jakez4ut
Patience... It's what's for dinner
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2005
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wrong?
(before i get started, BPV, if you're reading this...the short version is: the Giants good, Patriots bad:thumbsup
in a word, yes. i am today. Maybe my pumping up of the Patriots the past couple of weeks was some unconscious channelling to get the opposite result? Though that strategy rarely works when i apply it to Tennessee football (see the FL games the past two years :banghead2, yet as i woke up this morning and i see and hear everyone falling all over the Giants, i get the impression that many of us are in the same boat. I mean let's face it, if the number of people thinking the Patriots were going 19-0 were on a boat, then last night we were all on the Titanic. we all went down with that ship. and i'm not upset about it at all.
the week before the championship game i spoke about drama and how this season was lacking it. that the only way drama would rear it's head would be in the c'ship games. i was wrong again. and again, glad for it. I don't know why, but as the 2nd half of that game wore on i started to feel uneasy. my palms got sweaty. my stomach was in knots. I looked at my wife and asked "what the hell is wrong with me? this isn't the Steelers or Panthers and definitely not a Tennessee game, so what gives?" She just looked at me and said, "I don't know, but i feel the same way."
and then it hit me. this game, this year, may have been the most important Super Bowl in our short lifetimes. definitely the most polarizing. you could see it in the crowd. cheers and boo's reigned at almost equal decibel levels. 1/2 there to see perfection, the other 1/2 there to see Buster Douglas jack up Tyson. my wife and i apparently hated the patriots enough to force us to "feel" like life long giants' fans for 3 1/2 hours. weird.
This game will now go down as one of the "greats". you will remember who won and who lost. You will remember the images of Brady continually getting knocked to the ground. you will remember Tyree's catch much the same way we remember Lynn Swann's catches. You will remember Eli Manning scrambling and escaping the clutches of the Patriots D with the game on the line like you remember Terry Bradshaw or John Elway or Roger Staubach making plays in the clutch.
you'll remember Osi U. and Michal Strahan, Justin Tuck and the rest of the Giants front seven like you remember the Steel Curtain or the 46 defense or the no name defense.
and it's not that what the giants accomplished was any greater than any of those teams, but for one game, the giants epitomized what made those teams great. and it boiled down to one thing:
They made plays.
The play that was most significant and was repeated and repeated and repeated all game long was the pressure on Brady. he has not been hit like that or pressured like that since the 2006 calendar year. and it is the most significant aspect of the Giants' victory.
Steve Smith's clutch 3rd down catches, none of which more important than the 3rd and 11 on the last drive.
Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw set the tone and played with purpose. they did it from the start and it culminated with AHmad Bradshaw's recovery of his own fumble, and Jacob's 4th and 1 conversion. "who wants it more" is apparently still relevant and good thing it is.
Tyree's "catch". It's a pity "the catch" is already taken. that play got me to my feet, eyes wide open, jaw on the floor.
Plaxico Burress. wasn't flashy, but ran a good route, got his guy to make a mistake and with 30 seconds left in the Super Bowl, there he is catching the game winning TD. Wife and I hugging and celebrating as the former Steeler catches the game winning TD.
the much maligned Giants' secondary stepped up in every facet. save one play where webster fell down on the Moss TD, they were......dare i say....great? the only WR to make a significant contribution was Welker and while it was frustrating, they kept him in front of the defense, and didn't let DS or RM behind them.
The giants' offensive line. 2 sacks allowed, opened running lanes enough for the running game to matter and overall protected Eli very well.
Eli Manning. hm. he didn't have to carry this team, he wasn't asked to. but that's fine. and it doesn't take away from what he did. again, the week before the c'ship game i made reference to Eli having the opportunity to make his name like a John Elway. And he delivered. put this in perspective:
in the NFC title game, he got the Giants in to position to win the game twice in the 4th qtr only to see fg's missed in scott norwood type fashion. one could then maybe see him and Jim Kelly having a beer alone in a bar somewhere. then, the 3rd times the charm. he does it again. for the 3rd time, game on the line, now in OT, on the road, it goes thru the uprights. classic right?
last night however, was not Elwayesque, if for only that Elway blew his 1st 3 SB opportunities (do you think he'd of liked to have a D like that though?) Eli did what Elway, Marino and Kelly couldn't do. when he had it in his hands, 4th qtr, less than 2 minutes to go, 83 yards away from winning the Super Bowl. he made it count. no kicker. no penalties. no turnovers. that last drive to me, was a combination of Bradshaw and Montana. he had the grit of Bradshaw considering the pressure on him, esp on the Tyree play. yet he also had the poise of Montana as he just made play after play. never changed composure, never got excited or down, just lined up and played.
maybe i'm way off base, but i don't think so, that last drive is the kind of sequence of plays that makes legends in this game. Brady's done it 3 times before. Bradshaw's done it. Montana's done it. Elway's done it. Big Brother's done it. Now Eli is on that list.
and what happens at the end of the game? Bellicheck storms off the field with time left on the clock like 5 year old that just had his favorite toy stolen. I'm sorry, but that guy, as good as he is, is an ass. i admire his football mind and his abilities as a coach, but his character as it relates to sportsmanship is, well let's say "lacking". have some class about yourself. Speaking of class, i will give Brady, Moss and Seymor credit. they all handled the questions, and answered them without emotion or animosity. in defeat, they were classy.
so, in the end. i was wrong. dead wrong. and i couldn't be happier about it. what a great way to end the season, and now we can all start believing in "that's why they play the games" again...
