Two Super Bowls In One

The first half of today's Super Bowl XXXIX was a study in defensive perfection. Two high-powered offensive teams held in check by stubborn and well-coached defenses. Unfortunately the offensive coaching of the Eagles, stripped away of its usual multi-option ad-libbing by "McNabb the Scrambler," showed its true colors in the second half as all sense of offensive discipline, coherence and cohesion crumbled before a nation of groaning, screaming Eagles' fans.

There were mis-thrown passes, confusion over play calling, and apparent lack of calling more than one play at a time when the clock was ticking closer and closer to zero. With no time-outs, backed up against their own goal line, 30 seconds left on the clock, McNabb throws a two-yard pass which is actually caught, gaining nothing but keeping the clock ticking away. Pathetic.

New England was by far the better team overall and even more the better coached team. They played like a well-oiled machine and left nothing to chance; a far different picture than a beseiged McNabb lobbing deep pass after deep pass with no hope for anything but a miracle or an interference call.

Luck might win a Super Bowl game. I'm sure that it has done so before. But it was not enough for the Eagles to win today. The better team won a game that was exciting but, in the second half at least, wasn't really close. 24-21 New England. For MVP I would have chosen the New England coaching staff, hands down.