Most overrated games/performances

[biggie.]

What are games or individual performances in a game that receive too much praise?

I get the importance of Super Bowl III, but it DID NOT immediately lead to the AFL/NFL merger (the following SB did and MIN was favored by nearly as much as BAL was) and the game itself was largely complete domination by the Jets (I cannot believe I just said that). Joe Namath won MVP without scoring a single touchdown.

Edited October 3, 2021 by biggie.

[BigTrav]

Tom Brady in some superbowls. Namely the Falcons one and the Rams (latest) one. 

Falcons one seemed to be James White going crazy, a great play from Hightower and a miraculous bit of luck involving Edelman. 

The Rams one, tbf not many rate it do they....might have to scratch that one

[biggie.]

21 minutes ago, BigTrav said:

Tom Brady in some superbowls. Namely the Falcons one and the Rams (latest) one. 

Falcons one seemed to be James White going crazy, a great play from Hightower and a miraculous bit of luck involving Edelman. 

The Rams one, tbf not many rate it do they....might have to scratch that one

I will always maintain the notion that NE/ SEA was the better SB.

[Mox]

Mahomes Super Bowl MVP

[Daniel]

23 hours ago, biggie. said:

What are games or individual performances in a game that receive too much praise?

Most QBs.

[43M]

3 hours ago, biggie. said:

I will always maintain the notion that NE/ SEA was the better SB.

It was definitely more competitive.

Pats/Falcons was more memorable because of the comeback/collapse.

[Awsi Dooger]

On 9/30/2021 at 11:29 AM, biggie. said:

What are games or individual performances in a game that receive too much praise?

I get the importance of Super Bowl III, but it DID NOT immediately lead to the AFL/NFL merger and the game itself was largely complete domination by the Jets (I cannot believe I just said that). Joe Namath won MVP without scoring a single touchdown.

I attended the game as a kid. It was anything but complete domination. The key plays all went in the Jets favor, especially early when Baltimore was controlling the game. That's what made the game so compelling, that everyone assumed once Baltimore shook off the cobwebs and early mistakes they would reassert and surge into the lead. It never happened, largely due to Namath's mastery and talented players all over the field.

I was very young but that game was immediate evidence that you need a smart guy at quarterback. I'll never forget Namath slowing things down when needed, and obviously setting up certain plays like the deep ball to Sauer. Colts defenders became increasingly frustrated and it was blatantly obvious via their body language, which corresponded to body language from all the Colts fans seated alongside us. Namath relied on the running game, which I appreciated at the time and even moreso later, once I realized an idiot like Marino would have tried to sling it all over the field. 

We were seated in the lower bowl closed west end zone. That's where all the early crucial plays occurred. Tom Matte immediately broke off a very long run, like 50 or 60 yards. We were seated amidst Colts fans from the Baltimore Colts Corral. They were incredibly arrogant and chirpy prior to the game. That long run convinced them it would be a rout. They were laughing at the Jets and the AFL. Younger fans should not downplay that aspect. They were literally laughing. Loudly. If there had been message boards and social media at the time, it would have been the same thing.

Lou Michaels missed a short field goal on that possession. He was shocked. The crowd was shocked. It seemed like a blip. The Colts drove deep again. Earl Morrall threw a bullet to the goal line that ricocheted off a shoulder pad and high into the air. Johnny Sample made a diving interception. I don't need to look this stuff up. It happened smack in front of me and remains fresh in memory. That's how historically significant that game was. I attended all the great  home games during the Dolphins' early '70s glory era. None of them are as clear and memorable as Super Bowl III. I fully realized what I was witnessing.

I've mentioned here previously that I had a perfect view of the most critical play of that game. Just before halftime the Colts trailed 7-0 and were near midfield. They ran a flea flicker and Jimmy Orr broke wide open down the left sideline. Everyone near me gasped. I'll always hear those gasps. Orr was waving his hand for the ball. I've seen the televised version. It doesn't begin to resemble how dramatic that looked in person. Orr was all by himself and waving for the ball. Everything was so incredibly colorful. It was like the halftime atmosphere had begun already.

Then somehow Morrall never looked in Orr's direction. We were so stunned when he inexplicably shifted shoulders to the right and fired deep toward centerfield goal line, where Randy Beverly cut in front for a pick. Then we spent halftime discussing that play and how the heck Morrall missed Orr.

