niners avatar an think that I am just bitter (which I am), but did anyone else notice the difference between the hard hitting defensive football you saw in the AFC and NFC championships this year and the soft defenses we saw in the Superbowl.

I saw a lot of bad defense in that game, poor tackling by the patriots crappy corners, and a lot of holes in both defenses. I also saw a lot of poor fundamentals; 12 man on the field calls by both teams, Bradshaw with another key fumble (that the Giants were lucky to fall on), Bradshaw not listening to his coach (by falling into the end zone); not to mention all the drops by the Patriots receivers...Welker with a HUGE drop.

It was a good game...not a great one. Perhaps I have been watching my Niners all year and got used to seeing hard hitting and physical defensive football. Is this really what the NFL has become?

Don't get me wrong, there was some good offense. The drive by the Giants and that catch by Manningham were great. The drive by Brady and the Pats before the half was great football as well. But, the best play of the game was made by Chase Blackburn....

But, on Eli's other slant TD pass, just watch Mayo's defense....It's pathetic....What was he doing there...Waiving his arm at nothing.

Also, if the Patriots had let the Giants score earlier (before wasting their first time out), they might have had an extra timeout and may have won that game. Eli makes some clutch throws, but he doesn't make them vs. good defenses. You can't just heave the ball up there against good safeties.

Drew Breese would have put up 40 points on that poor Patriots defense....

There was one play where I saw a Patriots corner get run over (in trying to make what was a poor excuse at a tackle attempt) and I said "The Poor tackling makes me cringe!" and Chris Collensworth goes "And a lot of defensive coaches are cringing when watching this tackle"....Everyone in the room looked at me like "Can he hear you?"...

Another Failure....

[NattyBumpo]

It was bad. Soft pass coverage drove me nuts. Eli should share the MVP w/ the recievers. Great receptions.

What I hated most was listening to Chris Collinsworth. He's smart, prepared and knows his shit. I can't figure out why, but listening to him, for me, is like nails on chalkboard.

[Louie]

What I hated most was listening to Chris Collinsworth. He's smart, prepared and knows his shit. I can't figure out why, but listening to him, for me, is like nails on chalkboard.

I think he's because he's an asskisser. He doesn't want to tell it like it is sometimes. When Bradshaw fumbled and the Giants came up with it, he was about to talk about the "Forward Progress" fumble call in the 49ers game, but he stopped himself. These commentators know they're not supposed to complain when they see poor football. They're supposed to talk as if what they are watching is the best game possible. They have talking points and weaknesses of each team they're supposed to bring up. Other then that, they're supposed to speak as if what they are seeing is the euphoric utopia of football (especially in the Superbowl). This is why ESPN is falling in love with Jon Gruden on Monday Night Football. Even at the end when they were talking about the Patriots letting them score, they didn't know how to handle it.

[S.M.C.M.B]

Couldn't agree more about the missed tackles. Fundamentals have been lacking on that side of the ball in recent years. I believe a lot of the poor tackling has to do with the fact that defense has become more about turnovers, rather than making stops. You rarely see guys rap up anymore, because these players are doing anything they can to dislodge the football. That's why you see so many guys doing fly buys, and guys not making tackles. I do believe your going to see more teams start to go with big wideouts because of this. The Big wide receiver is going to be the wave on the near future because of DB's that don't want to tackle.

[NattyBumpo]

I think you nailed it. He's also really careful about officiating calls. I'm like ...are you blind. And I know he is struggling to candy coat it. Which often ends up sounding like bald faced lying to millions of fans.

Not just this game either.