Following are some observations I had on the Super Bowl,
including the commercials, the broadcasters and, of course, the game itself:Pregame
The musical prelude to the game by Ray Charles and the Backstreet Boys is
first-rate.
First quarter
On their first possession of the game, the Giants have 1st-and-5 after a
Ravens penalty. Instead of trying to establish a drive or at least get an early leg up
with field position, the Giants elect to air it out for the big play but don’t
surprise the Ravens at all. Are the Giants conceding that they won’t be able to run
against the Ravens?
Budweiser has a superb commercial in which the "cool" guy opens a bottle of
Bud Light for his date and proceeds to shower her with a spray of beer. Less successful is
the Bud commercial in which several white men yell, "What are you doing?" into
telephones — an obvious takeoff on, or send-up of, the extremely successful
"Whazzup" ad campaign.
The Ravens appear to be working on Giants CB Jason Sehorn early in this game.
After just missing on a long pass to Patrick Johnson in the endzone — a play
in which Johnson has a step on Sehorn — Trent Dilfer connects with Brandon
Stokley for a 38-yard touchdown. Stokley had gotten behind Sehorn, who may have been
expecting deep help from FS Shaun Williams. Late in the first quarter, Sehorn slips
and falls following a move by Patrick Johnson along the sideline. Only when Dilfer’s
hurried pass sails out of bounds are the Giants saved from giving up a certain touchdown
and going down 14-0.
CBS has a fine promo for "Everybody Loves Raymond," in which the cast takes
out its aggression on each other in a "family" intramural football game.
Second quarter
Good use of cameras by CBS showing roughly what the quarterback sees when he is back in
the pocket.
Giants DT Keith Hamilton’s defensive holding penalty negates LB Jessie
Armstead’s interception return for a touchdown, which would have tied the game.
The Giants begin to have more success in moving the ball now that they are throwing
shorter passes over the middle rather than throwing deep, as they move into Baltimore
territory for the first time in the game with just over five minutes left in the half.
However, Kerry Collins is having a lot of his passes deflected by the Ravens’
front seven.
Budweiser scores with another of its commercials, in which the man of the house gives
his dog a lot of food from the refrigerator to make room for his Bud Light and the
suddenly bloated dog gets stuck trying to get outside through the doggie door.
The Ravens are considered to have an edge in the kicking game, and Matt Stover’s
47-yard field goal late in the first half reinforces that belief.
Kerry Collins throws into double coverage at the end of the half, resulting in Chris
McAlister’s interception. This could turn out to be a huge play. Instead of the
Giants going into the locker room having just scored — even a field goal would have
cut the deficit to seven — they will end the half scoreless and without any momentum.
Halftime
Is it just me, or are the Super Bowl halftime shows becoming more disjointed every
year? Because the NFL tries to appeal to several distinct age groups with its show, it
seems more like a mish-mash of music of musical styles and performers than a captivating
show. Maybe the league should de-emphasize the glitz and concentrate on putting together a
halftime show that has a theme and some cohesiveness.
And speaking of disjointed, CBS’ halftime studio analysis has one or two analysts
too many, if you ask me. There’s not enough time for one analyst to string together
more than one sentence without getting interrupted by another analyst.
Third quarter
Kerry Collins is intercepted for the third time today. Maybe he needs to roll
out more often. Collins doesn’t look like the same quarterback who directed the
Giants to 41 points just two weeks ago, but then again, the Ravens’ defense
doesn’t bear any resemblance to the Vikings’.
With Trent Dilfer getting his left ring and pinky fingers X-rayed, the insertion
of Tony Banks into the Ravens’ lineup could be a big break for the Giants,
because Banks is apt to be rusty and could turn the ball over. That seems to be what the
Giants will need to turn this game around. Their offense certainly hasn’t shown many
signs of denting the scoreboard.
It appears Brian Billick should have challenged a ruling that a pass to Ike
Hilliard was incomplete, because it certainly looked as though he had possession. A
Ravens recovery in Giants territory would have really given Baltimore a firm grip on this
game.
Dilfer is back in the game, but he may wish that he weren’t, considering the
pressure the Giants’ defense is putting on him.
Ravens TE Shannon Sharpe drops another catchable pass. The player I would have
expected to be the most dependable Baltimore receiver today has proved otherwise.
A clever commercial for E*Trade Bank shows an elderly bank guard thwarting a bank
robbery with unreal moves.
Both Cingular and Accenture are presenting some original commercials that rely on a
singular message rather than special effects.
