Philadelphia Eagles Super Bow LII ChampionsAll right, so I lied. I said that Super Bowl LII was going to go into double-overtime and with both teams scoring at least 24 points apiece. (And that actually DID happen, by the way!) But, what I saw last night was a great game. Yes, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New England Patriots 41-33 to win their first world championship since 1960, and their first Super Bowl ever. And Tom Brady was sacked and lost the ball in what was probably the most critical moment of the game for the Patriots, but he still had a chance to win it in the end. No, I don't think he choked this year. This isn't like 2007, when the Patriots went undefeated and lost Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants 17-14 thanks to what I believe to be the greatest play in NFL history, David Tyree's "Helmet Catch." But, this is 10 years later. The Patriots have accumulated 2 Super Bowl titles within those 10 years. I mean, nobody's perfect, not even Tom Brady. As far as I'm concerned, he's the greatest QB of all-time due to the fact that he has 5 rings. Bill Belichick is the 2nd greatest coach of all-time behind Vince Lombardi. And even though he's not one of the top 5 of all-time at his position, Rob Gronkowski has turned out to be a great tight end. I just wished the Patriots would've played Malcolm Butler, who made one of the greatest plays in football history three years ago with that goal-line interception against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. And while this year's game didn't have quite the drama that Super Bowl LI had between the Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, it was still a good game. I'm not a Patriots fan, I just consider myself to be an NFL football historian. I still consider the Patriots to be one of the 5 greatest NFL franchises ever. As a matter of fact, I'd still put them at #5 right behind the Giants. I'll even put the Eagles as the 15th greatest franchise ever, just ahead of the Detroit Lions. Who knows what'll happen next year? Will we see history again? I have this strange feeling that somehow the Jacksonville Jaguars will be hosting the Lombardi trophy next year. But, I'm not going to make my preseason picks until a week before the regular season starts. We've still got to get through the NFL Draft in April. Hope to talk to all of you in the off-season. So long, folks!
|
I was watching the AFC and NFC Championship Games yesterday at Hooters, and not this is what I sense with both the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles winning yesterday: double-overtime in Super Bowl LII! I've been following every NFL game this season very closely, and even though at the beginning of the season I predicted a rematch of Super Bowl LI between the Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons (with the Patriots winning 31-27, by the way), I'm satisfied with what happened this season and all I can say is if you thought last year was great, wait until you see the rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX in two weeks. I'm predicting both teams scoring 24 points apiece with the Eagles and their potent ground game with Jay Ajayi and LeGarrette Blount gaining yards on the ground and Tom Brady and the Patriots (who, as I've said before, is the greatest QB ever!) gaining yards through the air. Hopefully, Rob Gronkowski will be back for the big game. He's their best tight end while Brandin Cooks is their best wide receiver. I still remember when these two teams played back in 2005, and while it's remembered as the Patriots' most forgotten Super Bowl win, I think this year has a chance to make up for that. I really can't pick a winner between the two teams. (Honestly, I can't!) Maybe if the Eagles had Carson Wentz at QB, it might go into triple-overtime! But I really can't wait two weeks to see what may be the single-greatest NFL game ever. (I really can't!)
Best NFL Franchises... Awhile back, I gave the list of the greatest NFL franchises of all-time according to Sports Illustrated prior to 2012. Now, here's the list of the greatest NFL franchises of all-time according to Sports Illustrated prior to 2017:
1. Steelers
2. Packers
3. Cowboys
4. Giants
5. Patriots
6. Bears
7. 49ers
8. Raiders
9. Broncos
10. Redskins
11. Colts
12. Dolphins
13. Browns
14. Bills
15. Eagles
16. Lions
Shared publicly
Greatest NFL Stadiums...
Awhile back, I gave the list of the greatest NFL stadiums of all-time according to Sports Illustrated prior to 2012. Now, here's the list of the greatest NFL stadiums of all-time according to Sports Illustrated prior to 2017:
1. Lambeau Field
2. Arrowhead Stadium
3. AT&T Stadium
4. Mile High Stadium
5. CenturyLink Field
6. Heinz Field
7. Soldier Field
8. RFK Stadium
9. Orange Bowl
10. LA Memorial Coliseum
11. Texas Stadium
12. Giants Stadium
13. New Era Field
14. Memorial Stadium
15. Yankee Stadium
16. Oakland Coliseum
17. Three Rivers Stadium
18. Lucas Oil Stadium
19. Metropolitan Stadium
20. Superdome
21. Paul Brown Stadium
22. Nissan Stadium
23. Lincoln Financial Field
24. Cotton Bowl
Football's Greatest
I got the book Sports Illustrated: Football's Greatest (Revised and Updated) for Christmas recently. This book came out in 2017. I gave the complete results of the original Sports Illustrated: Football's Greatest, which came out in 2012. Now, I'm going to give out the complete results of the book that came out in 2017.
Awhile back, I posted Sports Illustrated's list of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time prior to 2012. Now, here's Sports Illustrated's list of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time prior to 2017: 1. Tom Brady 2. Joe Montana 3. Peyton Manning 4. Johnny Unitas5. Otto Graham 6. John Elway 7. Dan Marino 8. Brett Favre 9. Sammy Baugh 10. Bart Starr 11. Roger Staubach12. Drew Brees 13. Steve Young 14. Sid Luckman 15. Norm Van Brocklin
I got the book Sports Illustrated: Football's Greatest (Revised and Updated) for Christmas recently. This book came out in 2017. I gave the complete results of the original Sports Illustrated: Football's Greatest, which came out in 2012. Now, I'm going to give out the complete results of the book that came out in 2017.
Awhile back, I posted Sports Illustrated's list of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time prior to 2012. Now, here's Sports Illustrated's list of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time prior to 2017: 1. Tom Brady 2. Joe Montana 3. Peyton Manning 4. Johnny Unitas5. Otto Graham 6. John Elway 7. Dan Marino 8. Brett Favre 9. Sammy Baugh 10. Bart Starr 11. Roger Staubach12. Drew Brees 13. Steve Young 14. Sid Luckman 15. Norm Van Brocklin