Comments on: A Super Bowl Preview For People Who Don’t Know Football (2012 Edition)

By: J. Ryan

J. Ryan — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:06:03 +0000

Oh, and Ochocinco is active (in uniform and eligible to play) today, but sadly, Mark Herzlich is not.

If you watch, enjoy.

By: J. Ryan

J. Ryan — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:12:41 +0000

Thanks everyone for the kind comments and useful notes. I appreciate it all.

By: matt

matt — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:32:32 +0000

this is a great article even for die-hard football fans. people so often get lost in the endless stats and on field performances. they end up loosing sight of the fact that at the end of the day, we’re dealing with 100+ real people, with lives, aspirations (outside of the game) and personalities that are often much more interesting than the on field product.

By: Anna

Anna — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:44:22 +0000

Just what I needed to get excited for Sunday.

By: J. Ryan

J. Ryan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:11:15 +0000

Dave,

First off, thanks for the input — it’s a good point.

I picked Chad because of his more likely familiarity to non- or casual football fans, for whom this article was targeted. Even if they don’t suit him up, he’ll still see some screen time, and his career makes him a story, even if (because?) he’s near the end of that career.

I agree with you, however, that Rob and Aaron are far more relevant players in the Patriots offensive scheme. If this article was for a fantasy football site, I would’ve led with the Gronk profile.

I did preliminary research on Gronk, the Law Firm, JPP, and Justin Tuck, but felt given the size of the article (it was getting long) I felt I should only pick three guys after the QBs and Ochocinco, and went with Victor, Wes, and Brian, taking into account both likely TV face time (in the case of Wes & Victor) and interesting life stories.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:00:34 +0000

Like the article but why did you include Chad Ochocinco here? Theres a chance that he might not even play in the Super Bowl given his regular season stats. Even through off the field hes pretty nutty, really has been quiet all year.

I think you should introduce Rob Gronkowski and/or Aaron Hernandez who will likely be mentioned/interviewed many times during the game.

By: Football Fan

Football Fan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:44:53 +0000

You can’t post a pic of Ochocinco in his Bengals uniform! He’s a Pat now!

By: Dana M.

Dana M. — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:35 +0000

J. Ryan, you have outdone yourself, yet again! Even for those of us who watch just enough football to be the “last one needed for a Fantasy Football” league, I learned a lot. Keep up the great writing!

By: Nichole

Nichole — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:35:41 +0000

This has become my favorite thing about the Super Bowl. Great work!

By: J. Ryan

J. Ryan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:28:37 +0000

Piece has been updated & corrected, Tina. It was amazing how viral that putative connection was — even Bleacher Report (where I first found it) ran a story on it. Thanks for the help!