[stkelly52]

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY
After a week of hype and hoopla, it is finally time to settle things on the field. It is 40 degrees and sunny in the Arizona desert. The coin toss gave us the ball first. A curious event happened on the kickoff. After a touchback, the game got off to an ominous start for us as on our first three plays we had Nixon run for -1 yards, Glenn tossed an incomplete pass, and then Glenn was sacked for a 1 yard loss. We then got off a poor punt that barely crossed the midfield stripe.

On Jacksonville's first offensive play they picked up 4 yards rushing, and 15 more yards courtesy of a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty. This was followed by a 13 yard run and a 6 yard pass, bringing the ball to the 17 yard line. On second down we finally were able to get penetration and made the tackle 2 yards shy of the line of scrimmage. Jacksonville was facing 3rd and 6. They went to the air, but the first two options were well covered. Davidson dumped it off to his slot receiver, but they were only able to pick up 4 yards. Our defense had held the Jaguars to a field goal attempt. Then a curious thing happened. It was not a windy day, but Jacksonville's kicker missed the 32 yard attempt wide right. So far we had not played well, but the score was still knotted at 0.

Our offence suddenly seemed awakened. Nixon ran for 8 yards, then 3 more, followed by a 6 yard run. A 10 yard penalty was immediately wiped out by a 13 yard pass, and a 5 yard run by Nixon. A couple of plays later we were facing 3rd and 4 when Leland pulled off a 12 yard run. There was nothing stopping us…well except for that interception that Glenn would toss on third down. With the runback, the Jags took over at the 39 yard line. That just makes me sick

Jacksonville ran once for 13 yards, and then they went to the air. Our banged and bruised secondary looked dazed and confused trying to stop Davidson's passes. He threw 3 passes, all of them big completions to lead them to the first TD of the game.

A poor kickoff and a solid return gave us the ball at the 41 yard line to start our next drive. The first quarter was drawing to a close, and we did not want to fall any further behind. Everyone knows that Jacksonville is an explosive team, and we would have trouble catching up if we fall very far behind.

Nixon started the drive off right with an 8 yard run, followed by a 3 yarder to pick up the first down. He was then stuffed for a one yard loss, but that play was negated by a penalty. On first and 5 Nixon only picked up one yard. We then tried an end around, but that went nowhere. We tried to throw on 3rd down, but there was no body open. Glenn avoided the sack, tucked the ball under and picked up 2 yards. We would face 4th and 2 to start the second quarter.

We had plenty of time to discuss our options during the break, so we decided to go for it. We needed to score to stay in this game. We were just out of field goal range, so the choice was clear. The fullback dive picked up 4 yards and the first down. We continued to move the ball well. Nixon had several big carries for us as we marched ever closer to scoring. But we struggled with our discipline. Three false starts and a hold (that wiped out a 22 yard Nixon run) made our task much harder. In the end we could get no closer than the 13 yard line. We kicked the field goal to cut the lead to 4, 7-3.

Our defense came out well rested and determined to not let Jacksonville do anything with the ball. They were right. Three plays and then a punt. However our offence could do no better and we punted the ball right back to them.

Jacksonville stared with the ball at their own 35. They did little on first and second down, but a 17 yard pass on third gave them a new set of downs to work with. Then he competed an 8 yard pass to get the ball to the 36 yard line. They were coming far too close to field goal range to make me comfortable. On second and 2 they tried a HB dive, but fumbled the ball in the process. We were unable to recover, but we kept them from picking up the first down. On 3rd and 1 the Jags went to a play action pass and we totally bit. We left their receiver completely uncovered. No one was within 10 yards of him… and he dropped the ball. Jacksonville would again have to settle for a field goal attempt. This would be a much more difficult attempt than he missed earlier, but earlier this year he had hit from 58 so this 52 yarder was in range. The kick was up, and it came down just shy of the goal posts. Yes it was a long kick, but everyone would remember that Kinney had attempted and missed two field goals in the Super Bowl.

We took over still trailing 3-7 with 3:30 left in the game, and in excellent field position. A couple of reverses and a couple of solid runs be Nixon gave us 24 more yards. We were down to 1:19. At this point I began to question the clock management. We should have been able to get off more plays than that, but we just weren't kicking it into two minute mode. An incomplete pass followed by a 6 yard scramble gave us 3rd and 4 with 46 seconds left and the ball on the 28. Nixon picked up the first with a 12 yard run. We finally called our first timeout. On first down, we give it to Nixon again, and he picks up 6 more yards. We use our second timeout. There is still 29 seconds left and it is 2nd an 4 from the 10. We again give the ball to Leland, but he is only able to pick up 2 yards. We use our final timeout. There are 17 seconds left in the half, and it is 3rd down. Plenty of time for one shot to the end zone. But no, we send out the kicking unit. The kick is good, and we now trail 7-6. That is the score as we go into the half.

While I know that things could be a lot worse for us at this point, I am still upset. I know that we could have taken the lead had we just used better clock management. But alas it was not to be.

