I mean, the organization has to be fined and punished in some way, but what more can the league do? Yes this is terrible for the NFL, but they can’t take away the Saints’ wins because of it. This was two years ago, there is really nothing they can do now that will affect anything that happened two years ago. They didn’t really do much when the Patriots were caught filming Rams’ practices during their Super Bowl season for the same reasons. All the NFL can really do is punish the Saints now and make sure that they prevent this type of thing from happening in the future.

Honestly, I don’t know. I wish I had the “inside scoop” regarding all of the trade discussion, but sadly I don’t, of course, this doesn’t stop me from having an opinion on the matter. I really don’t think that any of the big names are going to get dealt, and why should they be. I mean look at Howard. He has wanted out of Orlando since last year, but have his numbers dropped? No. Is his energy down? No. So why should the Magic trade him, especially if the best offer out there is for Andrew Bynum. In regards to Nash, I think that the Suns should trade him to a contender, which is plausible, but unlikely. Nash is the only guy on that roster that is selling any tickets right now. With that being said, I wouldn’t be shocked if a deal for Nash went through, but again it is unlikely. Two other big names being “secretly” shopped are Pau Gasol and Rajon Rondo. The only reason the Lakers should consider trading Gasol again is if the Magic call up and tell the Lakers they are ready to deal Howard. Unfortunately, when that call comes I will be able to ride my flying pig around LA. As for Rondo, he is the most valuable piece to this Celtic team. His performance today is a perfect example of just how important he is. His play this year has shown me that he is a true leader, and he has the ability to control the flow of any game. Just put guys around him that can score the basketball. Danny Ainge would have to be an idiot to trade Rondo. I believe those are most of the big name players being thrown about in trade discussions, and although my opinions are wonderful, we will just have to wait and see what happens.

My answer is no, but this is a very interesting question. If Gronkowski was at 100%, the G-Men would have had to double him the entire game and not just the first quarter. This would have made it easier for guys like Welker and Hernandez to get open, but then again, both of those guys dropped passes late in the fourth when they were wide open. Who says Gronkowski wouldn’t have dropped those same passes? The Gronk is a BEAST, but he can be slowed down. The Giants must have had some kind of defensive scheme in place to slow him down if he happened to be at full strength.

Blackburn’s interception is another debatable play. Most people think that if Gronkowski was healthy, that ball would have been caught or at least incomplete. Maybe he could have batted it down, but Brady under-threw him and Blackburn had pretty darn good position. In my opinion, even if Gronkowski was heathy that ball would have been picked off. Furthermore, it looked like the Giants had some kind of game plan with regards to covering Gronkowski. I can’t see him having much more of an impact than he did, even with his talent.

The weird thing about the Super Bowl is that someone unexpected always steps up. For the Patriots, that guy was Edelman. The Giants came out saying Welker and Gronkowski aren’t going to beat us. The Patriots came out saying the same thing only they looked to stop Cruz and Nicks, and look what happened. Mario Manningham, the guy that everyone forgot about, made the big play. 

To sum up what I am trying to say, I think that the Giants would have slowed a healthy Gronkowski down enough to where he would not be the guy to have “the big game” and win the Super Bowl for the Pats.