They downshifted.

crazy that DQ has lost twice to the pats in last 3 superbowls, like he's done

Momentum is a term to describe what has happened recently with no predictive value.

this sentiment has popped up several times in the thread, and the answer is who gives a ****, anyone doing so would be a dope and would be correctly ridiculed by the majority

really, you think taking three kneeldowns is superior to giving freeman the ball?

Matt Ryan had 5 sacks averaging -9 yards. That is awful. And only having 18 rushes is laughable.

But shifting always works in Fast & Furious?

ya this was terrible by belichick. gave the falcons a chance at a fg in regulation.

Maybe Bb knew that the Falcons were more likely to turnover

PICK SIX was the play of the game for the PATRIOTS. Happened at the end of a long drive and the Pats got the ball right back for another long-drive. Key part of the historic difference in plays per team that resulted in Falcons being completely worn out in crunch time. Dude should have taken a knee at like the Patriots 35 yard line after the pick. That way the Falcons D gets a much needed break and Falcons O still have a good chance to score. Terrible coaching by Quinn not to coach up players to take a knee in that spot.

lol

That challenge was pretty terrible as well.

No it wasn't. NE would have done a quick snap before Atlanta ever got a chance to see a replay. They had no choice but to challenge it.

no way. he did it at 2:02 and the patriots werent getting the snap off

You think the GOAT throws that pick if he didn't know it was best for the team? Of course not!

The ball was spotted at 2:12 and the Patriots were already there getting ready to run another play. Fox cuts away from the field at that point so we can't see any more, so you can't say for sure that they wouldn't have gotten a snap off.

Yep. 1st and 10 from the 22 up 8 with 4:40 left they should be mostly running while throwing in some safe quick passes. Pass plays where they put ten yard sacks on the table is not great.

Falcons ran the ball five times after going up 28-3.


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sorry I put this in the wrong thread, I was talking about people saying this in the context of ATL throwing instead of running, not kneel downs

This is misleading because of how few plays ATL had at all.

Their play selection after going up 28 to 3:

Drive 1 (28 to 9): completed pass, run for -1, incomplete pass, punt

Drive 2 (28 to 12): run for 8, run for 1, sack (fumble)

Drive 3 (28 to 20); completed pass, run for 2, completed pass, run for -1, sack, completed pass, incomplete pass, punt

Drive 4 (tied): completed pass, completed pass, spike, incomplete pass, punt

That's 5 rushes for 9 yards. Only 2 incomplete passes before the game was tied.

if you look at the sequence, I think it's tough to second guess Quinn actually


1st and 10 at NE 22
(4:40 - 4th) D.Freeman left end to NE 23 for -1 yards (D.McCourty).

This is fine

2nd and 11 at NE 23
(3:56 - 4th) (Shotgun) M.Ryan sacked at NE 35 for -12 yards (T.Flowers).

This is obviously bad but Ryan can't take the sack here. he should know the situation. quick throw either way. Now it's a 52 yard field goal and Falcons should try to get closer.

3rd and 23 at NE 35
(3:50 - 4th) (Shotgun) M.Ryan pass short left to M.Sanu pushed ob at NE 26 for 9 yards (L.Ryan). PENALTY on ATL-J.Matthews, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at NE 35 - No Play.

so they try to get closer, and it works, but the lineman got beat. hard to blame Quinn for that?

so now you really need to get closer, but they can't get it done

I think it's more on other people than Quinn. yeah running on 2nd down is safer, but you have Matt Ryan, you have the best offense in the league, meh it's maybe bad but not a disaster. Ryan taking the sack is a disaster

Putting Ryan in a spot to take a sack there is a disaster


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If you look back at it, the Pats blowing up the 1st down play for a loss (after the Julio catch) was a crucial turning point there. Quinn was probably actually prepared to run it 3x, but after going backwards he probably thought to himself that he didn't want to be the ******* who runs it into the line multiple times and then watches a FG get shanked because he didn't try to get closer.

Still no excuse for not having a quick-hitting pass play called that doesn't involve Matty Ice taking an 897-step drop. Whether that's on Quinn or Shanahan or both, I dunno.

The failcons were down 2 offensive lineman and mack has been injured.

I think those are big considerations on a 7 step drop.

Being a running back is a good gig, you can blow protections all day and people barely mention you. Except for the CTE I suppose