GIANT THRILLER: Manning Poised, Giants Determined and Plaxico Was Right

I didn't see this coming. The much ballyhooed New England Patriots were supposed to win this game and go down in history as arguably the best team ever. We all sat there and watched as they struggled, but in the back of our minds everyone, even Giants fans, just knew that Tom Brady, being the clutch player that he is, would somehow someway rally the Patriots back.

That never happened.

Instead, it was Eli Manning, as awkward as he is, who looked poised in the pocket. And that scrambling, 32-yard pass to David Tyree will make highlight reels from now until the end of time. You can't help but wonder: how did the Patriots blow it?

Well, the easy answer is they got too cocky. No one will ever forget Plaxico Burress' controversial prediction, or the way Brady found it hysterical. Talk about eating your words.



But if you really want to know how the Patriots blew it, the answer is that none of its stars were able to shine. None. I imagine, though, that Brady might have been able shine and rally his team had his offensive line actually shown up. Those guys must've been on that trip with Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson. There is simply no excuse for the way they played on Sunday, and with the way Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora were able penetrate and keep Brady rattled, they sure didn't look like pro-bowlers. Randy Moss was irrelevant. Junior Seau didn't do anything. In an usual form, Bill Belichick failed to make adjustments during the game to give Brady more time, and I won't even mention the decision to go for it on 4th & 13 halfway into the third quarter on the Giants' 32-yard line with a pro-bowl kicker in the Super Bowl with a tight 7-3 score. Trash-talking Rodney Harrison gave up that famous 32-yard third-down conversion pass to Tyree. And I forget whoever blew the coverage on the very basic pass play from Manning to Burress that ended up being the game-winning touchdown.

And, oh yeah, those three points turned out to be the difference in the game.

I was rooting for the Patriots, and at kickoff, I found myself in a room full of Giants fans. It wasn't a problem, though. I just knew the Patriots would pull it out, and I'd be the only one in the room celebrating. Then I was going to go home and cut the sleeves off of all my sweatshirts a la Belichick.

Turns out I was the only one in the room not celebrating, and the sleeves of my sweatshirts remain intact.

And with that, the Giants are Super Bowl XLII champions, while the Patriots are 18 and 1, 19 and no.