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Who wins tonight handicappers


wild willie

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Hard to pick against Brady/Belichek in a big game. Between media attention, 2 week delay, 45 minute halftime, etc, it's a weird game in a sport that is so scripted for the players and coaches. That's why there are so many bad games. One team loses its bearings and by the time they recover, the scoreboard got ugly.

 

Experience is all on New England's side. But I wouldn't root for them if I was on fire and they were a hose.

 

Atlanta has to survive the jitters in the 1st quarter. Then they have to survive the adjustments B&B will make at halftime. If they can get to the 4th quarter in one piece they can take these guys. How bout 31-27?

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Well, it's over. Nothing has been moderated so I don't know what people are saying.  My view is that the Falcons collapsed much more than the Patriots came back. They were walking around like the walking dead in the third quarter. I was greatly concerned at that point. I didn't bet so nothing our of pocket. Just slow torture watching them give the game back.

 

Dannyboy

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Well, it's over. Nothing has been moderated so I don't know what people are saying.  My view is that the Falcons collapsed much more than the Patriots came back. They were walking around like the walking dead in the third quarter. I was greatly concerned at that point. I didn't bet so nothing our of pocket. Just slow torture watching them give the game back.

 

Dannyboy

I agree the Falcons collapsed. The highest scoring offense in the league and they can't get any points in the 2nd half. Credit to Patriots for not giving up, everyone thought the game was done when it was 28-3

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If Atlanta had held their ground after the Jones catch @ the 22 and kicked a fieldgoal - 31-28.  Ah well.

CO:

 

Si ma tante en avait, on l'appellerait mon oncle. A friend from many years back whose primary language was French said this to me when I lamented the result of a sporting event. If only the jockey kept the horse on the rail instead of taking him wide I'd have won $500.

 

Roughly translated: If my aunt had them (balls) she would be called my uncle.

 

And so there were a number of significant fuck-ups by Atlanta that would have changed the outcome of the game. There were also some extremely lucky moments, especially that catch by Edelman, that impacted the game in a major way.

 

If you favored the winner you'd have no "what if" laments. If you favored the loser there were several to be found.

 

Dannyboy

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I agree the Falcons collapsed. The highest scoring offense in the league and they can't get any points in the 2nd half. Credit to Patriots for not giving up, everyone thought the game was done when it was 28-3

Lucky...

 

I actually give credit to the Patriots' defense much more than the offense. I fault the Falcons defense. It seemed that they were exhausted with a quarter and a half to go and lost the will to win.

 

Dannyboy

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Was saying this all along. Pats WILL be heard. How's that for a comeback???

Dear Ms. Fang:

 

One undeniable fact is that it over and the result is written in the record books. How we got there will be remembered by those who watched it. Was it a collapse? Was it a comeback? Nothing changes the result. Yogi Berra once said "it ain't over 'til it's over." All we can do now is wait until next year and do it again.

 

Dannyboy

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If Atlanta had held their ground after the Jones catch @ the 22 and kicked a fieldgoal - 31-28.  Ah well.

 

Dannyboy is right, of course, but it's especially hard to understand why they would call a pass on that play. Even if two rushes go nowhere (or even lose a yard or two), you have an easy FG to go up two scores with (had they run the ball twice) ~2:30 left in the game... Sometimes big games are won and lost because less experienced coaches overthink the easy ones. 

 

In any case, we all got to watch one of the all-time great games, won by the (I would think) inarguably all-time best quarterback and coach.

 

Still, it's a shame that years from now, no one will ever think to bring up that incredible catch by Jones (and it was an incredible throw, too), not only because they lost, but because the drive came to nothing.

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Lucky...

 

I actually give credit to the Patriots' defense much more than the offense. I fault the Falcons defense. It seemed that they were exhausted with a quarter and a half to go and lost the will to win.

 

Dannyboy

The Pats defense definitely stepped up. The Patriots always seem to make the right adjustments. But the play calling for the Falcons was bad. No reason to pass the ball when in field goal range up by 8 with 4 minutes to go. They stopped what was working for them that got them the lead. They only ran the ball 5 times after going up 28-3. Falcons defense was exhausted by the 4th quarter. I guess my boy Eli is the only one who can beat Brady in the Super Bowl but teams seem to give it away to him. Worked out well for me I hit the final score in my Super Bowl Box

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Dannyboy is right, of course, but it's especially hard to understand why they would call a pass on that play. Even if two rushes go nowhere (or even lose a yard or two), you have an easy FG to go up two scores with (had they run the ball twice) ~2:30 left in the game... Sometimes big games are won and lost because less experienced coaches overthink the easy ones. 

 

In any case, we all got to watch one of the all-time great games, won by the (I would think) inarguably all-time best quarterback and coach.

 

Still, it's a shame that years from now, no one will ever think to bring up that incredible catch by Jones (and it was an incredible throw, too), not only because they lost, but because the drive came to nothing.

Yeah that was their only shot.  But very doable.  Must be hard to swallow now that they just needed a 3-and-out and they could have got a ring.  Not the first team to pass when they should have run on NE.  Ask Marshawn Lynch.

 

I thought they actually got too far ahead.  Took their foot off the gas.  They might've played better if it stayed within 10 points and kept their offensive rhythm.  At 25 up, they just disappeared.

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Sorry I missed that and it would be easy to say now, but I had a short messsage conversation... yes short messages, as I don't have a smartphone, so no WhatsApp... about the picks prior to the game with a buddy here in Germany and he said, that the Falcons Offense would be too much for the Patriots to handle and this is what I replied, translated to English:

 

Picking the Patriots would be a "No-Brainer" if Gronk was able to play. But even without the perfect line-up Coach Belichick is able to bring out the strongest strength out of each of his players and take away the opponent's biggest strength...and find a weekness...even if only by adjustments... I guess Atlanta will have to score more than 28 points to have a chance to win... and I am not sure if the best scoring defense will allow that to happen, so I still pick the Patriots! Yet I think it most likely to be a close game with the team winning with the last reasonable chance to score.

 

Hm, the Falcons didn't score more than 28 points, the team with the last reasonable chance to score won ( 50 secs out of your own endzone without any timeout against a defense that started to bully you around is not reasonable at the Falcon's last possession) and in the second half the adjustments on D stopped the Falcons after one last second half drive to the endzone...too bad I am not a gambler :(

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We were all against NE but someone close to me ended up winning the final in her Super Bowl Box.  Next morning I saw her with an envelope full of Franklins.

 

Dannyboy

Exactly I was pulling got Atlanta all night but as soon as they tied it and I realized if it goes to overtime and the Patriots scored a touchdown I win 5k I became a New England fan

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