Whaaaaaaaaaaaaa?

While trying to figure out what just happened, Gravette and I tackled some burning questions.

What are your final thoughts after Super Bowl XLII?
Gravette: I really enjoyed this one. Not only was it a great game, but the Patriot dream of an undefeated season was shattered.
Nobody thought the Giants stood a chance and they walked away victorious. Maybe the Patriots won’t be so cocky in the future.
The Giants looked like the better team on Sunday night. Their line blocked extremely well, their front seven put pressure on Brady all night, their receivers made big plays when they needed to step up and the didn’t make costly mistakes.
My hat goes off to Eli Manning. He has had to deal with so much criticism throughout his career. He stepped up big time on the biggest stage of them all and showed that he does have what it takes to be successful in the NFL. I’m also happy for Michael Strahan. After being the best defensive end for almost the last decade, he finally won his championship.
The Patriots may have been the better team all year long, but not tonight.

Staubs: Blech. That was a wildly uninteresting football game, and should never be shown on ESPN Classic.
It was nice of Genius Bill Belichick to morph back into Idiot Bill Bellichick (Going for it on 4th and 13 in the first half in lieu of a 48-yard field goal may be the worst coaching decision in "Super" Bowl history). It was nice of Tom Brady and Eli Manning to switch jerseys. And it was especially nice of the Patriots to drop all 10 interceptions Eli tried to throw.
Every time the Patriots brought pressure, Eli threw the ball up for grabs. If the Pats DBs could have caught the ball half the time it was thrown to them, Eli throws five picks. The fact that he won the MVP instead of Strahan or Welker is criminal.
Of course, if Tom Brady doesn’t totally disappear, the Pats still win. For a guy who has made his living and reputation on thriving when it matters most, he pretty much did the opposite. Totally missing receivers, throwing off the back foot needlessly, etc.
I won’t be surprised if it comes out that he needs surgery or something, because something wasn’t right with him. If health wasn’t the problem, that was the worst performance from a regular season MVP in a championship environment since Karl Malone in the late '90s.


Does Spygate tarnish the Patriots dynasty?
Staubs: Again, I would like to remind everyone of my contempt for this term. Every time I hear ___gate, I want to start beating random objects, people, or animals. Nonetheless ...

Gravette: I think it does.
If these developing allegations about taping the Rams walk through prior to the Super Bowl a couple of years back are true, I think the Patriots should be stripped of that title and possibly the others they have won.
If you can’t win without cheating, then don’t even take the field. Maybe Bill Belicheck isn’t that great of a coach after all, unless cheating makes a coach great.
I’m really tired of hearing about Spygate. Does it really matter? It’s in the past, and the Patriots didn’t go undefeated after all. That’s all that matters to me.

Staubs: Before watching the "Super" Bowl, I thought this was a total non-issue. Everybody does it, right?
Well, maybe I was wrong. If Belichick is praised for anything, it’s for his halftime adjustments. Well, I’m still waiting for a halftime adjustment from this game. Or an in-game adjustment. Or anything that admitted, “Hey, what we’re doing isn’t working, so let’s try something else.”
Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Well, Belichick is insane.
And he’s also a cheater, because I‘m convinced the majority of his coaching adjustments over the years were largely aided by video replay which is illegal in the NFL.
I’m not saying the Patriots should be stripped of their Super Bowls. What good would that do the Rams, Eagles, and/or Panthers? Those victories would be more hollow than playing a basketball game against a team who had its best player hurt, giving them someone with the basketball skills of Helen Keller, and continuing to play 5-on-5.
But - and 99 cases out of 100 I’m violently opposed to this resolution - there should certainly be some kind of asterisk next to that chapter in NFL history.


Do the Braves stand a chance in the NL East after the Mets acquisition of Johan Santana?
Gravette: I don’t think so.
The Mets have arguably the best lineup in the National League. With the addition of Santana, they may also have the best pitching staff in Johan Santana, a healthy Pedro Martinez, John Maine, Orlando Hernandez and Oliver Perez.
As a lifelong Braves fan, I can only hope that Martinez or Santana fail to reach expectations. Without Andrew Jones, the Braves can’t out slug the Mets.
As much as I hate to say it, it looks like another lack-luster third place finish for Atlanta in 2008.

Staubs: This is something I'm really passionate about, for whatever reason. I'm not really a Braves fan, but I like a lot of the players they have amassed, and I think the Jones loss will help in an addition-by-subtraction sort of way (Actually, I have plans to write a column on this in the not too distant future).
I’ll be following with some interest this season. Of course, now that I actually want to watch the Braves every day, TBS goes in another direction. Standard.
Whenever I did catch a Braves game last season, I always walked away thinking what a special player Yunel Escobar is going to be. He does things you just don’t see from any players, let alone young ones.
He is incredible at advancing runners and getting them in without getting a hit. Man on second no outs, he has a knack for hitting the ball the other way - even on an inside pitch - that few can match. While this brought his batting average down to a still impressive .326, it left a larger impression on me.
The only recognition he really got last year, at least from the national media, was when he went to second on a walk. Of course, that was deserved, it was a play you see about once a decade, but he does so much more that goes unseen by most.
Anyway, I’m not going to sit here and write about everyone in the lineup, but it’s a well-above lineup and a well-above average defense.
All you really need from a pitching staff is two dominant starters and three pretty good ones. That’s what the Braves have. Hampton isn’t hurt (yet), and if he can regain anywhere near his prime ability, the Braves’ rotation will be as good as the Mets.
And the bullpen is better. As a left-handed hitter, the guy I would least like to face (other than perhaps Unit, who still scares me) would be Mike Gonzalez. Watching him mow through Victorino, Utley, and Howard last season was enthralling.
There isn’t a liability out there other than Tyler Yates, who is just horrid. He should just be pitching in mop-up roles this season, or hopefully, sent to the minors.
Anyway, Santana’s great, but he went 15-13 with a much better bullpen behind him last season. With the rest of the Mets’ rotation being either old (Pedro), inconsistent (Maine, Perez), or both (El Duque), I don’t rate them that much more highly than the Braves or Phillies. I’d make the Mets the favorite, but I think the East definitely gets two teams in the playoffs, and Atlanta should be one of the two.