Super Bowl Review: I Told You So

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Now let’s get down to business shall we?

I told you so. I told you so. I told you so.

I told you the Giants would be able to run the ball effectively. They did. 91 yards on 26 rushes

I told you the Giants would stop the Patriots running game. They did. 45 yards on 16 carries

I told you the Giants secondary would stop the Patriots passing game because they were superior to the Chargers and Jaguars. They did. Brady threw for 266 yards on 48 throws. An average of 5.54 yards per pass attempt.

I told you the Giants would “get” to Tom Brady. They did. 5 sacks for 37 yards in losses.

I told you the Giants would win. I was right. The Giants won and as a result, they are the Super Bowl champions.

Question: Did the Giants deserve to win or did the Patriots choke?

Answer: The Patriots DID NOT choke.

The Patriots were outplayed. It isn’t that hard to prove.

Look at the numbers.

The Giants RAN FOR TWICE as many yards as New England: 91-45

Eli Manning outplayed Tom Brady. In the all important yards per pass attempt stat, Manning SHREDDED Brady. Manning 255 yards on 34 throws. Average 7.5. Brady averaged 5.54 yards per pass attempt (266 yards on 48 throws) That is a difference of just under TWO YARDS per pass attempt.

The Giants only allowed 8 yards in sacks. The Patriots allowed 37

The Giants averaged 5.37 yards per play from scrimmage. The Patriots averaged 3.97

The Giants gained 1.4 yard more per play than the Patriots.

An argument being made in the media is that the Giants played keep-away from the Patriots, taking time off the clock to limit the amount of snaps the Patriots could have on offense.

Rubbish: The Patriots RAN more PLAYS from scrimmage than the Giants: 69 snaps to 63

In short, the Giants were by far the better team. The Patriots were outplayed

The Patriots were NOT outhustled and they were NOT overconfident, as some in the media are saying.

The Patriots expected a tough game and they got it. They simply weren’t the better team. Not by a long shot.

Eli Manning: No More Questions

Does anyone out there still have questions about whether Eli Manning is a pro quarterback?

Does anyone out there still feel that Eli Manning has something to prove?

I didn’t think so.

Eli made history in the Super Bowl. He became the ONLY quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to THREE CONSECUTIVE game winning/come from behind 4th quarter drives in the PLAYOFFS. First it was the Cowboys who felt the wrath. Then the Packers. In the Green Bay game, Eli actually led the game winning drive THREE different times but thanks to Lawrence Tynes he kept having to repeat his excellence.

And now this.

Trailing 14-10 on his own 17 yard line with 2:39 remaining and all three timeouts remaining, who knows what Peyton’s little brother was thinking?

I’ll tell you what I was thinking. Because of the clock and the timeouts, Eli would come out throwing. Why? Because if the 2 minute warning hits and it is 4th and long, the Giants might consider punting the football and then use their timeouts on defense.

Whereas a running play might bring the clock to under two minutes before a potential 4th down arises. In that case the options become murkier and less enticing.

No, it was obvious that Coughlin was going to come out throwing so that incompletions would stop the clock and hand him more options.

When the drive started I was thinking Joe Montana versus the Bengals. I was thinking Jim Kelly versus the Giants, I was thinking Brett Favre versus the Broncos and I was thinking Steve McNair versus the Rams.

Each of these quarterbacks was handed one final opportunity late in the game to get his team down the field. Montana of course was the only winner in the group, going 91 yards for the winning touchdown. Kelly say Scott Norwood miss a 46 yard field goal, Favre threw incomplete on 4th down at the Broncos 26 yard line and Steve McNair saw Kevin Dyson get tacked a half yard shy of the end zone.

Why didn’t I mention Tom Brady’s two game winning drives against the Rams and Panthers? Because those drives began with the score tied and less than 90 seconds to play, putting less pressure on the quarterback, since the worst thing that could have happened to the Patriots was overtime (not counting a potential turnover)

How would Eli fit in to the historical equation?

Answer: Eli would fit in quite nicely. Quite nicely indeed. Joe Montana level nicely.

Speaking of Steve McNair, how many viewers thought of McNair when Eli avoided the sack spun around, fled the pocket and found David Tyree for the circus catch on 3rd and 5? I know I was. Eli’s escape was eerily reminiscent of McNair’s escape against the Rams in the final 20 seconds of that Super Bowl. Unfortunately for McNair, his Super Bowl ended in heartache on the very next play when Kevin Dyson couldn't stretch far enough to get the ball in the end zone as time expired.

Eli’s escape was the PLAY OF THE GAME

Two thoughts on the PLAY OF THE GAME

(1)It was sweet justice for the Giants. Remember last season when the Giants let Vince Young flee the pocket because they thought the officials would blow the play dead? Instead the officials did nothing, Young escaped, ran for the first down and eventually drove the Titans down the field for the winning points.

