Woo! Go Giants!
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Touchdown!
03 Feb 2008 09:56 pm
Comments (86)
If a team can fuck it up, its the Jints.
Remember The Fumble!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Miracle_at_the_Meadowlands
As a New Yorker, I just want to say, "Eat that, Boston."
18-1
To Jimm and all the other Patsies fans--eat sh1t by0tch f00kers!
GO GIANTS!!!!
PS--Hope you didn't lose too much on the game. ..|.,
PPS--I'm sure you'll be able to relive the game in all its glory for all eternity on ESPN Classic starting tomorrow.
Hateful gloating, Matt.
Great game. I guess Eli really has turned the proverbial corner.
Classless move by Belichick. Wasn't Moss vilified for doing something similar while with the Raiders?
I predict this will be the year of underdogs defeating the cheating establishment.
I blame Pete Rozelle: parity.
does this mean two homely manning's are going to be making commercials?
Way to go Giants, but blechhh if these means more broken nose mannings on my teley!
Gloating Ari? Why would Giants fans gloat?
How about this post in response to Matt's original prediction?
"I'm not even considering NY winning this game, just trying to figure out how much money I'm willing to put down on the point spread for the Patriots.
Every indication I have, from past Super Bowls and this season, as well as Belicheck and Brady's histories, is that the Patriots blow out the Giants and Eli Manning gets spanked.
It's too bad really, because I'd love to see a great game.
Posted by Jimm | January 31, 2008 7:25 PM"
Yeah, that's not gloating. /snark
The rare Stupor Bowl that was not boring and predictable riddled with brain-dead sports jock talking points...but actually entertaining!
Waaay entertaining! Giants defense and Strahan played like lions. Manning within himself. It was suspenseful and full of great plays. And the broadcast crew was absent slogan-spouting ex-jock cretins, avoided casting early "heroes" and lauding those "heroes" all game and Kept Their Eyes and Commentary on the Teams Play.
Satisfying. Football as it should be. Levels above fag soccer players casually plonking the ball around or writhing in fake pain for 80 minutes of an 90 minute game.
All grats to the Giants. That's why they say defense wins superbowls.
"Levels above fag soccer players casually plonking the ball around or writhing in fake pain for 80 minutes of an 90 minute game."
Shorter Chris Ford: Look at me, I am clueless.
As a Bostonian who despises football you don't know how happy this makes me.
Eli (and the Giants) got very lucky at the end. He threw up some ducks, including the play where he avoided getting sacked and Tyree made that ridiculous catch. I'm sure there will be some story coming out about Brady's ankle being worse than he let on, but the Patriots just got beat tonight.
I think a lot of people were in serious denial about the strength of the Giants. It was like they wanted to totally forget about the fact that the Giants came really close to wrecking the Patriots' undefeated season and erased this event from their memory in favor of pointless triumphalism about the Patriots' chances.
I don't know whether to be happy because this will cause Bill Simmons pain or sad because he'll now write 10 pages about how unfair everything is to the Boston sports fan.
As a Pats fan this is devastating. The only positive way I can spin this is that the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and Massachusetts' own John Kerry lost the next week. Could 2008 be the same? Could the Giants winning be bad for NY Senator Hillary Clinton?
I'm bracing for the worst on Tuesday now.
(Prefacing by saying that I am glad as hell that the Giants won, so as to shut up annoying Pats fans...)
What I'm sitting here thinking: To all you people who clamor for a playoff system in college football, see how a playoff system can sometimes lead to the 'wrong' outcome, just like the polls and the BCS et al. can?
Does anyone REMOTELY think that the Giants were the best team in the NFL in 2007-2008? They were the best in January and February, certainly. But think back to how AWFUL they were in November and December against the Vikings, against the Bears, against the Redskins. I remember saying to my sister after one of those games that if his last name weren't Manning, Eli wouldn't be starting for an NFL team. Usually, when a team wins the Super Bowl, most people - who can only relate to the most recent thing they've seen - will rate them as the favorite to make it back and win it again the next season. Will the Giants even be the favorites to win their own division next year?
