Each time I see the replay of Sterling Moore knocking the ball away from Lee Evans I can’t believe that the rookie with only a few games of NFL experience had the presence of mind to make that play. But thank God he did because when you combine that with just an awful field goal attempt by Baltimore it sent the Patriots to Super Bowl XLVI.
I say that whole attempt was bad, not just the awful kick by Billy Cundiff. The snap wasn’t the best, the holder never got the laces spun out and it appeared as if the ball was still being spun as Cundiff made contact. Wide Left.
John Harbaugh was all class in the loss as were the Ravens owners and players. The two teams dislike each other but they respect each other. It’s very different from say Patriots/Jets or Ravens/Steelers where it seems to be more dislike than respect going both ways.
The best part of this win combined with the Giants defeat of the Forty Niners is that Patriots can exercise those Super Bowl XLII demons, right? Wrong, the best is knowing Jets head coach Rex Ryan’s head is about to explode whenever someone asks him for his Super Bowl prediction.
So at the time of this publication there are still 12 more days left until the game. We’ve already given you the low down on the stadium where the game will be played and there will be much more to come from Sox & Dawgs in the next week and half or so.
Enjoy the notes below, some of them we will try to expand on before game time and I’m sure we will have forms of minutia for you along the way as well.
Oh and let me know what you think about the rematch I’m interested in your thoughts I’d love to use some in another post. You can leave them in the comments of this post, email them to me or tweet them to me. I look forward to your opinions regardless of who you root for.
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New England head coach Bill Belichick now has 192 career wins including playoffs, which are good for 9th all-time. Former Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks head coach Chuck Knox is 8th with 193 wins.
He is now tied for 3rd in post season coaching wins with long time Redskins coach Joe Gibbs is 3rd with 17. Former Dolphins coach Don Shula is 2nd with 19 and Tom Landry, formerly of Dallas, is 1st with 21.
He is 17-6 in the post season overall, 16-5 with New England.
Here’s is the audio to Belichick’s weekly radio visit to WEEI-AM/FM on Monday afternoon.
The Patriots were 9-1 at The Razor, 6-2 on the road, 5-1 against the AFC East, 1-1 against the AFC North, 1-0 against the AFC South and 5-0 against the AFC West for a 10-2 record vs. the AFC. They are 3-1 against the NFC East.
New England has won 10 consecutive games since losing to the Giants in Week 9.
Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, New England is 76-15 at home including the playoffs it is the best record in the NFL in that time period.
Tom Brady is now 16-5 in the post season and is tied for most all time post season wins with his idol Joe Montana.
Brady has the 3rd most post season TD passes all-time with 36. Brett Favre is 2nd with 44 TD passes in the post season. Montana is first with 45.
Brady’s weekly Monday morning call in on WEEI
WR Wes Welker now has catches in 100 consecutive games including playoffs, 83 as a Patriot. The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.
The New England defense sacked Baltimore QB Joe Flacco 3 times in Sundays 23-20 win.
There’s a report that Baltimore kicker Billy Cundiff was distracted prior to attempting the game tying kick.
New England is MINUS 3 in playoff turnover differential. The offense gave up 3 INT and 2 fumble, while the defense had 1 INT and 1 fumble recovery. They finished the regular season as a PLUS 17.
The Patriots are 13-3 at home in the playoffs all-time. They are 9-2 in the post season at Gillette Stadium.
Overall in the playoffs they are 23-15 and 7-1 in AFC Championship Games.
ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss has the Patriots 3 up, 3 down.
Early line on the game has the Patriots MINUS 3 1/2 and an over/under of 55.
The Patriots have been designated as the home team in the Super Bowl based on conference rotation. As the home team they have the choice of which jersey they want to wear and have decided to wear their home blue meaning the Giants will be in their road whites, same as Super Bowl XLII.
Here’s a recap of the jersey’s worn by the Patriots during their previous six Super Bowl appearances.
Brady and Belichick will make a record 5th Super Bowl appearance as a quarterback/head coach combo topping Staubach/Landry; Kelly/Levy and Bradshaw/Noll.
Due to the fact that the Giants and Patriots are playing in the Super Bowl, the players elected to the Pro Bowl will not be able to participate and have been replaced by the NFL. Here is the complete list.
NFL uniform rules do not allow teams to wear their alternate, throwback or third jerseys in post season play.
Some seats for the Super Bowl are going as high for $2,000.
With the Patriots as the home team, Brady will be using Peyton Manning’s locker.
The Patriots will face the New York Giants on February 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium in Super Bowl XLVI. Look for the Sox & Dawgs “In The Red Zone Game Preview” available on the Friday before the game.
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