iheartskins
February-3rd-2005, 09:14 AM
From today's Wall Street Journal
A Viewer's Guide
To the Super Bowl
As Americans Hit the Couches,
Here Are Three Crib Sheets
For Novices, Fans, Fanatics
By JANE SPENCER and REED ALBERGOTTI
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
February 3, 2005
True or False: This will be Peyton Manning's first Super Bowl appearance with the New England Patriots.
What player plans to defy his doctor's orders and play in Sunday's game?
What is a zone blitz?
As the nation heats up the cheese dip for Super Bowl Sunday, these are the questions that separate the diehards from the clueless onlookers. The game, which airs on Fox with kickoff at 6:30 p.m. EST, is the melting pot of American sports, bringing together stat-obsessed fanatics with people who think Tom Brady falls somewhere between Greg and Cindy.
So we've devised a three-tiered viewers' guide to help fans of all levels follow the game. If you answered "true" to question one above (it's a trick question; Peyton Manning plays for the Indianapolis Colts), you are in serious need of our beginner's guide. It provides some talking points about the players and critical basics (the Philadelphia Eagles are the ones in green; the Patriots wear blue, white and red).
If you got that one right, but didn't pick Terrell Owens as the answer to the second question, head directly to Level 2. It explains what makes these two teams better than others and highlights match-ups to look for on Sunday. Don't be surprised, for example, to see Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown lining up on defense.
Those who doodle X's and O's on a clipboard during work meetings should skip right to Level 3, which gets into more complex strategy, from the zone blitz to the "spy" who is likely to be shadowing Donovan McNabb.
Level I
For the Philadelphia Eagles and their raucous fans, Super Bowl XXXIX is the most exciting thing to happen to the city since the Declaration of Independence. The Eagles have never won the Super Bowl, and this is the first time the team has even made it to the final game in 24 years. In the stands, you'll see a lot of hair dyed green to match the team color.
For their opponents, the New England Patriots, a trip to the Super Bowl is becoming routine. Widely considered the best team in the NFL, the Pats have made it to the Super Bowl three out of the past four years. If they win this game, which is being played in Jacksonville, Fla., they'll join the Dallas Cowboys as the only other team in football history to win three Super Bowls in four years. New England fans are already talking dynasty.
But you won't hear the Patriots talking about their looming stardom. The Pats are known for their low-key, business-like approach, which has been drilled into them by their sweatshirt-clad coach.
Talent is spread evenly around the field, and the Pats' only real star with any kind of off-field public persona is hunky, dimpled quarterback Tom Brady. (He dates actress Bridget Moynahan and sat with Laura Bush at last year's State of the Union address.) Brady knows how to win: He consistently performs at a high level in big games while keeping mistakes to a minimum.
The Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb has more to prove. Until this year, McNabb had lost three straight NFC title games. That has raised questions about his ability to play under the pressure of the biggest games. Last year, Rush Limbaugh was forced to resign as an ESPN commentator after naming McNabb while claiming black quarterbacks were overrated by the media.
Compared to the stoic Patriots, the Eagles have plenty of boisterous players. Much of the pregame chatter has been about trash-talking receiver Terrell Owens, known as T.O. (He's the guy who launched the NFL's "towelgate" scandal, after Nicollette Sheridan jumped into his arms as part of a racy "Desperate Housewives" teaser on Monday Night Football.) Just six weeks ago, Owens had two screws and a plate surgically implanted in his ankle after an injury. His doctor has refused to clear him to play in Sunday's game, but Owens says he'll play anyway. Owens is known for his acrobatic catches and his end-zone antics after touchdowns.
The Eagles will also have a surprise addition to the team on Sunday: Thirty-five-year-old Jeff Thomason thought he'd retired from professional football two years ago. About two weeks ago, Thomason, who now works as a project manager for a construction company, got a call from his former team, the Eagles, asking him to suit up Sunday because of an injury to one of the regulars. He'll likely get in for about 15 plays at tight end.
