In the wake of Superbowl XLVI the most obvious consequence in my mind is that Wes Welker can now take his unwanted place in history along with Asante Samuel and Bill Buckner while Mario Manningham has Joined David Tyree and Mookie Wilson in one of New York’s most distinguished private clubs. All the talk about the two quarterbacks involved is true, that Eli is unquestionably an elite QB in the NFL and Tom Brady is still among the all-time greats but will never be in the class of Joe Montana. However, the outcome of the game was not a result of the two QBs, the defenses or the coaching. The most logical explanation of the outcome is that this result was dictated by the Universe, and more specifically that the Universe will never allow a team from Boston to beat a team from New York in a championship situation. How else can you ever explain what Red Sox fans have been pondering for 26 years of how a slow rolling ball that would be a routine play for any Pee Wee first basemen can roll through the legs of a seasoned veteran, or how floater out of the hands of Eli Manning can sail through the hands of an All Pro Ball Hawk like Asante Samuel, and most recently, how a possession receiver of Wes Welker’s caliber can drop a pass from Tom Brady in the most critical of times that he catches regularly without question.
Not to take anything away from Eli who has been superb throughout his career and especially in clutch situations and had he played in a different less critical market with a less recognized last name he would have been considered a Top 5 QB for quite some time now. Anyone that can list the best QBs in the game without mentioning Eli’s name is clearly following a different sport than I am. As for Brady, I can’t explain how his receiving core that has been solid all year dropped 4 straight passes in the 4th quarter. I cant’ explain how his “bend but don’t break” defense broke 3 times in the late 4th quarter to arguably cost him 3 Superbowls (in ’06 it broke against the Colts in the AFC Championship Game that would have lead to an easy win over the Bears). And I can’t explain how his supposed mastermind of a coach got out-strategized in 2 straight Superbowls. What I can say about him is that his 2-minute drill to end the first half was one for the ages and with the exception of Joe Montana he is the single greatest QB I ever had the privilege of watching. There was a time four years ago when I felt I would not have to make that distinction between him and Montana, and that sentiment briefly came back early in the 4th Quarter Sunday night, but WR and Defense let downs notwithstanding, number 12 did not pull it off when he needed to despite a great performance and therefore in my mind anyways he needs to settle for #2 of all time.
AND THAT’S THE BRUTAL TRUTH!
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