So next time you hear somebody railing about playoffs in college football, think of the 2007 NY Giants. Then check to see who the #10 rated team is that week, and ask yourself how unsatisfying it would be for them to win the national championship.
Second best sports game I've ever seen, right behind joe carter's home run in the 93 series to win it for the Jays
I remember after the last game of the regular season I looked over at my family and said "Boston is going to wish they'd lost that game."
I had no idea just how exactly right I would be. Really I just expected without adversity the Pats wouldn't be able to pull it out at some point in the playoffs. That they would wish to swap Giants games was especially ironic.
There are seventeen possible ways to go 18-1 in an NFL season. This is the worst possible one.
Congrats, NYC.
The most exciting Superbowl by far since 1998 Broncos-Packers with Elway and Farve. Maybe the best overall game in even longer.
This is the worst day of my life. Not even an Obama victory on Tuesday will cheer me now...
see how a playoff system can sometimes lead to the 'wrong' outcome, just like the polls and the BCS et al. can?
But this wasn't the "wrong" outcome. The winner wasn't the team that was best all season, but the team that was able to get it done against the best team. I don't see anything unsatisfying about that.
What I am damn unsatisfied by, is Belichick's failure to kick a field goal on FOURTH and THIRTEEN! from the Giants' 31 in the third quarter. That ridiculous decision provided the Giants' margin of victory.
There's a reason the Super Bowl isn't played in November and December, Robert Earle. Teams get better over the course of the season.
Shorter Robert Earle:
Congratulations Patriots, Champions of the NFL!
Woo! Go sports fans! That was one hell of a game, speaking as someone with no particular feelings whatsoever for either team.
(Well, that's not strictly true. The Patriots needed to be taken down a peg, and New York -- the city, not the team -- is always in need of being taken down a peg. I guess it's more accurate to say that whatever feelings I have for each team cancel out.)
Obama is to JFK as Eli Manning is to Joe Namath.
Manning should just end his career now...it's never going to get better than this.
Americans: your chopped up ludicrous form of Rubgy Union appears to have merit.
Congratulations to Njorl who correctly predicted
I think the Giants will rise to the occasion big time with a last minute touchdown...
Of course, the next part of what he wrote was
... to just barely beat the spread 42-31.
So he doesn't get it completely right.
To all you people who clamor for a playoff system in college football, see how a playoff system can sometimes lead to the 'wrong' outcome, just like the polls and the BCS et al. can?
That's exactly why even a perfect BCS system will always be inferior to a playoff. The Giants are the champions because they fought all comers and won the greatest game. No matter if the BCS chooses the 'best' team every year it will never be legitimate because the BCS 'championship' isn't won on the field by defeating all contenders.
Robert Earle--By your argument, there shouldn't even be a final "championship" game for anything. I mean, why bother with an NCAA tournament? The best team might not win, and that would lead to the "wrong" outcome. In fact, to take your argument to its logical extreme, why don't we just dispense with the "narrative" underdog in sports altogether, and crown who ever has the best record in their sport the champions?
Also, I'm not exactly sure why you threw the BCS system as an alternative to a playoff system. The year's outcome was unarguably the most arguable to date.
"I think a lot of people were in serious denial about the strength of the Giants."
Boy, isn't THAT the truth. Did any of you Pats fans deign to look at the NYG-Packers game? The Packers were a very good team, playing at home in conditions that should have favored them. The Giants' defense stuffed them - incredible performance. And hard to take, sure as I was that Favre would never lose this game.
I don't know what changed down the last month of the season, but it turned the Giants into the best team in football. Congrats to them.
That should be "underdog" narrative
My dad in Queens reminds me that Tuesday will be the Giants' parade through the Canyon of Heroes in NYC. Any sense of what that does to voter turnout, who it helps, etc?
