Forty eight hours later, I'm still in a state of disbelief over the 42nd Super Bowl. The New York Giants were the better team and deserved to win but the Patriots had been up until February 3rd, arguably the greatest NFL team of all-time. That's hard for me to write as a die-hard San Francisco 49'ers fan who could make an argument that the '84, '89 and '94 squads have to be in consideration but no team had ripped apart their NFL schedule as convincingly as the Patriots did this season.
So a team that set all-time offensive records for points scored, had a top 10 ranked defense and was only seriously challenged in three of their eighteen games all season long, was beat on the biggest stage of all-time (and watched by more Americans than any other Super Bowl in history) by a wild card squad. Granted the Giants entered the playoffs on a high after barely losing to the very same New England Patriots in the season's regular season finale and were playing GREAT football in the playoffs, they were an unknown team with injuries and plenty of question marks and a 12 point underdog.
What we can say is:
Tom Brady is now mortal, and no longer will ever be considered a Joe Montana heir unless he can win at least two more Super Bowls to become the biggest Super Bowl QB and winner (with 5 total). But with this loss, the pundits will always point to this loss, in a game they should have won, as a deciding factor against him.
Bill Belicheck was out coached in a big game by Tom Coughlin. We can argue this point by point but the simple fact is the guy passed up a 48 yard field goal early in the 3rd quarter for a 4th & 13 play. Even if he misses this, at least the odds are heavily in favor of the field goal there - particularly in the defensive battle that had been established. A made field goal in that situation extends the lead to seven and ultimately ends up in the Super Bowl going to overtime. Belicheck is a GREAT coach, a hall of fame coach but he's no longer the 'Genius' people wanted to label him. I'd still take Bill Walsh any day.
Ernie Accorsi, the former NY Giants GM, built an incredible organization with a solid base of player talent. The Giants line is strong with surprising depth & power on the defensive front, and his bold trade for Eli Manning back in 2004 looks like a brilliant move today, as is his hand picked successor Jerry Reese.
Eli Manning is no longer in his brother's shadow, in fact you can make a case that he's more clutch than his brother, by driving the Giants to wins on the final drive in the NFC title game and Super Bowl. Peyton is the more accomplished QB and has proven he's the harder worker but he's never led his team to victory in an AFC title game or Super Bowl with the game on the line (last drive type of heroics). I don't believe Eli will ever be the accomplished QB his brother is but he'll no longer be measured solely by statistics either, and New Yorkers will appreciate his personality & style more readily than they had in the past.
My personal opinion is we witnessed the greatest Super Bowl to date because it was the biggest upset coupled with a fantastic, nearly unbelievable finish. What do you think?
If the Pats and G-men played ten superbowls, the Pats would go 9-1 or 8-2. The Giants got lucky.
Posted by: RonJeremy | February 06, 2008 at 10:36 AM
Very good post
Posted by: | February 27, 2008 at 09:19 AM
That's called sour grapes, RonJeremy. The Patriots were flawed, point blank. The Giants beat them with the same game plan employed by the Ravens, Browns, and Eagles... hit Brady in the mouth and he won't be able to perform. The Giants just had the horses to get it done. Your silly point is flawed as well. The Giants played them to a 3 point game twice in a month... won one, lost one. Patriot fans need to face the facts. The Patriots were the champs of the regular season, but by the time the Superbowl came around, the Giants were the better team.
Posted by: Ron Mexico | April 07, 2008 at 11:12 AM
Sour grapes Ron Mexico? Arguably the greatest team of all time hampered by Tom Brady's bum ankle lost to Eli throwing a dream pass to a diving David Tyree (scrub). Excuse me but your silly reasoning is very flawed. I'll give the Giants D line credit, but the entire rest of the team overacheived, which you can't say about the Patriots, hence the bad beatings the Giants would receive via rematch. Now go get an original name clone.
Posted by: RonJeremy | April 12, 2008 at 12:25 AM
Pats suck
Posted by: Don Ron | April 14, 2008 at 11:20 PM