2011 NFL Season

[Unocal]

That Miles Austin drop in the NYG-DAL Sunday night game will loom for a long time. He makes that catch- no playoffs for Big Blue.

[Brass]

If there's one huge positive that I can draw from this Super Bowl, it's the fact that it brought adorableness into my home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-9EYFJ4Clo

[Unocal]

Antrel Rolle has a ring and Ed Reed doesn't. Who says life is fair?

[pmoehrin]

Congrats to the Giants.

They won a very hard fought game that came down to the final play. Thought it was a great game filled with a ton of excitement.

For Giants obviously everything is coming roses as it always does for the winning team immediately after a win like that. Last year they had questions about whether or not Eli Manning could actually be the guy long term in New York. Was his performance in Super Bowl XLII a fluke? All of those questions have now been laid to rest. Tom Coughlin has definitely put himself in the running for HOF candidacy. He's coming up on 150 career regular wins which he will probably reach next year and now has a second Super Bowl ring to go with it. If he can get one more ring I think he's a lock or he if he can up to 170 or 180 wins I think he's probably going to get in as well.

As for the Patriots biggest question will be around Brady. How is his legacy going to suffer? His career until this night seemed to emulate Joe Montana's. Now its starting to look more like Roger Staubach's. Staubach and the Cowboys won every Super Bowl he started, except those that came against Bradshaw and the Steelers. Brady has beaten every QB and team he's ever faced off against except Eli and the Giants. It wasn't like the Cowboys got crushed by those Steeler teams either. Both games were lost by a combined 8 points and both games came down to wire at the end. Likewise Brady and the Patriots have lost to the Giants only by 7 points and both games came down to the wire at the end.

Those loses certainly hurt Staubach's legacy, because if he wins both of those games, he's arguably the greatest QB of all-time. Don't know what's going to happen to Tom Brady but if history is any indicator this loss will be held against him just like it was Staubach and is going to deny him any real shot at getting that greatest QB of all-time title. In a way at this stage of his career legacy, I feel he's better off not playing in the Super Bowl at all then losing. Nobody remembers AFC title game failures. Everyone remembers Super Bowl failures.

You also have to wonder is this the last time we will ever see Tom Brady in a Super Bowl. I think most people thought after New England went 16-0 that they were almost a forgone conclusion to get back to the Super Bowl next year. Instead its taken them four years to get back and Tom Brady will be 35 next year. I don't know if he can wait another four years. So now starting next year the Patriots are going to have to deal with something they've never had to in the Brady era, the hands of time. The clock is ticking now. I think when Brady is gone Belichick will be gone as well. Why he would stay on for a rebuilding project? They've had the luxury of being able to win now and build for the future. Now they can only do one because of Brady's age. Are they going to start mortgaging their future more and try win now, or keep their same approach they've had for the past decade plus? That's something the Patriot front office will need to discuss this offeseason..

[patsox]

Hey whatever...it was a good game. It was an incredible ending. I was weak in the knees standing in the office at work watching it on the computer with my manager. Bonehead safety, unfortunate drops. Sacks, ugh. It was a good game. Congrats to the Giants. Eli Manning is still a :censored:ing goober though. Spring Training's right around the corner. GO SOX!

[NJTank]

Think Jacksonville regrets letting him go?

Wayne Weaver recently said that was his big mistake as as owner of the Jags.

[The_Admiral]

It was a moment where he looked like he was saying to himself "I've lost everything" and was pushing through it.

Wasn't aware he had to forfeit his NFL francise and billion-dollar fortune upon losing the Super Bowl.

[WSU151]

Hey whatever...it was a good game. It was an incredible ending. I was weak in the knees standing in the office at work watching it on the computer with my manager. Bonehead safety, unfortunate drops. Sacks, ugh. It was a good game. Congrats to the Giants. Eli Manning is still a :censored:ing goober though.

Ditto this. Great game, Giants played better and had a little luck go their way. That's what you need to be a great team. Patriots just couldn't put it away even though they had their chances.

[pmoehrin]

Think Jacksonville regrets letting him go?

Wayne Weaver recently said that was his big mistake as as owner of the Jags.

Hindsight is 20/20.

Its not like Tom Coughlin has ever been a guy with 100% job security at many points during his career. He was an unpopular coach amongst players coming off of three straight losing seasons when Jacksonville let him go. I don't know how much you can't fault them for making that kind of a move. I can you the move to hire Coughlin was not well received by most Giant fans the day it was announced.

I think its very unfair to knock Wayne Weaver and Jags organization for making that move. If couple plays turn out a little bit differently here and there he could have easily been gone from the Giants without having ever win a ring.

