Letting the Air Out of Seattle

At the end of the day, regardless of our opinion on anything, the 2014 New England Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX and Tom Brady/Bill Belichik cemented themselves in the history of the league. What DeflateGate means on that legacy, whether or not Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time, Pete Carroll's blown call and where this Super Bowl ranks for me are all answered here! I also have an opinion on The Bachelor, just a head's up.

You know that feeling after a movie where you feel a little bit exhausted, especially after watching a great film? It is a long commitment, there are a lot of twists and turns and surprises, you need to emotionally and mentally invest yourself in the movie to get everything out of it. Along the way, you depict everything that happens from the plot to what actor was in what other movie to who burnt the popcorn. Once its over, you feel accomplished and you have a lot to say about the entire thing. Thats how I always feel after the Super Bowl, the official end to an NFL season. 2014 was exhausting for me and I'm just a fan. It was like watching Scarface, the entire Bourne series and Gran Torino all at once. From Roger Goodell showing us all that he is a greedy con artist who can't actually run an entire sports league, let alone the most popular and largest sports entity in the world, to parity in the NFC South. From the surprising return to dominance from the Dallas Cowboys and the eye popping first half from DeMarco Murray to the continued lackluster product put on the field by the Oakland Raiders, and even all of the coaching changes on Black Monday, this NFL season was one of the greatest in recent memory. And Super Bowl XLIX was the perfect way to cap it off. Controversy, excitement and tension. Those might be the three best words to describe the Super Bowl the 2014 NFL season and it might be the worst way to describe Divergent. My wife and I (just got married a month ago, so its still really cool to say wife! Someone show me this sentence in seventy years when we're in a Dodge commercial and we forget who each other is.) have the free HBO since we signed up for Xfinity, and a couple of the HBO subsidiaries like HBOZone only show really crappy movies (like Divergent). Its really incredible. There is no end to the sheer awfulness. 

Anyway, I have a lot to say about a lot of things. I'm The Rock with the mic on an old school episode of Smackdown tonight. Shoot, I could even catch you up on my opinion of the WWE right now. Do we have time (my producer shook his head "no".)? Perfect!

The WWE could not have made me any less interested in this year's WrestleMania  by the way they handled Brock Lesnar since Summer Slam. I'm sorry, but if you have Lesnar defeat The Undertake and end The Streak, following it up by having him win the WWE Championship is a perfectly sensible next step. Having him wrestle about as often as myself or the Honky Tonk Man from then on out is a slap in the face of every wrestling fan across the globe. Granted, most of them aren't old enough to remember when Justin Timberlake introduced us to NippleGate, the fans still deserve quality product. Most of the pay-per-views since Lesnar won the title have been produced without Lesnar, an occurrence that in the golden age of wrestling would have broken an important rule. The WWE champion was required to defend his belt at least once every thirty days. I don't think Lesnar has defended his title (excluding Royal Rumble) since Hilary Duff was a thing. So why should we care if they don't? There isn't a real competitor and they clearly only want subscribers to the Network right now, so why should anyone genuinely care about what goes on in the wrestling world anymore? Oh, because of Sting? Yeah, I really can't wait to watch a guy who is probably bankrupt so he finally caved into his values and joined the WWE dictatorship and whom is also so old that he won't be able to move in the ring without taking seventeen breaks to hold onto the ropes or fall into a submission. That will be AWESOME!

Moving on.

Is Tom Brady now the greatest quarterback of all-time?
The quick answer is no, not yet. Although I was very tempted to declare that, I still can't take the torch from Joe Montana. The league is very different today than it was when Montana played, which might not be fair to hold against Brady, but I am. Montana set his records in a time where it was harder to play offense. The league and its rules favor quarterbacks in today's game, so if we're comparing stats, it really is like comparing apples and Conan O'Briens between Montana's and Brady's. Did you know Ryan Tannehill passed for over 4,000 yards this season? Joe Montana never passed for 4,000 yards even once in his career. The most touchdowns Montana ever threw in a season was 31, which led the league in 1987. Andrew Luck led the league in 2014 with 40, and Jay Cutler threw 28 of them. Cutler also looked a moron for 26 of those. So, stats are tough to use right now in cementing who is the greatest quarterback ever because the league favors passing right now. So, we'll cut to winning. Postseason wins aren't as impressive for Brady because so many more postseason games are played now every year. But, the argument for Montana that I'm hearing a lot of is that he was 4-0 in Super Bowls, Brady is 4-2. How is that an argument for Montana? That is ludicrous to me, that is such an obvious favor in Brady for anyone with even a hint of common sense to figure out. I don't care that Montana never lost a Super Bowl, he made two less than Brady which means he lost two times in championship games when Brady would have won. Saying 4-0 is more impressive then 4-2 is stating that Tom Brady would have been better off losing those AFC Championship games in 2007 and 2010. 4-2 is in favor of Brady. However, at the end of the day, when I'm trying to decide who the best quarterback is in the history of the NFL, the most important position in the sport, I can't give it to Brady yet when he is this neck and neck with a class act like Montana. I despise Brady's character, I hate watching him play and complain like a little bitch after he is hit and just overall act like a douchebag. I don't want to link him to Spygate because I don't know that he totally had anything to do with it. I don't blame him for Deflategate because I don't think it genuinely changed anything in history and again, I don't know that his role in it was too major. But, Brady acts with much less character and reverence than Joe Montana ever did, and for that, I give the torch to the 49ers great still. However, one more championship for Brady at his age, and I'd have no choice but to pass it. 