Speaking of "underdog" narrative.
Si se puede! Yes we can!
Remember what I said after the close loss to the Pats in week 17:
Almost.Should give some pause to those who disrespect Eli Manning though. These are impressive stats against one of the best defenses in the NFL: 22-32, for 251 yds, 4 TDs, and only 1 INT. Playing the Pats this closely should also give the Giants some momentum against the Bucs next week.
And now Eli is the Super Bowl MVP. If it could go to a coach, my vote would have been for Steve Spagnola, defensive coordinator. Great victory for the Giants. They were the best team when it counted, in the playoffs. Great wins against TB, Dallas, and Green Bay and now the Pats.
And for the knucklehead who compared Eli to Joe Namath: Eli couldn't be any less like Broadway Joe.
Pats fan here. Honestly thought the G-men had a *good chance going into the game. They were, are I guess, just the better team. congrats big blue.
If I could join in on the Robert Earle beatdown---
This was the best Super Bowl in years and you think the screwed up college system (LSU would have lost to either Georgia or USC, Ohio State might have lost to Hawaii) would be an improvement?
If this is what a college playoff system would lead to, then we should get on it posthaste.
The Giants peaked going into the post-season. The Pats played well all year, but started to run out of steam a little in the AFC championship game (btw, after that game, how come Giselle couldn't take Amtrak up to Boston to see Brady? How come she made him schlep to Manhattan on a bum ankle?). Welker had another great game, but if you have to let a Patriot get 10 catches, best to let Welker get a bunch of screens and dump-offs. Excellent defense by the Giants.
First of all, Eli should not be the game MVP. I mean, the Giants defensive line was the best unit on the field and continuously harassed Tom Brady the entire game. The Patriot offensive line, which gave up very few sacks all season, gave up several today. I think that game was won by the Giants' defensive line, and it is a travesty that they were not given the MVP awards (and yes, call me a pinko, but I do believe in co-MVP awards. Also, I do acknowledge that Eli made good plays, but the Giants' defense was superb).
Second point. Yay!!! We get to hear more from the 1972 Dolphins!!! Yay!!!
Finally, I know this is a super bowl thread, but Chris Ford's comment just pushed me over the edge. Real Football is a much more exciting game to watch than American Football (and yes, I did play American Football in high school, but I became a soccer convert when I studied in Europe). There is a more continuous flow of the game (not the continuous starting and stopping in the American game), the players actually play for 90 minutes (unlike American Football where they play for about 5 minutes and stand around the other 55), it is a lot more exciting to watch, and yes, American Football players flop too. Also, for the league championship, the teams with the best record for the season win (I am not a big playoff fan). Anyway, I am sorry for bringing this up in a Super Bowl thread. I do love American Football, but I get really upset when someone bashes Soccer.
The Superbowl MVP might be a completely useless award. It might as well be called the "quarterback of the winning team" award. Adlsad is right: it belongs to the Giants' D-line.
The Giants probably won’t beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
I'd like to point out that Bill Kristol was wrong *yet again*.
As a Pats fan this is devastating. The only positive way I can spin this is that the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and Massachusetts' own John Kerry lost the next week. Could 2008 be the same? Could the Giants winning be bad for NY Senator Hillary Clinton?
I'm bracing for the worst on Tuesday now.
If Hillary goes down hard on Tuesday after this Giants' win, then the Dem Party and the nation both win, and win big!
What was I thinking when I passed up the field goal to go for it on fourth and fifteen? I mean, we lost by three. Somebody shoot me.
What was I thinking when I passed up the field goal to go for it on fourth and fifteen? I mean, we lost by three. Somebody shoot me.
adlsad--
chris ford is an idiot, about football, soccer, and pretty much everything else.
However, Manning's 2 minute drill at the end of the game was pretty damn unbelievable, and, even if you didn't like the throw to Tyree's INCREDIBLE reception, his scramble to get that throw earned him the MVP, in my book. It reminded me of Fran Tarkenton.
