And I'm Out

No Caption Exists After Mic Drop

This is going to be long and rambly, because it has to be. If you've indulged me before, you probably will again, so. On with it.

I've been writing online for longer than many of the people who might read this have been alive.

No, seriously. I was on the Internet during the first term of the Reagan era, when it was nothing more than CB radio on monochrome monitors. What existed back then was people writing paragraphs here and there about whatever it was that they cared about. The BBSes (Bulletin Board System) required you to tie up your only phone line, delivered nothing more than the copy that someone else pretty much wrote by hand, and were reactive and nerdy and insular and driven by the one profile in a hundred or so who looked female.

For me, as a teenager, it was glorious. It also changed my life more than just about, well, anything.

Being on a BBS made me type, every day, so that I got really fast and good at typing, at a time when typing was still taught in school. (Which helped me pay the bills after college, also. Anyway.) It got me writing, every day. It reinforced the (only?) thing that I thought I could do, and gave me the only thing that makes you better at any craft, which is repetition and an audience.

The BBS world to me was like the open mic womb room to a stand up, the improv class to an actor, the jam room to a musician. Eyes and reps. Talent and persistence and a style is all secondary to eyes and reps. Without eyes and reps, you have nothing.

I got pretty good at it. After a couple of years, one of the adults in the room, a guy by the name of Dave Goldstein, reached out to me to see if I wanted a job working for his company. Dave didn't blink when he learned that I was 16, and neither did his boss, Arthur Haines. They also decided that what the hell, I was cheaper than a grown up and utterly and totally dedicated to the thing, so let's give him a shot. My first of many start ups paid me about $240 a week after taxes for a 7 days a week work from home part time job, which is to say more money than any teenager in the '80s should probably have ever had. They also scratched me a sizable check to help me start the college experience. I provided them a news re-posting service on news, business, entertainment and sports. They also indulged me writing columns. Which led to an interest in journalism, which lead to a pursuit of a degree, which led to yada yada yada.

All of this is, actually, a little beside the point. Let's get back to that.

Back in the BBS days, people would occasionally get annoyed (imagine that, people getting annoyed with someone else on the Internet), and then discover that they had no more time for this, and screw you guys, I'm going home. So you'd write your exit post, make it as dramatic as possible because From Day 1 The Internet Did Not Notice Or Care About Anything That Wasn't An A+ Or An F-, and hit send.

Then you'd log back in some time later, maybe under some other profile, to see what people wrote after your suicide note. Because you pretty much have to.

I was not above this, of course. I was a teenager, prone to all of the usual drama and dumbness, and finding out What People Really Think about you is absolutely irresistible, especially when you are that age. (My return fake pseudo after my most dramatic exit was a guy who posted in constant Prince speak, which was an awful lot of work and so dumb, I'm still kind of proud of it. But I digress.)

So the very nature of Final Post has all of the Oh Grow Up And Who Are You Kidding and Who The Fuck Cares playing in the back of my mind. (Hey, he's cursing on his blog! It must be The End.)

But, well, still. I'm out.

Why?

> Well, the Eagles won the Super Bowl. If you are ever going to stop writing about sports, now would be the time. They could rattle off a dozen more of these during my lifetime, and none will have the impact of this win. As sports highs go, the heroin is never going to get more pharma-grade 100% pure than what we just experienced.

> But wait, don't you care more about hoop? Well, sure, and, but. Hoop takes games and games, and the Sixers have won in my lifetime. Joel Embiid is my Patronus and all, and Ben Simmons is the absolute tits, and I like great chunks of the rest of the roster, but. I don't really believe in the GM, they won't be as satisfying as Julius Erving and Mo Cheeks dunking the Lakers into oblivion, and so on.

> There's also this: one of the reasons that I did the blog was, well, For Money. There's really no money in blogging anymore, and even the money that there was isn't in the same world as ride sharing. Or anything else that qualifies as an occupation. If you aren't getting paid to write, you are, in fact, paying to write. Which seems like a bad use of time, at least right now. The audience on this blog has been going down for longer than it has existed, and what used to be a four-figure a year annual side hustle is now a small percentage of that. That's the nature of advertising on the Web, and this blog has never done all that well with the tip jar.

Need more? There's more.

> With the Eagles covering the spread in the Super Bowl, my all-time picks record is EXACTLY at .500. There's something poetic about ending on the perfect coin flip.

> I no longer have cable, or a television, or go to games. I also don't play fantasy baseball anymore, and my last laundry (the Oakland A's) do not seem to be in the business of trying to win baseball games, so caring about them is stupid. I don't care all that much about the Olympics, or hockey, or soccer, or golf. Pretty thin amount of stuff to cover for a sports blog.

> Sports are for people with free time, and if I've learned anything in this world, it's that Time Is Never Free.

