What were the odds...

[kenyan_cheena]

...that the first score in the Superbowl would be a safety?

Has that ever happened before?

[MorseMoose]

I saw 80:1.

[Le Grande Orange]

Wow. They actually called intentional grounding on that? I have seen that same sort of play in many other games and it was never flagged.

[Cooleyvol]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

Wow. They actually called intentional grounding on that? I have seen that same sort of play in many other games and it was never flagged.

Not out of the end zone with no one within 20 yards of the ball.

[kenyan_cheena]

Not watching (at work), but looks like this has been an incredible game.

[ukhotstove]

Pats letting them score a TD Giants trying not to score a TD.

[cephasjames]

NY did it again. They have NE's number.

[SWardle]

...and this August, the average NFL fan will be talking about how much Eli sucks. After they buy their Eli jersey tomorrow.

I like football but I hate NFL fans. Heh.

[damientheomen3]

I couldn't help but root for the Giants during the game, even though now people who never, ever talk about football are all of a sudden geniuses who call me a moron for being a Jets fan, etc. etc. The same people who called Eli the best QB in the NFL when the Giants win, and terrible when they lose. The rest of this school year's gonna suck.

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Not watching (at work), but looks like this has been an incredible game.

It really wasn't

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

It really wasn't

Yep, started realising that when I was reading the conversation thread on espn.com.

[damientheomen3]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

It really wasn't

Yeah, it was an interesting game but it didn't have as much excitement as the final score would make one assume.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Cooleyvol

Not out of the end zone with no one within 20 yards of the ball.

I have seen many—many—NFL games where a pass wasn't within 20 yards of a receiver and they didn't call intentional grounding. Even when the QB was being strongly pressured by the defence when he threw.

Don't me wrong—I have complained several times about how much the NFL has loosened its intentional grounding rules to make it easier for offences. I'm just surprised they actually called it this time when it hasn't been called in so many regular season games.

[rudel.dietrich]

The score would not indicate it but the NFL has turned into an arcade video game football league. The game did feature 2 top 8 QBs but they had a combined completion rate of 57-81.
Looking at the box score it looks like they ran the ball more than I seemed to think they did. But it really was a one dimensional boring game.
Only 1 turnover and only 9 penalties. This was the quickest Superbowl in memory. Thankfully.

[kenyan_cheena]

Some bad karma for the Patriots?

Just watching the game now and after the coin toss Juston Tuck offered a handshake to Devin McCoutry, and McCoutry flatout snubbed him for about three seconds before (seemingly reluctantly) slapping his hand.

???

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

...that the first score in the Superbowl would be a safety?

Has that ever happened before?

I remember two but I am not sure if they were the first score. In Super Bowl XXI the Bills got a saftey early in that game.

In Super Bowl IX the Steelers got a safety early on.

[The Chase Davis]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

The score would not indicate it but the NFL has turned into an arcade video game football league. The game did feature 2 top 8 QBs but they had a combined completion rate of 57-81.
Looking at the box score it looks like they ran the ball more than I seemed to think they did. But it really was a one dimensional boring game.
Only 1 turnover and only 9 penalties. This was the quickest Superbowl in memory. Thankfully.

Thank You.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought this game was a snoozer.

The end had a little bit of drama, but not nearly enough to make up for the rest of the game.

The 1 turnover was essentially a punt, nothing that I'd call a gamechanger.

Years from now, do you think we'll see highlights of the Giants gamewinning drive? Bradshaw falling backwards into the endzone untouched? Well yeah, but not for the reasons we should.

[damientheomen3]

Today I wore my Curtis Martin jersey to commemorate my favorite player being inducted into the Hall, and of course I had to deal with a kid in a Jacobs jersey saying "Why'd you wear that jersey? Martin's not even good." As if Jacobs is anywhere near Curtis' level. But, all in all, it was a surprisingly tame first day post Super Bowl.

[eriqjaffe]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

I have seen many—many—NFL games where a pass wasn't within 20 yards of a receiver and they didn't call intentional grounding. Even when the QB was being strongly pressured by the defence when he threw.

It's not intentional grounding if the quarterback is no longer in the pocketm but Brady was still in the pocket per the NFL's definition of it:

Applies from a point two yards outside of either offensive tackle and includes the tight end if he drops off the line of scrimmage to pass protect. Pocket extends longitudinally behind the line back to offensive team’s own end line.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by eriqjaffe

It's not intentional grounding if the quarterback is no longer in the pocket but Brady was still in the pocket per the NFL's definition of it:

See, that's just stupid. Either the QB is deliberately throwing the ball away to avoid being sacked and losing yards or he's not. The idea that being in the pocket should matter towards that is nonsense.

And I'm willing to wager you can find passes nowhere near a receiver thrown from the pocket during regular season games that were not called for intentional grounding.