That said, being an old-line Jints fan, I agree the Defense is always the key to the Giants. Always.
My MVP vote would have gone to Wes Welker.
The Patriots lost this game in the first half, with a terrible offensive game plan and overall coaching choke. They seem to have forgotten completely how they actually blew through the league to get to the Super Bowl, by throwing the ball, and refused to put the ball in the hands of their top playmakers. They wasted valuable possessions trying to establish a running game. The best quarterback in the game, handing off on play after play, and with only 11 passing attempts in the half? Criminal. And it took them almost three quarters to figure out that the short passing game in the middle of the field had been available all night, and was the best way to neutralize the Giants pass rush.
When I saw that double reverse on the first series, and then saw Belichick huddled with the defense on two series in the first half while his offense was going nowhere, I knew that the pressure had finally gotten to these guys.
The Giants built up a ton of defensive confidence by adding aggressive blitzes to their already excellent pass rush, and yet the Patriots refused to make them pay by going right to the short passing game and forcing the Giants to keep more people in coverage.
It is so awesome that a pussy asshat like Kristol not only opined on something as foreign to him as sports, but called it unbelievably wrong in the process. It says so much about him, in so many way. What does the jackass know about?
Couldn't happen to a finer Chief of Staff of VP Dan Quayle.
Didn't Gisele say that she'd run naked down Broadway if the Giants won? Seriously.
When I saw that double reverse on the first series, and then saw Belichick huddled with the defense on two series in the first half while his offense was going nowhere, I knew that the pressure had finally gotten to these guys.
Oh, and passing up the field goal too. Choke.
Two More Things:
1. The commercials this year totally sucked. I can't remember a most of them. Well, now that I think about it, I remember one about lizards doing the "Thriller" dance. That was just weird. Also, CGI talking babies are not cute.
2. There is a time, manner, and place to read the Declaration of Independance. Twenty minutes before kickoff for the Super Bowl is not that time. I felt that the whole set up was corny, and it kind of cheapens the document.
Ghost of McConkey,
I agree. The final drive by Eli Manning was a terrific drive. It's too bad that I was the only one in the room cheering for the Patriots at that time. Unfortunately, I think this means more of those Peyton/Eli Oreo commercials...
Yeah, I know the Giants were always known for there defense. I am a 49er fan, and I don't have much love for the Giants because Bill Parcells (when he was coach of the Giants) referred to the 49ers style of play as "sissy football" (or something like that).
Hey, since you are a Giants fan, did you seem to notice that Eli started playing much better after Jeremy Shockey got injured? Just sayin'...
"First of all, Eli should not be the game MVP. I mean, the Giants defensive line was the best unit on the field and continuously harassed Tom Brady the entire game."
A fair point, but MVP award have to go to individual players, not units. I felt the same way the last time the Giants won the Super Bowl, that the O-Line should have gotten the MVP award, but it went to old Otis Anderson, the RB, instead.
"Finally, I know this is a super bowl thread, but Chris Ford's comment just pushed me over the edge. Real Football is a much more exciting game to watch than American Football"
Chris Ford was pushing the buttons of lefty internationalists with that comment, but he was absolutely right, and you are wrong: there's never been a soccer game as exciting as this Super Bowl. How may have this many lead changes so late in the game? If folks in the rest of the world grew up playing football and understanding it, it would be hugely popular everywhere. It probably will be hugely popular someday -- look at how popular rugby has grown internationally. The world would be a better place with more violence on the football field and less violence in the stands. Soccer lacks those cathartic collisions so loser fans have to kill each other in the cheap seats.
"They seem to have forgotten completely how they actually blew through the league to get to the Super Bowl, by throwing the ball, and refused to put the ball in the hands of their top playmakers."