> I've written a lot about poker on this blog, and while I still play and enjoy my home game, I'm no longer watching it on television, or thinking about it very much outside of my home game. Besides, I've come to the mathematically-driven realization that I am not all that great about it. I generally turn a small profit every year, and in the big casino tournaments that I've tried, I haven't been comfortable or enjoyed the experience. So, not sure that's terribly necessary content to write.

> I am 48 years old, with two kids and a wife that don't live on the same coast and don't get nearly enough support, love and attention. What they get right now is financial support. I have to be more than that. Watching and writing about sports doesn't check that box. There's also the fact that I turned off my phone during the final minutes of the Super Bowl, which did damage to people back home, and colors the memory of that, even. So.

> There's also this. Just look at the posts per year numbers on the right side of the board. I've pretty much been quitting this thing for a long time now, right?

The blog will stay up until the domain needs to be renewed. If something incredibly unlikely happens, I reserve the right to do something after this, but, well, really not seeing it.

I'd like to thank everyone who ever read this blog. I'd really like to thank Jason Harris, Phil Hollrah, Dave Scocca and Al Houser, who also posted to it at various times. I'd also like to thank the people in Blogfrica (what sports bloggers use to call the sports blogosphere a decade or so ago, when it seemed like writing about sports could create Fame Or Something), and the sites that have linked to this one over the years. At times, that's been Deadspin and ESPN and Awful Announcing and YardBarker, along with too many more that are no more. There's also some folks who have bought ads, and others who paid for content, and so on.

You've all been great, you've all kept me going for a really long time.

But, well, it's not enough anymore. Nobody's fault, nobody's tragedy.

Thanks for reading. Be well.

(And yeah, I'll check back and read the comments, because you have to.)

Eagles - Patriots Super Bowl Takeaways: Today, Now, Forever

20) Hope you enjoyed my Expert Level Reverse Jinx. I believed in Nick Foles the whole time! (No, not really.)

19) Here's how hard this was. The Patriots were called for one -- one! -- penalty all night. (Offsides on TE Rob Gronkowski. They also had a hold on a made field goal that was declined.) No holding calls on the Patriot OL, a unit that kept the best defensive line in the NFL to a single, incredibly meaningful, sack. No defensive holds on pass interference calls on a unit that the Eagles still somehow managed to annihilate on third downs. They also gave up over half a thousand yards on pass "defense". Didn't force a single punt all night. And, um, still won.

18) Patriot Fan might pule about the two offensive touchdowns that took time for the refs to confirm. The first to RB Chris Clement was close; the second to TE Zach Ertz would have been an absurd travesty of the spirit of the game. I've also heard that the refs might have missed a call on Fourth and Foles for an illegal formation on the offense, because whatever, I think the refs were too blinded by the awesomeness of that play to sully it with a flag.

Anyway, if you hear these people complain about those calls, there is one answer: the Patriots had one flag for five yards all night.

We can put any conspiracy issue to bed.

(And Patriot Fan? By all means, keep on crying the world a river. I want people to remember how regrettable you are.)

17) It says something about the greatness of QB Tom Brady that he did what he did tonight without, well, being at full strength due to the hand injury, and being 40 freaking years old in a game where people in their late 20s are lucky to still be around. Passes lacked zip tonight, he was behind on a number of throws, and many of the big chunks he got were just reading coverage and exploiting with his mind.

I grew up with Joe Montana, and have a hard time saying anyone can ever be as good as he was. Brady's better.

Even though he's lost nearly as many Super Bowls as anyone ever.

16) I'm still kind of amazed that the Patriots' Hail Mary at the buzzer wasn't caught. It hung in the air forever, the ball was deflected back and forth, and I'm pretty sure our lives all passed before our eyes. I watch replays of that play just to be sure it hits the ground. Probably will do that forever.

15) So much great work in this game from WR Alshon Jeffery. His touchdown was insane, the way he tracked balls over his shoulder was world class, and the only blemish on his record was the batted luck ball that led to the offense's only turnover. The organization made one hell of a move by locking him up in mid-season.

14) One day, fairly soon, we're going to learn why Patriots HC Bill Belichick put his best CB (Malcolm Butler) on the pine for everything but special teams play tonight. It made no sense to me, but as an Eagle Fan, thanks for that, Bill. Especially for sticking with the decision as your defense was getting torn apart.

13) It's all water under the bridge, but man alive, the defense was terrible tonight. I didn't think they could win a close game, or a game where the defense was bad, or a game where the special teams weren't airtight. They did. Still not sure how.

12) If Gronkowski actually is considering retirement after this game, he goes out as the best TE in NFL history, at least in peak value. His fourth-quarter score was absurd, and the Patriot offense went into Killing Mode as soon as he got going. Total nightmare matchup.

