This week I want to weigh in on the upcoming Super Bowl XLII match-up between the undefeated New England Patriots and the “Road Warriors” also known as the New York Giants. At first glance this looks to be like its going to be a cake walk for the Patriots. Now I can give you a whole list of reasons why this is going to be such an easy game for them but it really comes down to the facts they’re 18-0, and they have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick who has yet to lose a Super Bowl together in 3 tries. Then on the other side you have the 14 point underdog Giants which have had to win all three of their playoff games on the road and if it weren’t for one of Brett Farve’s worst playoff performances ever and a huge choke job by the Dallas Cowboys, which I loved seeing by the way, they wouldn’t even be here, not to mention that Eli Manning is still their quarterback. Although I think this game is going to be a lot closer than most people expect. During the last game of the season these two teams matched-up and made for a very interesting game, and even though the Patriots got the win the Giants also got a win. In the game the Giants proved that they could play with anybody including the Pats and now that they have a chance for revenge I have a feeling that they are going to make the best of it.
I’m not going to tell you that the Giants are going to win, even though that’s who I’ll be rooting for, but I am going to say that they have a shot. Eli Manning is playing the best football of is career right now and is starting to become the leader that he was supposed to be when he got drafted, they have finally got a steady running game with the duo of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, which I have no doubt has helped Eli. Something else that has helped Eli has been the improved play of his receivers, this is the same group that had the most dropped passes in the league this season now they are finally catching the ball and what do you know they’re winning. And to think they thought they were going to in big trouble when they lost Jeremy Shockey to a leg injury in week 16, but it turns out that his back up Kevin Boss is more that capable of getting the job done. Then you move to the other side of the ball where the Patriots offensive line will be dealing with the best pass rush they have faced all season, again. The Giants defensive line is fast and they know how to get to the quarterback, and they’re pretty good at stopping the run too, which in turn makes the Giants DB’s jobs 10 times easier. With Brady having to constantly avoid the rush he’s bound to make a few mistakes, especially if there is any tenderness in his ankle that he’s had in a boot all week. I really think this Giants defense can get at the Patriots offense and on the other side they have the offensive weapons to hang with the Patriots on the scoreboard. All in all this is going to be a Super Bowl worth watching and not just for the commercials, and did I mention that this is yet another New York-Boston rivalry so I guarantee the crowd will be in. Then if you’re still not interested, at the very least there’s a chance you’ll get to watch the Patriots make history by becoming the only team in history to go 19-0.
A Fallen Hero.... SIKE
I like to remember a time when Rich Rodriguez was considered a hero in this great state, he gave people a reason to crack open a cold brew on a Saturday afternoon, he gave college students another reason to party, which in turn led to more drinking, but the biggest thing he did was bring pride to not only Morgantown and West Virginia University but our entire state through this football team. Now every time I hear his name I get this urge to punch myself in the face for ever believing a word that the man has said. The former West Virginia University Head football coach was one of the greatest to ever come through the school. He brought a new type of football back to his alma mater with a run-first type of offense and his revolutionary 3-3-5 defense and along with came great success. In just seven seasons here turned WVU into a national power, winning or sharing 4 Big East Championships, 6 straight bowls 4 of them being New Year’s Bowls, the school’s first BCS Bowl win, 3 straight 10 win seasons. It was the beginning of a legend
That’s when he decided that we just weren’t good enough for his mountain-sized ego. It all started last year with Alabama, which in the end he turned down, but not after sucking everything out of the university that he could, then he made a promise that he was going to be here for a very long time. Well I don’t know his definition of a very long time but I sure thought it was at least 1 season, but no the man couldn’t even give us that. He had to leave 3 weeks before one of the biggest games in school history and then decided not to coach because it would be too much of a distraction. He could of cared less how much of a distraction he was he just didn’t want to have to face the crowd at the Fiesta Bowl, if he truly didn’t want to be a distraction he would have waited until after the season was over before he decided to go job hunting, which then makes me wonder maybe the Pitt game was just another piece of the puzzle.
No one really knows what happened to the Mountaineers against Pitt, but my dad brought up a very good point. What if Rich threw the Pitt game? I think that it is a very good possibility. You see if Rich had won that game WVU would have gone to the BCS National Championship game, but how could he of left his team before a game like that and maybe he figured if he didn’t act on the Michigan job fast he would lose the opportunity so he throws the game, WVU still gets a BCS Bowl, but that’s something he can walk away from and he did. I mean what was the worst aspect of our performance in that game? The play calling and no other than Rich himself had the final say about every play that WVU ran, and then on top of that Steve Slaton only carried the ball 9 times. In a game where Pat White was hurt Steve had to be the one to step up, but he can’t do it if they don’t give him the ball. Now of course I don’t have any proof that he intentionally lost the game but after everything else he’s done I wouldn’t put it past him.
I really just think that what Rich did was screwed up and to be honest with you as soon as he pays the buy-out and fesses up to destroying the player files I could careless whether or not I ever hear his name again. Actually I hope that next year we get to play Michigan in our bowl game, then Rich and his “Pat White wanna-be” Terrelle Pryor will get killed, by a true West Virginian in Bill Stewart and the one and only Pat White, so bad that Rich gets fired. Of course that could only happen in a dream world because there is no way that Michigan is going to make it to a bowl game let alone the National Championship unlike West Virginia, who I’m predicting won’t miss a beat with Coach Stewart at the helm. So I guess this is good-bye Rich and thanks for playing you now get to join the ranks of Coach John Belein and his 5-12 Wolverines.
