Stop Me If You've Seen This Before

Eli Manning and the Giants are headed back to the Super Bowl

It could only end this way. After a tumultuous season filled with ups and downs, the New York Giants are going back to the Super Bowl, where they will once again face the New England Patriots. It could only end this way. And how fitting is it that the Giants once again stamped their ticket to the Super Bowl on leg of Lawrence Tynes, sealing an overtime win? It could only have ended that way. What I would have given to be a fly on the wall in the Brady/Belichick households as they watched Tynes' FG split the uprights. Surely, they were hoping not to face the Giants. There are so many parallels between the 2007 Giants and the 2011 Giants, but before the book on the magical run of these Giants can be closed, there's still one more game to play. If the Giants do complete this improbable run and beat the Patriots, how fitting would it be that Eli Manning will win his second championship on the home field of his big brother, Peyton Manning? It could only end that way.



The Giants beat the 49ers 20-17 in overtime on Sunday night in windy, rainy conditions that made the playing field at Candlestick Park less than ideal. The Giants looked sluggish on offense for most of the game even though they controlled the time of possession game. The Giants held the ball for 39:06 as opposed to the 49ers, who held the ball 28:18. Eli Manning was excellent again last night, completing 32 of 58 passes for 316 yards and 2 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Manning obliterated the Giants records for completions (29) and attempts (44) and was the first Giants quarterback to throw for back-to-back 300 yard games in the playoffs. What really surprised me was just how tough Eli Manning is. The San Francisco defense punished Manning last night, sacking him six times. Manning shrugged the hits off and continued to be the beacon of calm for the Giants.

The Giants running game failed to impress me as they only rushed for 85 yards combined and no touchdowns. Brandon Jacobs stunk, rushing for only 13 yards on 5 carries. They're going to have to do a better job running against the Patriots in the Super Bowl. I cannot say enough about my fellow UMass alumni, Victor Cruz who was spectacular again last night. Cruz caught 10 balls for 142 yards with 125 yards coming in the first half. It seemed like Cruz was there whenever the Giants needed him to step up and make a big catch. Who would have thought that an undrafted player out of UMass would become a star and make the departure of an accomplished wide receiver like Steve Smith seem like an afterthought? Speaking of unknowns rising from obscurity, how about Bear Pascoe catching his first NFL touchdown in the first quarter last night? What a hell of a time to catch your first pro touchdown in the NFC Championship game.

The Giants defense shined last night, recording 2 1/2 sacks and holding the 49ers offense to a measly 1/13 on 3rd down conversions. The lone conversion happened to come on the last play of regulation. I thought the defense did a great job containing Frank Gore, keeping him to 74 yards on 16 carries with no touchdowns. The star of last week's divisional round matchup against the Saints, Alex Smith was unspectacular, completing just 12/26 passes for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns, both to TE Vernon Davis. Davis finished with 3 receptions for 112 yards and 2 scores. Davis also had a terrible 15-yard, unsportsman like conduct penalty after he scored the 49ers first touchdown on a 73-yard completion from Alex Smith. I saw an interview with Davis where he claimed to have grown up and been a more complete player. No one can deny his talent but he has to mature mentally. You cannot have stupid penalties like that, especially when you're battling for the NFC Championship.


What won the game for the Giants was their play on special teams. Steve Weatherford was phenomenal last night. Weatherford punted 12 times, which also broke a Giants record. The Giants took advantage of two critical miscues by punt returner Kyle Williams, who was subbing in for an injured Ted Ginn, Jr. The first turnover occurred on a Weatherford punt that hit the knee of Kyle Williams and was recovered by Devin Thomas. The initial call on the field was that Williams had not touched the ball, which was challenged by Tom Coughlin. Coughlin won the challenge and the Giants received the ball on their own 29 with 11:06 left in the fourth quarter. With the Giants trailing 14-10 Manning found Mario Manningham in the end zone to recapture the lead 17-14 with 8:34 left in the fourth quarter. The 49ers would complete a 6 play, 48 yard drive and tie the score with a little over five minutes left in the fourth quarter. The second miscue from Williams came in overtime when Jaquan Williams stripped the ball from Kyle Williams right hand and was subsequently recovered by Devin Thomas, his second recovery of the game. The turnover proved to be the final dagger to the hearts of the 49ers as Tynes hit the game winning field goal.

So here we are on the day after the Giants won the NFC Championship. It's hard to imagine a better ending to the script than beating the Patriots on February 5th. The early line has the Pats at a 3 1/2 favorite but I think the Giants have a better team. Brady may be the better quarterback but I think Manning is playing on a higher level. As they say, we'll settle this dispute on the field.