Keys to Super Bowl XLVI (New England edition)

It's Super Bowl week & there are many computer simulations out there that's trying to predict the winner of the 46th Super Bowl in Indianapolis.  Here are the keys for New England winning their 4th Super Bowl under Tom Brady & Head Coach Bill Belichick.

1.)  Keep Tom Brady on his feet.  The last two meetings between the Giants, Tom Brady was taking a lot of hits & his timing with his receivers was off tremendously.  For New England to have a chance at the win, they must protect Brady.

2.)  Have a balanced attack to keep the Giants' defense off-balanced. This means that New England has to run draw plays & quick passing plays to keep the ball moving & the Giants guessing.  The problem that the Giants give teams as of late is making them one dimensional, which plays right into their hands.  In their 3 playoff wins, the Giants forced their opponents to throw more than normal, that allowed their defense to bring more pressure.

3.)  Get the receivers & the tight ends involved early.  New England has the best receiving corps in recent memory & maybe the best set of tight ends in NFL history.  However, Rob Gronkowski is hurt with a high ankle sprain which will be a factor how much they down play it.  This means that Aaron Hernandez will definitely get more opportunities to make plays.  Hernandez is more of a matchup problem for the Giants because he is more athletic and can move like a running back in a tight end's body.  As for the receivers, Wes Welker will always be a matchup problem, but in this game he'll be tightly covered.  That means Deion Branch will be a reliable target. The wildcard in this key is Chad Ochocinco. Reason being: he hasn't been a huge contributor, but in the biggest game of the season he could be a key contributor (depends on Belichick though).

4.)  New England's defense must get to Eli Manning.  This key for New England is non-negotiable for them to win a 4th championship.  When Eli has time, he has shown time in & time out, he is one of the best quarterbacks that's never in the conversation on who's the best quarterback in the league.  If New England is smart, they'll find ways to hit Eli as much as the 49ers did last week.

5.) Stop the run & hit the Giants' receivers every play.  It's no secret that the Giants want to be the more physical team, but New England as of late has been playing top notch defense regardless of their ranking.  They have to stop Ahmad Bradshaw to make the Giants one-dimensional.  Brandon Jacobs hasn't been running well as of late(see the Redskins game from Dec. 18th), and teams know that Bradshaw is who gets the running game going. As for the passing game, the Patriots have to use the blueprint they used against the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.  In that game, they roughed up the speedy receivers of the Rams & won their 1st Super Bowl.  With players like Victor Cruz & Hakeem Nicks, they have to hit them to let them know that they will get hit whether they get the ball or not.  If they do that, they make Eli Manning look normal.

There you have it for New England's keys to winning Super Bowl XLVI. Hope that this gives anyone reading this an inside look of the battles that must be won for New England to win their 4th Super Bowl.

Flashback: Doug Williams & the 1987 Super Bowl Run

The year is 1987. I'm 4 years old and from my dad's memory I was the biggest Redskins fan, even more a fan of  Journeyman quarterback Doug Williams. He is on the brink of becoming the 1st black quarterback to play in the Super Bowl.  He's been here before though. In 1979, Williams from Grambling, led the surprise Tampa Bay Buccaneers from the worst football team in the history of the game to being a game away from meeting the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XIV. Unfortunately, his team was shut out by then L.A. Rams 9-0, in a game where he tore his right bicep.  Saying that Williams took the road to glory by going through personal & professional hell would be an understatement.

After the loss, Williams led Tampa Bay back to the playoffs twice but taking early exits.  Then, he received a rotten watermelon with a racist note to come along with it. Then, 1983 happened.  First, he got married and had his 1st child, then tragedy struck.  His wife would pass away three months later and then he became embroiled in a heated contract negotiation with then owner Hugh Culverhouse.  He didn't want to pay Williams for his past accomplishments, so Williams decided to sit out and play in the upstart USFL team the Oklahoma Outlaws.  After the league folded in two seasons, Williams was on the market and his former coach in Tampa, Joe Gibbs brought him to the Redskins as a backup to rising star Jay Schroeder who had a strong arm with great accuracy.

 The turning point in Williams' tenure with the 'Skins was the 1986 NFC Championship Game with division rival New York Giants.  The Giants had swept the 'Skins in the regular season & was meeting them for the third time.  Schroeder was taking a beating according to my dad's memory & from film I seen.  At one point, Schroeder was knocked out and Gibbs sent Williams to relieve him. Schroeder waived Williams off in which embarrassed him more than anything & made Williams furious. The 'Skins lost 17-0 & the Giants went on to win Super Bowl XXI. The team had more questions going into the 1987 season & Williams had demanded a trade to Coach Gibbs. He was almost traded to the L.A. Raiders but Coach Gibbs & owner the late Jack Kent Cooke pulled the plug on the trade. Gibbs told Williams he had a feeling that he would win Super Bowl XXII for him. A funny thing happened along the way though. Schroeder got hurt in the season opener & Williams won the game in relief.  Two weeks later, the league went on strike. After the 3 week strike, the 'Skins went on to a 11-4 record, winning the NFC East & the 3rd seed in the NFC Playoffs. Many times, Williams rallied the 'Skins from defeat in relief, winning the support of the team & led them into Chicago to play the Bears who had a great defense & legendary running back the late Walter Payton.