It wasn't by choice! The Giants pass rush limited the Pats to short passes, and the Giants successfully defended against the screens and limited the yards-after-catches. If anything, the Pats should have fed Moraney the ball more, as he has consistently run well against the Giants.
adlsad is spot on about the Declaration of Independence. The whole show was way over produced and disappointing. Thank goodness the game itself was great.
I have to disagree with those who think Belichick choked. He's always been a defensive coach. Spending time with the defense while the offense is on the field is not out of the ordinary. He's always been a guy who goes for it on 4th down in the middle of the field. It would have been a 47 yd field goal attempt. Granted 4th and 13 is a long shot, but punting gains almost nothing and a missed FG gets spotted at the 37. Plus NE had the lead.
Gotta agree about opening up with the fake double reverse. Dumb.
"Hey, since you are a Giants fan, did you seem to notice that Eli started playing much better after Jeremy Shockey got injured"
Good point. The loss of two big egos on offense -- first Tiki and then Shockey -- probably helped the low-key Eli. What was up with Shockey watching the game from a luxury box instead of being on the sidelines? He must have had mixed feelings when Boss made that clutch 45-yard catch and run.
"I am a 49er fan, and I don't have much love for the Giants because Bill Parcells (when he was coach of the Giants) referred to the 49ers style of play as "sissy football" (or something like that)."
I was looking on Google video last night, trying to find a video of Jim Burt knocking out Joe Montana in the Giants' playoff victory against the 9ers in the '80's. No luck, but your comment brought that to mind.
adlsad and Fred, I agree with you about Shockey and Tiki. I loved both players, but hey, their replacements are already on the field. Jacobs and Bradshaw are a solid, someday very good, running combo. Boss has turned out to be extremely solid, and his reception at the beginning of the 4th quarter really turned things up a notch for the Giants.
Although I will always love Parcells (you'll note that two of his coaches from Super Bowl 25 were the head coaches tonight), sometimes he said stuff to the media that came out absurd, especially in hindsight. Unquestionably, he used the NY media environment to motivate his players. I suspect that comment (although I can't remember it specifically, I vaguely remember something like it) was something along the lines of that, not to excuse it.
My own sense of the 80s and early 90s was that the NFC basically owned the entire NFL (usually at the expense of Elway and the Broncos) during that time. And when I think of the NFC, I'm thinking the NFC East and the Niners. The Niners were UNBELIEVABLE back then. In fact, when Eli ran the 2-minute drill tonight, it made me think of Montana in the Superbowl against the Bengals.
I have to add that, in psyching ourselves up for the game tonight, my fellow Giants fans and I were reminiscing about 1986 and 1990, and the thoughts always came back to the playoff games against the Niners. I remember Burt's hit on Montana very well (I think I have it on tape somewhere), the fake punt to Gary Reasons and Roger Craig's fumble in the Stick in 1990--these are the reasons for me that the Super Bowl was almost anti-climactic. Although Super Bowl 25 was indeed incredible, it wasn't on the level of tonight.
Fred,
Thanks for bringing back memories of that 1986 playoff loss to the Giants... And a couple of years later, Jim Burt would be on the Niners. Now I am trying to remember which playoff game Ronnie Lott got called with that phantom pass interference call.
If you are really interested in exciting Soccer (which you probably aren't, but I'll mention it anyway), the 1982 World Cup semifinal between France and Germany is probably the best game to watch. Heroes, villans, lead changes, an overtime match, the whole shebang. Also, the Liverpool/AC Milan Champions League final from a few years back is also a pretty exciting game.
Anyway, enough about Soccer. Yeah. If I am the Giants organization, I would really consider getting rid of Shockey (the Raiders would probably take him). I don't understand why he is a "fan favorite" among New York Giants fans. He's overpriced, he underworks, and he has the (im)maturity of a 13 year old. That Boss guy really is much better.
Having said that, it was odd watching Shockey watch the game from a luxury box with a few brewskis.