What I will say is how impressive Brady's career has been in terms of talent around him. Brady has done more with less than anyone ever has dreamt of. He has won championships with guys like Julian Edelman, Troy Brown and Bethel Johnson catching balls. He has never had a dominant running back. His defenses have always been talented and impressive, but never dominant. Brady has won rings off sheer leadership and resilience and that will always be something I can't knock him for.

Does DeflateGate leave a bad aura over this championship?
Absolutely not but it unfortunately will because of the media. The Seahawks have had more PED suspensions over the year than a BALCO warehouse. Not a single analyst has mentioned that because people love to overreact and hate America's Mount Rushmore of villains: The Yankees, Cowboys, Patriots and Lakers. Deflating footballs two Psi has not led the Patriots to continued success over the years, and it certainly had nothing to do with them beating the Colts in the Championship game. Anyone who thinks otherwise has never thrown a football. As far as competitive edges go, DeflateGate should not have any impact on the conversations about the Patriots fame and legacy. They earned their place in history through excellent coaching, developing talent and keeping a Hall of Fame quarterback and coach combo together. That starts at the top and runs through an organization, not through deflating footballs. However, if they have knowingly done that even once, I immediately lose my respect for their character, not that I have much as it is. Cheating, even in a small sense of the word, is disgusting. Slipping a five dollar bill from the bank in Monopoly is not as bad as pocketing a player's five hundred dollar bill, but it is still cheating and unlikeable. That's how I feel about DeflateGate. Knowingly bending the rules is not cool.

Where does Seattle go from here and was that the worst call in history?
Look, my dad thinks Pete Carroll was covering for someone else when he took the blame for the call. I don't think that matters plus my dad thinks everything in sports is a conspiracy, he really does deserve his own show. I think he blames Chris Berman for the Phillies losing the World Series in 2009 somehow. Anyway, that call was bad and wrong but not unforgivable. I can see the thought process. The defense lines up in man coverage and everyone is obviously thinking you are running it down the middle with Marshawn Lynch. Why not take a chance to beat a beatable Patriots secondary that is thin on the coverage and not particularly terrifying as it is? Again, everyone is expecting a run play. I can see the call to pass. I don't know that is a chance I would have taken, with the stakes, and a slant is dangerous because too much is going on in one area of the field and a turnover is too possible. If I was calling a pass play, I would have made sure I was passing somewhere where it is catchable for my guy and my guy only. Second, Butler made an incredible play and we need to give him credit for that. It wasn't an awful pass though it was a little overthrown but that is picking straws. Butler made an absolutely amazing play and let's give the defensive back some credit! From Glowacki Island to your living rooms, long live the d-backs!!

Seattle doesn't need to do anything. Seattle is already Vegas favorites to win the Super Bowl in 2015, so there's that. But aside from that, the Seahawks have built a culture of winning and have loaded talent on both sides of the ball. Could they sure up that depth at secondary? Sure. Could they draft another pass rusher? Absolutely. Could Russell Wilson improve some more to make the leep to elite? You bet. But this team is probably still the best on paper in the league, so they need to be sure to shake this crushing and heartbreaking loss off in the offseason and pick up where they left off. 

Here are some quick Q&A's for me, myself and I to lead us into the sunset...

Was this the best Super Bowl ever?
For me, the Super Bowl championship for my beloved Ravens will always be my favorite. In terms of excitement from an unbiased fan, even though I missed the game because of work, it seems as though this one would have taken the cake. I'm not old enough to remember watching a game before the Brett Favre titles, and some of them were incredibly close and exciting. In my lifetime, the Patriots-Eagles, Steelers-Cardinals and the 2007 Patriots-Giants Super Bowls were all fantastic. So its tough to call this one the greatest ever, especially since I'm going off highlights.

Is Bill Belichik the greatest coach of all-time? 
No, because of questionable morals and Spygate, but also because guys like Don Shula, Vince Lombardi and Chuck Noll just always will be better. Forever.

Is The Bachelor a quality show?
Surprisingly, yes. It kept me entertained for two hours last night as much as I hate to admit it. It got me revved up, it has drama and some funny moments and it kept me invested. I wouldn't really call it quality though. Man, does Ashley I piss me off!!

Who is the Super Bowl matchup favorite for next season?
I hate to sound like a homer even though I always do anyway, but I'm seriously going with Baltimore-Green Bay. I think the Packers have to get back at least once before Aaron Rodgers gets too old and I think when the Ravens play team football, they are the best in the AFC. I'll wait so you all can throw up before I move on.

Who is your pick for the NBA Finals right now?
I'm not sold on a lot of hot teams. I don't believe in the Hawks until they prove me wrong in the playoffs for more than a couple games. I don't believe in the Raptors for the same reason, although shit, someone has to come out of the Eastern Conference. If Rondo comes back healthy, I like the Mavericks a lot until Nowitzki breaks down in the Conference Finals. At the end of the day, right now I think it is going to be a Chicago-Memphis Finals that would have had David Stern finishing a bottle of 1800 Tequila every single night in June if he were still Commissioner. Of course, that depends on the Cavs never putting it together in the postseason and Kyrie and Love completely falling apart. I mean, there is no one in LeBron's way in the East except for his own teammates.

All right guys! Thanks for reading and look for my 2015 MLB preview to start up, though it might not ever happen because I just rejoined the gym and will be spending time there, though that might not ever happen because I'm lazy.

Your guess is as good as mine!