Patriots team, Saints fans simply the best

Either Bill Belichick was going to be the oldest coach to ever win the Super Bowl or Sean McVay was going to be the youngest coach to ever do so.

This one went to the man with the plan. The young genius will have to wait his turn.

If you give Belichick two weeks to prepare, he will come up with something good to shut down your offense. Did he ever!

Give Brian Flores a great deal of credit for doing an amazing job of preparing his defense so well and then calling a great game. He is moving on to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins now.

For thousands upon thousands of Saints fans who spent the day partying in fellowship, friendship and with family throughout New Orleans, those who did not watch the game did not miss much of anything, if they like offense.

If it is defense you value, you missed a lot. Then again, if you did not watch, you were not interested and that is perfectly fine.

What I feel safe to state is that the New Orleans Saints would have done more, much more against the Patriots’ defense. Three points for such a celebrated, dynamic, high scoring offense is inexcusable, particularly in perfect playing conditions.

Jared Goff looked like his head was spinning from the start, that the stage was simply too big for him. The Patriots got pressure in his face from the very start and he never found his rhythm. Goff was 19 of 38 for 229 yards and an interception.

The Patriots have been a notorious slow starter in Super Bowls. They have scored a grand total of three points in the first quarter in nine Super Bowl appearances.

This was the fifth Super Bowl since 2001, the first appearance of the Patriots in the big game, that a first quarter ended scoreless and New England has been involved in all five of those games.

The first pass Tom Brady threw was intercepted by Cory Littleton It was a poor decision and a poor throw. The pass was tipped by Nickell Robey-Coleman, intended for Chris Hogan.

Ironically, Robey-Coleman was flagged 15 yards for a hit deemed an illegal hit on a defenseless receiver on the next series. Saints fans who were watching jumped all over this one, understandably so.

The Patriots used two timeouts on the same drive in the first quarter.

Teams that have been shutout in the first half in Super Bowl history are 0-13.

Julian Edelman became the first wide receiver in NFL history to have seven catches and 75 yards in the first half of a Super Bowl.

The 3-0 first half was the second lowest scoring first half of a Super Bowl ever. The least number of points scored was in Super Bowl IX in New Orleans with the Steelers leading the Vikings 2-0 at Tulane Stadium on Jan. 12, 1975.

The Rams had just 57 yards of offense in the first half.

It was the first time they were shutout in the first half with Sean McVay as their head coach.

The Patriots had the ball for 19:52 in the first half to just 10:08 for the Rams.

New England safety Patrick Chung left the game with a right arm injury in the first minute of the third quarter and he is one of the key players for the Patriots. He was replaced by Duron Harmon.

The Rams punted on eight straight possessions.

Johnny Hekker recorded the longest punt in Super Bowl history, a 65-yard effort to get the Rams out of the hole and change field position midway through the third quarter.

Goff had Brandin Cooks all alone in the end zone and waited way too long to throw it. Jason McCourty broke it up.

Greg Zuerlein tied it with a 53-yard field goal with 2:11 to play in the third quarter. It was the first 50-yard field goal in 15 years in a Super Bowl.

Through three quarters, neither team snapped the ball in the opponent’s red zone.

It was the first Super Bowl ever without a touchdown through three quarters. The six points are the fewest through three quarters in Super Bowl history.

That changed in the fourth quarter when the Patriots needed just five plays to drive 69 yards, taking 2:49 off the clock with Sony Michel scoring on a two-yard run to give New England a 10-3 lead with seven minutes to play in the game. The big play was a 29-yard pass from Brady to Rob Gronkowski to set up the score.

Brady was a completed all four passes on the drive for 67 yards.

The Rams responded with a good drive, reaching the New England 27 but Goff, under pressure, threw up a wounded duck which Stephon Gilmore picked off at the Patriots’ four-yard line with 4:17 left in the game.

New England then ran the ball amazingly well, considering the Rams knew they would run it, driving 72 yards in nine plays with Stephen Gostkowski putting the game away with a 41-yard field goal to make it 13-3 with 1:12 to play in the game.

Zuerlein then missed a 46-yard field goal way left.

Brady has now won six Super Bowls, breaking a tie with Charles Haley for the most Super Bowl victories ever. Brady overcame the interception on his first pass of the game to play solidly, completing 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards.

Brian Flores is moving on to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. His swan song calling the defensive signals for the Patriots was a brilliant one.

Stephen Gostkowski put the game away with a 41-yard field goal with 1:12 left to make it 13-3.

Ironically, Zuerlein missed a 48-yard field goal well left with five seconds left in the game. Saints fans certainly wonder where that was two weeks ago.

This was the lowest scoring Super Bowl in the history of the big game. The previous low was 21 points combined in Super Bowl VII when Miami beat Washington 14-7 on Jan. 14, 1973.

Edelman now has the second most catches in NFL postseason history with 115, trailing only the best-ever in Jerry Rice, who had 151 playoff receptions for 2,245 yards and an incredible 22 touchdowns.

Edelman caught 10 passes for 141 yards against the Rams in a brilliant performance to earn Most Valuable Player honors. He now has 1,412 receiving yards in playoff history with five touchdown catches. Edelman solidified his resume for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Gronkowski, who is one of the best tight ends in NFL history, had six catches for 87 yards.

Regardless of your personal preference, you have to admire the New England Patriots in what they have accomplished. In a modern era of football where the system is set up to help the worst teams annually, the Patriots have won six Super Bowls and have been to nine Super Bowls in 18 years. They are the greatest sustained team in NFL history. It is unprecedented.

While Saints fans were having their celebrations/parties/parades/protests, call them what you will, some around the country were tweeting about the “tantrums” the “foolishness” and the “protests” as being poor. They simply do not understand the culture of The Big Easy.

There are two takeaways from what happened Sunday.

1) Belichick and Brady are simply the best ever in the history of the game.
2) Saints fans are the consistently most passionate fans in the game today.

You can take that to the bank as bookies who had the “over” did. The Rams underperformed. Think the Saints would have?