SUPER BOWL POST GAME: Giants vs Patriots

New England Patriots' QB Brady was sacked more often than potatoes. Five times during the Super Bowl he hit the dirt. Hard.

The stat graphic below pictures the wreckage wrought on the Pats.

QB Sacks New England Patriots 2007 through Week 17

It takes only one glance to see the potential damage to the Patriots' perfect season.

But the real damage is pictured in the stat graphic which follows, QB Sack Yards Lost. Ouch.

Yards Lost Passing New England Patriots 2007 through Week 17

The perfect season was founded on a passing efficiency performance which set records was blown out of the water by the Giants' D pass rush.

All season long this space harped on the importance due the QB sack. It has long gone without enough attribution. Sacks lead to punts, punts are turnovers, QBs get hurt, the IR list is full of lost games from sore thumbs to shock and head aches from hitting the ground.

On both offense and defense one sack contributes about 3 1/2 points to the winning margin. It deserves more attention than it gets.

Coach Tom Coughlin knows the game. Early in his career he worked on Coach Bill Parsells New York Giants' staff through two Super Bowls. As a head coach he did well at both the Jags and Giants. In Sunday's Super Bowl he neutralized the Pats' major strength, the group of stats we call "passing efficiency."

The Giants beat them on all counts. Congrats to Coach Coughlin. The five sacks and 37 sack yards won the game. They shoulda' won by more.

Bud Goode

Copyright 2007, BudGoodeSports.com. All rights reserved.