Ravens CB Duane Starks makes a big play by stepping in front of Amani Toomer
and racing 49 yards for a touchdown that gives Baltimore a 17-0 lead. This is the fourth
interception of a Collins pass today, and he’s had several others that very nearly
were picked off.
The two teams trade special-teams touchdowns. The Giants’ Ron Dixon returns
a kickoff 97 yards for a TD, and on the next play Jermaine Lewis takes a kickoff 84
yards for a score. Once again, the Giants gain momentum for only the briefest of moments.
In the space of 36 seconds, three touchdowns have been scored, but none by either offense.
Brad Daluiso’s short kickoffs, which have been a concern for the Giants all
season, really hurt the team when his kick to only the 16-yard line was returned by Lewis
for the TD. And give credit to Corey Harris for making the block(s) that sprung
Lewis near the sideline. The Ravens lead 24-7.
Fourth quarter
Collins’ shortcomings in sensing and avoiding the pass rush nearly cost the
Giants, as he is hit in his own endzone and fumbles. Fortunately for the Giants, they
recover the fumble.
Jamal Lewis runs three yards for a touchdown in the left corner of the endzone.
The ball comes loose as Lewis reaches out for the goal line. Jim Fassel challenges
the call, which is the only sensible thing to do even if he thinks he’s wrong. After
reviewing the play, the ruling of a TD stands, as the various replays seemed to confirm.
It’s 31-7, Ravens.
Budweiser comes up with another good commercial — a public-service announcement
featuring *NSYNC in which the members of the group thank a father for teaching his
children not to smoke because he is a stronger influence on them than the musical group
is. When his daughter subsequently finds out who was at the door, she screams and runs out
the door, looking for her idols.
Ron Dixon’s fumble on the kickoff is recovered, leading to a Ravens field
goal that gives them a 34-7 lead.
Final score: Ravens 34, Giants 7.
Postgame
American Express has an elegant commercial about its blue card — clever graphics,
beautiful music, simple message.
This is the third wild-card team to win a Super Bowl, all from the AFC. The others are
the 1980 Oakland Raiders and the 1997 Denver Broncos.
Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms did a good job
broadcasting the game for CBS-TV, offering some insights without feeling obligated to talk
nonstop. It seemed like more of a soft-sell approach to broadcasting the Super Bowl. I
also have great admiration for the CBS Radio team of Howard David, Boomer
Esiason and Matt Millen. They can make any game entertaining.
With Millen leaving the booth to run the Lions, I hope CBS finds a replacement who is just
as knowledgeable.
Well, the better defensive team did win, after all. I had thought the Giants’
offense was enough better than the Ravens’ offense that it would make up for
Baltimore’s edge on defense. However, the Giants’ offense self-destructed —
with a great deal of help from the Raven’s smothering, gambling defense —
turning the ball over five times. I had thought that Kerry Collins would outplay Trent
Dilfer, but, boy, was I wrong. Collins was picked off four times, and he completed
only 15-of-39 for 114 yards. Dilfer didn’t exactly torch Raymond James Stadium with
his passing — 12-of-25 for 153 yards — but he succeeded in the most important
category — no interceptions.
Give credit to the Giants’ defense. Sure, Baltimore scored four touchdowns, but
one was on an inteception return and another was a kickoff return. The two TDs the Ravens
offense scored were the result of drives of only 41 and 38 yards, the first one set up by Jermaine
Lewis’ 43-yard punt return and the second set up by Brad Maynard’s
short 34-yard punt. The Giants held Baltimore to 245 total yards and only 13 first downs,
in addition to stopping the Ravens on 13-of-16 third-down plays. However, they did give up
a couple of long passes.
The Ravens, meanwhile, continued the defensive dominance they displayed all season
long. The only points they gave up was on special teams, a 97-yard kickoff return. The
Ravens’ defensive unit gave up only one touchdown in four postseason games, to
Tennessee. It limited the Giants to 150 total yards and 11 first downs, stopping the New
Yorkers on 12-of-14 third-down plays. One of the most amazing statistics is that the
Giants netted only 84 yards on 43 pass plays (including sacks), an average of less than
two yards per pass play.
To sum it up, it was a disappointing game in that it wasn’t as close as I had
expected. The Ravens won because of their dominant defense and special teams that, while
far from perfect, made big plays and gave Baltimore much better field position than the
Giants had. Offensively, Dilfer avoided mistakes and did just enough to win the game,
whereas Collins made far too many mistakes to win any Super Bowl.
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