What a game! Super Bowl 52 was the most exciting game, start to finish, that I’ve ever seen, and I’ve watched all of them. I thought the Eagles would give the Patriots a good game, but expected Tom Brady to pull it out in the fourth quarter and lead the Pats to their sixth Lombardi Trophy. Rocky himself would have been proud of the effort the guys from Philadelphia put forth. It was one for the ages.
• I loved Eagles’ coach Doug Pederson’s go for broke approach in the game. He wasn’t going to look back and wonder “what if”. His fourth down call on the one yard line where the Eagles called the trick play that resulted in quarterback Nick Foles’ catching a touchdown catch was one of the greatest calls in Super Bowl history. What a call, and what an approach from a guy who was coaching in high school just a decade ago.
• Hats off to Nick Foles, the latest backup quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl championship. Foles was brilliant in the playoffs, but even better in the big game. And to think the young man nearly gave up football two years ago.
• Las Vegas has already installed the Patriots as the favorites to win the Super Bowl next year. They may do that, but the team you see later this year will be very different from the one you saw this year. New England will have two new coordinators on the coaching staff. The Patriots will also need to retool the team’s defense. I’d hate to be around the always jovial Bill Belichick this off-season.
• Former Steelers Alan Faneca didn’t make it to the Hall of Fame on his third try. I still think Faneca will make it at some point, but he may have to wait a few years. I was happy to see former Packer Jerry Kramer finally get in. Now it’s time for the Veteran’s Committee to consider former Steelers LC Greenwood and Donnie Shell. Both should have been in Canton years ago.
• The Penguins have really been coming on as of late. They’re finally racking up the points and are starting to look like a team that has a chance to make a long playoff run again. If the Penguins are going to have a chance to win a third straight Stanley Cup they need to keep winning, because many teams still battling for playoff spots have played less games than the Pens and can overtake them. The Pens’ margin for error is very small. Win and they’re in. Lose and they could be watching the playoffs from the golf course.
• Tuesday night will be crazy at PPG Paints Arena. Marc Andre-Fleury and the surprising Vegas Golden Knights come to town. Ticket prices on the secondary market are ridiculous. Fleury will get a hero’s welcome when he takes the ice, and well he should. It will be a fun game to watch.