[CS85]

Congrats to the NYG, not the most thrilling game, but an excellent finish.

edit: also props to NBC showing a crestfallen Bob Kraft contemplating hurling himself off the balcony after that final play. Most depressing thing ever.

[Cujo]

I missed all this "Kraft looked like he was ready to end it all" stuff. Nobody likes to lose the big one, but dude's gotta be able to seperate business and personal life.

[Magnus]

You have to wonder is this the last time we will ever see Tom Brady in a Super Bowl. I think when Brady is gone Belichick will be gone as well.

And when that day comes, I will rejoice.

[Fox]

After having some time to think about this, as a Pats fan, I'm sad but not crushed by this loss. After the Giants beat Green Bay, I had a really bad feeling about potentially having to match up with the pesky G-Men again.

As for the game itself, there were some mistakes by the Patriots that potentially could have changed the outcome, but I'm not ready to throw those players under the bus. The fact of the matter is, without Brady, Welker, Aaron Hernandez, the Patriots aren't going to be in the Superbowl.

Even though it's just over three hours old, I will look back at this season positively. The SB loss shouldn't take away from what the Pats accomplished. A 13-3 season and a AFC crown. An epic season for Rob Gronkowski. And last but not least, there's still a reason for optimism. Some are talking about the New England window closing, but I disagree. I think that Brady still has a few years left as being a top QB and that the rest of the Pats core is still developing and getting better.

Congratulations Giants, you deserved it. As for all of you that are just celebrating a Patriots loss, you can go yourself, you literally have no right to talk because your team didn't go as far as the Pats this year and probably hasn't accomplished as much as them in the past decade.

Only 2 weeks till pitchers and catchers report, and the Celtics have won 8 out of 9!!

[CS85]

I missed all this "Kraft looked like he was ready to end it all" stuff. Nobody likes to lose the big one, but dude's gotta be able to seperate business and personal life.

Yeah, it was really weird to watch. The Giants are all celebrating, then NBC cuts to a replay. Kraft watches the play, hands in pockets, as the celebration ensues, he looks down somberly, up at the sky. It's seriously one of the more dreary things I've seen in pro sports, but like admiral said the guy needs to not let this get him down.

[Cujo]

You have to wonder is this the last time we will ever see Tom Brady in a Super Bowl. I think when Brady is gone Belichick will be gone as well.

And when that day comes, I will rejoice.

Belichick should've been gone a long time ago -- blackballed from the league when he was busted cheating. IMO, that's almost worse than him betting on football.

[See Red]

After having some time to think about this, as a Pats fan, I'm sad but not crushed by this loss. After the Giants beat Green Bay, I had a really bad feeling about potentially having to match up with the pesky G-Men again.

As for the game itself, there were some mistakes by the Patriots that potentially could have changed the outcome, but I'm not ready to throw those players under the bus. The fact of the matter is, without Brady, Welker, Aaron Hernandez, the Patriots aren't going to be in the Superbowl.

Even though it's just over three hours old, I will look back at this season positively. The SB loss shouldn't take away from what the Pats accomplished. A 13-3 season and a AFC crown. An epic season for Rob Gronkowski. And last but not least, there's still a reason for optimism. Some are talking about the New England window closing, but I disagree. I think that Brady still has a few years left as being a top QB and that the rest of the Pats core is still developing and getting better.

Congratulations Giants, you deserved it. As for all of you that are just celebrating a Patriots loss, you can go yourself, you literally have no right to talk because your team didn't go as far as the Pats this year and probably hasn't accomplished as much as them in the past decade.

Only 2 weeks till pitchers and catchers report, and the Celtics have won 8 out of 9!!

Oh I'm sure you've never expressed joy when a team you hate, like the Yankees maybe, lost. So you know what... go yourself. The Patriots have given people damn good reason to dislike them and cheer their failures.

[Unocal]

No SB cheated death more than the Giants this year.

They played with fire time and time again, and Eli bailed them out almost every time.

They lived by the sword, but easily could have died by the sword.

[CS85]

(*) (*)

edit: also, my favorite superbowl halftime show alternative offering winner is:

TLC, with "600-Pound Mom."

[knnhrvy16]

(*) (*)

Yeah, that was weird. But it was the subject of a good laugh - my brother turned to me when that guy appeared and said "what's with Jackie Moon and the tightrope?"

[Kevin W.]

Oh I'm sure you've never expressed joy when a team you hate, like the Yankees maybe, lost. So you know what... go yourself. The Patriots have given people damn good reason to dislike them and cheer their failures.