“There’s a championship in this room.” Ernie Acorsi to the Giants’ locker room before leaving for retirement.
Acorsi, who pulled the strings to have Eli Manning QB the New York Football Giants, must have felt he was on top of Mount Everest Sunday evening. And probably every Giants’ fan would have wanted to join him if there was enough room. Led by Manning, and that defense (oh that defense!!), the Giants became world champions and beat the previously unbeaten New England Patriots in a thriller of a game.
The defense set the tone for the entire game, harassing Tom Brady and proving that a QB is only as good as the pieces around him. Quarterbacks from around the league must have rejoiced in seeing Brady suffer through what most experience on Sunday’s in the NFL. But despite this, the Giants trailed 7-3 at the start of the fourth quarter and thoughts of wasting this effort were starting to enter my head. Were the Giants really going to lose a game where they hold NE under 20? That’s until Eli hit rookie Kevin Boss for 45 yards on their first fourth quarter possession which galvanized the offense. A clutch third down conversion to Steve Smith put the Giants inside the 10 yard line, and one play later Eli then ran a personal favorite of his own: the play-action, quick throw to a crossing WR over the middle for a 10-7 lead with just over 11 minutes left. David Tyree’s catch was just a preview of things to come.
That’s because the Patriots would go on what appeared to be a game winning drive that resulted 14-10 lead with just over two minutes to go. And that’s exactly when Eli Manning erased all doubts about what kind of QB he is. If there is anything Giant fans can agree on, it’s Manning is at his best when he runs the two minute offense. He didn’t disappoint. His Houdini escape from being sacked and his 32 yard completion will live in Giant lure forever. But, as most things this season, the Giants win things as a team. And Eli needed teammate David Tyree to hold up his end of the bargain. Tyree’s one-handed, helmet grab (how else can I explain it?) was quite possibly the greatest catch in Super Bowl history. Four plays later, Eli and Plax worked their magic for a 14 yard touchdown pass with 34 ticks left on the clock. Simply beautiful.
Tyree proved to be an unlikely hero, and credit here goes to the coaching staff. They elected to have Tyree as the team’s fourth WR for the playoffs, rather than Sinorice Moss. I’ve been hard on the coaching staff this year for their approach to games offensively, but they really put it together over the last month, led by Tom Coughlin.
Finally, Eli Manning. There wasn’t a player I could be more happy for. The one thing I found out in the two weeks leading to this game was Eli Manning is the most popular player in the Giants’ locker room, and the players really want to play for him. For the last three years, he’s been portrayed as a player in the shadows of more high profile, extravagant personalities. Make no mistake now, this is Eli Manning’s football team.
