Joe Louis vs Rocky Marciano. Muhammad Ali vs. Larry Holmes. Larry Holmes vs. Mike Tyson. These are three examples of once great champions well past their prime being pummeled to the canvas by much hungrier opponents. Trouble is, in football you have no choice but to stick around after your prime.
If this were a boxing match, the ref would have stopped it late in the first round.
New England showed no fight whatsoever in this one. They were flat, and most shockingly completely out-coached. The run, run, run game plan of the Ravens, (52 attempts for 234 yards!), was just too much of a body attack for the Pats to withstand. Using the run to get up on their opponent, the Ravens controlled the clock on offense, making each time New England got the ball that much more urgent.
Tom Brady didn’t show much urgency for some reason, but did looked confused by the inside blitzes of a very good Baltimore defense. Tom Terrific had a QB rating or 49.1 with 2 tds, but 3 ints and just as many sacks. Because he was forced to pass so often, the Ravens were able to bring the house, harassing and knocking Brady down when he did have the ball.
Next week though QB Joe Flacco will need to be a bit better than 4/10 for 34 yards: Possibly the worst QB performance in a playoff win.
Most disconcerting was the New England crowd booing and giving up on a coach/QB tandem that brought a title-less franchise three titles in the span of a half a decade. New England has been known for fickle fans, but now people want Brady traded and Belichick fired.
Huh?
