Nice rant; glad I could help. <G>
I'll agree that the Pats didn't look as hungry as the Ravens in the second half. On the other hand, little things become big things in games like that, and momentum is huge. The Pats opened the second half with a 6-point lead and began marching downfield, only to have Welker drop a third down pass that would have moved the chains. At the time, I thought that could turn out to be a big problem. Maybe it wouldn't have changed anything, but killing that drive seemed to stymie the Pats' momentum.
I also was pretty surprised to hear the announcers refer to Pollard's helmet-to-helmet hit that knocked Ridley out as "perfectly legal". The network seemed to be pulling for Ray Lewis and the Harbaugh story to the extent that they missed some big story lines. Amazing. Pollard used his helmet as a weapon more than once, and no one called him on it.
As for Lewis -- I believe in redemption, but he seems to be milking it a bit much. 100 camera guys on him as he removes his jersey and pads, walks to mid-field (alone) after the game, and does a face plant into the turf. It seems contrived, even accounting for the emotional nature of the moment. I could envision Terrell Owens doing the same thing.
Finally, Terrell Suggs must not have gotten the memo about "humility" when he ran his mouth about the Pats after the game. Pure class.
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