The Official Superbowl XLII Thread!!

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by molson

Is it that big a deal? We don't know what was said between the referee and Bellichick.

I'm sure the ref was telling him good luck in the offseason.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Agreed. Eli Manning played good football in the 4th Quarter with some great plays, some good passses, but aslo some stupifying attempts to scramble that nearly cost him the game and a horrible overthrow of a wide-open Burress that almost cost him the game again.

The Giants scored 17 points. In other words, what was basically expected of them.

The true MVP's of this game was the Giants front four. The MVP should have gone to Strahan as the leader of that pack. But I know they want the exciting story-line of a QB hero.

It's funny really, the Giants D-line in the 4th Quarter was absolutely gassed. I mean, they left everything out there, every last bit of energy. Big deal right, they gave up a TD with 4 minutes to go....shame on them. But think about it, the Pats were supposed to score 38 points. They only scored 14. Defense is where the MVP should have come from.

Eli played well enough to deserve MVP, but mostly won it by default. The Giants D-line effort was so collective that I couldn't pin down one person to give it to.. so to me Eli was the guy. That breaking free from the pack play will go down in Super Bowl history, and he came through big-time in the final minutes of the game.

If "Giants Defensive Line" was allowed, i'd give it to them. But for a single person, Eli works for me.

[Kodos]

Offhand, I can't think of a bigger play in Super Bowl history. That play was simply amazing. He looked completely doomed, pops out, and wings it downfield where a simply incredible catch is made under heavy coverage. I've said all along that Manning sucks, but that play was simply incredible.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by SteveMax58

Yes they did contribute quite well this year. I was a little skeptical at some of Reese's picks initially(like Steve Smith, Jay Alford & Adam Koets)...but I think they all (except for Koets) really made an impact at some point in the season(namely Ross & Bradshaw)...and most of them in the playoffs/SB. Pretty good 1st draft for a rookie GM.

Not trying to pick on you here, but if you were disappointed at Steve Smith in the second round, you never got to watch him in college. Good hands, great route runner and a hard working team player. I would be amazed if he doesn't have a very productive 10+ year NFL career (barring injuries).

Jarrett got the hype, but Smith was always the better receiver. Jarrett got by being bigger and faster than anybody else, Smith outworked him every time and usually was the one that stepped up in a big situation (there were notable exceptions of course e.g. 4th and 31 against ND)

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Not trying to pick on you here, but if you were disappointed at Steve Smith in the second round, you never got to watch him in college. Good hands, great route runner and a hard working team player. I would be amazed if he doesn't have a very productive 10+ year NFL career (barring injuries).

I was disappointed they took Smith, only because I wanted them to take Brian Leonard. But I'm happy with how things have turned out so far.

[Northwood_DK]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Offhand, I can't think of a bigger play in Super Bowl history. That play was simply amazing. He looked completely doomed, pops out, and wings it downfield where a simply incredible catch is made under heavy coverage. I've said all along that Manning sucks, but that play was simply incredible.

The more photos and different angles of videos you watch that catch the more incredible it looks. That he manage to control the ball that well under that kind of pressure is simply amazing.

[Groundhog]

I LOL'ed.

[Raiders Army]

So now that Manning and Roethlisberger have their rings, what ever happened to that Rivers guy?

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

So now that Manning and Roethlisberger have their rings, what ever happened to that Rivers guy?

He's on a corner in Indianapolis yelling at random Colts fans.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by jeff061

Outcoached. Horribly horribly outcoached. Giants made stellar clutch plays. But christ, they were one step ahead the whole game. And the combination of that 4 and 13 and back to back stretch runs from 2nd and 2 just kill me.

I wish some writer would break down Moss's last 5 or 6 games and really tell us what is happening. I just have such a hard time believing he can be as quiet as he has been, had they just been taking less chances after getting burnt for a couple games?

And no I haven't been able to bring myself to open this thread til just now, let alone read the replies .

