Super Bowl XLVI Recap!

The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI. Eli Manning was named the game's MVP, and the Giants and Tom Coughlin won their second Super Bowl in four years. Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and the Patriots suffered their second Super Bowl loss in four years to the same Giants organization. So much as been written and said about the game, so here are my thoughts and observations of Super Bowl XLVI.............

I. The flow of the game was interesting. It was a good game, but it wasn't an all time great game. There were no big, spectacular plays until Mario Manningham made that huge catch late in the fourth quarter. Also, I was just waiting for both offenses to start trading scores back and forth and it just never materialized. I don't know if it was NBC's broadcast, but there was very little crowd noise filtering through to the television set. It seemed like quite a contrast to the game that was played four years ago. Overall, a very good game, but not a classic by any stretch. As long as it was close in the fourth quarter, then you are happy.

II. The Patriots scored on Brady to Danny Woodhead 4 yard touchdown completion with five seconds left in the half to make it 10-9. The Pats go the ball to start the third quarter, and they went right down the field and scored again. This time Brady hit Aaron Hernandez with a 12We yard touchdown to make it 17-9. At that point, you had to feel good about New England's chances of winning the game.

III. The Patriots had leads of 17-12 and 17-15 in the third and fourth quarters. They couldn't get another score to extend their lead. At 17-12, the Patriots went three and out, and Justin Tuck got to Brady to force the punt on third down with a huge sack. At 17-15, the Pats had gotten two first downs on the drive and they had 1st and 10 at their own 43. Brady avoided a sack and launched a deep ball intended for Rob Gronkowski. Chase Blackburn was with him step for step and picked it off at the the Giants 8 yard line. It was a huge play because it was 1st down at the time, and Brady forced it because Blackburn had Gronk well covered. That was a huge turn of events. Plus, they couldn't finish the game off late in the fourth quarter, and gave the Giants the ball back with just under four minutes to go. When you have a great offense with Tom Brady, you have to put games away. They did all year, but they didn't do it in this game.

IV. Wes Welker's drop will haunt the Pats and their fans all offseason. Yes, Brady's pass was a little behind him, but the ball hit Welker right in hands, and he simply dropped it. He makes that catch every week during the season, and he dropped it in the biggest possible moment. If he makes that catch, then the Pats might score again and put the game out of reach. Right there, I felt that the door was left open, and gave the Giants the chance to win it.

V. Eli Manning to Mario Mannigham will be the other play that haunts the Patriots, and it will go down as the play of the game. The 38 yard completion was the first play of the Giants final series with 3:46 to play. The Giants were starting the drive at their own 12, and this amazing throw and catch pushed the ball out to midfield. At that point you just knew the Giants were going to win the game. It felt like the end was coming for the Patriots.

VI. Belichick's strategy to let Ahmad Bradshaw score was really his only hope of giving his team a realistic chance to score. I hate letting a team score, but it was his only option at that point. I also don't fault Bradshaw for scoring-although he did try to stop himself by momentum carried him in. It was another odd play in a game filled with some awkward moments. The NFL Films footage won't be so dramatic as you see Bradshaw kind of squat and plop down in the endzone like he was taking a shit. It definitely lost the sense of the moment, but it was important because it put the Giants up 21-17, and it gave the Patriots 57 seconds left and one timeout to try and win it.

VII. The Patriots at least had a decent chance to win it on the final drive which made the game more compelling at the end. Brady threw a pass a little behind Deion Branch on the first play of the drive, and if Branch catches it then, he is running at least to the 50 before a Giant even touches him. Branch dropped it, and that kind of summed up how the Patriots were unable to make plays late to win the game. Aaron Hernandez dropped the next pass over the middle, and Tuck sacked Brady to force the Pats to take their last timeout. It was eerily similar to Jay Alford's sack of Brady late in Super Bowl XLII. Of course Brady converts a 4th and 16, but he was only able to muster a desperate Hail Mary pass at the end of the game that fell short. Speaking of the Hail Mary, when I was watching it live it looked like Gronkowski almost caught it on the tip, and for a second it looked like he did. After watching the replay from other angles, it was clear that it wasn't as close as it first looked live. Anytime you get a Super Bowl to end on a Hail Mary, I think anyone would take that as a football fan.

