Here is a primer on Sunday’s Super Bowl, brought to you by someone who feels a little like the guy who waited in line for two hours to get on the roller coaster, only to find out when I got to the gate, it had just closed . . .
The prevailing wisdom seems to be that 75 percent of a starter is better than 100 percent of his replacement. Maybe. But I’d have really preferred to see Vederian Lowe at left tackle than (maybe) 50 percent of Will Campbell.
All I heard Sunday was this might be these Patriots’ only shot at a Super Bowl, so they’d better go for gold. Do you do that with an obviously-injured left tackle?
I’ll cut Campbell some slack because of an MCL sprain that obviously hadn’t healed fully. The three AFC teams the Patriots played prior to Sunday were too flawed themselves to take advantage of that.
The Seattle Seahawks were not flawed. They had their bases covered.
If you’re 6-6, 317 pounds, you can probably tack on another month to the rehab process on an injured knee. The way Seattle’s defense went after Campbell, someone on the staff got that message across.
And I’m tired of hearing about short arms. Happy feet might be more like it. Campbell couldn’t plant his feet fast enough to establish a base.
One more thing about Campbell. He declined to speak to the media after the game. Like any other group of working people, media members have jobs to do, and on a night like Sunday, the window to get them completed isn’t open long. We all have deadlines. So, when someone such as Campbell, for whatever reason, is a major factor — positive or negative — and won’t speak with reporters, we are going to resent him. We are going to report it, and in the process make him look bad.
Hats off to him for apologizing Tuesday and explaining himself. Some of these guys won’t even do that. Campbell’s explanation was earnest and made sense. But all I can say is that he’s in the Big Boy League, and when you’ve reached this level, you have to put the pants on and do what’s expected of you.
I recall a Super Bowl game 21 years ago when the Philadelphia Eagles got aggressive on defense and rushed Tom Brady just about every pass play.
Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis proceeded to throw screen passes, in the process turning Deion Branch into a superstar (he was the game MVP). Even analyst Cris Collinsworth talked about calling a few screen passes to slow that defense down Sunday. OC Josh McDaniels, your Assistant Coach of the Year, missed the boat big-time.
The Patriots really missed having an elite receiver. None strike the fear of God into you.
On the other side, Christian Gonzalez had to worry about Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba the whole game. He did a fantastic job, but he couldn’t really free himself to do anything else.
Speaking of Gonzalez. Please. No messing around. No games. Get him signed. Now.
I remember Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold playing for the Jets against the Patriots about a decade ago and was overheard telling people he was seeing ghosts as the Pats tap-danced on his head. Sunday, he seemed to have escaped from the netherworld, but he was hardly the second coming of Joe Montana.
As bad as everybody thought Drake Maye was, he’ll be fine, once the Patriots find a way to block for him.
