In the last 27 minutes of game action, they gave up 7 total points to the Falcons. That's it. The D really stepped up huge in this game.
It is interesting to see year-to-year development. In 2014, they beat a great Seahawks D because of* Vereen having a great game. In 2015 against a similarly-great Broncos D, they tried to go to White a lot -- he had a ton of targets -- but it just never clicked and the offense never got moving. This year, White came up big.
It's better than that--the defense only allowed 7 points in last 44 minutes of game action. Atlanta scored on TD by Hooper with about 9 minutes left in 2nd quarter. From that point on, the Atlanta offense scored 1 TD.
The Coleman injury happened right before the Hightower sack. Freeman was rushed in and whiffed the coverage. That's the game.
That was blatant PI and a good call. He pulls Gabriel's left arm so hard, Gabriel can only move one arm toward the ball. Look at this picture of it. The ball is in the screen and Gabriel's left arm is pulled in the other direction.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/falcons-shanahan-freeman-disagree-whos-to-blame-for-super-bowl-fumble/
Tom Pelissero
@TomPelissero
I asked Devonta Freeman if Dont'a Hightower is his man on the strip-sack: "No." Won't give details. Just keeps saying Hightower made a play.
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Kyle Shanahan says yes, that actually was Devonta Freeman's guy. Hasn't gotten to talk to him yet. Matt was expecting him to be picked up.
I believe Hightower said that Freeman/Coleman had always picked him up on that play up to that point throughout the game.
FO just released their DVOA scores for the game - overall the defense was about average.
I noted that yesterday in another thread during my rewatch. It was a really soft call.
Yet if Atlanta runs the ball three times after his last catch and kicks the FG, Shanahan would be praised as a genius for not forcing the ball to him in double coverage all game and taking what the defense was giving.
In seven Super Bowls, New England hasn't once been burned by the opposition's MVP-caliber playmaker. Faulk, TO, Lynch, Jones created massive problems for the rest of the league. And none of them were really factors in any of the title games when Belichick was on the opposing sideline.
Really?
9 catches, 122 yards, no TDs. Pretty good game, though 2 catches and 15 of the yards were on that prevent-defense drive
I never liked TO as a player. Couldn't stand the theatrics. Respected the talent for sure, but just never liked the way he played. I remember being really bummed about how well he played that game, busted leg and all. I just wanted him to fail, and he didn't. Well, he did fail to win the game, but then again, it wasn't him puking in the huddle.
I don't know if you can call the play on sunday a "secret" play the way his tackle of Lynch on 1st and goal was. The guy strip-sacked the league MVP and forced a turnover that spurred his team's comeback status from "making it respectable" to "good lord, they still have a prayer!"
The 2001 Rams did OK after being down 14, to say nothing of the 2006 Colts. Dallas didn't win their Divisional game this year but their response to a 21-3 2Q deficit was to put the fear of god into the Packers and tie it up twice in the final 5 minutes.
Does this make Carl Cheffers the Joe West of the NFL?
If the Pats had whiffed on either 2 PC I would have obsessed over the injustice of McLellin's BS call on the XP vaulting over the guard (not center). That one point could very well have been the difference in this game and it would have stunk to high heaven.
Exactly. He def. was amazing for playing with a broken leg and almost def. would have been MVP if the Eagles had won but...they were never really in the game so they never would have won anyway.
Manningham wasn't even close to that Giants team's biggest weapon. There's a clip right before the drive with his catch in America's Game where BB tells the defense to not complicate things and remember to focus on Cruz and Nicks – he even explicitly says something to the effect of "Don't worry about Manningham.
I take it you don't recall 2004 ALCS game 6?
