Congratulations to the New York Giants. Sadly, we all were put in the position where New York winning a title was the better outcome for the sports world. In my playoff predition post, I suggested that only a fool would draw connections between the 2008 Giants and this year's team. Clearly, I am the fool because this team, and their playoff run was eerily similar to that year. Yet again, they pulled out a close one in a well played football game over a Patriots team that made just a couple more mistakes than they did. Small breaks like recovering 2 of your own fumbles can end up being the difference in the game, and it was again.What a great story for them. Between the injury bug biting them early on, Eli having to deal with his status as an 'elite' quarterback being debated all year, losing to the Redskins twice and sneaking in the playoffs in week 17, this team defied the odds to become the first in NFL history with only 9 wins in the regular season to win the Super Bowl.
I was rooting for the Giants in this one myself. I expected the Giants' wideouts to dominate the outmatched New England secondary (they did) and Tom Brady to miss Rob Gronkowski just enough for it to matter in the end. It turned out that was just the case. Brady looked great for the most part, including a Super Bowl record 16 consecutive completions, and I thought the Giants were in trouble when he masterfully engineered a Super Bowl record 96 yard drive at the end of the first half that gave the Patriots the lead. When that happened, I thought it would be the turning point of the game. It completely voided all of the Giants' first half dominance. Instead, it ended up being a fight to the finish, and Brady simply didn't have enough magic in the end. His move to throw the ball away downfield on what ended up being ruled intentional grounding seemed like a savvy one, but it was a great call on the referee's part. There was clearly no one from New England headed in the direction he threw it. His lone interception was on a play (1st down if I'm not mistaken) that a healthy Gronkowski would have been much more likely to make, and that was a crucial moment in the game.
Eli Manning picked apart a New England secondary that was held together with chickenwire and dried loogies, methodically moving his offense downfield. How sick must Peyton feel? This was supposed to be the year that the Colts won it in their own house (not sure why but yes, people were saying it), instead we watch his younger brother surpass him on the Super Bowl totem pole (hey that rhymes!) while rumors swirl about him being CUT in the near future. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Tom Brady spent an hour staring at the ground or something in the locker room after the game he was so pissed. There's an article on Yahoo! about it even. The now ringier Manning was on point when it counted, just as he was all year long. I will say this though, the fact that the Patriots were playing a wide receiver as their nickel cornerback and in the Super Bowl is a true testament to what good coaching and Tom Brady as your quarterback can do for a team. Both defenses played very well, and the Pats got away with at least one pass interference call.
There were two plays that were very similar to the last Super Bowl matchup to me. In '08, Asante Samuel dropped a gift wrapped interception that directly preceded the Tyree catch play that is arguably the greatest in Super Bowl history. The drop:
In tonight's game, Tom Brady lofted a pass to a leaping Wes Welker on a second and long with 4 minutes to play that would've given the Patriots a first down in Giants territory with the Giants having only 1 timeout left. This likely could have sealed the game. Instead, two plays later, we have the Manningham catch that broke the back of the Patriots. One might even argue that Welker's drop completely demoralized the defense if you saw how the entire defensive line reacted. Here's Wes's drop, slightly higher difficulty but it hits him right in between his hands...
I couldn't believe that Ahmad Bradshaw "accidentally" fell in the end zone like that, either. Then I thought a little deeper and considered that a player on even the grandest of stages might be selfish enough to want the glory, the title of having scored the game winner in the Super Bowl. Say it ain't so, Ahmad. Is it otherwise that A.) this finely tuned, world class athlete whose entire career is reliant on his ability to control the direction of his momentum, was not able to, or B.) he was not aware of the situation in the biggest game of his life? Believe what you like, but it tastes like there's a turd in the punchbowl if you ask me. He must have had a lot of faith in his boys on defense to pull a move like that. Great game. Maybe one day the Vikings can win one of those shiny trophies.
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