11) Doug Pederson, fourth down stud. Not just the unspeakably balls out trick play where Foles became the first guy in SB history to catch and throw a TD in the same game, but the call to go for it and execute to Ertz to keep it in the fourth on his own side of the field. I hated his failure to try a pass play just before the two-minute warning, and the visor look will never look good on anyone, but otherwise, the guy just hit on everything.

10) K Jake Elliott's habit of missing PATs is maddening in the extreme, but his 46-yarder to put the team up 8 with a little over two minutes left was absolute money. I don't know how to get the kid to stop derping away points, but credit where due. He didn't miss a kick they really needed all season.

9) National sports radio wanted to go down the path of Awful Philly Fan with police blotter action as soon as the game was over because the national media is never going to tire of the story that Philly Fan Is Awful. In this as in many other things, Who The Hell Cares. Game matters. Not Game does not. If some asshat wants to punch a horse, some asshat is going to punch a horse. It doesn't define the freaking city, except of course it does, because people who want to talk Not Game are always going to talk Not Game.

8) Similarly, there is much talk about how this might have been the End of the Patriot Dynasty, what with Gronkowski talking retirement, coaches getting hired away, Belichick possibly moving on due to Butthurt Moments with Bob Kraft, and so much more noise. Not believing any of that until it happens, or that anyone in the AFC LEast will ever put together two coherent thoughts and actually get good enough to make them work for a top 2 seed next year. But if this was the stake in the vampire's heart, so happy to have been the Slayers.

7) More on Pederson. So many times this year, I second-guessed his decisions; all in on Foles, put Hali Vaitai on an island at tackle with little help, keep feeding LeGarrette Blount even after getting the shiny new Jay Ajayi toy, keep playing Torrey Smith when it seemed like there were better options on the bench, and become the most aggro fourth down guy ever, even after QB Carson Wentz went down.

All of it worked out.

That can't ever really happen again, just from the sheer laws of, well, Math and regression to the mean. But for this year, Doug Pederson was the best damn coach any of us have ever seen.

6) I don't know about the rest of you, but by the end of this game, I was feeling like I had been through an insane emotional wringer. I was certain that after they finally gave up the lead that it was all going to come to tears; instead, the offense just kept on executing and moving the chains. I was certain the Ertz touchdown was going to be called back, or ruled a fumble into the end zone and somehow a Patriot touchback. That's how beaten down you become when you are a fan of a team that has never won a championship in your lifetime.

Up five with two minutes left and Brady with the ball, I was certain doom had arrived. Instead, Brandon Graham finally got to the QB, and Derek Barnett scooped up his second chance at the hop for the all-important late-game turnover. The first three Patriot drives and touchdowns in the second half were all incredibly easy, so much so that I started hoping for onside kicks with a lead, just because 40 yards of live surgery seemed less objectionable than 75. If this had someone gone to overtime, I don't know if I'd have slept in my bed tonight. And so on.

5) I watched the game at the home of a friend of nearly 20 years, and he marked out for the Eagles nearly as much as I did, such was his distaste for the Patriots. (He's a Bears fan.)

I also did ride share work this week with over a hundred pick ups (my usual workload, actually) and didn't find a soul who was rooting for New England.

(The Bay Area may be the least football-crazed part of America, though. I had to explain to several people today that the game was happening and all. Yes, seriously.)

4) The play that will live forever from this game, to me, is clear: the go for broke fourth down gadget play, Chris Clement to Trey Burton to Nick Foles for seven, en route to a 10 point lead at the half. When you look at it again (and you will), keep your eyes on Foles the whole time, as he sells out that he's just a bystander in this play for several beats before leaking out to open space. The discipline to do that, rather than just race out to the flat ASAP and blow up the timing, might have been his best play of the night. And I have no idea how he did it, other than he was incredibly present and in the moment for the entire damned game. And for the Vikings game before that, too.

3) Some other people will have to talk about ads, because I was WATCHING MY GODDAMNED TEAM WIN A SUPER BOWL FOR THE FIRST TIME. So, um, yeah, there were some commercials. Hooray. A very similar thing can be said here for Justin Timberlake's halftime show, which sadly did not feature guest star Janet Jackson ripping his pants off in cold revenge. Not sure why he needed to bum the world out by reminding us all that Prince Is Dead, but anything that gets more Prince in our lives is a win.

2) It's all kinds of wrong to talk about this stuff this early, but... this team could be *better* next year. You might have full time Wentz, let alone Jason Peters, Jordan Hicks, Darren Sproles, a draft pick, another off-season of Howie Roseman tinkering (we can all agree he's smart now, yes?) and all of those guys are really good. You aren't losing anyone of note to free agency (again, Howie Roseman). The team didn't win on a gimmick offense or luck; most games were clear ass kickings.

Regression to the mean is a powerful force, and there's only one direction for a 16-3 team to go. They also are going to have to deal with the half dozen guys who played out of their minds when their number was called, and might not want to go back to the pine. But it might not be inevitable.