One more thing. I have to give it up for Amani Toomer. Bay Area guy (went to De La Salle High). Class on and off the field. I am glad that he had a good showing and finally won a ring.
Also, I have to say that I am happy for Michael Strahan finally winning the Super Bowl. Too bad about Junior Seau though.
Also have to say that Umenyiora and Justin Tuck are really good, and the Giants have a really good future at defense.
adlsad,
Agreed about Toomer, Strahan, Tuck, and Umenyiora. I'm not too sad for Seau, he should have stuck with the Chargers instead of jumping on the Pats' bandwagon.
I've watched Soccer, btw. The World Cup. It's entertaining (and the games go by quickly without all the TV timeouts), but it doesn't compare to the NFL at its best. I wouldn't know where to dig up that 1982 game -- if it's ever on ESPN Classic or something, I'll give it a look. The world will be a better place when American football is an international sport. May that day come in our lifetimes.
To the people saying the Pats were the best team this year: Fine, say that.
Also notice that the supposed best team lost to a team that apparently was not nearly as good as the best team.
Which leads me to ask: and your point is?
I'm a Patriots fan from way back and this one hurts - the defense let this one get away.
Kudos to the Giants though there's no way that Eli should be MVP - the Geeeeeee-man's defensive line won this game.
In any case, if I see Hillary (or Bill) Clinton gloat about this because they are "New Yorkers", it should be nothing more than evidence that they are carpetbaggers, and I will puke. Neither Hill, nor Bill, has any roots in NY. She ran there because she could win, not because she has roots there. That should say enough about her character or Democrats everywhere.
-John Bentley
Chicago, IL
Every time I see Bill Belichick on tv, I want to start screaming, "That's the guy! That's the guy who murdered all those prostitutes and made sofa cover out of their skin!" A real creep.
And tonite, add: totally classless, unprofessional, spoiled, inhuman...
I like most of the Patriots' players as persons (and I say that as a Giants fan), but it's like they're coached by the third member of a trinity whose other two members are Voldemort and Sauruman.
"To the people saying the Pats were the best team this year: Fine, say that."
A "best team ever" shouldn't just win, it should dominate. The '85 Chicago Bears, with that 46 defense, dominated. You weren't worried about your team winning against them, you were just hoping they'd be able to score. Even getting first downs against them was an achievement. Remember their Super Bowl victory over the Pats? The Pats couldn't even score one touchdown until it was garbage time against the Bears' third stringers. They benched their starting QB early on, and put their old back-up/QB coach in, and he took a beating the rest of the night.
The only reason the Bears didn't go undefeated that year was Dan Marino's unique, preternaturally quick-release style of passing. The Pats won a number of close games this year, and didn't look nearly as dominating, even at 18-0. It's fitting that they got beaten in the Super Bowl.
Well, I think I am finally coming down after that emotional roller coaster. I am thrilled that the Giants won (what is that, 11 straight road/non-home victories?). I'm still not sure why anyone was predicting a blowout. I called it before the game that it would be close and it was.
Though I do agree with most posters, Eli should not have been the MVP. He had a great game, but it was the Defense that won this championship (and, let's face it, all the playoff games). This post season, by my reckoning, that have allowed 14, 17, 20 and 14 points against 3 of the best offenses in the league.
Manning did was he was supposed, not screw it up with costly interceptions (I don't hold him accountable for his one interception in the Super Bowl, sometimes the ball just bounces the wrong way). But his last drive was phenomenal, especially his escape form several certain sacks.
Overall I think this was one of the best Super Bowls in quite some time, requiring an epic 2 minute drill to defeat an undefeated team who were 12 point favorites. I guess it is true what they say, offense wins games and defense wins championships.
The Pats defense held the Giants to 17 points. They did a damn good job. The Pats coaches had a terrible game. First there's not trying for a field goal. But then there's the unbelievable fact that the Pats didn't gameplan for a strong Giants pass rush. The Giants ran roughshod over the OL of the Pats in the regular season game. I guess having two starters back on the OL made the Pats overconfident. Still, it's unbelievable that the Pats didn't run more screens in the first half or draws.