(before i get started, BPV, if you're reading this...the short version is: the Giants good, Patriots bad:thumbsup
in a word, yes. i am today. Maybe my pumping up of the Patriots the past couple of weeks was some unconscious channelling to get the opposite result? Though that strategy rarely works when i apply it to Tennessee football (see the FL games the past two years :banghead2
, yet as i woke up this morning and i see and hear everyone falling all over the Giants, i get the impression that many of us are in the same boat. I mean let's face it, if the number of people thinking the Patriots were going 19-0 were on a boat, then last night we were all on the Titanic. we all went down with that ship. and i'm not upset about it at all.the week before the championship game i spoke about drama and how this season was lacking it. that the only way drama would rear it's head would be in the c'ship games. i was wrong again. and again, glad for it. I don't know why, but as the 2nd half of that game wore on i started to feel uneasy. my palms got sweaty. my stomach was in knots. I looked at my wife and asked "what the hell is wrong with me? this isn't the Steelers or Panthers and definitely not a Tennessee game, so what gives?" She just looked at me and said, "I don't know, but i feel the same way."
and then it hit me. this game, this year, may have been the most important Super Bowl in our short lifetimes. definitely the most polarizing. you could see it in the crowd. cheers and boo's reigned at almost equal decibel levels. 1/2 there to see perfection, the other 1/2 there to see Buster Douglas jack up Tyson. my wife and i apparently hated the patriots enough to force us to "feel" like life long giants' fans for 3 1/2 hours. weird.
This game will now go down as one of the "greats". you will remember who won and who lost. You will remember the images of Brady continually getting knocked to the ground. you will remember Tyree's catch much the same way we remember Lynn Swann's catches. You will remember Eli Manning scrambling and escaping the clutches of the Patriots D with the game on the line like you remember Terry Bradshaw or John Elway or Roger Staubach making plays in the clutch.
you'll remember Osi U. and Michal Strahan, Justin Tuck and the rest of the Giants front seven like you remember the Steel Curtain or the 46 defense or the no name defense.
and it's not that what the giants accomplished was any greater than any of those teams, but for one game, the giants epitomized what made those teams great. and it boiled down to one thing:
They made plays.
The play that was most significant and was repeated and repeated and repeated all game long was the pressure on Brady. he has not been hit like that or pressured like that since the 2006 calendar year. and it is the most significant aspect of the Giants' victory.
Steve Smith's clutch 3rd down catches, none of which more important than the 3rd and 11 on the last drive.
Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw set the tone and played with purpose. they did it from the start and it culminated with AHmad Bradshaw's recovery of his own fumble, and Jacob's 4th and 1 conversion. "who wants it more" is apparently still relevant and good thing it is.
Tyree's "catch". It's a pity "the catch" is already taken. that play got me to my feet, eyes wide open, jaw on the floor.
Plaxico Burress. wasn't flashy, but ran a good route, got his guy to make a mistake and with 30 seconds left in the Super Bowl, there he is catching the game winning TD. Wife and I hugging and celebrating as the former Steeler catches the game winning TD.
the much maligned Giants' secondary stepped up in every facet. save one play where webster fell down on the Moss TD, they were......dare i say....great? the only WR to make a significant contribution was Welker and while it was frustrating, they kept him in front of the defense, and didn't let DS or RM behind them.
The giants' offensive line. 2 sacks allowed, opened running lanes enough for the running game to matter and overall protected Eli very well.
Eli Manning. hm. he didn't have to carry this team, he wasn't asked to. but that's fine. and it doesn't take away from what he did. again, the week before the c'ship game i made reference to Eli having the opportunity to make his name like a John Elway. And he delivered. put this in perspective:
in the NFC title game, he got the Giants in to position to win the game twice in the 4th qtr only to see fg's missed in scott norwood type fashion. one could then maybe see him and Jim Kelly having a beer alone in a bar somewhere. then, the 3rd times the charm. he does it again. for the 3rd time, game on the line, now in OT, on the road, it goes thru the uprights. classic right?
last night however, was not Elwayesque, if for only that Elway blew his 1st 3 SB opportunities (do you think he'd of liked to have a D like that though?) Eli did what Elway, Marino and Kelly couldn't do. when he had it in his hands, 4th qtr, less than 2 minutes to go, 83 yards away from winning the Super Bowl. he made it count. no kicker. no penalties. no turnovers. that last drive to me, was a combination of Bradshaw and Montana. he had the grit of Bradshaw considering the pressure on him, esp on the Tyree play. yet he also had the poise of Montana as he just made play after play. never changed composure, never got excited or down, just lined up and played.
maybe i'm way off base, but i don't think so, that last drive is the kind of sequence of plays that makes legends in this game. Brady's done it 3 times before. Bradshaw's done it. Montana's done it. Elway's done it. Big Brother's done it. Now Eli is on that list.
and what happens at the end of the game? Bellicheck storms off the field with time left on the clock like 5 year old that just had his favorite toy stolen. I'm sorry, but that guy, as good as he is, is an ass. i admire his football mind and his abilities as a coach, but his character as it relates to sportsmanship is, well let's say "lacking". have some class about yourself. Speaking of class, i will give Brady, Moss and Seymor credit. they all handled the questions, and answered them without emotion or animosity. in defeat, they were classy.
so, in the end. i was wrong. dead wrong. and i couldn't be happier about it. what a great way to end the season, and now we can all start believing in "that's why they play the games" again...