Oh, and they deserve their own bullet and aren't getting it, but what a performance by the offensive line. Best unit in the league, with their best performance of the year. For everyone who ever doubted C Jason Kelce especially, he was phenomenal. For anyone who ever wondered if Lane Johnson was worth the high draft pick, he was everything they could have hoped for. For anyone who ever wondered if Brandon Brooks was worth the money because guards aren't worth lots of money, he was dominant. For anyone who wondered why Steve Wiesnewski was so important after not sticking with Oakland, he just was. And for Hali Vaitai, who merely stepped in when the unit's best player, having his best year, was hurt? He was perfect tonight.

1) Finally, Foles. Couldn't have been more wrong about him, couldn't have asked for more from a player, and can't imagine that this performance won't wind up with him moving on to another team, because doing what he did in this game means he can't really be anyone's QB2 again. But that's another problem for another day.

Later, there will be stuff

The best team in franchise history is the best team, period. No qualifications.

Today, now, forever?

I'm reminded that things don't always have to turn out badly, and that hope isn't for suckers and chumps.

Today, now, forever?

I get to forget about all of the Andy Reid losses when the money was on the table. I can forget about so many other coaches who never even got to the point when real money was on the table. I can forget about so many draft picks and signings and players who were on the spectrum of terrible to tragic, all washed away by the gentle good force of the team finally winning.

I can if I choose to, stop blogging about sports altogether, and stop watching. Even if Wentz becomes the new overlord, and the team rattles off wins like the factory that New England has been, nothing will be better than this season and this team.

And I can just be happy.

We can all just be happy.

Or, in the rallying cry of the team that would not be denied...

We're all we got.

We're all we need.

Today. Now. Forever.

Eagles - Patriots Diary: Every Single Play Of The Game You Will Never Forget

> Patriots win the toss and elect to defer. Toss was done by a WWII vet who is clearly in the tank for New England.

> Short kickoff, return gets the status quo, so screw you, Belichick with your kickoff nonsense

> QB Nick Foles to WR Nelson Agoholor, dances and loses, but five yards and Foles Comfort

> Agholor again on the bubble screen gets two

> 3rd and 4 and Jesus Not A Three And Out is Foles with time, moving his feet, hitting WR Alshon Jeffery for the good pick up; really well done

> RB LeGarrete Blount stopped in the backfield, not sure why that's not Jay Ajayi, but the line failed big on that

> Incomplete on a rollout to WR Torrey Smith, not sure why it didn't work

> 3rd and 12 and points left on the table is time and a floater to Smith to convert again, and the line did great work; C Jason Kelce holding up two players

> Great catch by Smith, too

> TE Zach Ertz for seven, and this is all Foles so far

> Ajayi through contact moves the chains, and go man go

> Ajayi through a solid hole, tripped for a gain of six, lots of room there

> RB Chris Clement on a nice enough draw, and the line does fantastic work for a big, big chunk

> First and goal from the five is Blount for four, more holes

> Movement before the snap on Ertz makes it harder

> Trickery doesn't work and Foles throws it away

> Third and goal and money on the table is a fade to Jeffery which doesn't work, and its special teams time

> K Jake Elliott caps a 14 play drive that had everything but the touchdown, and it's 3-0 Green

> Not a fan of the trickery call on second down, and the third down ball to Alshon was a little late, but short of finding tape of a missed guy, all you could ask of Foles there

> Strong pressure and nothing on a throwback to WR Brandin Cooks

> RB James White beats S Malcolm Jenkins on an out, and that's a far too easy first down

> Screen for little, should be ineligible man downfield, but Green had 12 men on the field

> Wide open cross to WR Chris Hogan for 28, and tempo is doing work for Silver

> CB Jalen Mills knocks Hogan out on an end around after a gain of four

> Play action, wide open to TE Rob Gronkowski, another first down with ease

> Brady to White for another gain, and Brady is missing nothing at all

> White stopped by LB Nigel Bradham on the obligatory running play that isn't a great idea

> Third and 4 and money on the table is Mills knocking away an inaccurate ball, and that could have been a game changer of a pick

> K Stephen Gostkowski converts, and it's 3-3 at the 4:17 mark of the first quarter

> Another short kick that's more or less negated by a good return

> Pressure doesn't get there, and Agholor spins after contact for a fun little chunk; LB James Harrison looked bad on that

> Blount for a massive blast of 36

> Deep ball to Jeffery, who owns CB Eric Rowe in the end zone for an apparent touchdown; long and agonizing review confirms it

> Good throw by Foles, great catch by Jeffery, and yeah, everything you could hope for from the QB

> Elliott misses another PAT just to keep things grounded, and it's Green 9, Silver 3