While the Pats are favored to win, the underdog Eagles are especially well-equipped to pick apart the Patriots' notoriously tricky defense.
Level II
The Patriots and the Eagles didn't climb to the top of NFL just because they're good at football: They're also good at math.
Both teams are masters of "capology," the art of keeping their payrolls under the NFL-imposed cap on spending without sacrificing football talent. Patriots coach Bill Belichick is a Wesleyan economics major who takes an academic approach to football. The teams draft athletic but underappreciated players for not a lot of money, and then let them become free agents when they start demanding high salaries. Even some of their stars are paid less than similar players on other teams. The total value of Brady's current contract, for example, is widely reported to be about $30 million -- less than the signing bonus that Peyton Manning is reported to have received from the Colts last summer.
Because of their winning records, these teams are able to get even top players to take a pay cut. When playing for Cincinnati last year, the veteran runningback Corey Dillon was considered a pricey player with attitude. The Patriots offered him a chance to join the defending Super Bowl champs at a lower salary. Dillon agreed, and had his best season this year, rushing for 1,635 yards.
Both franchises also are known for teams that are unusually cohesive and flexible. In the Patriots' case, this means players are cross-trained in multiple positions so that when there are injuries -- which is the quickest way for a team to start losing games -- they have a more versatile pool of substitutes. This year, the Patriots had as many as five starters out of the lineup, and still wound up losing only two games all season. In one extreme example of the Patriots' cross training, Brown, a wide receiver, spent the latter half of the year filling in on defense.
The reemergence of T.O. is another big X-factor. It will be clear from his first route or two whether he'll be able to run them with his trademark precision, or is functioning more as a decoy. In that case, look for an unusual sight: single coverage on one of the league's most-dangerous receivers.
One key marker to watch: who scores first. The team that scores first has won 26 of the 38 Super Bowls.
Level III
Both teams deploy a punishing, complex defense. New England's 3-4 defense (three down linemen and four linebackers, instead of the more conventional 4-3 alignment) gives its players the ability to set up in multiple formations and blitz the quarterback from almost every possible angle.
That will test McNabb, who will be kept busy by New England's swarming trio of linebackers, Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel. They will try to trick McNabb by, say, coming up to line and showing blitz, then sprinting into the backfield once the ball is snapped and playing coverage, or showing coverage and then blitzing. New England will likely assign McNabb a "spy" -- most likely Bruschi -- to keep him from using his unusual speed and elusiveness to run with the ball when they expect him to pass.
Though the Eagles use the more conventional 4-3 setup, their defense can be just as confusing. The Eagles employ a bewildering array of blitz options, and keep their opponents off guard by constantly adding new variations. One piece of evidence that it's been effective: their 47 sacks this season have come from 17 different players. The Eagles are likely to come out Sunday with types of blitzes they've never run in a game before.
And both teams may deploy what's known as the zone blitz. That's when a team sends one or more of its defensive backs after the quarterback, while dropping off linebackers and sometimes even linemen to help with the pass defense. Rodney Harrison, who has anchored the Patriots secondary for much of the year, has three quarterback sacks this year.
The Patriots are likely to focus heavily on stopping defensive lineman Jevon Kearse, nicknamed "the freak" for his super-human athleticism. The Eagles hope the Patriots will be forced to double-team him, which would give tackle Derrick Burgess a better chance to torment Brady.
For his part, Brady will try to keep Philly's aggressive defense at bay with quick passes to a wide array of receivers. Brady is quick to adjust to unexpected defensive alignments at the line of scrimmage. In what is called a "check with me," quarterbacks like Brady and McNabb come to the line with two different play options, quickly size up the shifting defense, and then shout out an "audible." Watch for this chess match to play out between Brady and Eagles Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins.
Also, expect to see McNabb try to exploit his running ability. He'll probably call his own number about 10 times on Sunday, says Pat Kirwan, an ex-coach and now NFL.com analyst.
