Heroes: Laurence Maroney & Kevin Faulk
Goat: Chargers' red zone offense
Turning Point: Junior Seau tackles Michael Turner short of the 1st down on 3rd and 1 inside the NE 5 @ 14-9 Pats
Next: Super Bowl XLII vs. Green Bay/NY Giants
In a game where Tom Brady would throw three interceptions and the Chargers would gain more yards in the passing game than the Pats you would have given the Bolts a great chance to win. The Chargers definitely redeemed themselves this postseason for a very poor start this year, but unfortunately couldn't make the big play when they needed to today to beat New England.The Chargers lost the game with their inability to get the ball into the endzone. They reached the Pats' red zone three times and traveled deep into their territory four times. You cannot beat the Pats settling for field goals even if you pick off Brady ten times. Give credit to the Patriots' defense though for their superb play deep in their own territory. The biggest play of the game was Junior Seau's stop of Michael Turner when the Chargers seemed poised to take a 15-14 lead off Brady's second interception. Seau and the defense had a terrific game today, and really redeemed themselves for some shoty play lately.
As mentioned, Brady threw three interceptions, so how did the Pats get enough offense to win the game today? The heroes are definitely the two running backs in Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk. Maroney dominated the Chargers' frontline in the 2nd half. He had about 15 yards at the half, but finished with 122 for the game. Maroney has had a huge postseason, especially when everyone thought he was a bum this year. Faulk was brillant in the passing game. He took several dumpoffs from Brady and made great things happen, including the spectacular diving catch that effectively ended the game in the fourth quarter. There has been no bigger unsung hero during the Pats' run of Super Bowls than Kevin Faulk.
Even though the Chargers were unable to come up with the big plays they needed, they should be very proud of themselves for what they accomplished this postseason. Philip Rivers showed a great deal of guts playing the way he did today. Other than two bad interceptions, he was very good. The CBS Halftime analysts were completely out of line when they said Norv Turner should have replaced Rivers with Billy Volek for the 2nd half. Rivers played the entire game when his star running back, LaDainian Tomlinson, who has a similar injury, couldn't make it through one possession. Those analysts need to get their heads examined. Vincent Jackson and Chris Chambers really played well again, and this team has the complete package to possibly win a Super Bowl next year.
But today belongs to the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick has done a remarkable job this season putting together this 18-0 team. They should be able to roll through the NFC Champion and complete their perfect year. The weather will be much better down in Arizona, so expect to see the full fire power of the Patriots' offense.
I want to congratulate my co-blogger, Shawn Marosek for predicting that the Pats would never have more than a 10 point lead in the game. His prediction of weather playing a major role was dead on. Great job, Shawn!
Pat Morgan
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