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CNN SUNDAY MORNING
Super Bowl Fun
Aired February 3, 2002 - 07:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: OK, it's Super Bowl time. That's New Orleans. You don't suppose anybody's having fun yet. CNN's Gary Tuchman drew the long straw and got this assignment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the moonlit Mississippi, on the edge of the French Quarter, the solitude is quite misleading. The spirit of New Orleans is alive and well this Super Bowl week, despite security that even the most spirited reveler can tell is different and more apparent than ever before.
(on camera): Did you ever imagine you'd be on Bourbon Street during the Super Bowl in the middle of Mardi Gras, protecting Americans?
SGT. JOHN BECH, LOUISIANA NATIONAL GUARD: No, I would never have thought I'd be asked to do such a thing, but I am.
TUCHMAN: The security is elaborate. Unprecedented for a Super Bowl. It would be too much for many cities to handle, but this is the city known as The Big Easy, and people don't come here to take it easy.
(voice-over): The city of New Orleans agreed to pause Mardi Gras, which had already started, until after the Super Bowl, to help with the security effort. But there are no other overt signs of trying to reign in the fun.
CHRIS ROSE, "NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE": This is the greatest show on earth this week. This is it. This is a celebrity and sports orgy like no other, and people like it here. We like that it's here. We think it should be here very year.
TUCHMAN: So do many of the Super Bowl tourists, like this Rams' fan, who says the security doesn't faze her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I actually like it. It's like this anywhere else you go in the world, so it might as well be here also, you know.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Does it stop you from having fun, though? Seeing all the cops and all the National Guardsmen?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They'll never stop us from having fun. TUCHMAN (voice-over): At the Acme (ph) Oyster Bar...
(on-camera): Hi, are you having fun?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. So far, we got in about two ours ago and we're waiting for the fun to start. But we're just getting warmed up.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The warm up doesn't take long. At the NFL Experience, a football carnival especially for kids, the party atmosphere also lives on, despite the fact National Guard troops patrol the entrance, but it's the French Quarter that's the heart and soul of New Orleans.
(on camera): Does the security intimidate you at all?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not at all.
TUCHMAN: Tell me why.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I like handcuffs.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The decadence and the frivolity live on.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Gary Tuchman, you lucky dog you.
All right, and so the perennial question: who do you think is going to win, the St. Louis Rams or the New England Patriots? Will it be a decent game is another good question. It seldom is. We, of course, have experts to dope it out for you, if you will. Randy Karraker of the Rams' Radio KPRS and Alan Segel of Boston's WBZ Radio.
Alan and Randy, good to see you both. Where else? Here in the Big Easy, the Crescent City. Gentlemen, good morning to you.
RANDY KARRAKER, KPRS RADIO, ST. LOUIS: Good morning, Miles
ALAN SEGEL, WBZ RADIO, BOSTON: Good morning, Miles.
O'BRIEN: I assume you've been up all night.
SEGEL: Don't tell me boss that, but...
O'BRIEN: We'll keep it a secret just among us. Give a sense of the scene there. On the one hand, watching Gary's piece, it looks like everybody's having a great time. On the other hand, you read some of these accounts and it sounds like Beirut with the amount of weaponry and barricades out there to try to keep this thing safe.
KARRAKER: I don't know about - from Alan's standpoint, but from my standpoint, the biggest hassle has been as a media member. As far as being a reveler or out on the street, sure you see the National Guard and you see the police around, but I don't think that they're a hindrance to people trying to have fun. It's noticeable but it - I think it's noticeable in a way that makes you feel safe. I feel much better about the fact that they're around.
O'BRIEN: Allan, do you agree?
SEGEL: I agree, Miles, completely. You know, they're trying to protect the city and you know, as their mayor Marc Morial said in a press conference and even the people from the Secret Service, that this is the best protected city - best protected city in the world right now. And I don't mind it at all. And people were sure having fun last night and there were people out in law enforcement. So I think people enjoyed seeing them out there and they know they're safe and that's all that matters.
O'BRIEN: But what's the football game going to be like without that big foam number one thing, you know that you can't bring in this year, right? I mean that's a big loss, isn't it?
KARRAKER: I think it's a Superbowl staple to keep those things out though. They're usually pretty limited in terms of what you can bring into the building. But you're right, no noisemakers, no camcorders, things like that. It probably won't be as memorable an experience, especially for a Patriot fan today because they're going to have to lead by half time.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Which you've led us definitely into that discussion. All right, offense versus defense, Rams got the offense, the Patriots got a great defense, at least that's the conventional wisdom. Do you go along with that?
SEGEL: Miles, offense wins -- offense sells tickets, defense wins championships. And if you take a look at the playoffs and let's concentrate only on the playoffs because even though both teams have won eight in a row, if you take a look at the playoffs, the Patriots have allowed 30 points, the Rams have allowed 40. If you take a look at total yards, the Patriots have allowed 268, the Rams have allowed 319.
On the ground, this is where the big advantage is; the Patriots have stopped Oakland and Pittsburgh, allowing only 67 yards a game. St. Louis is allowing 114. And you know, the Patriots' defense is just playing superb and people in Pittsburgh found out, as they were so confident last week that Pittsburgh was going to be here in New Orleans, just how good that defense it.