I think the more appropriate question would be what happened to the other receivers other than Moss and Welker. There is no way you let Randy Moss go off on you in the Super Bowl especially over the top. You double maybe even triple team him. Well for most of the season if teams were able to get that done, the other receivers stepped up and made teams pay. Sunday, the only receiver other than Moss to step up was Welker. Donte Stallworth caught three passes. Jabar Gaffney had zero. Ben Watson had zero. Those guys had been making teams pay for any extra coverage directed to Moss. Also let's not forget the pressure the Giants were able to bring without massive sellout blitzes. Brady did not have time to take that many shots downfield

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I think the more appropriate question would be what happened to the other receivers other than Moss and Welker. There is no way you let Randy Moss go off on you in the Super Bowl especially over the top. You double maybe even triple team him. Well for most of the season if teams were able to get that done, the other receivers stepped up and made teams pay. Sunday, the only receiver other than Moss to step up was Welker. Donte Stallworth caught three passes. Jabar Gaffney had zero. Ben Watson had zero. Those guys had been making teams pay for any extra coverage directed to Moss. Also let's not forget the pressure the Giants were able to bring without massive sellout blitzes. Brady did not have time to take that many shots downfield

I think the lack of production by the other receivers was a testament to the Giants Pass rush. They pretty much had two guys on Moss most of the game, that has to leave a hole somewhere else in coverage or the pass rush usually. Because of the talent of the Giants front four, coupled with the great job at blitz packages, the Giants were able to get enough pressure on Brady that he simply was not able to get to his 4th or 5th read on every pass play.

Most of the season, no one even came close to touching Brady, he had all day to pass the ball. When you have all day you can check off several receivers until you find the hole in the coverage and pick apart the defense. The Giants put enough pressure on Brady the entire game that occasionally he was able to find Welker or Faulk underneath, but he rarely had time to get much past his 3rd check.

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Not trying to pick on you here, but if you were disappointed at Steve Smith in the second round, you never got to watch him in college. Good hands, great route runner and a hard working team player. I would be amazed if he doesn't have a very productive 10+ year NFL career (barring injuries).

Jarrett got the hype, but Smith was always the better receiver. Jarrett got by being bigger and faster than anybody else, Smith outworked him every time and usually was the one that stepped up in a big situation (there were notable exceptions of course e.g. 4th and 31 against ND)

Yeah, similar to what sabotai said...I wasnt skeptical of Smith's talent as much as I thought we had better options. The Giants defense did not look very formidable for the past 3-5 years(really, since Jon Fox left) and I felt like we needed to keep improving the secondary w/ somebody like Eric Wright...or get some additional OT depth w/ James Marten. Wright was a definite character flag, but also a great talent and value at our spot in the 2nd round.

[cartman]

Carl is excited about the Giants win:

[Noop]

Carl >>>>> Patriots


LMAO @ the ending that was unexpected.

[st.cronin]

The Patriots offensive line went from highly underrated a year ago, to being highly overrated this year. They had some excellent games this year, but teams with a good pass rush were always able to get some pressure on Brady. (Eagles, Ravens, Chargers, etc.) The Giants pass rush was excellent, but by itself it didn't win the game. They also got great play from their linebackers and secondary, and Brady played far and away his worst game of the season.

[Lathum]

I wonder if Bradys ankle really was hurt or if they just wanted a built in excuse?

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

The Patriots offensive line went from highly underrated a year ago, to being highly overrated this year.

If I were Brady, I'd plot revenge Edmond Dantes style on my offensive line. I have the SB saved to my PC and have been watching some of it again. Logan Mankins (left guard #70) allowed back-to-back sacks in the 2nd quarter (One to Mitchell and one to Tuck) on the Patriots' 3rd drive.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by cartman

Carl is excited about the Giants win:

Hilarious! Carl rules!