You have to hand it to Eli, though. He has learned how to handle the blitz. The Pats thought they could rattle him, but he made them pay big time. I sure am happy that someone who has had to take so much crap from teammates and the media was able to come up big.
Eli's MVP was completely justified, given the constraints (that it couldn't go to a unit like the d-line, and had to go to one player). The defense played great, but the great plays were distributed among too many players to give one the MVP. Same thing on offense. Given that, Eli was the logical choice, considering his clutch come-from-behind drive in the 4th Quarter. Eli certainly deserved the MVP more than Otis Anderson deserved his in the last Giants' Super Bowl victory.
And another thing: Eli's post-season stats were top-notch. 10 TDs versus 2 INTs? And the last INT was hardly his fault.
Let's not begrudge Eli this MVP title. He deserved it as much as most have.
Great game, great result, and a great finish to the Best Football Season Ever. With LSU's richly deserved championship already in the memory bank, this is the cherry on top.
I think Archie deserves some kind of Daddy award, and growing up in Louisiana should get the credit it deserves as a marker for greatness. Eli Manning, David Tyree and Rodney Harrison all deserve their entry into the All-Time NFL Highlights Package-what a catch! What a play!
Woo hoo!!!! What a finish! I am so happy for the Giants-although I can't help but feel a little sorry for Tom Brady.
New York > Boston
Roger Craig's fumble in the Stick in 1990
Montana was knocked out of that game, also ;)
I have to give it up for Amani Toomer. Bay Area guy (went to De La Salle High). Class on and off the field. I am glad that he had a good showing and finally won a ring.
Toomer's Hall of Fame prospects got two big boosts this weekend: the ring, and Art Monk's election. As long as Monk (the same type of player, but better) wasn't getting the votes, Toomer had no chance.
The only reason the Bears didn't go undefeated that year was Dan Marino's unique, preternaturally quick-release style of passing.
That's what killed the 46 eventually. Coaches saw that film and said to themselves: "You know, if we can get the ball out before the rush arrives, there aren't a whole lot of people left playing pass defense." Thus we had the era of the three-step drop, of Jerry Rice catching five-yard throws and running 60 yards. In the four years after their SB win, the Bears won just one playoff game.
I think that is a piece of highlight film Rodney Harrison would sooner like to forget.
The 85 Bears were the best defense I've ever seen, which is saying something compared to all the LT-Carl Banks-Harry Carson Giants defenses of yore.
As a longtime Giants fan, I'll always have a soft spot for Belichick, since he coordinated that great defense. Yes, he blinked when he went for it on 4th and 13 instead of the FGA, and I don't know why they didn't start throwing to Welker more in the first half, since he's the guy who killed the Giants in the last game of the season. But he's still a great, great coach.
Oh yeah, Thlayli, I remember. Was it the 1986 game where he had the concussion (I think it was, because I have this memory of him being helped to the locker room in a daze at Giants Stadium), and the 1990 where he suffered the fracured arm/wrist?
The Giants definitely recognized Montana for the player he was. Just like last night with Brady. Definitely the keys to both teams. Randy Moss and Jerry Rice aren't getting those highlight film catches without those guys airing it out.
Glad to hear Monk got it, since was a great receiver, especially since the Giants never really suffered under the Gibbs era Skins (either era). That's a fair comparison to Toomer.
"The 85 Bears were the best defense I've ever seen, which is saying something compared to all the LT-Carl Banks-Harry Carson Giants defenses of yore."
True about the '85 Bears, but the Banks-Carson-LT-Reasons (don't forget him -- he called the signals!) defense was arguably better over a longer time period in the '80's. The Bears were a perfect storm in '85, and were good but never that dominating again.
"The Giants definitely recognized Montana for the player he was."