> Short kick and good coverage shorts the favorites by six yards

> More commerce, but NBC, I'm not giving a damn about the Winter Olympics

> RB Dion Lewis runs through contact for eight; DT Tommy Jurnigan misses

> Gronkowski jumps for five, and that's a relief

> Weak ball to Hogan deep doesn't work, and the line is getting a little closer

> 3rd and 7 and crowd getting loud is Brady finding WR Danny Amendola crazy open, and that's just blown coverage -- dammit

> Another first down to Hogan, too easy

> Lewis for a chunk, tempo doing everything they want

> White for a few more, end of the first, break for the defense to get time off before a third down in the red zone

> Third and two and money on the table is Cooks trying to hurdle McLeod, who puts his helmet right in his junk for the stop

> Juggled snap, Gostkowski stop starts and almost makes it anyway, but doesn't

> Points left on the table, and that's a major break on back to back plays for Green

> Ajayi for a few on some odd formation fun, then Foles has all day, no one to throw to, and a toss away

> 3rd and 8 and keep the defense on the bench for longer, please, is Foles making a few miss, then not getting a flag on a try to Ertz

> Could have been defensive PI, but Foles also missed an open man; first real mistake he's made tonight

> Decent punt by P Donnie Jones and a fair catch

> Commerce might help keep the defense fresh, but a three and out is never helpful

> Cooks gets loose deep, who spins into death from Jenkins; Brady also took punishment

> Injury timeout and if that isn't the end of Cooks day, there's no teeth in the concussion protocol

> Back to football, and the secondary really isn't doing the job so far

> Jenkins with a knock down on another ball that's Brady a hair behind on; could have been a pick

> Lewis for five as Bradham loses his helmet and gets verbal

> Third and five and money on the table is trickey to Brady as the wideout, and the QB drops an easy first down

> Fourth and five and big money on the table is deep to Gronkowski, not tight, and the defense is off the field without points again

> CB Malcolm Butler on the bench for a coaches decision, which is all kinds of odd

> Ajayi for a loss of one, then gets a few more after contact

> 3rd and 7 and can't have back to back three and outs is Foles to a wide open Ertz for 19, and that was all kinds of necessary; aggro contact on the DB didn't draw a flag

> Foles misses a wide open Jeffery, who almost bails him out anyway, but that's worrisome

> Jeffery with a great catch on an over the shoulder throw for 22, and that's just A-plus work by the wideout

> Blount explodes for the last 22, as fast as he's looked all year, and that was manly

> Serious revenge move by the back, who looks worlds better than Ajayi so far, and we're more than a little happy right now

> Going for two to get the Elliott miss back is a miss to Jeffery, with Rowe getting involved

> Eagles 15, Patriots 3 in one of the stranger scores you will see

> RB Rex Burkhead gets loose on a screen for 47, and that flips the field fast

> Brady with another wobbly pass, then Amendola nearly dies before a two yard screen

> 3rd and 8 and money on the table is trickery before a null screen

> Gostkowski connects from 45, and it's Green 15, Silver 6

> Cooks won't return

> There's a brief blip in television coverage here that made me wonder if nuclear armageddon had happened, because that would so happen to prevent what I want to happen

> Touchback on an angled kick

> Halfway through the second quarter with the Patriots getting the ball to start the second half is all kinds of important if you want to keep a lead

> Movement on Ertz for the second time today doesn't help

> Clement for one as Harrison makes a play, then Foles to Smith for 10, as he reads off the blitzer

> Third and 4 and keep momemtum is an odd call to Ajayi, but the RB reads through traffic and breaks a big one; offensive line is just owning

> Deep ball to Jeffery, who juggles it and creates a pick that's just all kinds of good luck for Silver

> Good throw by Foles, would have set them up deep with the chance to  build a big lead, but, um, well, nope

> Eagle WRs also don't tackle well enough to bury the Patriots with a deep arm punt, and dammit, dammit, dammit, why does this team get so much luck

> Lewis for 4 before LB Mychal Kendricks makes the hit

> Incomplete to Gronkowski in traffic; physical work by the secondary

> 3rd and 9 and actually get off the field quickly is Silver getting the gift defensive holding call

> Lewis for five, then seven more, and game flow is going in the wrong direction

> Incomplete to Gronkowski as the refs don't call a flag for fun

> Brady to Hogan for a massive chunk as the pressure continues to miss by a half beat; Mills got beat on a double move

> White for the touchdown, running through traffic, and the only good thing about that drive is that it happened so fast, the offense has a chance to answer before the half

> Gostkowski hooks the PAT try, and what the hell

> Green 15, Silver 12, and that could be telling

> You make one mistake against this team, and what could have been 21-6 is now 15-12

> Barner with a plus return, ended by Gostkowski, of all people

> From the 30, Foles with time to Ertz for seven; poor throw by the TE redeems it

> Foles to Smith, Rowe hand fights his way to an incomplete

> 3rd and 3 is a big moment, and Foles floats one to Clement, who fights through poor tackling for 55 yards; monster play

