Who is to blame for the outcome of Super Bowl XLVI?

Super Bowl XLVI- sciondriver-flickr.com

Some may disagree about the game changing play, in Super Bowl XLVI, but the play that changed the outcome was when New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady attempted a pass to wide receiver Wes Welker, and Welker dropped it bringing embarrassment to himself and the team. The question is: Who was at fault, Brady or Welker?

Welker holds an amazing record of 122 catches this season. Welker made an attempt to catch a pass from Brady with about four minutes left. Is there true justification for blaming Welker when he was able to catch that ball 122 times before? Welker has always been able to get open and be ready to catch whatever is thrown at him. Deion Branch said in an ESPN article, “Ninety-nine percent of the time, he makes that grab.” Although Welker made the attempt to catch the ball by twisting his body, that does not matter because he did not catch it. Therefore, some of the blame should be placed on Welker. 


Brady, known to deliver any pass to the correct hand, may be at blame for the incident on the day of the Super Bowl. Throughout the game Brady played very well, but he never acted like the leader. His team was playing at a slow pace, one that was favoring the Giants. Brady is the quarterback who is paid millions of dollars to make the right play and deliver it on time and on target. If Brady cannot do that, why should the blame be on Welker? Brady threw the ball too high and behind Welker. For even David Tyree that would have been a very difficult pass to catch. Therefore, Brady should take part of the blame. If Brady was able to pass the ball on target, not too far away or high from Welker, the outcome of the game could have been different.

The loss of the Patriots should not be blamed upon one man. Although there are many plays that could have changed the outcome of the game, Brady's pass to Welker had the most effect. Welker had dropped the pass, but it is Brady's job to deliver the ball right into Welker's hands. Let’s see what the game changing play will be next year. 

Three fumbles, three chances at Super Bowl XLVI, none taken

The New England Patriots forced three fumbles during Super Bowl XLVI, but they failed to recover any of them. If they had recovered just one of them, they could have turned the game around and prevented the New York Giants from scoring, while creating scoring opportunities for themselves.

The first of the three fumbles was recovered by the Patriots, but because there were 12 players on the field the recovery was nullified. Instead the Giants moved forward, and they scored a touchdown few plays later.

The second fumble there were six Patriot players around Hakeem Nicks who dropped the ball, but not one of them was able to pick the ball up. Henry Hynoski was able to pick it up instead, and the Giants kicked a field goal few minutes later.

The last of the fumbles was in the fourth quarter near the Giants end zone. Ahmad Bradshaw lost the ball at the 13 yard line, which bounced of James Ihedigbo's helmet, but Giants lineman Chris Snee recovered it.

With none of the three fumbles recovered, the Patriots weren’t able to get the one touchdown to win the game. "I thought we played very competitive, had our moments where we moved the ball and stopped them. We were in the lead for a good part of the game. We just came up a couple of plays short," Bill Belichick said to the Associated Press.