SB XXXIX prediction: all pats, baby

I can't believe what I'm reading on some other sites. 42-10 EAGLES?!?! If the guy hadn't went to such length to slam Belicheck and the Pats I'd think he was joking. Since when has the Eagles offense been that dangerous, especially against a D like the Pats have? And sure, Belicheck may be overrated, but you're going to bet against Tom Brady in a playoff game? The guy is unreal in the postseason.

Methinks all one has to do is look at the schedules. One team came out of the loaded AFC with a 14-2 record and then embarassed two of the best teams in the league, even holding the supposedly unstoppable Colts to ZERO touchdowns. The other team emerged from the weaker NFC with really a 15-1 record (they could have easily won both of those last games if they had to) and did a good job shutting down two potent offenses. But in neither playoff game did they show any kind of shock-and-awe offense, and those weren't exactly defensive powerhouses they were playing. And...someone out there somewhere is going to take the Eagles? In a rout??? Um, okay.

Eagles fans might hope that Pats are coming in overconfident, but come on, these are the Patriots. And he's Bill Belicheck. All week the Pats have been the calm, reserved, "let's just play" team while the Eagles and their fans have been excited like they'd just made the leap after three straight conference championship losses or something. The one gleam of hope I can see for the Eagles is that the Pats haven't faced a running QB like McNabb all year. But how often does McNabb just take over a game? If it were Vick out there I could see it but not Donovan. Face it, the Eagles offense just isn't that scary. So while the game might be close if the Eagles D can hold the Pats down, I can't see the offense putting up enough points to win much less run the Pats out of Jax. Call it luck, an uncanny ability to win close games, or whatever you want. The Pats just win. And in this case, with one of the best Super Bowl quarterbacks of all time and against the tame offense of Philly, they'll win big. 38-21 New England, with a TD or two from the Eagles in garbage minutes.

UPDATE: Wow. The Eagles actually impressed me. Note that I only saw the halftime show and third quarter--this was one of those nights when I really wish I had cable--so I didn't see all the sloppy stuff. But the Eagles did well I thought; had McNabb not completed that pass to Harrison at the goal line they might have won this thing. And even more surprising to me was how good the halftime show was. I'm not at all a Beatles fan but I really liked McCartney's show for some reason. Between that and U2's epic performance in '02 the NFL oughta just stick to British bands for big shows from now on. Overall a good Super Bowl, coming from someone who didn't see most of it.