To start off the second half, Jacksonville quickly advanced the ball from their 20 to our 28 yard line. They had little problem doing so as the shortest gain in their 5 plays was a 7 yard run. Facing 2nd and 3 from the 28, our defense finally got their act together. We stuffed an end around, and then my LCB broke up a pass play to force fourth down. Jacksonville sent our their kicker for the third time today. This time the kick went up and sailed wide right again. For the third time today Kinney missed his kick.

This gave us the ball at the 35 yard line. On first and second down, we picked up short yardage, but on third we picked up enough yards for the first down. Just repeat that last sentence 3 times and you will have the story of this drive. Four times we faced 3rd and 5+ yards. Four times we converted and kept the drive alive. The final play of the drive was a 3rd and 6 pass into the end zone to give us a 13-7 lead. It was our first lead of the game. The question was would we be able to hold onto that lead.

Clearly the Jags were not happy about falling behind, especially considering that many of them felt that they should have had nine more points were it not for their kicker.

The Jags next drive started at their own 37. A 13 yard run on first down pushed them to midfield. It looked like our defense might put a stop to the drive, forcing a 3rd and 16. But The Jaguars were able to complete an 18 yard pass for a first down. A 25 yard pass a couple of plays later gave them first and goal from the 8 yard line. I could tell that the Jacksonville players did not want to leave the drive in the foot of their kicker again. On second and goal they tossed a 7 yard TD pass to retake the lead, that is if Kinney could make the PAT. After missing three field goals, many wondered if he could even make a short kick like this one. But his PAT attempt was good giving the Jags a 14-13 lead.

Our next drive started at the 20. On second down we completed a 35 yard pass to move to the Jacksonville 43. It was a good way to end the 3rd quarter. We continued the drive with an 18 yard pass to move the ball into field goal range. Nixon picked up 9 yards rushing, but that play was negated by a holding penalty. This pushed us out of field goal range. We would regret that three plays later when we attempted a long field goal and missed short of the cross bar.

Jacksonville was able to move just 4 yards in their next 3 plays, and were forced to punt the ball away.
We reciprocated by punting the ball right back to them, but at least we pinned them deep in their own territory thanks to a 66 yard punt that was not returned.

Jacksonville shook off the long field before them though and put together a spectacular 12 play 90 yard drive. They only faced a third down one time during the game. That third down was 3rd and goal from the 6. Their QB went back for the pass, looked to his WRs, but they were covered. He then tossed the ball over to his RB at the 2 yard line. From there he jaunted into the end zone to expand the Jags' lead to 8. With just 3:17 left in the game time was running out for us.

The ensuing kickoff was short, and another solid return put the ball at our 41 yard line. We needed to score a TD on this drive if we were going to have any hope of coming back. We now had just under 3:00 left in the game. The real question is time management. Should we score a TD and 2 point conversion, we don't want to allow enough time for Jacksonville to mount another drive. But at the same time, should we not be successful with the 2 point conversion, we will need enough time to recover an onside kick and then try for another long field goal.

On first down we go for the whole ball of wax. Glenn let loose a beautiful pass right on the money for a big 43 yard gain, that put the ball on the Jacksonville 21 yard line. This dropped the time down to 2:37. My thought at this point, was that we needed to run off about at least another minute or minute and a half. Instead though, we go to the air on two consecutive plays. One was a 10 yard pass, the second was a perfect strike into the end zone. The score was now 19-21. This was a no brainer, we had go for two. For the conversion we handed the ball off to Leland Nixon. Nixon dove strait up the middle, following right behind our stud center and left guard. The two linemen cleared the path and Leland waltzed in to tie the game. However, more questionable time management decisions give Jacksonville plenty of time to mount one last drive.

We kicked off the ball, and it sailed all the way through the end zone. Jacksonville had 2:11 and 3 timeouts left to try to win the game. On first down, our hearts sank as Davidson completed a 36 yard pass. This moved the ball down to our 44 yard line. We went to the two minute warning knowing that we could not afford to give up 15 more yards or all would likely be lost. Jacksonville tried to run the ball, but they were stuffed for no gain. A false start gave us more hope as they lost 5 yards. On third and 15 Davidson threw the ball for 16 yards and another first down at the 33 yard line. They were in field goal range, but it would be a long kick. Following a incomplete pass, Davidson completed a 9 yard pass to the 24 yard line. But they were not able to run for the first down on 3rd and 1. With under 30 seconds left Jacksonville lined up for the game winning field goal. Kinney had tried and missed 3 field goals today. But all that would be forgotten if he could just connect on this 41 yard attempt. For the season he was an 81% kicker, one of the better kickers in the league. Every kickers dream is to kick the game winning kick in the Super Bowl. This would a nightmare of a game into the ultimate dream for him. Of course if he fails to make this kick, I don't know if he would be welcome back in the state of Florida again.

The snap. It was a perfect hold. Our attempt the block the kick is thwarted as we make no penetration. The kick is up.

To be continued...