Monday, February 04, 2002
Maybe there is something to destiny
By Paul Daugherty
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEW ORLEANS — Up, up, up the ball went, higher and higher, into the flashbulbs and the screams, the field goal dead-solid perfect, every bit as good as the kid quarterback who set it up and the brass-knuckles defense that kept it possible.
Adam Vinatieri's last-play kick made Super Bowl winners of the New England Patriots, 20-17 over the St. Louis Rams. It ended a wild fourth quarter, began a legacy Patriots coach Bill Belichick will never lose and left the rest of us wondering what happened to the Greatest Show On Turf.
Maybe there is something to destiny. Feel free to believe it. Otherwise, you'll have to explain how a team that lost its first two games of the season and its starting quarterback could rally to win its last nine, including this one against a team that was favored by 14 points.
Tell us how Tom Brady out-Kurt Warnered Kurt Warner. Brady, preternaturally cool, directed the 53-yard drive in the last 1:30, leading to Vinatieri's kick. Tom Brady, sixth-round draft pick, caddie to Drew Bledsoe, making like Joe Montana in the Super Bowl.
It could be fate. Or it could be this: In a fight you have to win, maybe you take the guys with the brass knuckles instead of the guys with the winged feet.
Pretty, breakable
St. Louis has the prettiest offense in the league. The circus, we've called it. Here's something about pretty things: They're easily broken. New England's defensive backs played bumper cars with the Rams' porcelain wide receivers. Whenever it looked as if the St. Louis offense might find its feet, some Tebucky Jones or another would plaster another flanker.
“We wanted to get up in (their) face. Nobody else had done that,” corner Ty Law said.
In the second quarter, with Mike Vrabel invading Warner's facemask, Warner threw a perfect strike to Law, who returned it 47 yards for a touchdown. In the third quarter, Warner was intercepted when his receiver, Torry Holt, fell down.
Some circus.
In the fourth quarter, the Greatest No-Show on Turf needed five plays, one timeout and a heaven-sent penalty to move three yards for its first touchdown of the Super Bowl.
Penalty kept it close
Warner tried to run for a touchdown. From the New England 3-yard line, fourth down, and Warner was ker-bumping toward the goal line. He was hit, fumbled and New England's Tebucky Jones was running 99 yards for a score. For those few seconds, Warner seemed less the league's MVP than an object of pity.
A holding penalty on Willie McGinest called it back. When the Rams rallied to tie the game, McGinest began prepping for his Bill Buckner photo shoot.
Then Brady made plays, and Vinatieri made history.
As for Belichick: His genius is certifiable. As for Rams coach Mike Martz: It's amazing how quickly the circus shuts down when the performers don't perform.
“I saw zero-two, zero-one, zero-zero. You lose it at that point,” said Brady of the dying clock. “We seized the opportunity we had.”
“We're champions,” Vinatieri said. “Whoooo!”
Whooo, indeed.
Contact Paul Daugherty at 768-8454; fax: 768-8550; e-mail: pdaugherty@enquirer.com.
Sports Stories
A-10 studies XU-Richmond scuffle
This week in Ohio preps
This week in Kentucky preps
DAUGHERTY: Maybe there is something to destiny