> Clement goes Full Marshawn for a positive play; Silver timeout to try to keep their defense from getting trucked

> Super shifty before a center dive for one, second Silver timeout

> Third and monster money on the table is an out to Jeffery, all kinds of DPI but not when a Patriot does it, but not a great idea

> Fourth and goal because that's how Doug Pederson rolls... but first, a timeout

> Still going for it, and it's hyper trickery for Clement to Burton to FOLES (!!!) for one of the most amazing touchdowns in the history of my laundry

> Seriously, that was one of the best moments of my life as a sports fan

> Elliott hits, and it's 22-12 Green with 34 seconds left in the half

> Crowd erupts with an E-A-G-L-E-S chant

> Brady with too much time, goes deep, should have been picked but wasn't

> Brady to WR Philip Dorsett for an agozingly long and easy completion, final Silver timeout with 22 seconds left

> Brady runs, can't get out of bounds, and follows up with a spike that ends the chance at a field goal

> Significant mistake by Brady to not throw it away on the scramble

> Empty calories screen to Amendola pumps up the yardage and ends the half

> At halftime, rather than pay attention to a show that clearly isn't for my demographic, I go for Sports Twitter which is blowing up over Pederson's Call

> Giant Prince hologram reminds Minneapolis what was lost, which seems

> Belichick defends the Butler benching, of course, and we're all good with that, Bill

> Brady misses a very open Gronkowski, and that's a break

> Perfect ball to Gronkowski for 25, defensive line still not getting there, not a great day for the secondary, either

> Gronkowski owns CB Corey Graham for another 25, and yup, too easy

> Lewis for four, then Brady throws one away as pressure continues to be a beat slow from making big plays

> Third and six and money on the table is an out to Gronkowski, owning Graham for another first

> Tempo to give it to White, who gets through contact for a small gain

> Touchdown to Gronkowski, and that entire drive was the TE beating every defender he saw

> Gostkowski connects, and it's Green 22, Silver 19 and so much for the defense adjusting after the halftime and making anything easy

> Barner with a decent return, but it comes back on a hold, and the flag count is going predictably Silver's way

> Blount for 4, then a drop by Agholor on a slow developing rollout into traffic

> Third and six and all kinds of necessary given the defense tonight is a long clock cross to Agholor, who gets past contact and snaps off 19

> Massive play in the flow of this game

> Blount for another effective five, long clock again, and hops like a bigger LeVeon Bell to move the sticks again

> Foles misses Smith on what could have been a hold or DPI, but LOL Patriots

> Ajayi for nine stumbling yards as the line continues to just blow up their matchup

> 3rd and 1 as S Patrick Chung goes off, outside of field goal range, but G Steve Wisnieski also goes off, and Pederson goes play action to Ertz for 14 -- just stone killer playcalling so far

> Blount for four and falling forward, then Foles throws it away on worrisome back foot improvisation

> Third and six from deep figgie range, up three, is money on the table time again... and it's just a stone perfect ball to Clement for a 22 yard touchdown, and that is the most amazing thing yet in this game, because it's a close call that doesn't go for Silver

> Another perfect throw by Foles, independent of any call controversy

> Elliott connects, and it's Green 29, Silver 19 in one of the more unlikely pinball games you'll ever see

> Lewis to the 25, because no special teams can look real good tonight

> NBC is going to troll this catch for, like, ever

> Lewis for 1 as negative running plays continue to not end right away

> Incomplete on a late out bailed out on a hold against Gronkowski, who looks like he was shot

> Lewis for 1, then a cross to Hogan that CB Ronald Darby can't close on enough for another first down, and yet another half second late pressure

> Jenkins with a nice hit after 3 for White, then 5 as Mills is the last man to get there

> 3rd and 2 and will we ever force a punt is yet another wide open WR deep, this time Amendola, and the defense just can't get off the field all night

> Easy touchdown to Hogan, and that's two drives where the Patriot was hot knife through butter

> I'm not sure where the team that makes good halftime adjustments on defense is, but I'd like to come back

> Brady already has 400+ yards

> Gostkowski connects, and it's Green 29, Silver 26 in a game that's going to kill me

> RPO to Agholor, another perfect ball, for 24, and yup, this is Peak Foles

> RPO to Smith, right down the seam, another first down, with the added benefit of full clock burn; Wisnieski back

> Blount for 2, then Agholor on the end around moves the chains

> Foles tries Burton in the end zone to no avail, and I'd much rather they keep it on the ground and avoid fast strikes

> Chung's back as well as Smith gets eight on a well blocked screen

> Third and 3 and only touchdowns matter in this game has Green burn the clock to end the third, and it's 29-26 after three

> Terrible call and execution on an Agholor screen kills any chance of fourth down hijinks