[molson]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I wonder if Bradys ankle really was hurt or if they just wanted a built in excuse?

What a "Patriot fan"-esque comment. I would have wondered why Giants fans don't have a similar reputation, but then I realized that most Giants fans are also Yankee fans, and that they do in fact share that reputation.

[Huckleberry]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I wonder if Bradys ankle really was hurt or if they just wanted a built in excuse?

It's more revisionist history then anything at this point. Brady was fine. Certainly fine by 19th game of an NFL season standards.

And the Patriots OL was excellent this year as always. The Giants DL was just better at the end of the year.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Heyyy...show some respect. Trent Dilfer has a motherfuckin SuperBowl ring. Given, he's the QB who probably did the least amount of work to earn one, but he's got one.

Arguably Roethlisberger did the most amount of work to lose one.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by molson

What a "Patriot fan"-esque comment. I would have wondered why Giants fans don't have a similar reputation, but then I realized that most Giants fans are also Yankee fans, and that they do in fact share that reputation.

I hate the yankees more than anything and I was being sarcastic, You really have been just hanging around lately looking to pick fights, haven't you.

[Lathum]

dola- go back and reread my comments this thread, I was nothing but complimentry of the Pats and their year.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by molson

What a "Patriot fan"-esque comment. I would have wondered why Giants fans don't have a similar reputation, but then I realized that most Giants fans are also Yankee fans, and that they do in fact share that reputation.

Most Yankee fans I know are die hard Jets fans.. From what I have seen most Giants fans are Mets guys.. something about the glitz and glamour of the yankees and jets while the Giants and Mets historically have come across as the more blue collar team. (I fully realize that broad generalizations are never good.. this is simply a guess based on what little information I have.)

[Butter]

Originally Posted by molson

What a "Patriot fan"-esque comment. I would have wondered why Giants fans don't have a similar reputation, but then I realized that most Giants fans are also Yankee fans, and that they do in fact share that reputation.

Well, you would know.

[Kodos]

Pats fans probably won't like this article:

hxxp://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7760210/On-the-Mark:-Belichick's-hiding-from-the-world?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=5

[Lathum]

I actually tink thats a pretty poorly written article. It basicly jumps from Brady missing Gaffeny to Capitol hill. IT seems like there was maybe some poor editing or someting. This article needs to be alot longer IMO

[sabotai]

<--- Not a Yankees fan. In fact, I barely even follow baseball.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I actually tink thats a pretty poorly written article. It basicly jumps from Brady missing Gaffeny to Capitol hill. IT seems like there was maybe some poor editing or someting. This article needs to be alot longer IMO

Yeah, I think he was saying Pats fans wouldn't like the article from an aesthetic standpoint... not because the article was so much anti-Pats.

[sabotai]

Spagnuolo withdrew his name for consideration for the Redskins head coaching job.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/

That makes me a happy panda.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Spagnuolo withdrew his name for consideration for the Redskins head coaching job.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/

That makes me a happy panda.

8-8 next year, beotch!

[cartman]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

8-8 next year, beotch!

Yep, there is a trend over the past few seasons for the team that lost the Super Bowl to have a bad season and miss the playoffs the following year.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by cartman

Yep, there is a trend over the past few seasons for the team that lost the Super Bowl to have a bad season and miss the playoffs the following year.

luckily the bills, jets and dolphins will help out

[Kodos]

Maybe Belechik will have come out of hiding by then.

[MIJB#19]

Boy, am I happy to be just a fan of football, rather than one of any NFL franchise. I saw an exciting Super Bowl, one great defense stepped up and managed to stop arguably the best offense in the history of the game. Put in Eli Manning's two or three miracle passes and it made, to me, a fun championship game to watch.

[cartman]

From The Onion:

http://www.theonion.com/content/news...k_we_didnt_win

Bill Belichick: 'We Didn't Win In That Last Second, Did We?'