Source: WSJ (http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110738681511044258,00.html)
A Viewer's Guide
To the Super Bowl
As Americans Hit the Couches,
Here Are Three Crib Sheets
For Novices, Fans, Fanatics
By JANE SPENCER and REED ALBERGOTTI
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
February 3, 2005
True or False: This will be Peyton Manning's first Super Bowl appearance with the New England Patriots.
What player plans to defy his doctor's orders and play in Sunday's game?
What is a zone blitz?
As the nation heats up the cheese dip for Super Bowl Sunday, these are the questions that separate the diehards from the clueless onlookers. The game, which airs on Fox with kickoff at 6:30 p.m. EST, is the melting pot of American sports, bringing together stat-obsessed fanatics with people who think Tom Brady falls somewhere between Greg and Cindy.
So we've devised a three-tiered viewers' guide to help fans of all levels follow the game. If you answered "true" to question one above (it's a trick question; Peyton Manning plays for the Indianapolis Colts), you are in serious need of our beginner's guide. It provides some talking points about the players and critical basics (the Philadelphia Eagles are the ones in green; the Patriots wear blue, white and red).
If you got that one right, but didn't pick Terrell Owens as the answer to the second question, head directly to Level 2. It explains what makes these two teams better than others and highlights match-ups to look for on Sunday. Don't be surprised, for example, to see Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown lining up on defense.
Those who doodle X's and O's on a clipboard during work meetings should skip right to Level 3, which gets into more complex strategy, from the zone blitz to the "spy" who is likely to be shadowing Donovan McNabb.
Level I
For the Philadelphia Eagles and their raucous fans, Super Bowl XXXIX is the most exciting thing to happen to the city since the Declaration of Independence. The Eagles have never won the Super Bowl, and this is the first time the team has even made it to the final game in 24 years. In the stands, you'll see a lot of hair dyed green to match the team color.
For their opponents, the New England Patriots, a trip to the Super Bowl is becoming routine. Widely considered the best team in the NFL, the Pats have made it to the Super Bowl three out of the past four years. If they win this game, which is being played in Jacksonville, Fla., they'll join the Dallas Cowboys as the only other team in football history to win three Super Bowls in four years. New England fans are already talking dynasty.
But you won't hear the Patriots talking about their looming stardom. The Pats are known for their low-key, business-like approach, which has been drilled into them by their sweatshirt-clad coach.
Talent is spread evenly around the field, and the Pats' only real star with any kind of off-field public persona is hunky, dimpled quarterback Tom Brady. (He dates actress Bridget Moynahan and sat with Laura Bush at last year's State of the Union address.) Brady knows how to win: He consistently performs at a high level in big games while keeping mistakes to a minimum.
The Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb has more to prove. Until this year, McNabb had lost three straight NFC title games. That has raised questions about his ability to play under the pressure of the biggest games. Last year, Rush Limbaugh was forced to resign as an ESPN commentator after naming McNabb while claiming black quarterbacks were overrated by the media.
Compared to the stoic Patriots, the Eagles have plenty of boisterous players. Much of the pregame chatter has been about trash-talking receiver Terrell Owens, known as T.O. (He's the guy who launched the NFL's "towelgate" scandal, after Nicollette Sheridan jumped into his arms as part of a racy "Desperate Housewives" teaser on Monday Night Football.) Just six weeks ago, Owens had two screws and a plate surgically implanted in his ankle after an injury. His doctor has refused to clear him to play in Sunday's game, but Owens says he'll play anyway. Owens is known for his acrobatic catches and his end-zone antics after touchdowns.
The Eagles will also have a surprise addition to the team on Sunday: Thirty-five-year-old Jeff Thomason thought he'd retired from professional football two years ago. About two weeks ago, Thomason, who now works as a project manager for a construction company, got a call from his former team, the Eagles, asking him to suit up Sunday because of an injury to one of the regulars. He'll likely get in for about 15 plays at tight end.