> Elliott from 42 is good, with an offside against the Pats declined

> Even the flags against the Patriots don't count

> Green 32, Silver 26, and it's be nice if the defense actually makes a play now, given that losing the lead is kind of a problem

> Pederson doesn't onside kick, which might have been an idea, honestly

> Burkhead for five, then for 10 more as even the run defense isn't showing up

> Burkhead for four, no one tackling well

> Hogan stopped in front of the sticks, and an actual third down outside of figgie range

> Third and three and all I want is a single punt is an out to Amendola as the blitz does nothing; another poor play by Mills

> Cross to Amendola for another huge chunk as the defensive line isn't even getting close now

> Screen to Amendola for 9, and lather, rinse, repeat

> Second and 1 from the 7 is White for four, and the Patriots go tempo to keep the defense on the field, as if it matters

> From the four, an actual incompletion to White

> Second down is a fade to Gronkowski, who makes an absurdly difficult catch over Darby

> Just the best TE in NFL history, doing what he does, catching a pass from the best QB in NFL history

> Gostkowski converts the very not automatic PAT, and it's Silver 33, Green 32 for their first lead

> Brady with 457 yards and counting

> Long clock, then Ajayi for 4 as Things Get Tense

> Foles with too much time throws a jump ball to Smith, with full DPI/OPI not called

> Third and six and if you give the ball back here it's over is a Patriot time out on long clock, because Belichick understands the moment

> After the timeout, it's Foles to Ertz on a cross for a monster first down, and yeah, That Was Important

> Blount for 2, Things Get More Tense

> Foles to Clement for 7, good surge by the rookie on Chung, but couldn't quite get enough

> Third and one and my family needs to stop texting me is Foles to Smith on more gimmickry that doesn't work, and it's fourth down on a poor call

> Fourth down and Pederson is going to do what Pederson is going to do is Foles to Ertz, just enough, and my God, the drama from this team

> Five minutes left and just kill me, Eagle timeout

> Blount for a yard, then Foles scrambles and gets it to Agholor to move the sticks, and that's immense as well

> Clock becoming a factor as Foles hits Agholor for another nice chunk, and Chung goes down for a cheating New England timeout with 3:07 left

> Most yards in Super Bowl history and counting

> Agholor fights for a first down on a bubble screen, but the clock stops on the out of bounds, which is kind of not good

> Ajayi backs his way into a gain of three, and that's the second Patriot timeout

> From the 12, fade route to Jeffery, horrible play call -- not enough of a chance to work, and if it does, too much time left on the clock

> 3rd and 7 and total stress vomit time is Foles on a cross to Ertz, who bobbles it into the air and it's ruled a touchdown on the field

> The longest and worst minute of our lives ends with the latest NFL officiating debacle, where the clear and obvious good play by the offense is turned into... a touchdown, by Ertz

> Jesus Humping Christ Sports Is Going To Kill Me

> Most important 2-point conversion ever is Foles trying for Clement, missed, and I think the QB missed an opportunity had it come out faster

> Green 38, Silver 33 as the E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES chants are heard

> It's on the defense to stop Brady, with 2:21 and one timeout, plus the two minute warning

> Gronkowski for 8 and a clock stop

> Sack and strip by Brandon Graham, and HOLY UNRECOGNIZABLE JESUS IT'S A TURNOVER as Derek Barnett gets the recovery

> From the Patriot 31, Blount for 3, last Patriot timeout with 2:03 left

> If you are going to throw a pass, now's the time with the 2 minute warning coming

> Blount struggles for a few more, and if that had been a pass and a first down, this goddamn game is over

> 3rd and 5 and the chance for the killshot to end all kill shots is Blount for a loss, not helpful but at least not a disaster

> Full clock burn, then timeout at 1:10, and it's on Elliott to make from 46

> It's torture from NBC, then the kid hits, because it's not a PAT, and it's 41-33 Green

> Patriots try trickery on a short kickoff, and it loses for Silver; GOD DAMNED HELPFUL

> From the 9, 58 seconds left, Brady tries Hogan, was open deep on the sideline, but it falls short

> 53 left, incomplete to White as Brady scrambles and fails on a bad idea throwback

> 48 left, 3rd and 10, incomplete as pressure gets there late

> 42 left, 4th and 10, one play to win the only Super Bowl in franchise history is a cross to Amendola, clock running, 26 seconds left

> 26 left, throw to Gronkowski for 10 and out of bounds, a lot of time

> 20 left, throw to Gronkowski, 15 and out of bounds at the Patriot

> 13 left from the Patriot 49, out that Darby nearly intercepts

> 9 left from the Patriot 49, Brady avoids pressure, throws deep to Gronkowski for the Hail Mary, the ball is bobbled in the end zone and hangs for an eternity.. and it's incomplete

> A lifetime of waiting for the Eagles to win a Super Bowl ends

> And all it took was the most yards in NFL regular season or playoff history

> Much more later

The Super Bowk Pick: The Worst Days Of Our Lives

Too on the nose?

