1. It took Peyton Manning nine tries to win a Super Bowl. It only took Eli Manning four and he had fewer weapons at his disposal. The media shouldn’t skimp giving Eli credit throughout this week, because he certainly deserved it for what he did this season. He stayed calm under fire the entire game and never seemed rattled, which has been his MO throughout his short career. He proved doubters wrong and while he wasn’t overly impressive, he was steady and efficient.
2. The Giants proved tonight what a fierce pass rush could do for a defense. Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck and the rest of New York’s front seven dominated a usually stout Patriots’ offensive line. Tom Brady was constantly under fire and often looked for check downs instead of going down field. It was clear he was keying on the Giants’ pressure instead of just feeling it out and reacting to it. Not that I’m telling any professional athlete to retire, but is there a better time for Strahan to hang up the cleats? What a game he had.
3. Not to take anything away from the Giants, because their defense was unbelievable, but this was the worst the Patriots played all season. They were going for a perfect season and they appeared to lack emotion, energy and were completely lethargic overall. Dare I say it – they looked unprepared, too. From the first Giants’ field goal on their opening drive to Plaxico Burress’ game-winning touchdown, they completely outplayed the Patriots. The G-Men had an answer for everything the Patriots did, which is a testament to Tom Coughlin, Steve Spagnuolo and the rest of New York’s coaching staff. Spagnuolo might have earned himself the Redskins’ head coaching job with the way he had his defense prepared tonight.
4. If it weren’t for Wes Welker, the Pats might not have scored double-digit points. Every time New England needed a big play, Welker got open and fought for first downs. He outplayed Brady, Randy Moss, Laurence Maroney and the entire Patriot offensive line. Without him, Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniel’s brilliant offense wouldn’t have even scored 14 points. And how about the block Welker threw to spring a screen pass for a first down in the first half? He was the Patriots offense.
5. Is it just me or was Rodney Harrison brutal tonight? He whiffed on a chance to recover a fumble in the first half and then he had poor position on a jump ball that gave the Giants new life on their game-winning touchdown drive. David Tyree made a hell of a catch, but Manning threw a duck and Harrison needs to knock that ball down anyway he can.
Eli was amazing. The kid is a stud.
The Patriots are old on defense, and it showed tonight.
Also, it showed that they were perhaps more one-dimensional that people thought.
Brady is great, but he wasn’t great under pressure.
What a terrific game. It was pretty slow for most of the first half, but it really picked up in the fourth quarter and was one of the most exciting Super Bowls of all time.
The play of the game was Manning’s scramble out of serious trouble and Tyree’s catch – it gave the G-men new life and shifted momentum.
I really was not a fan of the way Eli came into the NFL and have felt like he was a choker when it came to the end of the season, but give the kid credit, he stared in the face of history and didn’t blink. The kid was money in the fourth quarter and made some crazy plays. Getting away from that sack and completing that pass to Tyree will be a play that will define that Super Bowl.
I think the whole Manning family won me over because I enjoyed watching Peyton be genuinally happy for his brother. Thank god he already won a ring, but still, it was nice to see him be so happy for his brother. As a younger brother, I know how nice it is to have the respect of your older brother. Anyway, enough family love. Well done Giants.
Maybe Eli is more like Montana than Brady is? That game winning drive was very similar to Montana’s drive in Superbowl XXIII. The 49ers got the ball with 3:10 left and went 92 yards, the Giants got the ball with 2:42 and went 83 yards. Montana was 8-9 for 87 yards and a td on his drive, Eli was 6-9 for 77 yards and a td for the Giants.
The Giants defense played a great game but that final drive ranks up there with any classic game winning touchdown drive you can think of. And Eli was as cool as Montana in that pressure situation.
Eli was very cool, and that’s a good question, but that incredible play reminded me much more of John Elway.
Let’s hold off on the Montana comparisons, especially suggesting that Eli is more like Montana than Brady. Remember that Brady marched the Pats down there to score the go-ahead TD before Eli’s heroics. The only problem for the Pats was that Brady was too efficient and left too much time on the clock.
As for Eli, I’ve always thought everyone was too hard on him and I’m happy that he shut everyone up last night. But his great playoff run aside, he still has flaws in his game, and I’m sure he’ll make a couple of vintage Eli mistakes next season. It’s not like he’s suddenly morphed into his brother or Brady the last few weeks. He had a great run but let’s allow the kid to keep developing before comparing him to the game’s greats.
C’mon JEC…they’ve been comparing Brady to Montana since his first superbowl win in his 2nd season. Brady’s legend began with a drive to let his FG kicker win the game with a 48 yarder, then his second win came with a 41 yarder by Vinateri. Not exactly awe inspiring play. “Hey, just get it close enough and let Vinateri do the rest”. The drive that Eli managed may be even greater than the Montana drive in SB XXIII. Montana didn’t have the pressure of having to score a td…they could have tied the game with a field goal. For Eli it was score a TD or better luck next year…and his play on that drive was nothing short of spectacular.
I’m not saying he’s as good as Montana or Brady or doesn’t have flaws in his game…they all do/did. But I think people need to take notice of what this kid has done the last 5 weeks because there’s more to come.
I think more is on the way too but, just as the early Montana comparisons were premature for Brady, they are for Eli too. I like the kid and I think he’s going to keep getting better, but I also think with these high expectations that are flying all around him now, he’s bound to crash back to earth a bit. Let’s not forget that he actually had a worse performance during the regular season this year than he did in 2006 (fewer TD, more INT and a lower completion %), and that’s saying something.