Wife Gisele Bundchen comforts Tom Brady (Getty Images)
Tom Brady, Quarterback, New England Patriots. I believe Tom Brady played well. Not well enough, if you're in this situation and you're Tom Brady, but I wouldn't call it a bad game. The safety wasn't good, but the one interception on his stat sheet served as a pretty decent punt. Aside from those things, it's hard to ask much more of a quarterback. He had two touchdown throws, 276 yards, and he eluded the rush very well. He played well enough to win. It just so happened that he didn't. Without a few key drops, I could be writing something very different about Tom Brady right now.
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Wes Welker, Wide Receiver, New England Patriots. I suppose there isn't a whole lot to say about this one, either. Again, not a simple or easy catch, but one that Welker has to make. And like Brady, I feel Welker played pretty well. With Gronkowski a non-factor, coverage was focused on Welker, and he still had seven catches for 60 yards. It was a well-played game, so it's hard to find five legitimate LVPs. Brady and Welker are just going to have to take one for the team.
Rob Gronkowski, Tight End, New England Patriots. There are few things more entertaining than a healthy Rob Gronkowski ‒ it's a shame we didn't have that for the Super Bowl. He wasn't anywhere close to 100 percent, and he never came close to having an impact on the game. Shame for all of us.
[ Related: Wes Welker's dropped pass might have sealed Patriots' fate ]
Kyle Love, Defensive Tackle, New England Patriots. I love to watch Vince Wilfork on defense. The Giants were able to neutralize Wilfork pretty well with double teams and their own quality line play, but as I watched Wilfork, I couldn't help but notice the gentleman next to him getting housed on every play. So much attention was paid to New England's deficiencies in the secondary, but when Love was on the field, there was a pretty big one in the middle of the defense, too.
M.I.A., Entertainer of Some Kind. Really, M.I.A.? The middle finger? Are you nine years old? You're going to bring the FCC hammer down on NBC because you're that excited about giving the camera the middle finger? Listen, I'm all for artists being rebellious and breaking rules ‒ I might even argue that it's necessary, especially for musicians. But the middle finger? That's your rebellious statement? What are you going to do for an encore, refuse to clean your room? Not put the magic markers back in the proper bin? We're going to have Neil Diamond doing the next 12 Super Bowl halftimes. Thanks, M.I.A.
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