Superb Owl LII (Eagles-Patriots)

[Pleb]

SUPERB OWL LII: Philadelphia Eagles versus New England Patriots - Sunday 4th February 2018 (Kickoff/Coin toss: After 23:30)

BBC ONEHD/Red Button (apparently): 23:15
Sky Sports Main Event/Action/MixHD: 22:00
NFL Game Pass: If you have it...
Halftime Show act: Well it isn't Katy Perry or Lady Gaga so I guess we're stuck with the next best thing...Justin Timberlake
Super Bowl Commericals: Apparently the new Han Solo Star Wars film is getting a tease trailer in the middle of this so get excited Star Wars nerds. Also Diet Coke ads because why the fuck not. I hear Morgan Freeman and Keanu Reeves is making an appearance?
Will Tom Brady get the refs to give him a ring?: Probably.

In true TTH tradition this deserves a separate thread.

[Ian]

Mon the Eagles.

[Spikey M]

Superb Owl, you cunt.

[SincereTheRebel]

The philly eagles are in the final? I know from various rap lyrics they have never won it, unless they have recently and im no longer up to speed.

[Giggles]

Is this the annual wankery thread then?

[niko_cee]

'Mon The Foles Bowl.

Donovan McNabb had best be there in some capacity.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Is this the annual wankery thread then?

What I wanna know is, buddy, why's it called a touchdown when you've not even godda touch the ball down?

I'll sure have a 'tight end' after all these pretzels and Bud light!

[wullie]

Heart says Eagles, head says Tom Brady will haunt everybody's dreams forever.

[Disco]

Isn't it amazing that we've reached a point where the adverts are a touted feature of the show. There's a smoky room somewhere where they must have a good laugh at that every year.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Heart says Eagles, head says Tom Brady will haunt everybody's dreams forever.

That's where I'm at but I'm listening more to my heart.

I can already see myself betting on the Eagles and it ending badly.

[wullie]

I'm going where the real money is

[Giggles]

Hadn't heard any of the entertainment. It's 2004.

[McAvennie]

Eagles, Superb Owls, you gotta go with the bird theme

Or not, as the Patriots are going to pluck those feathers

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Patriots can go flock themselves.

[Giggles]

Hopefully the Patriots win on a disputed call from the refs as the seethe would be astronomical.

[Dan]

That would be great

I’m going to a practice for my local American football team Sunday morning, so hopefully I don’t get killed & miss the game.

If you ignored the aura of the Patriots you’d probably favour the Eagles, since their team is actually really good & balanced, but you can’t ignore that aura, so it’s really hard to ever believe anyone will beat the Pats in a big game without playing a near perfect game.

[Giggles]

That would be great

I’m going to a practice for my local American football team Sunday morning, so hopefully I don’t get killed & miss the game.

If you ignored the aura of the Patriots you’d probably favour the Eagles, since their team is actually really good & balanced, but you can’t ignore that aura, so it’s really hard to ever believe anyone will beat the Pats in a big game without playing a near perfect game.

I played for a couple of teams over 6 years, it's good craic. I'd imagine the setup over there is a lot better too.

[Dan]

Having watched last week, I’m not sure I’d be fucked if they were actually all really good & in great shape.

[Lewis]

How come the Patriots have been so great for a decade (or whatever it is) when the sport is set up to avoid teams doing so? Do they have the best squad, or is it that Melbourne Storm model of a few good players chewing up most of the salary cap, a bunch of cast-offs and stiffs being coached to death, and then an all-time great making it all work?

[Pleb]

It's because of Tom Brady and refs.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

How come the Patriots have been so great for a decade (or whatever it is) when the sport is set up to avoid teams doing so? Do they have the best squad, or is it that Melbourne Storm model of a few good players chewing up most of the salary cap, a bunch of cast-offs and stiffs being coached to death, and then an all-time great making it all work?

They've had arguably the greatest QB of all time as well as probably the greatest head coach. They're also well run from the top.

[Giggles]

How come the Patriots have been so great for a decade (or whatever it is) when the sport is set up to avoid teams doing so? Do they have the best squad, or is it that Melbourne Storm model of a few good players chewing up most of the salary cap, a bunch of cast-offs and stiffs being coached to death, and then an all-time great making it all work?

Because they had the best QB and coach ever at the same time.

[Lewis]

Are they worth that much then? Is the rest of the squad on a similar level to other challengers? It's not that they have those and then the best point guard and pitcher and competitive eating champion.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

They're worth that much.

Before they came in the Patriots had never won a Superbowl, since they came in they've won 5. They've also come first in their division in every season bar 2 (they came second but had the same amount of wins as the team in first), before them they had only won they're division times.

They have other decent or higher players in their teams across the years but the head coach, Bellichick, has really gotten the best out of them.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Only other ELITE player right now that they have is Gronkowski who is on of the best TE's in history (will probably be the best when he finishes his career), there are a few other players that are close but I wouldn't say they have the biggest collection of amazing individuals.