This time the Giants were the beneficiaries because of the referee’s unwillingness to blow the play dead unless the quarterback is on the ground. Thank god for that if you’re a Giants fan.

(2)I thought the officials upstairs would stop the game to look at Tyree’s catch. It would have been the appropriate decision.

I agree. It was a catch. However, in these types of situations I feel the officials should take every precaution necessary and look at the video to be absolutely certain.

Back to Eli. How did Eli do on the final drive? 5 of 9 for 77 yards and the winning touchdown pass, of course, to the previously invisible Plaxico Burress

How did Eli do in the entire fourth quarter: 9 of 14 for 152 yards. With NO interceptions

As mentioned, Eli Manning’s game winning drive was eerily reminiscent of Joe Montana’s versus the Bengals in January 1989.

Ironically enough, the Montana 49ers of 1988 are the only other 10-6 team to win the Super Bowl.

Also ironically, the Eli Giants of 2007 are the only other 10-6 team to reach the Super Bowl.

If this is a pattern then two things are clear:

(1)Forget about the bye week: the last 3 Super Bowl Champions have all played in the wild card round: Steelers, Colts and now the Giants

(2)Finish 10-6: Teams that finish 10-6 are 2-0 in the Super Bowl. Not much of a pattern but hey, it’s something.

What About The Patriots Ability To Hold A Fourth Quarter Lead?

Since Week 16 of the 2004 season, the Patriots are 48-2, including playoffs, when holding a lead at ANYTIME during the fourth quarter

Two losses when leading at anytime in the fourth quarter. ONLY TWO

Who have the Patriots lost to (two)? To the Colts in the AFC Championship Game and of course to the Giants yesterday.

What do the Colts and Giants have in common? A quarterback with the same last name

Patriots Lose Chance At Historical Numbers

Forget about the undefeated record. That hurts but what also hurts is not tying Bradshaw, Montana and Noll.

A Super Bowl win over the Giants would have tied Tom Brady with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana with four championships.

A Super Bowl win over the Giants would have tied Bill Belichick with Chuck Noll for the most ever, also with four.

Oh well, wait until next year.

On to my notes from the game.

(A)What an amazing opening drive by the Giants. Not only did they put points on the board but they took 10 minutes and 8 seconds off the clock. Eli completed three third down passes to keep the drive alive.

(B)Great reply by Brady and the boys. Five minutes off the clock. Officials made the right call on Antonio Pierce in the end zone. It was pass interference. No doubt.

(C)What an amazing first quarter: only one drive per team, great clock management, great execution on both sides, especially on third downs.

Quarters 2 and 3 were not so exciting. Interesting yes. Exciting no.

After the Patriots took a 7-3 lead on the first play of the 2nd quarter, they went three and out on their next two possessions.

This was key. It allowed (a)the Giants defense a chance to rest and (b)it gave the Giants the confidence it needed to continue plugging away.

THIRD QUARTER: What Should Have Been The Turning Point

The biggest play of the game should have been the too many men on the field penalty against the Giants with 11 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter.

Rewind: Pats still lead 7-3, 4th and 2 from the Giants 44 yard line. Punt in the air, Giants get the ball back at their 20.

But wait..after the television timeout, Bill Belichick throws his red challenge flag to the ground. Apparently he saw 12 men on the field when the punt was in the air.

Review takes place and by golly...Belichick is right. Patriots get 5 yards and a first down at the Giants 39 yard line.

Admit it. You expected the Patriots to take the ball and score a touchdown. C’mon, my hand is raised. I fully expect the Patriots to take a 14-3 lead followed by a Giants possession where Eli would throw a pick and the game would for all intents and purposes, be over.

But it didn’t happen. The Giants defense buckled down and created a 4th and 13 for the Pats on the 31 yard line.

This is where the most interesting play call occurred. From the 31 yard line most people expected Stephen Gostkowski to attempt a 49 yard field goal. Especially when the yardage needed for the first down is 13.

But Belichick went for it. He made the right decision.

(A)A 49 yard field goal attempt is not a gimme. Especially on grass

(B)A missed kick would give the Giants the ball at their own 39 yard line. Too risky

(C)A punt from the 31 would, in all likelihood, have landed in the end zone for a touchback, giving the Pats a gain of 11 yards in terms of field position.

(D)Gambling and failing would equal giving the Giants the ball at the 31 or worse, depending on whether the Pats gained any yards on the play.

Given all these options, what else was Belichick supposed to do? Belichick chose the only reasonable option available to him.

He gambled and lost. Giants took over from their 31 instead of their 39 (missed field goal option) or their 20 (touchback option)

There you have it: my thoughts on the Super Bowl.

Congratulations to the New York Giants, Super Bowl 42 champions.

Starting tonight and continuing every Monday night, I'll be producing the Ministry of Sports, hosted by Simon Tsalikis and George Caperis, on the Team 990. the program starts midnights and continues until 2:00 a.m.

Hope you'll listen and I hope you enjoyed reading my blog.