New England Patriots: Most points scored in NFL history. Largest margin of victory in NFL history. Only second team to have undefeated regular season in Super Bowl era. Tom Brady -- 50 TD passes, number 1 all time. Randy Moss -- 23 TDs, number 1 all time.Super Bowl XLII Champions: New York Giants.
Yes, everyone -- all you front-running New England fans, arrogant Bill Simmons (42-17, Pats, eh, Bill?), and fat-ass, pontificating Chris Berman and all the rest of the jackholes on ESPN who picked blowouts for the Pats -- that's right, the Giants beat the New England Patriots tonight. And I admit, I still cannot believe it. I watched every second and I, like many, knew that they had a shot if they kept it close throughout the game. I said to our guests at our home tonight, "I just hope they're not down 21-3 after a quarter." And there they were, holding the Pats to their lowest point total of the season. The mighty, mighty Patriots.
Who do you give credit to? You give it to the entire New York Giants team. It took what it had to take tonight -- a complete team effort. I said before the game that the Giants needed to be perfect and the Pats needed to have an off game. I think I was wrong. The Giants were not perfect. They made some mistakes. A botched snap. A critical pass interference penalty by Antonio Pierce in the second quarter. A terrible interception in the red zone where rookie Steve Smith juggled a ball into the Pats hands.
But the Pats were beatable tonight. And why? Credit the Giants defense for being beyond stout throughout this game. They came in knowing they had to play the game of their lives. They knew they were one blown coverage away from beating the Pats in late December. So let's be perfect this time, they must have said. And they damn near were. Aside from Pierce's pass interference penalty, I can't think of another mistake -- even a slightly missed assignment -- that the defense made all night. And that's amazing. They sacked Tom Brady five times. FIVE. He was sacked only once in their Dec 29 game and only something like 12 or 13 times all season. Nobody gets to Handsome Tom.
Do you know when I began to believe this game was not going to be just like every other Pats playoff game? Late in the first half, when the Giants forced a fumble to halt the Patriots drive, the fumble was caused by a sack of Terrific Tom Brady. And after the play, it was clear how hard Brady had been hit and even one of his linemen was getting up slowly and limping off the field. And I thought to myself, this is about when Rocky begins turning the tide. He uppercuts the champ hard and makes him bleed. And the champ isn't necessarily losing yet, but they're stunned and not looking like themselves. And the door is open a crack and the challenger has to push their way through. And they did.
Hey, how about Plaxico saying the Giants were going to win, 23-17, earlier in the week? Tom Brady then laughed -- laughed -- when told that and said, "Oh, is Plax playing defense?" He thought the idea of the Pats only scoring 17 points was a silly concept. Hmmm, what do you think of 14, Tom?
Some more thoughts on the classy Patriots.... how about that last one second of play? Belichick is clearly told at midfield by the officials that the game is not over and that the Giants have the ball with one second left on the clock. But Bill Belichick isn't interested in the Giants having the ball -- now that his team has lost the game, he's outta there! Belichick, Brady and many other Patriots were already up the tunnel and weren't out there for the final play of the game. And do you know who I do respect on the Pats? Teddy Buschi, for one, who was out there for the final play and who was signaling for his defensive teammates to come out there and line up for the Giants last snap. And whomever else on the Pats D that was out there at the end -- I'm impressed by those guys and genuinely appreciate their sportsmanlike nature of letting the Giants have that feeling of the final kneeldown. Please see Boilerdowd's suggestion down below about sending a videotape to the Classy Bill Belichick.
Unexpected heros: Well, as I said, this was a total team effort but David Tyree and Justin Tuck stand out for me. Sure, Strahan and Osi are the mack daddies on this defense, but Justin Tuck nailed Brady a couple of times and was a huge difference-maker. As for Tyree, he caught the TD that the Giants scored to go up 10-7 and then he also caught the desperation heave from Manning on the last drive... it was third and long and Manning escaped pressure from multiple Patriots D-linemen and chucked it downfield, and it was David Tyree who managed to haul it in. And that, coupled with Kevin Boss' 45-yard catch earlier in the quarter, might be the biggest catches in the Giants season. I'm not sure there were many bigger ones in their history. Perhaps Mark Ingrams long catch and run on third down against the Bills in Super Bowl XXV, for those that remember. That's where those two catches by Boss and Tyree rank.