I remember when the press asked Jim Burt how he felt about Montana after he knocked him out (arguably the hardest hit in NFL history), Jim Burt said something like, "I'm going to go visit him in the hospital -- he's my favorite quarterback".
Thanks for mentioning Reasons, Fred. Of course, my favorite memory of Reasons was the aforementioned fake punt in the 1990 NFC Championship in Candlestick. CLASSIC!
I agree that the 85 Bears were a bit of a one off, but thinking about it a little more, I'd suggest that the 46 wasn't completely discredited. Didn't Buddy Ryan essentially import his defense to Philly when he got the head coaching job? Their defense was really rock solid during his tenure, IIRC.
Best memory of the 85 Bears was Fridge playing both ways. Like watching a cartoon come to life.
Sad that only a few years after Burt put the hit on Montana, he actually became a Niner. He was and is a great fan favorite. As for the hardest hit ever, I suspect Joe Theismann might dispute that. I still shudder thinking of that one.
Theismann's hit ranks with the most stomach-turning hits in NFL history, but in terms of pure mechanical energy, Jim Burt's clean shot on Montana was like a freight train hitting a rag doll.
The 46 defense wasn't discredited -- you're right that Ryan used it effectively in Philly, and it's still used occasionally today. My point was just that the Bears were never as dominating again as they were in '85. The Giants D was never that dominating, but it was more consistently great during that era.
Bart Oates, the Giants center, also became a 49er briefly.
Was it the 1986 game where he had the concussion ..., and the 1990 where he suffered the fracured arm/wrist?
Definitely a concussion on the Jim Burt hit in 1986. I don't know what specific injury(ies) resulted from the Leonard Marshall hit in 1990.
Sorry, Fred, I was actually directing the 46 part of my comment to Thlayli.
Agreed that the NY defense was the "MVP," but the fact that Peyton got that award last Super Bowl made me think it would've been just cruel to deny it to Eli, after that final drive.
I confess, when the Giants got the ball back at 14-10, I didn't believe Eli Manning had what it would take to get the touchdown. But damn if he didn't, harum-scarum plays or not.
(I think he must've sold his soul to the Devil immediately preceding that almost-sack and Tyree's helmet-catch ... wow.)
That's the problem with an MVP award -- you can't give it to the whole line, so who should get it?
And I hate cluttering up a football thread with politics, but John Bentley's commment demands a response. "Carpetbagger" is a foreign comcept in New York. You get to be a New Yorker by moving here and declaring yourself one. Hillary and Bill are New Yorkers, plain and simple . (Though of course they're lots of other things too.)
Hell, half the people I know here are red-state refugees. Thanks to the South for driving so many cool people to NYC.
Dead right, Alan. "Carpetbagger" might apply to someone who goes from New York to Arkansas, but EVERYBODY gets to be a New Yorker if they can pull it off. Great time for a Bobby Jindal plug.
Tyree's helmet catch is one for the ages. I agree with some of the comments about the MVP Award being pointless. The team won because it played the game as a team.
Alas, not quite 24 hours have passed since the 0:39s mark left in the 4th. The crushing, sinking feeling still lingers, even for this fair weathered fan, so I feel for the lifelong fans. But now at least, I can breath normally, and it is somewhat comforting to know that life does go on...
18-and-D'oh!
Ghost of McConkey,
With much love (yes, I am days behind - it's hard when MY blogs so much!), I have to say that's the best pseudonym evah. Can I be the Ghost of Joe Morris?
Simms to McConkey. You bring it all back.
Way to go, Big Blue Wrecking Crew. Tyree's catch, in my world, makes up for Wide Right.
I wish I were still in high school like last time, when my mom pulled me out of school for a trip to the post-ProBowl celebration in Giants Stadium in January 1987. Sadly, I'll have to work here in Redskins Hell.
Comments closed February 17, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
WTF Belichick, stay for the last :01
Posted by Alexander | February 3, 2008 10:05 PM