While the Pats are favored to win, the underdog Eagles are especially well-equipped to pick apart the Patriots' notoriously tricky defense.
Level II
The Patriots and the Eagles didn't climb to the top of NFL just because they're good at football: They're also good at math.
Both teams are masters of "capology," the art of keeping their payrolls under the NFL-imposed cap on spending without sacrificing football talent. Patriots coach Bill Belichick is a Wesleyan economics major who takes an academic approach to football. The teams draft athletic but underappreciated players for not a lot of money, and then let them become free agents when they start demanding high salaries. Even some of their stars are paid less than similar players on other teams. The total value of Brady's current contract, for example, is widely reported to be about $30 million -- less than the signing bonus that Peyton Manning is reported to have received from the Colts last summer.
Because of their winning records, these teams are able to get even top players to take a pay cut. When playing for Cincinnati last year, the veteran runningback Corey Dillon was considered a pricey player with attitude. The Patriots offered him a chance to join the defending Super Bowl champs at a lower salary. Dillon agreed, and had his best season this year, rushing for 1,635 yards.
Both franchises also are known for teams that are unusually cohesive and flexible. In the Patriots' case, this means players are cross-trained in multiple positions so that when there are injuries -- which is the quickest way for a team to start losing games -- they have a more versatile pool of substitutes. This year, the Patriots had as many as five starters out of the lineup, and still wound up losing only two games all season. In one extreme example of the Patriots' cross training, Brown, a wide receiver, spent the latter half of the year filling in on defense.
The reemergence of T.O. is another big X-factor. It will be clear from his first route or two whether he'll be able to run them with his trademark precision, or is functioning more as a decoy. In that case, look for an unusual sight: single coverage on one of the league's most-dangerous receivers.
One key marker to watch: who scores first. The team that scores first has won 26 of the 38 Super Bowls.
Level III
Both teams deploy a punishing, complex defense. New England's 3-4 defense (three down linemen and four linebackers, instead of the more conventional 4-3 alignment) gives its players the ability to set up in multiple formations and blitz the quarterback from almost every possible angle.
That will test McNabb, who will be kept busy by New England's swarming trio of linebackers, Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel. They will try to trick McNabb by, say, coming up to line and showing blitz, then sprinting into the backfield once the ball is snapped and playing coverage, or showing coverage and then blitzing. New England will likely assign McNabb a "spy" -- most likely Bruschi -- to keep him from using his unusual speed and elusiveness to run with the ball when they expect him to pass.
Though the Eagles use the more conventional 4-3 setup, their defense can be just as confusing. The Eagles employ a bewildering array of blitz options, and keep their opponents off guard by constantly adding new variations. One piece of evidence that it's been effective: their 47 sacks this season have come from 17 different players. The Eagles are likely to come out Sunday with types of blitzes they've never run in a game before.
And both teams may deploy what's known as the zone blitz. That's when a team sends one or more of its defensive backs after the quarterback, while dropping off linebackers and sometimes even linemen to help with the pass defense. Rodney Harrison, who has anchored the Patriots secondary for much of the year, has three quarterback sacks this year.
The Patriots are likely to focus heavily on stopping defensive lineman Jevon Kearse, nicknamed "the freak" for his super-human athleticism. The Eagles hope the Patriots will be forced to double-team him, which would give tackle Derrick Burgess a better chance to torment Brady.
For his part, Brady will try to keep Philly's aggressive defense at bay with quick passes to a wide array of receivers. Brady is quick to adjust to unexpected defensive alignments at the line of scrimmage. In what is called a "check with me," quarterbacks like Brady and McNabb come to the line with two different play options, quickly size up the shifting defense, and then shout out an "audible." Watch for this chess match to play out between Brady and Eagles Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins.
Also, expect to see McNabb try to exploit his running ability. He'll probably call his own number about 10 times on Sunday, says Pat Kirwan, an ex-coach and now NFL.com analyst.
Source: WSJ (http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110738681511044258,00.html)