(no subject)
Feb. 6th, 2012 11:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seekingferretAt some point in the fourth quarter, Wes Welker dropped a routine pass and the announcer said "Welker makes that catch 100 out of 100 times." We scratched our head on that one for a while. Clearly the sample he used to make his estimate of p was systematically flawed.
In any case, 100 out of 100 times, the Giants have beaten the Patriots in the Super Bowl. And it was fucking awesome. But as the Welker drop indicates, breaks had to go our way. We played well, but not dominantly. We recovered two of our own fumbles and had a third nullified by an astonishing 12 men on the field penalty. Brady was not perfect. We slowed their running game down and forced their passing game to work hard, but didn't stop either. It was a good win against a tough opponent and I'll take it for what it was.
I stand out on a lonely island here, but I think Bradshaw scoring the touchdown there was not a blunder. I think it was absolutely the right call. I know you're giving Brady a full minute and a timeout to score a touchdown, but the point is, he has to score a touchdown. You have the points in your pocket, a fluky field goal won't win it, and all of the pressure is on them. If Bradshaw falls down on the 1 yard line, you have at least two more snaps where you could fumble it, blow the snap, miss the kick, anything... (New England takes the timeout, 2nd and goal, fall on the football, knock 40 seconds off, 3rd and goal, fall on the football, knock 10 seconds off, call timeout, fourth and goal, kick field goal, knock 5 seconds off... If nothing goes wrong, New England gets the ball with 5 or less seconds left and all they need to do is get into field goal range, which a lucky kick return might give them. Good odds for you and little that Brady can do. But that's at least two and probably three more snaps for things to go wrong. And if things can go wrong they will. See Billy Cundiff.) No, I think you take those six points, you take the four point lead, and you don't take the field goal for granted.
But that's neither here nor there. The important thing is, SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS AGAIN!!!!!
Speaking on lonely islands, I'm working my way through LOST. I'm midway through Season 2 now, and mostly I'm enjoying it. I have little interest in the island's mysteries and mythology, though. I just think it's a great set of interesting characters played by thoughtful actors and backed by good, character-driven writing. Jin and Sun are awesome. Hurley is fantastic when they give him a moment. He plays well off Jack, off Charlie, off Rose, off Jin, off anybody. Boone and Locke was a fascinatingly prickly relationship and I'm even growing on Kate/Jack/Sawyer. Sayyid's tortured strength is wonderful. Michael and Walt. Ana-Lucia and Mr. Eko. ROSE AND BERNARD. Adorable Charlie and Claire. So many great, difficult friendships. It really is like Fringe at its finest, a complex SF serial that isn't about the ideas as much as it's about the people.
In any case, 100 out of 100 times, the Giants have beaten the Patriots in the Super Bowl. And it was fucking awesome. But as the Welker drop indicates, breaks had to go our way. We played well, but not dominantly. We recovered two of our own fumbles and had a third nullified by an astonishing 12 men on the field penalty. Brady was not perfect. We slowed their running game down and forced their passing game to work hard, but didn't stop either. It was a good win against a tough opponent and I'll take it for what it was.
I stand out on a lonely island here, but I think Bradshaw scoring the touchdown there was not a blunder. I think it was absolutely the right call. I know you're giving Brady a full minute and a timeout to score a touchdown, but the point is, he has to score a touchdown. You have the points in your pocket, a fluky field goal won't win it, and all of the pressure is on them. If Bradshaw falls down on the 1 yard line, you have at least two more snaps where you could fumble it, blow the snap, miss the kick, anything... (New England takes the timeout, 2nd and goal, fall on the football, knock 40 seconds off, 3rd and goal, fall on the football, knock 10 seconds off, call timeout, fourth and goal, kick field goal, knock 5 seconds off... If nothing goes wrong, New England gets the ball with 5 or less seconds left and all they need to do is get into field goal range, which a lucky kick return might give them. Good odds for you and little that Brady can do. But that's at least two and probably three more snaps for things to go wrong. And if things can go wrong they will. See Billy Cundiff.) No, I think you take those six points, you take the four point lead, and you don't take the field goal for granted.
But that's neither here nor there. The important thing is, SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS AGAIN!!!!!
Speaking on lonely islands, I'm working my way through LOST. I'm midway through Season 2 now, and mostly I'm enjoying it. I have little interest in the island's mysteries and mythology, though. I just think it's a great set of interesting characters played by thoughtful actors and backed by good, character-driven writing. Jin and Sun are awesome. Hurley is fantastic when they give him a moment. He plays well off Jack, off Charlie, off Rose, off Jin, off anybody. Boone and Locke was a fascinatingly prickly relationship and I'm even growing on Kate/Jack/Sawyer. Sayyid's tortured strength is wonderful. Michael and Walt. Ana-Lucia and Mr. Eko. ROSE AND BERNARD. Adorable Charlie and Claire. So many great, difficult friendships. It really is like Fringe at its finest, a complex SF serial that isn't about the ideas as much as it's about the people.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-06 07:25 pm (UTC)I don't claim to be an expert in football, but I'd agree that not scoring that touchdown was the worse idea, not least because in the end it worked out. It was a good game, though.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-06 07:34 pm (UTC)We do not live in a perfect world. You take the points when they come to you and try not to outthink yourself. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins, not the team that executed the cleverest, most elegant strategy.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-07 05:50 am (UTC)Sawyer really grew on me over the course of the show. Jack and Kate, not so much. :-\
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-07 03:16 pm (UTC)I like it best when it's just the three of them fighting, though. When they drag others into it those other people get hurt for real. (See: Sayid and the asthma medicine)