New England vs PHILA- DELPHIA (-4.5)

I need to tell you a bit of a story ab- out this pick. It will be long and sloppy because I don't have the time to make it better than that.

Last year's Super Bowl was, of course, profoundly depressing. I spent three quarters watching the most hated team in professional sports getting their comeuppance like a wrestling heel at the end of their program, with the Falcons just owning every aspect of the game. It was joyous. It was decadent. It made me giddy.

Then it all turned, and it was February in New Jersey, and the only thing I had to console myself with was that it wasn't my team.

The next day, I drove into work and expected to take abuse from my manager, a Patriots fan. I got in early, because that's what I did there, and went directly into the kitchen to store my lunch.

He was waiting there for me. With the head of HR. They proceeded to tell me that my role had been eliminated with the company, and that the policy there was for me to just leave, like, well, right now. Hand over the laptop, we'll mail you your personal effects, thanks for everything. Role was eliminated due to restructuring at the venture capital level, it was nothing I had done or could have done, here's your severance. Clear air turbulence. Tornado on a sunny day. Bang.

Here's how bad and sudden and unexpected all of this was. I had a half dozen people emailing me on my phone that day, asking for various work products.

So. One more thing to add to the list of lifetime events, attended by Boston Sports Fan, that have left me permanently scarred.

I am, of course, well and truly better off for being out of there. I work for a dramatically better company now, I'm out of a field (pharmaceutical marketing) that's agonizingly slow to innovate, and so on.

But I do all of that 3000 miles away from my family, because that's where the job is, and moving everyone out here with me on no notice, in a weak market for home sales, just wasn't feasible.

In the time since the last Super Bowl, my family has had personal setbacks, which manifest into financial ones. I work pretty much all the time now, either at the job or by doing side hustles. I haven't even gotten to the gym in the last two weeks. My free time is about an hour a day, hollowed out before going to work, because I don't tend to sleep more than four or five hours a night now.

Every day is a challenge to have hope over exhaustion, to make the nut on the side hustle to keep the credit cards working and get just enough ahead to cover the likely income tax bill in April. We're pretty much one more setback away from having to make some really bad choices.

Now, insert into all of that, this game. This team, which has been the sole consistent element of joy in the past 5 months. Against this team, who I associate not just with some of the worst people I've ever been near, but one of the worst days of my life.

People ask me if I'm looking forward to the game. If I'm getting excited. If I'm confident.

And I... compartmentalize it, because I have to go make the nut or get my laundry done at the laudromat while ducking the homeless guys panhandling, or figure out what I can eat from my mini fridge and mini microwave, or if I get to eat at all, given that the lack of gym means clothes that might not fit so good, and clothes that might not fit so good can't be replaced, because money.

So. That's where my head is at for this pick. And that's why it is the way it is.

The case for New England: The coach. The QB. The experience.

Offensive tempo has been the only way to beat this defense, and that's what they do better than anyone. Varied running attack that they don't forget about. Best play calling in the game, maybe ever. Special teams don't make mistakes. Defense bends, but usually doesn't break. Coach intimidates opposite number into mistakes, time after time. They also, let's be blunt about this, always get the better end of the officiating. Best preparation in the game, and maybe ever, especially when it comes to taking away the thing you do best. The Eagles are going to have to win this game without the running game carrying them, and the defensive line getting sacks. They are also going to have to win this game while still trying to do both of those things, because that's the only way you do beat them. It's maddening.

The case against: May be smoke and mirrors, actually. Won a weak division, then got past two historically weak teams at home, to get here. 30th ranked defense is a misnomer based around early season issues, but they still aren't all that great. If TE Rob Gronkowski isn't 100% after concussion protocol, takes away best weapon and biggest matchup issue. WR Brandin Cooks and Danny Amendola are good, but not better than what the Eagles have already faced. Have gotten off to slow starts this playoff year, and the opponent has ran off and hid against teams like that.

The case for Philadelphia: Best overall team in franchise history. Varied and effective weapons at every level of the offense. System that doesn't key on one guy to the point of predictability. Coach is having the year of his life, with an inordinate amount of gambles coming home, and a locker room that sells out for each other more than any team I've ever seen.

The case against: Backup QB and 2nd year coach against the greatest ever at their opposite numbers. Kicking game can be shaky. Struggle when officiating goes against them, and it likely will.

The pick: The Eagles can win a blowout. They can't win a close game. The Patriots play close games. My laundry covers the spread in the hollowest victory ever, and I spend the rest of my life, if and until they break through, haunted by the loss.

And as soon as the game is over?

I'll be working.

Patriots 31, Eagles 27

Last week: 0-2

Season: 130-126-8

Career: 1012-1013-43

Past SBs: 5-6