“Best team ever” can’t beat second-best team in NFC East
By Ira Miller
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 at 8:57 pm in Uncategorized.
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Well, so much for all that talk about the New England Patriots as the best team in NFL history.
In the Super Bowl, New England couldn’t even beat the second-best team in the NFC East, causing wild celebrations among the book publishing set in New York City and the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who remain alone among NFL teams to complete a perfect season.
The Giants beat the Patriots, 17-14, putting an improbable end to a year that began with a coach’s job in jeopardy and a season that began with two crushing defeats. A defense that gave up a league-worst 80 points in those two games dominated the biggest game of all and shut down an offense that led the league in scoring by a wide margin.
“Every team is beatable. You never know,” said Giants coach Tom Coughlin. “The right moment, the right time, every team is beatable.”
It looks like Coughlin will get that contract extension now.
Looks also like maybe Ernie Accorsi wasn’t snooked, after all, when he gave up so much in trade to get Eli Manning on draft day in 2004.
Don’t be surprised if defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo gets a real close look from Washington, the only NFL team still looking for a coach.
And, because so many publishers are headquartered in New York, look for a glut of books on the Giants’ victory, one of the three biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, along with Jets over Colts after the 1968 season and Patriots over Rams after the 2001 season.
Some of the publicity even will be deserved.
The Giants are the third straight team to survive the wild-card round of the playoffs and win the Super Bowl, and the fifth in 11 years. But they are the first team from the NFC, for years the weaker conference, to do it.
“I think we shocked the world,” said Giants’ defensive end Michael Strahan. “Hell, we maybe shocked ourselves.”
This game reminded me of the Super Bowl after the 1988 season, between the 49ers and Bengals. Like that one, not much happened for the first three quarters and the game was decided in a wild fourth quarter.
Only difference is that this time, the favorite lost, and this time the best quarterback of his era was outplayed when it counted.
“Their intensity from the beginning snap to the end of the game was really higher than ours,” said Randy Moss. “It kind of surprised me.”
It wasn’t all Tom Brady’s fault, of course. The Giants’ defense, which was the NFL’s best at sacking the quarterback during the season, dominated against the Patriots’ offensive line.
The Giants blitzed on about a third of the plays, mostly on the inside instead of the outside to get pressure on Brady quicker. For most of the night, Brady looked uncomfortable and out of sync. The Patriots couldn’t get their running game going and their offense consisted mostly of short screen passes.
Brady, knocked down a dozen or more times after throwing and sacked a season-high five times (he had been sacked 24 times in 18 previous games), looked nothing like the quarterback who set an NFL record by throwing 50 touchdown passes during the season.
Whether it was the mild ankle sprain he suffered in the AFC championship game or something else, Brady often seemed strangely unaware of pressure coming his way and seemed either unable or unwilling to maneuver out of the way.
“If you’re going to have a chance to win, you have to play great defense, and we did throughout the entire playoffs,” said Coughlin.
Instead of Brady, it was Eli Manning, joining his brother Peyton to become back-to-back Super Bowl MVPs, who kept his cool and played brilliantly at the game’s most significant moments.
Nothing that Manning did was more impressive than the 83-yard drive he orchestrated in 127 seconds after Brady led the Patriots on a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter.
Eleven of the 12 plays called on the drive were passes. Three of them came on 3rd-and-5 or more, and all three were completed. One of the significant completions was so seemingly out of character for Manning that you could have sworn he was John Elway or Steve Young.
It was a play that began from the Giants’ 44-yard line with 1:15 remaining.
Defensive end Jarvis Green burst through the Giants line and grabbed Manning by the jersey, trying to pull him backward and down. Two other defenders had a shot at Manning. No one would have been surprised if referee Mike Carey blew the whistle and ruled an in-the-grasp sack.
But Carey did not blow the whistle. And Green did not get Manning down. Manning got free of Green’s grasp, escaped, circled back to his right and heaved the ball through the heavens and down the field. David Tyree, who earlier in the quarter scored his first touchdown of the season, out-jumped safety Rodney Harrison for the ball, gaining 32 yards to the Patriots’ 24-yard line.
“That play alone took a few years off my life,” Strahan said.
Three plays later, on 3rd-and-11 from the 25, Manning threw to Steve Smith for 12 yards. And on the next play, cornerback Ellis Hobbs stood flat-footed as Plaxico Burress ran past him to catch Manning’s 13-yarder in the end zone with 35 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Rookie Jay Alford put the exclamation point on the championship two plays after the kickoff when he burst through the Patriots’ line to plant his helmet on Brady’s chest for a 10-yard sack, the final one of the night.
During the regular season, the Patriots averaged 36.8 points and 411.3 yards. They missed their average by more than three touchdowns and nearly 140 yards.
Even Spagnuolo said he never figured his team could hold the Patriots to just 14 points.
“I thought that if our offense could control the ball and we could score a few points, then maybe we could outscore them,” he said.
After a week of renewed controversy about taping and alleged taping of opponents, the Super Bowl defeat also left Patriots coach Bill Belichick with a burning question about his strategy. Midway through the third quarter, with the Patriots leading, 7-3, Belichick passed up what would have been about a 49-yard field goal attempt and the Patriots instead threw an incomplete pass on 4th-and-13 from the Giants’ 31-yard line.
Was Belichick concerned about field position? Or that his overwhelmed offensive line might allow the kick to be blocked? Belichick said he thought about kicking, but pointed out the kick was not a gimme. But those three points looked large at the end of the game. Pats kicker Stephen Gostkowski had made 22 of 26 field goal attempts in the 18 victories.