How pleased must Goodell have been to be presenting that trophy to the Giants and not the Pats? Who wants to present a trophy to a bunch of cheaters, anyway?
Where do the Pats go from here? How bad does it hurt to go 18-0 and then lose? How hard will it be for Belichick to get these guys to buy in to his system next year? Those guys can say they buy in, but won't they be thinking, "hey, this didn't work last year"? The Pats will now be remembered as the 16-0 team that couldn't win it all. And they will live in infamy, no matter what happens in their future. They're now just like the 2004 Yankees that blew a 3-0 lead in the ALCS. A great team with a huge advantage who.... blew it. Deal with it, Boston.
My last thought for the evening... on an evening of many dissheveled thoughts.... but let's all shut the hell up about Eli Manning. He's the man. This kid is all of 26 years old and he's been in the playoffs every year he's been a full-time starter. Do you realize this? And now he's a Super Bowl champion. And a Super Bowl MVP. It's done, he's the man. He's lived up to his potential. I don't want to hear any more about comparing him to Phillip Rivers or his brother or anyone else. He won the Super Bowl. This wasn't like Big Ben's Steelers winning despite Ben's awful play. Manning was terrific, especially in the fourth quarter, and was deserving of the MVP. He was clutch, he was a champion and there's nothing else to say. Phil Simms, Jeff Hostetler, Eli Manning. Those are the Giants QBs who have won Super Bowls.
I've been a Giants fan my whole life. And not even I expected this for the 2007 season, especially after an 0-2 start and the team looking like crap. But then it all began to truly come together. The Giants went on a 11-game winning streak away from Giants Stadium. They blossomed. We watched Eli grow up before our eyes... like, truly, we saw him go from the kid nobody could ever count on all the way up the spectrum to a Super Bowl MVP, clutch, champion.
And hey, Tiki, how do you like Eli's leadership now?
15 comments:
I think I just figured out when the Giants became a Super Bowl team- when Shockey went down. Dude was plain bad for morale. His incessant bitching and moaning did nothing for that locker room.
Well done Giants & Eli.
By the way, did anyone else see Moss' comments after the game about the Pats' offense? Do you think those could be construed as Randy putting blame on Brady?
That's the way I heard 'em...just Randy bein' Randy.
Suck it Trebeck! I mean, Belichick!
J-Money, I knew you were going to say something, and that you did. I will be the first to say (well, maybe not the first) that you are absolutely right. The Giants won because of defense, and we all know the old cliché about championships. And the thing is, they didn't blitz all that much (Spagnuolo said it was about 33 per cent of the plays). It was the down linemen who created everything, and the MVP should have been one of those guys (Strahan, Umenyiora, or Tuck). But that's not particularly sexy, is it?
Also, while I am glad that Strahan managed to achieve that ever-elusive championship, I still lament the situation of Junior Seau. This was going to be his year, and you know what? It was not meant to be.
A few things: I don't understand why everybody is basing their views on the Pats off of what the Sports Guy says/writes. He has his moments; he can be funny at times, and it is amazing that he has ended up at his position after being the "Boston Sports Guy" on AOL, but he does not represent all of us. For starters, he does not represent every team in this area, because he refuses to acknowledge some of them. The Bruins are the biggest of the pro teams for which he has no purpose, and he has some valid reasons for that (the ownership group stinks because it only cares about bringing in revenues, the product has been inept for a long time, his father had Celtics season tickets in an era when the Bruins ruled the region) and not-so-valid ones (xenophobia; he criticizes the European presence in the NHL by making fun of their names; he does practically the same thing with the NBA). On the intercollegiate side, BC does not matter to him, because he went to Holy Cross, and that's understandable, because Holy Cross was founded by Catholic bishops who were involved with the planning of BC but felt that the Brahmins weren't giving them the time of day and found no such problems in Worcester. However, my father went to BU, and is a huge BU fan, but he still follows BC and wants BC to do well. Finally, he is not really a true Bostonian because he got a job writing for "Jimmy Kimmel Live," left that show, but stayed in LA. He has been seduced by the glitz of Hollywood and of the US celebrity sports culture, and he is one of a number who have left the region in recent years (look at the census) and left this place to rot. We need people to stay true to their roots and we need people to come in to keep this place humming (spoken like a true future public manager, eh?). Then again, the times the Pats have won, I have either been at Purdue or in Spain, so maybe I should consider relocation. ;-)
Additionally, it seems like I have to explain this to everybody, but the Pats were not cheating. There is nothing wrong with videotaping opposing coaches for the purpose of understanding their signals to the players. The problem is that it has to be from the stands, and they were on the sidelines. What they did was illegal, and Belichick's interpretation of the rule was incorrect, but the commissioner said that they did not gain an advantage during the game with the footage, so it was not cheating. And yes, Belichick is one haughty dude at times, and he angers a lot of people because he has no patience for the media, which explains why he thought he could get away with l'affaire video, but that doesn't mean that he was cheating.