KARRAKER: I really think that the expiator here - there's two of them - number one, officially, Marshall Faulk. How do you defend him? And the other one is, nobody's talking about the Rams' defense against the Patriots' offense. I really question how New England is going to score. They've had one touchdown in - on offense in each of the first two games. The Rams, of course, have three defensive touchdowns in these playoffs. The Rams' defense is pretty darn good. They finished third in the league during the season and I wouldn't be surprised if they carried the day.
O'BRIEN: Now, you mentioned Marshall Faulk. I would think that'd be a key player to watch here in this game. He's in his hometown and whether he can run or not is key, isn't it?
KARRAKER: And nobody has found a way to defend him. The big thing with Marshall is whether you can run or whether you can throw to him, you're going to succeed. If somebody tries...
O'BRIEN: He just wants the ball, doesn't he?
KARRAKER: Yeah, that's all you have to do, get him the ball and the flat and he'll take off. He's an impressive performer. I don't think there's any question. Alan might disagree that he's the best player in the game right now.
O'BRIEN: Alan?
SEGEL: No, I would not disagree with that. He is the best player, but the Patriots, you know, contained him pretty well when they played back in November. And you know, you talk about how the Patriots are going to score, well, there is a big guy in the front line named Matt Light, a rookie tackle who was out that game. That hindered the Patriots' offensive line.
You know, you got the Patriots performing at a different level than they did back in November and I just believe that the Patriots are going to be able to go against the St. Louis defensive. It is a good defense, but you know something, Pittsburgh was the number one defense in the NFL last week...
O'BRIEN: Right.
SEGEL: ... and the Patriots were pretty successful against them when they had to be successful. But if you take a look at what the game comes down to, Miles, it comes down to special teams and right now, the Patriots have the best special team in the NFL. No problem. No - you know, hands down.
O'BRIEN: All right, but now, Alan, you've got to admit, when it comes to the quarterback position, you've got a bit of a disadvantage here.
SEGEL: Kurt Warner is a great player.
O'BRIEN: Yeah.
SEGEL: There is no doubt about it, but you know something, Bill Belochek (ph) is a defensive genius. He really is and he bartered Kurt Warner. Mike March (ph) said back in November that the Patriots were the hardest team that they fought against all year long. And you know, Kurt Warner is such a sequential type quarterback - three step drop, five step drop, throw the ball. The Patriots, all they have to do is find a way to get into the passing lane and put some pressure on him. You got a healthy Willie McGinnis. He didn't play that game with Ted Johnson and Brian Cox back in November. They're healthy now. The Patriots playing at a very top level. I think Kurt Warner is going to see a different Patriots team that he saw in November and it was pretty tough that day. And you know something; they didn't do a great job against Philadelphia last week where the Patriots did a great job against Pittsburgh.
O'BRIEN: Randy?
KARRAKER: This is a guy, Kurt Warner, who's 40 and nine as a starter in his career. He showed the ability to either blow teams out or bring his team back in the fourth quarter. He's a remarkable performer. And the thing is that Philadelphia has a terrific defense. They have one of the most sophisticated blitzing schemes in all of football. They weren't able to get to Kurt Warner last week. I don't see how New England is going to be able to get to him this week.
He has as quick a release as Dan Marino had. He's had the best first three years in the history of the league. I don't see how this Ram offense is going to be stopped. They haven't been stopped yet.
And you go back to the special teams; the Rams generally don't have to punt. If New England can slow the Rams' offense down and they can keep the Rams' offense off the board, then more power to them. They deserve to win if they can become the first team to slow them down.
O'BRIEN: Now, what about the fact that this is being played on artificial turf, a lot of talk about that and that that may be favoring the Rams. Do you go along with that?
KARRAKER: I think that's a big factor. And the Rams, historically, when they see a team on turf for the first team are shocking with their quickness, not necessarily their speed but with the way their receivers break out of their cuts and the with the way Marshall Faulk can move and duke. And I think, personally, the turf is going to play a big role in today's...
O'BRIEN: Alan, do you think it's a big deal or should...
SEGEL: Miles, you know, Ty Law, the Patriots' quarterback, Loy Milloy, the Patriots' safety both told me this week, as far as they know and Randy correct me if I'm wrong, the Patriots will not be playing on grass today and St. Louis playing on turf. As far as they know, they're both playing on turf and yes, you're absolutely right; it'll help St. Louis' speed. But you know something the Patriots aren't slow. It's going to help their speed also.
So both teams are going to have equal footing, you know, on this turf tonight, as well as they're the greatest show on turf, you know, the Patriots are going to, you know, be a little bit speedier also and they do not fear St. Louis at all.
O'BRIEN: And it's a level as they say. All right, Alan, let's get you guys on record. Alan, you first, give us at least a spread or a predicted score.
SEGEL: Somewhere in the vicinity of 27, 24, Patriots.
O'BRIEN: All right, Randy?
KARRAKER: I'm going to go with the odds makers. I'm going to say 31, 17, St. Louis.
O'BRIEN: All right, gentlemen, you're on record. We will be held accountable later for this. Thank you very much. Enjoy the game and don't do anything I wouldn't do, all right?
SEGEL: You got it, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, take care.
SEGEL: Bye-bye.
O'BRIEN: Enjoy the Big Easy.
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