PHOENIX—Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, the target of much criticism this week after his brusque exit from the playing field with one second left in the Super Bowl Sunday, questioned reporters gathered outside the team's locker room as to whether or not his players had somehow created a turnover during the Giants' final kneel-down and scored the winning touchdown. "Did we end up making a couple of more plays than the other team ended up making during the final second?" Belichick asked. "I'm assuming Randy Moss didn't happen to leap over the Giants offensive line, throw himself under Eli Manning's knee, causing a fumble which was then picked up by Mike Vrabel and run all the way back for a touchdown, right?" Upon finding out that his team did not in fact pull off an amazing miracle comeback in the controversial second, Belichick muttered something about disappointment and walked off.

[Rich1033]

This may deserve its own thread, but I will just throw it in here. If you havent seen this you need to check it out. A fan basically snuck onto a NY Giants team bus and ended up staying with the team the whole day. Great stuff.
http://deadspin.com/353815/how-to-sn...-really-trying

Hello everyone, I know many of you have heard about my story so far but for those of you that haven't......Take the time to read below (it's long but worth it) and look at the pictures and watch the videos. I had the best day of my life yesterday and it is one of the funniest stories you will ever hear.

So I got home from Arizona late Monday night after seeing the Giants win an amazing Super Bowl. I had an unbelievable weekend and I didn't think it could ever be topped....until yesterday.

Around 11:30 yesterday morning I decided to go and checkout the Giants ticker-tape parade. I figured I would just go for an hour or so and then head back home to get some work done. Little did I know it would turn into an 8 hour affair.

I received a pass to get onto the City Hall grounds, which got me relatively near the action. Once I realized that my designated section was actually pretty far away from the stage, I decided to move a little closer. I then snuck into the press section directly in front of the stage. I was sporting my Eli Manning Super Bowl jersey with a Giants hat and around my neck I had my lanyard and ticket stub from the Super Bowl. That is what saved me all day. The lanyard looked very "professional" so I was able to sneak into the press area.

Once the ceremony was over and the Giants started to move off of the stage, I creeped up to the stage. I then looked behind me and John Mara was there with his wife (the majority owner of the team). I then kind of blended in with his family as they were walking out and next thing I knew I got through the first security checkpoint. There were three more security checkpoints and with each one I got more and more nervous. I simply just walked aside Mr. Mara and his family (which was about 20 people deep) so it wasn't hard for me to blend in really. Next thing I know, they are guiding us to the other side of City Hall where there are four luxury buses waiting. I just kept walking along and next thing I know I had two of the four buses to choose from. I wanted to find the players bus but I didn't want to press my luck so I stayed with what worked. I just kept following Mr. Mara. I actually got on the bus directly in between him and his wife. I then sat down on the bus and just kept my head down. I didn't make eye contact with anyone or speak to anyone, I was so nervous. Sitting next to me was David Tyree's mother (he was two rows back with his son) and one row in front of me to my right was John Mara and his daughter (who happens to be gorgeous)

As we are pulling away from City Hall, the streets are lined with Giants fans cheering for "us" and we had a police escort the entire way to Giants Stadium. That's where things got interesting. We got off the bus and were escorted directly into the Stadium tunnel. This is where I thought I was going to get caught. I had no idea what to do next. All of the players went in the locker room and all the Mara's said they were going up to the owner's box for the ceremony. I had to make a decision. I then saw David Tyree walking in with his little son and decided I would act like I was with them. I walked right behind him and got right into the locker room. So now the real fun starts. I'm hanging out as if I'm a player while all the guys in the locker room are just getting each other's autographs on the game balls and on their jerseys. This was my time to shine. I walked around and took some pictures of some of the lockers and then I got to Eli's. I asked Eli if he could sign my ticket stub from the Super Bowl, which he did. I then asked him to sign my Super Bowl jersey, which he did. I was then ecstatic and didn't know what to do. I even had people coming up to me asking me for my autograph. They must have thought I was Lawrence Tynes or something.