Make no mistake about it: this one hurts, and it will hurt for a long time. In Brasil, the national association football team has won World Cup five times, and is considered the greatest association ever, but they still talk about 1950, where they hosted the tournament, outlined a format which completely favoured them, and coronated the team before they won the final game, but they still lost to Uruguay. Accomplishments past that point aside, it still lingers. And this one will linger.
I am also very mad at Mayor Mumbles for formulating plans for a parade that Strahan alluded to after the game. The parade was going to be in the middle of the week, and it was going to conflict with Super Tuesday, which is probably a tad more important. I understand why he did that, because public managers have to be prepared for these developments; I imagine that Bloomberg was doing the exact same thing, but by no means, under any circumstances, do you make that information public. It's bad karma, and there was a lot said about that this past week. Perhaps somebody could use this in a campaign against him when he is up for re-election next year. Somebody needs to knock him down a peg.
Despite all of this, I realised something last night: I am one of the biggest diehards out there, and we compose a region of diehards, but it's only a game. Life goes on, and there are more pressing issues than what goes on in a 60-minute contest in the suburbs of Phoenix. I know, that seems out of character for a diehard Bostonian, and I definitely would not have said this ten years ago, but that's how I feel now, and it's the truth.
Well, at least we have the Boiler ballers to rally around. :-D
Take care, and Boiler Up!
--Eric
I'll go ahead and say it: i think Eli is the better postseason quarterback than Peyton...
Hopefully my Colts tickets won't be revoked now.
Gittle --
Thanks for the thoughtful comments. And no matter how big a NE defender you are, you have to allow me a LITTLE bit of crowing about this. Sure, you're not all like the Sports Guy, but I didn't say you were. I said he can suck it... he and all the Patriot-lovers who jumped on this bandwagon and simply proved they know nothing. Sure, I got my pick wrong, too... but who am I? Surely, I don't work for the worldwide leader. Frigging Chris Berman was still trying to act like the Pats season was anything but a complete letdown last night.
Loud-mouth Boston fans such as the Sports Guy or any number of others are what create and support the image that much of the country has of you. I'm not saying it's fair, but it's also not fair to paint all NY fans -- such as myself -- with the same brush WE get painted with. But I've come to accept it and understand that being a Yankees supporter is going to lump me in with the drunken a-holes in the upper deck who start fights every game. I deal with it, because those are my teams b/c that's where I was raised and sports means a lot to me.
And as for the cheating.... well, we'll have to agree to disagree. Belichick and the Pats KNEW what they were doing was wrong. It wasn't an "interpretation" of the rules. They knew it and they were arrogant enough to think they could get away with it. Like it or not, man, they were cheating and were busted and the serious penalties levied against Bill and Co. show how serious the NFL is about it. And now there are former employees of the team saying they taped the Rams' walkthrough before the Super Bowl?? I mean, come on... that means they saw scripted plays and formations and things you're not allowed to take an early look at.
And on the cheating thread... I didn't just mean Belichick and "Spygate." I meant guys like Rodney Harrison, a steroid-abusing cheater.
As for Junior Seau, he thought he had his ring, too... when the Pats went ahead 14-10, he and Bruschi hugged like they'd just reached the mountaintop. Ooops, still had to stop Eli for another 2:42.