Down 14-0 on the road in freezing Chicago, Williams rallied the team once again & led them to a 21-17 win, earning them a home game against the Minnesota Vikings. The title game was a ugly classic NFC game with both teams playing very physical. Williams threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Gary Clark and the defense held on a classic goal line stand to earn their third appearance to the Super Bowl in the 1980s.

Williams believed that he went through every obstacle in his path to glory but there was one more: Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway & the Denver Broncos. Denver jumped on the 'Skins early 10-0 in the first quarter, then Williams got hurt, twisting his knee.  Williams made a promise to himself that he wasn't gonna let Jay Schroeder play at all in that Super Bowl and he returned in the second quarter. What happened next was Super Bowl history. Williams hooked up with Ricky Sanders for an 80 yard touchdown pass and at the end of the second quarter, he led the 'Skins to 35 unanswered points in one of the greatest moments in football history. A 42-10 victory, giving Joe Gibbs; his second of his three championships Williams' numbers for Super Bowl XXII: 18-29 for 340 yards, 4 touchdowns,1 interception and a Super Bowl MVP. Williams is now on his second stint as head coach for his Alma mater Grambling State. This upcoming Tuesday will mark the 24th anniversary of Williams one shining moment. I was four years old and to this day, Doug Williams is still one of my favorite football players. Not because he was the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl, but since I got older, I gotten to appreciate his road through hell and have a greater appreciation for what he had to go through to win on and off the field. . If your wondering how I know so much about the 1987 Redskins, its simple. It's when I fell in love with football.

1st blog: Review of Championship Sunday (AFC Edition)

Since this is my 1st ever blog entry, I figure I start it off with a review of yesterday's AFC Championship game.  Yesterday's conference title games included: the New England Patriots vs. the Baltimore Ravens in the 1st game, while the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers in the night cap. Here's a quick run down on why the Patriots & the Giants will face off in Indianapolis Feb. 5th in Super Bowl XLVI.

AFC Championship Game:
1. Special Teams was the major factor:  Since I was a young kid playing park & rec football for the Indian Head Braves & all the way to Lackey High School, I was always told that special teams is always the determining factor in a closely fought game. New England made their mistake when Danny Woodhead fumbled on the kickoff after the Ravens went ahead 17-16 going into the 4th quarter.  However, the New England defense was able to hold off the Ravens best opportunity to put the game away by stopping them on 4th down.  Then, on the game winning drive, Baltimore decided to not go for the win after Lee Evans dropped the ball.  Kicker Billy Cundiff quickly rushed on the field to try to tie the game in the last seconds. Bill Belichick decided to not call a time out to freeze Cundiff.  The kick went wide left, similar to what Florida State had to endure during the height of their rivalry with The U.  New England moves on, Baltimore goes home.

2. Tom Brady didn't have a great day, but he got the job done:  At times, Brady was rushing his passes, sometimes it was due to the great Ravens defense, and sometimes it was due to trying to force the ball to his main targets.  Earlier in the game, Brady's throws were dropped by Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, the two tight ends who are now considered the best at their position.  After the 2nd pick by Jimmy Smith, Brady rallied the offense to the go ahead score (see picture above) on a classic goal line stand.

3. Flacco played the game of his young career: Regardless what the arm-chair, Monday morning quarterbacks say, Joe Flacco had a great performance considering he has made the playoffs in each season of his career.  In past years, Flacco would've folded his hands and crumbled under the pressure, but he stepped up in ways that could mean the Ravens could be back to being a legit contender in the AFC next season. After throwing a potential devastating pick to Patriots Linebacker Brandon Spikes (a great one-handed pick), he didn't get fluttered, he rallied his team for one last drive.  The type of performance that Flacco had is something that the league needs to take notice of and he is ready to join the elite class of quarterbacks in the NFL.

4. The play that saved New England's season:  Little used Sterling Moore was one on one with Ravens Wide Receiver Lee Evans on the potential game winning drive in the final seconds of the 4th quarter.  It seemed that Lee Evans made the game winning catch, but Moore who never gave up on the play, slapped the ball loose out of Lee Evans' hands in the end zone.  What was crazy was that the play was never reviewed by the booth upstairs. The non-review could be the true reason why the Ravens aren't playing for their 2nd Super Bowl title.

5. Boldin steps up huge in the final drive:  Anquan Boldin, 4 years removed from a Super Bowl appearance with the Arizona Cardinals, showed why he is considered one of the most under appreciated receivers in the league. On the final drive, Boldin was Flacco's main target, making catch after chain-moving catch; putting the Ravens offense on his back.  In the 2008 NFC Championship Game, Boldin was on the sidelines as he argued with then offensive coordinator Todd Haley about not being used on the Cardinals' game winning drive. Its safe to say that he redeemed himself in the biggest way & showed that he shouldn't be taken lightly by the AFC going into the 2012-2013 season.

In all, this had to be one of the classic AFC Championship Games in a long time.  It can be argued that it could be the Cleveland Curse followed the Ravens since they moved to Baltimore in 1996 or just a rushed kick.  With a game like this, it should be held in high regard with the controversial no touchdown call in the 1979 title game with Pittsburgh & Houston, "The Drive" in 1986, The Fumble in 1987 (Denver vs.Cleveland) and the Hail Mary in 1995.