I stopped getting autographs at that point other than Brandon Jacobs signing my hat. By then all of the players were being called onto the field for the ceremony. So I figured...why not go with them. I walked right out into the tunnel with them and as they announced the players coming out, I just stood there shaking, thinking I was bound to get caught. I look to my left and Tom Coughlin is literally about 6 inches from me holding the Lombardi trophy (see great picture). Then I just went for it....I walked out there like I was on the team. I came out and there were probably 20-30,000 fans at the stadium all screaming and going crazy. I tried to take as much video as I could but I was so nervous/scared/excited at the same time. My favorite picture of the whole event can be found at www.nj.com/giants/ where I am directly behind Tom Coughlin running around the field. I watched the whole ceremony from literally right in front of the stage.

After the ceremony, I had to try to sneak back in to the locker room. I then saw a couple people of the Mara family (there were so many of them) that must not have gone up to the luxury box and once again I just acted like I was a family member. Next thing I know, I make it through two more security checkpoints and I'm right back in the locker room. This is where it was awesome. All the players were just dancing around and having a good time. Many of them were cleaning out their lockers and throwing things away. This is where I took all the pictures with the players. I could care less if I got caught at this point. I was just a lucky Giant fan that happened to sneak his way into the press section, then on to the owners bus, onto the field and into the locker room, all while going unnoticed. I then walked around the locker room and got every single player to sign my hat and I even got Gibril Wilson's game sweatshirt from him that he signed for me.

So I walked away with an Eli Manning signed Super Bowl ticket, an Eli signed Super Bowl jersey, a hat signed by the whole team, my City Hall access pass signed by Strahan and Gibril Wilson's signed game sweatshirt.

All more importantly I walked away with the great memories of the entire weekend and I was lucky enough to live them first hand. Thank god I have the pictures to prove it because I knew none of you would ever believe me.

I had an angel looking down on me yesterday making sure I had an unbelievable day and I know that angel was my (late) sister Jaime. I can just picture her now...........smiling from ear to ear and being so happy for me.

Enjoy the pics.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Rich1033

This may deserve its own thread, but I will just throw it in here. If you havent seen this you need to check it out. A fan basically snuck onto a NY Giants team bus and ended up staying with the team the whole day. Great stuff.
http://deadspin.com/353815/how-to-sn...-really-trying

Hello everyone, I know many of you have heard about my story so far but for those of you that haven't......Take the time to read below (it's long but worth it) and look at the pictures and watch the videos. I had the best day of my life yesterday and it is one of the funniest stories you will ever hear.

So I got home from Arizona late Monday night after seeing the Giants win an amazing Super Bowl. I had an unbelievable weekend and I didn't think it could ever be topped....until yesterday.

Around 11:30 yesterday morning I decided to go and checkout the Giants ticker-tape parade. I figured I would just go for an hour or so and then head back home to get some work done. Little did I know it would turn into an 8 hour affair.

I received a pass to get onto the City Hall grounds, which got me relatively near the action. Once I realized that my designated section was actually pretty far away from the stage, I decided to move a little closer. I then snuck into the press section directly in front of the stage. I was sporting my Eli Manning Super Bowl jersey with a Giants hat and around my neck I had my lanyard and ticket stub from the Super Bowl. That is what saved me all day. The lanyard looked very "professional" so I was able to sneak into the press area.