VIII. Eli Manning has cemented his legacy in the NFL with his second Super Bowl ring. He has put himself in the elite level of NFL QBs, and he is true franchise quarterback. He is no doubt the best QB in the clutch in the NFL, and he has also established himself as one of the all-time great Giants, and one day they will be retiring his number 10 at Metlife Stadium. At this rate, statues will be built of Manning, and schools might be named after him in the New York/New Jersey area. As a native New Yorker, Manning joins the likes of Phil Simms, Lawrence Taylor, Patrick Ewing, Mark Messier, and Derek Jeter as the iconic NY sports figures in my lifetime. Eli called himself elite before the season, and he proved that at the end of the season.

IX. Tom Coughlin has taken so much shit as the New York Giants Head Coach in his tenure. So many fans were calling for his head when the Giants were 7-7, and there was a real thought that he was coaching for his job down the stretch. All Coughlin did was win the NFC East, and win another Super Bowl. He is a superb in-game coach, and he never makes it about him. It is all about his team, and it refreshing to see that the organization was patient and let him coach the way he knows how. He now joins Bill Parcells as the greatest Giants coaches of all-time, and he is quietly making a compelling argument for a Hall of Fame nod in Canton.

X. The biggest storyline for me going into the Super Bowl was the legacy of Belichick and Brady. I picked the Pats to win only because I couldn't see Brady and Belichick lose another Super Bowl four years after they lost to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. This lose is definitely a dent in their armor. They are both fantastic at what they do, and they will be Hall of Famers, but I don't think they are a lock in any playoff game or Super Bowl. They won't win games on reputation anymore, and no one will be afraid of their mystique in a big game. It will be interesting to see how many more shots they get at a Super Bowl in the next few years.

XI. The Giants will be featured on NFL Network's Americas Game special that will review their 2011 season and the run to the Super Bowl. The show will air in September right before the season opener. They usually try to pick three different narrators from a previous team's championship, so with Coughlin and Eli already featured for the 2007 Giants, I think for this team the show will feature Justin Tuck, Victor Cruz, and Jason Pierre-Paul. The outside person could be John Mara.

XII. The Giants will also host the season opening game on NBC on Thursday September 6th. Their home schedule in 2011 is loaded with great possibilities (Steelers, Saints, Eagles, Redskins, Cowboys) but the best choice would be to match the Giants with the Packers. The last two Super Bowl Champions going at it in the season opener would be a great way to kick off the 2012 season.

XIII. From everything that was said and written, Indianapolis was a great Super Bowl city, and it deserves to host another Super Bowl. We'll see if it gets another crack at it in the near future.

XIV. The 2011 season is now over, and unfortunately the next meaningful NFL game won't be played until September of 2012. Unlike last year, there is no threat of a lockout and the NFL offseason will proceed accordingly. The Scouting Combine will get going at the end of the month, and then Free Agency will get going in early March. It will be nice to have some football talk in about a month, so this offseason will be fun. Plus, the Peyton Manning storyline will dominant the month of February. As much as it sucks that the NFL season is over, the league is always in the news, and there will be plenty of fun stuff to talk about over the next few months. Congratulations to the Giants on their win in Super Bowl XLVI.

XV: One last thought: Watching the Giants win the Super Bowl and celebrate with the parade made me think about how badly I want to see the Broncos win another Super Bowl soon. It has been 13 seasons since Denver won a Super Bowl, and it feels like it has been at least 25 years. I want the Broncos to win the Super Bowl so bad that I can almost taste it. Who knows maybe Tim Tebow will be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy this time next year. That is why you have the offseason, everyone is now 0-0, and you can think about it all year long and dream about the Broncos getting back on top of the NFL world.