“What I learned today is how tough it is to go undefeated,” said Don Shula, coach of the ’72 Dolphins, who was in the stadium. “That’s why I’m even more proud of our ’72 team that I’ve ever been. It shows it’s a tremendous accomplishment.
“It hadn’t been done before we went undefeated, and it hasn’t been done since.”
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February 3rd, 2008 at 10:14 pm
It’s good to see the trophy come back to the NFC. Brady looked so out of his game at times and didn’t have many answers for the Giants D-line, Brady had a look on his face not familiar to most. Moss doesn’t deserve a ring after what he pulled in Oakland and this fron a 49er fan. Belichick goes down in flames after that decision to go for it on 4th. And now maybe we quit hearing the comparisons of Brady and Montana.
February 3rd, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Ira, there is no more in the grasp rule.
February 4th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Ira,
It’s real simple! The Patriots cheated in the first
game against the Jets and pay for it in the Super Bowl.
Belichick, Brady & Moss are all losers because they
deserve it.
Brady will never be remotely close to even matching
what Joe Montana has done in the NFL.
JB
February 4th, 2008 at 10:34 am
It puzzled me at the time and still has me scratching my head—”it” being the thought process from Belichick on that 4th and 13….it would have only cost them seven yards in field position and as we can so smartly view with our hindsight glasses, had they made the kick it likely changes how the game plays out. But in my mind it couldn’t have happened to a “nicer” guy…
February 4th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Wrong
Except for the “lucky” heave to Tyree, Tom Brady hits Randy Moss for the game winner.
Until players start going both ways again, like Sammy Baugh, they can’t lose the game. That is, Brady was not the one who dropped an interception or didn’t finish off the sack.
Whatever, Brady didn’t lose the game, just like Montana and the catch, he through what could have been a game winner. But unlike Montana, no one came up w/a sack (like Danny White going down around midfield to Jim Stuckey)- Imagine if White had hit Drew Pearson for a game winning touchdown, would that have meant no Montana mystique?
I’m just saying, Brady didn’t light it up, but he did lead them on a potential game winning drive against an excellent defense.
February 4th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
I want to congratulate NY Giants & Eli, on their super bowl victory, they played a great game. Before I go any further I want to add that I am not a NE fan. In my opinion watching the game, I would say NY also was very lucky to win this one; having come with a great blitz plan & all, it very important to note that all the breaks went their way. All the high / low passes, were caught at the crunch time. On the other hand, I think NE was too cocky and thought they could win this game without some serious effort. That is why it looked like that they never planned for this type pressure from NY; the O line was non-existent the whole game Brady never had a chance to throw the ball.
February 4th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
I want to congratulate NY Giants & Eli, on their super bowl victory, they played a great game. Before I go any further I want to add that I am not a NE fan. In my opinion watching the game, I would say NY was also very lucky to win this one; having come with a great blitz plan & all, it very important to note that all the breaks went their way. All the high / low passes, were caught at the crunch time. On the other hand, I think NE was too cocky and thought they could win this game without some serious effort. That is why it looked like that they never planned for this type pressure from NY the O line was non-existent the whole game Brady never had a chance to throw the ball.
February 4th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Ira: I hope you continue to write this blog next year (and every year). Since you left the Chronicle their sports coverage has been a vacuum, and this is my only source for relevant football info. Thanks for a great season, and keep on blogging!
February 5th, 2008 at 8:23 am
give credit where credit is due. tom brady is a very good quarterback. however most of his succuess came behind a huge offensive line that controlled the defense. once some one came up with a better defensive scheme with players that could execute he showed he is no montana. he is a poor scambler and totally out of his game plan when the pass coverage breaks down. sure no qb can throw touch downs when his backside is green but montana was way better throwing them on the run. ’nuff said.
February 5th, 2008 at 8:36 am
i was looking back at some of your columnes and came across this gem.“We are in an era that has cheapened experience and age in every profession,” he said. “There is no substitute for having gone through it.” i dont know who said this but they on target 100%.
February 5th, 2008 at 11:34 am
ira right on as always this pats team is no match for the 84 89 or 94 niners imagine them vs the giants teams of the 80’s with jim burt etc on the d line not to even mention the lb corps they had and a coaching staff that included not only parcells and billichek but almost all the family tree of thiers at one time or another !!!! as for brady did that look like the greatest qb of all time ? no way
February 6th, 2008 at 4:45 am
I watch Brother Christopher Brady, Tom’s Uncle give a
young and bright future ahead thumbs up to his Nephew on a news interview
but he gave no props to De Ls Salle grad Amani Toomer
for his efforts for the Giants. For all you young men of color who attend De La Salle use them just like they will use you. It’s not always Be All You Can Be
It’s more like Get All You Can Get. Smiling Faces Do Tell Lies.
February 10th, 2008 at 9:46 am
As a life long New York Giant fan. This was their greatest season in my entire life. I remember my father talking about attending the losing the 1958 title game to the Colts and I remember watching losing the 1961 title game to the Packers with him on a 12 inch black and white TV.
So after the Giants wilderness years of the mid 60’s and the 70’s. The success of the 80’s this was the greatest season I can remember.
As a Giant fan nobody ever really believes in us. the media has its favorites. The olds 49ers, Cowboys, Packers, and now Patriots. How sweet to vanquish them all.
Whatever the Giants do next year it does not really matter. This was a season for the ages.
February 11th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Brady wont come close to doing what Montana has?
NEWSFLASH: He just about already has.
How old is Brady again?
That comment was awfully homerish.
They didnt lose that game because of Bady dude.
April 17th, 2008 at 9:34 am
From another niners fan- Brady, Moss, Belichick and all other NE fans will hopefully never EVER come this close to even getting a thought of what a perfect season is…..I’m relieved that they fell flat on their faces!