That's the one regret I have from that day a little bit. I don't have full memories of the halftime show. I remember being disappointed they didn't have the two huge replica players snorting at each other, like the year before with Packers/Raiders. I assumed they would do that every year. I remember there was some sort of halftime display devoted to the recent presidential election. Floats and stuff. They would never do that these days but it happened at the time. There was even a depiction of the third party result. My dad booed like heck when George Wallace was named. More than anything I was struck by the fact that the Super Bowl halftime show wasn't nearly as impressive as the Orange Bowl halftime show. Those were legendary in that era. We had attended the Orange Bowl as a family less than two weeks earlier. 

BTW, that Orange Bowl was a fantastic game and incredibly controversial at the time, but is seldom mentioned now. Kansas and John Riggins controlled most of the game. They missed opportunities to put it away. Favored Penn State scored in the final seconds and decided to go for 2 and the win. College football was so superior prior to overtime. Penn State failed on a pass.  Kansas stormed the field to celebrate. We were celebrating. Everyone in my family and also the nearby fans were rooting for Kansas. Then somehow there was a penalty, even though nobody had seen anything obvious.

Too many men on the field. Unbelievable. It was the first time I had seen that call in a meaningful situation. Penn State took advantage by jamming it in for the win. We left the stadium amidst Jayhawk fans in loud sustained anger. It was probably a legit call. It didn't feel that was inside the venue.

[bigbadbuff]

8 hours ago, 43M said:

It was definitely more competitive.

Pats/Falcons was more memorable because of the comeback/collapse.

I still cannot believe that the Falcons lost that game. Absolutely incredible

[wackywabbit]

Eli Manning. 

Especially the first SB.

[SkippyX]

On 9/30/2021 at 10:29 AM, biggie. said:

What are games or individual performances in a game that receive too much praise?

I get the importance of Super Bowl III, but it DID NOT immediately lead to the AFL/NFL merger and the game itself was largely complete domination by the Jets (I cannot believe I just said that). Joe Namath won MVP without scoring a single touchdown.

Matt Snell was MVP of SB III

Namath won a big mouth popularity contest.

 

Peyton Manning was not MVP of SB XLI (again, popularity contest)

Rhodes/Addai, the O-line, and Kelvin Hayden were all bigger impact in that game.

[SkippyX]

Brady vs the Falcons was the single greatest performance of a football player in history on the absolute biggest stage.

All comparisons to this are Jim Kelly / Neil O'Donnell level humiliations.

This was a 25 point comeback. There have only been four 10+ point comebacks in SB history

• Brady, Brady, Mahomes, and Doug Williams down 10-0 in the 2nd quarter.

At 28-3 onward  Brady was 26-33 for 299 yards and 2 TDs (when the D knew they had to pass on almost every down)

• 37 drop backs to 9 runs from 28-3 onward

That's a 124.6 rating in a comeback from down 25 points in the Super Bowl.

He also ran for 15 yards on a 3rd and 8. (that's 4 less rushing yards than White in the comeback)

 

James White ran 4 times for 19 yards and he caught 10 passes for 55 yards in the comeback. (314 yards >>> 74 yards)

• Blount and Lewis combined to run 5 times for 22 yards in the comeback.
• Malcolm Mitchell had 5 catches for 62 yards in the comeback.
• Amendola had 5 catches for 53 yards in the comeback.

A very few people are obsessed about the 2 yard, 1 yard, and 5 yard TDs (and the direct snap conversion) as if they were spectacular MVP plays.

Good for James White. He's a hero in New England forever. He was for sure the 2nd most valuable Patriot in that game. He's no Tom Brady.

 

Thinking James White was better in that game is a Zero Kelvin Cold Take.

Its Kendrick Perkins (Giannis is Robin) level bad.

 

Edited October 2, 2021 by SkippyX

[iknowcool]

The Mitch Trubisky 6 TD game.

[biggie.]

On 10/1/2021 at 9:03 PM, wackywabbit said:

Eli Manning. 

Especially the first SB.

People forget how BRUTAL he was prior to the fourth quarter.

Edited October 3, 2021 by biggie.

[malak1]

Browns defense Week 3, 2021. 

They had a good game but Matt Nagy did more for Miles Garrett than anyone else.

[Dan_Bali]

Eli Manning is a disgrace to American Jewry