Once the ceremony was over and the Giants started to move off of the stage, I creeped up to the stage. I then looked behind me and John Mara was there with his wife (the majority owner of the team). I then kind of blended in with his family as they were walking out and next thing I knew I got through the first security checkpoint. There were three more security checkpoints and with each one I got more and more nervous. I simply just walked aside Mr. Mara and his family (which was about 20 people deep) so it wasn't hard for me to blend in really. Next thing I know, they are guiding us to the other side of City Hall where there are four luxury buses waiting. I just kept walking along and next thing I know I had two of the four buses to choose from. I wanted to find the players bus but I didn't want to press my luck so I stayed with what worked. I just kept following Mr. Mara. I actually got on the bus directly in between him and his wife. I then sat down on the bus and just kept my head down. I didn't make eye contact with anyone or speak to anyone, I was so nervous. Sitting next to me was David Tyree's mother (he was two rows back with his son) and one row in front of me to my right was John Mara and his daughter (who happens to be gorgeous)

As we are pulling away from City Hall, the streets are lined with Giants fans cheering for "us" and we had a police escort the entire way to Giants Stadium. That's where things got interesting. We got off the bus and were escorted directly into the Stadium tunnel. This is where I thought I was going to get caught. I had no idea what to do next. All of the players went in the locker room and all the Mara's said they were going up to the owner's box for the ceremony. I had to make a decision. I then saw David Tyree walking in with his little son and decided I would act like I was with them. I walked right behind him and got right into the locker room. So now the real fun starts. I'm hanging out as if I'm a player while all the guys in the locker room are just getting each other's autographs on the game balls and on their jerseys. This was my time to shine. I walked around and took some pictures of some of the lockers and then I got to Eli's. I asked Eli if he could sign my ticket stub from the Super Bowl, which he did. I then asked him to sign my Super Bowl jersey, which he did. I was then ecstatic and didn't know what to do. I even had people coming up to me asking me for my autograph. They must have thought I was Lawrence Tynes or something.

I stopped getting autographs at that point other than Brandon Jacobs signing my hat. By then all of the players were being called onto the field for the ceremony. So I figured...why not go with them. I walked right out into the tunnel with them and as they announced the players coming out, I just stood there shaking, thinking I was bound to get caught. I look to my left and Tom Coughlin is literally about 6 inches from me holding the Lombardi trophy (see great picture). Then I just went for it....I walked out there like I was on the team. I came out and there were probably 20-30,000 fans at the stadium all screaming and going crazy. I tried to take as much video as I could but I was so nervous/scared/excited at the same time. My favorite picture of the whole event can be found at www.nj.com/giants/ where I am directly behind Tom Coughlin running around the field. I watched the whole ceremony from literally right in front of the stage.

After the ceremony, I had to try to sneak back in to the locker room. I then saw a couple people of the Mara family (there were so many of them) that must not have gone up to the luxury box and once again I just acted like I was a family member. Next thing I know, I make it through two more security checkpoints and I'm right back in the locker room. This is where it was awesome. All the players were just dancing around and having a good time. Many of them were cleaning out their lockers and throwing things away. This is where I took all the pictures with the players. I could care less if I got caught at this point. I was just a lucky Giant fan that happened to sneak his way into the press section, then on to the owners bus, onto the field and into the locker room, all while going unnoticed. I then walked around the locker room and got every single player to sign my hat and I even got Gibril Wilson's game sweatshirt from him that he signed for me.

So I walked away with an Eli Manning signed Super Bowl ticket, an Eli signed Super Bowl jersey, a hat signed by the whole team, my City Hall access pass signed by Strahan and Gibril Wilson's signed game sweatshirt.

All more importantly I walked away with the great memories of the entire weekend and I was lucky enough to live them first hand. Thank god I have the pictures to prove it because I knew none of you would ever believe me.

I had an angel looking down on me yesterday making sure I had an unbelievable day and I know that angel was my (late) sister Jaime. I can just picture her now...........smiling from ear to ear and being so happy for me.

Enjoy the pics.

That's gold. Couldn't find the pics, though, at the link.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

That's gold. Couldn't find the pics, though, at the link.

It's another link off of that page, then one more.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by cartman

It's another link off of that page, then one more.

lol, anyone gotta map?

[Rich1033]

Try this.

Then click on view now.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Rich1033

Try this.

Then click on view now.

Sweet! Thanks.