Guest Writer: Ryan Saunders "Super Bowl XLVI 2012"

Tomorrow millions of people will gather around TVs all over America to watch commercials and eat copious amounts of food.  There will also be a football game being played, the Super Bowl to be exact.  For many people this will be the first and only game they watch this season.   If you are one of these people who are attending a party but haven’t been paying attention to football this year and aren’t sure of things like which Manning brother will be playing, it’s the younger one Eli, or aren’t sure why Chris Canty’s helmet looks like supervillian then this article is for you.  I will briefly cover the teams and issues to get you caught up to speed and surprise the football enthusiast at your party with you knowledge.

First up are the Giants.  They have won 4 games in a row and are playing great football right now.  They had to win the last game of the regular season against the Dallas Cowboys just to get into the playoffs and now, playing every playoff game on the road, have reached the Super Bowl.  They have done this with a combination of a great defensive front four, arguably the best in football, and brilliant play from quarterback Eli Manning.  The defensive has amassed 9 sacks in 3 games and constantly harried the opponents’ qbs.  Eli Manning is playing the best ball of his career and has been brilliant on 3rd down.  The Giants are a staggering 44% on third down and Eli Manning has a Quarterback Rating of 103.1 in the postseason. 

The Patriots have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.  That is all you really need to know.  They are the all-time winningest quarterback – head coach combo in NFL history.  They have won 3 Super Bowl’s together.  Bill Belichick is one of the greatest football minds ever; he is constantly getting guys that will play hard in his system and winning games with them.  This year his new offensive wrinkle is his two dynamic tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.  These two guys have given New England a unique and almost unstoppable offense this year.  The Patriots are averaging 419.5 yards of offense per playoff game this year, 2nd only to the New Orleans Saints and during the regular season averaged 428 yards per game, also 2nd to the Saints.

In order for the Giants to win tomorrow they must find a way to take away either Aaron Hernandez of Rob Gronkowski.  If they can find a way to take away one or both of these dynamic New England tight ends they can win.  Rob Gronkowski injured his ankle two weeks ago in the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens.  He claims that he will be fine but it will be impossible to know for sure until game time.  They can do this by putting pressure on Tom Brady and making him make poor decisions.  It will be difficult to fluster him but the Giants front four are capable of it.  For the Patriots to win, they must stop Eli Manning on 3rd down.  If they can’t get the Giants offense off the field then Tom Brady can’t score.  They can do this by forcing the Giants into 3rd and long situations and taking away his favorite targets of Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz.

In Super Bowl XVII these same two teams battled to an epic conclusion.  The undefeated New England Patriots fell to the scrappy underdog New York Giants.  An incredible play by Eli Manning and David Tyree helped to make the game one of the most memorable in Super Bowl history.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be just as epic.  This year’s game has the ability to be just as good.  The teams are very evenly matched and the Patriots are looking for revenge for Super Bowl XVII, the only Super Bowl Brady and Belichick have lost.  Seeing as how it is impossible to write or talk about the Super Bowl without making a prediction I will make mine here: New England Patriots 38 New York Giants 35.

  -- Ryan Saunders is a graduate student at Baylor University's illustrious Truett Seminary , he graduated from Gardner-Webb, he is aspiring to graduate from Truett with an MDiV with a concentration in sports ministry, his home town is Durham, North Carolina.

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    We hope you have a fantastic Super Bowl Sunday!

Love from your humble blogger,

Baylor's RGIII Wins The Heisman "A Story Of Perseverance"

      Baylor's very own Robert Griffin III or RGIII just recently won the Heisman award, making him the first player to ever get the award within Baylor history. This is a story about perseverance, about hope, faith and teamwork. RGIII's first two years weren't bad but they weren't significant years as well, then he got hurt and could not play his third year causing him to have to sit out for the whole season last year. Baylor did not do that amazing last year, in fact we were pretty bad, but though the team could not pull off any miracles the fans stuck together and never let go of the faith that they were placing on their heroes on that field.

     RGIII did come back the following year, this year, and played even better than he had before, its as if the year he was injured was a necessity in order to bring out his full potential. Not only though did he come back fully recovered, he came back and united the team, he showed the team that sliver of hope they needed to see in order to keep their spirits alive and thus Baylor finished with one the best seasons they have ever had and RGIII became the first Baylor student to receive the Heisman. Perseverance stories are always a great reminder to us all, that you should never give up, never surrender and always pick yourself up when you fall.

     "This is the biggest thing that has ever happened in Baylor!" Shouted Dr. Lefever, a grad school professor. The uproar could be heard throughout the whole campus, some have said, celebrations took place everywhere that there was a Baylor student, no matter where they were there was excitement. The fact that RGIII is a super nice guy helps as well, here we're talking the ultimate leader and a gentleman, the guy has it all, everyone that has met him loves him, and those that don't love him at least respect him, those are rare qualities to find now-a-days and thus should be recognized. "RGIII should be the poster child of the NCAA. Great player, student, and impact on the Waco community" said Robbie Matteson of the Truett community within Baylor.

       Baylor has also done very well within other realms in the sports world, they have the number one ranking women's basketball team, and the guys team is not far behind at seven, both teams are undefeated, women's at 11-0 and guys at 9-0. The women's team also boasts having one of the best players within the NCAAW B.Griner who will ultimately win all the awards within that competition as well. Thus Baylor is a beast, they are not a huge school, though they have tons of spirit and only god knows what this school will do in the future. A true lesson on never giving up.

        "There has never been a more deserving Heisman trophy winner than RGIII. He has given an entire city a figure to rally behind and he is an amazing football player. He is the savior of BU football which was a disaster before he and Coach Art Briles arrived. He transcended football and put Baylor on the map. Griffin winning the Heisman was Christmas come early for Baylor and Waco" says grad student Ryan Saunders.

      The big question on Baylor's mind right now is if RGIII will go pro or will stay another year at Baylor, hopeful fans litter the stands in hope that he will consider staying another year and leading the Baylor Bears to further heights. All RGIII has said in comment has been "I'm not thinking about all that yet, for now I just want to stay focused on what is ahead and lead the Bears into a Bowl victory". Great things to come from this player, and from this school, stay tuned.

     Christmas is right around the corner, so take a deep breath and beat this week, rest is coming.

Love from your humble blogger,