As I learned from The Simpsons.... "Ha ha!"
J-Money, I didn't say that I wasn't giving you any wiggle room. It's your blog. You do what you want; you own it. I'm just taking up some of your page space.
I absolutely agree with you that Belichick thought that he could get away with it. As I said, he definitely rubs people the wrong way and thinks that he is above the rules and regulations. But, again: they weren't cheating. They broke the rules, sure. Absolutely! No argument there. Still, videotaping the opposing coaches is legal, they just have to do it from the stands, and they didn't do that. The NFL fine says that you are going to pay for breaking the rules, because there is zero tolerance for rule breaking, but the Commish said that there is no evidence that the Pats used the footage during that game. So it's not cheating.
As for "former employees of the team" and the Rams' walk-through, it's not "former employees," it's one former employee who got fired and has a shady past, Matt Walsh, not to be confused with the former UF and current Manresa baller who is dating a Playboy Playmate, Lauren Anderson (Sideboob Friday Suggestion Alert!). Not to be resorting to ad hominem attacks here, but nobody else is saying that, and I'm also certain that there are NFL officials saying that the Rams might have been taping the Pats during the same time period. Let's go back to what Jaws said yesterday about a playoff game he won because he had his backup study the opponent's signals and relay them to him, so he called plays accordingly. If you don't think that somebody is out there looking at your signals, you shouldn't be in this business.
Yes, Rodney Harrison used HGH, he got caught, and he served his suspension. But at least he owned up to it. Whether or not you buy his explanation, he didn't follow the example of some of these other guys who say, "Oh, I never did it. What's that? You have a positive test on me? And you have a shipment of the stuff in my name? Well, I still didn't do it, at least not intentionally." The fact is, Rodney Harrison is a guy that you hate if he's not on your team, but if he is on your team, you love him.
They got beat. Plain and simple. Somehow, Eli got out of the rush, avoided the sack, and found Tyree downfield. He made the plays that got it done for his team at the end. I didn't think he had it in him. But he did, and I commend him. As much as it pains me to say this, because I hate almost anything associated with New York (or North Jersey, if you will), they deserve it.
--Eric
Regarding the MVP- Dominic Rhodes deserved it last Super Bowl, but the elder Manning got it. I think it's fair to say Strahan or one of the other lineman deserved it...but the face of the franchise who was shat upon over and over deserved to finally be out of the nation and NY doghouse...so deserving or not, I'm happy Eli got it.
Gittle- you and J either need to get jobs in which they actually make you work OR you both are the fastest typists/wordsmiths around. Lots of words, not enough pictures.
Regarding the MVP- Dominic Rhodes deserved it last Super Bowl, but the elder Manning got it. I think it's fair to say Strahan or one of the other lineman deserved it...but the face of the franchise who was shat upon over and over deserved to finally be out of the nation and NY doghouse...so deserving or not, I'm happy Eli got it.
Gittle- you and J either need to get jobs in which they actually make you work OR you both are the fastest typists/wordsmiths around. Lots of words, not enough pictures.
Dowd, I'm in grad school right now. I have class at 4:30, so this is a good way to kill time. I'm only doing part-time work at the moment, but I should be done with my program in May, so by then, I should have a decent job that requires a decent amount of work. I hope. All signs point to a major recession. Ugh. Can you say "Ph. D. and more debt?"
Oh, and you might want to consider deleting the double comment. ;-)
--Eric
Oh, and I neglected to point out that I am growing very weary of the constant use of "Spygate." Aside from the fact that there wasn't any covert espionage, Every major scandal for the last 30 years has had to include the suffix "-gate." Why did the DNC have to have its headquarters in the Watergate building? :-P
Gittle, the Patriots were cheating and they knew it. As for Rodney Harrison...he is among the dirtiest players in the NFL and a good example of why people hate the Patriots so much.
Agree with you on the "-gate" suffix -- fricking hate it.
One ugly ass picture of manning
i agree, i agree, i agree. i knew right when plaxico made that prediction and brady laughed, i knew that the pats were gonna lose that game. they deserved it. thats all, they deserved it. brady and belichick can SUCK IT.
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