[Jimmy Floyd]

And like 40% of the game is on the quarterback (to my untrained eye anyway). No other team sport has so much reliance on one individual.

[Giggles]

And like 40% of the game is on the quarterback (to my untrained eye anyway). No other team sport has so much reliance on one individual.

Three of the last four teams left had very middling ones.

[John]

The baseball podcast I listen to occasionally drifts into NFL and they say Belichik nails the draft every year, trading down until he ends up with about twelve picks in later rounds and then never picking a dud.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Three of the last four teams left had very middling ones.

Not according to this: http://www.espn.com/nfl/qbr

1st, 2nd, 3rd and a cool 12th. Do stop me if 'QBR' is a nonsense stat though.

[Giggles]

Not according to this: http://www.espn.com/nfl/qbr

1st, 2nd, 3rd and a cool 12th. Do stop me if 'QBR' is a nonsense stat though.

It's probably the better of the ratings now. Wentz is injured though since the second last game of the regular season, his backup is starting Sunday. Granted though, Keenum is a big surprise.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The baseball podcast I listen to occasionally drifts into NFL and they say Belichik nails the draft every year, trading down until he ends up with about twelve picks in later rounds and then never picking a dud.

I'm not so sure about that. They're fairly average, I'd say his biggest strength is picking up veteran players who don't look all that great and turning them into something amazing.

[Giggles]

Yep, players that other teams underutilise or just dump.

[McAvennie]

The patriots are just a fantastic organisation from top to bottom, and belichek is a fantastic coach

Despite all this talk of a quarterback driven league belichek is pretty old school - his focus is on a solid run game as it controls the clock, and a solid run defence that will then challenge opposition qbs to beat them

Their achievement at being this good for so long is amazing

[niko_cee]

The Patriots winning by some sort of malign refereeing influence (particularly if it's 'New York')* would be a lot better than a procedural 2 minute drive ending in a game winning Adam Vinitieri field goal or the best running attack in the league throwing a fucking pick from the 1 yard line with 20 seconds left on the clock. At least there would be something to moan about.

This is the end of the era though. It feels cyclical for me. I got back into things at the beginning of this, and it feels right that Philadelphia are going to end it.

*Jay Ajayi to have the winning TD ruled out for some kind of 'control of the ball' issue with nothing left on the clock, a la that Lions/Atlanta game earlier in the season.

[niko_cee]

And no 'organization' with Robert Kraft at the top of it can be described as being good from top to bottom.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

And no 'organization' with Robert Kraft at the top of it can be described as being good from top to bottom.

He's no Jed York.

[Pleb]

In dreamland I'm hoping for a massive Patriots MELTDOWN but we all know that's not going to happen.

[Shindig]

How many more bowls does Brady have in him? I enjoy the Pats being beaten because it usually leads to some awesome games. Might stay up for it but will probably just catch the highlights on Monday morning.

[Ian]

It's hard to say how long Brady will last. Manning has proved that you can be mid-late 30s, look at the peak of your powers and then suddenly you're at the other end of the scale. He only got his second ring because Osweiler was fucking over one of the best defences ever more than he did.

[Pleb]

How many more bowls does Brady have in him? I enjoy the Pats being beaten because it usually leads to some awesome games. Might stay up for it but will probably just catch the highlights on Monday morning.

This one and one more I reckon.

[Shindig]

I could imagine they go longer than other outfielders because they mostly launch it. I could be way off with that assumption, mind.

[Ian]

The good ones tend to go on longer because any QBs who rely on their physical attributes get found out very quickly once they start to decline.

[Baz]

I'm going where the real money is

#RequestABet for Carry Out.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

The good ones tend to go on longer because any QBs who rely on their physical attributes get found out very quickly once they start to decline.

Yeah you don't see many mobile/'DUAL THREAT' QBs go on into their late 30s and still be any good.

Vick was 33 or 34 when he retired I think. Probably wouldn't have lasted that long if he wasn't fighting dogs as that time out stopped him from getting injured a few times.

[Pleb]

So who's staying up for this then?

[Giggles]

Couldn't get the day off tomorrow so the original plan was to go to bed from now til 11:30 and then get a few hours after it.

Plan now is to go on to bed at 10 and get the result in the morning.

[Lewis]

I might watch it until about one, so prepare for a load of inane questions lads.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I'm loaded up with snacks. I'll eat them tomorrow during the Chelsea game.

[Giggles]

I've just remembered I haven't a morsel of junk food so that just cements plan B for me. I really couldn't give a toss who wins anyway.

[Ian]

I have some brown chicken bits to bung in the oven and not nearly enough beer to see me through. If the Pats are winning comfortably at half time I think I'll be going to bed.