Mile High Monday: Super Bowl Edition

The New York Giants are world champions after defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. Here are some thoughts on the game:

• Don’t confuse a great finish with a great game. That was a sloppy contest that almost lulled me to sleep in the middle quarters, but it got electric in crunch time which is all you can ask for when it comes to the Super Bowl. It was set up perfectly for the Giants to kick a game winning field goal as time expired after a clutch drive by Eli Manning, but Ahmad Bradshaw inexplicably ran it into the end zone with a minute left in the game when the Patriots only hope was to let the Giants score and get the ball back. That the Giants allowed that tactic to work would have been an epic blunder had Brady come through with some heroics of his own. In the end, however, the Giants defense stood tall and made the 21-17 lead hold up to give the New York Giants the Super Bowl Championship.
• After the game I actually felt like no one really deserved to be the Super Bowl MVP; I thought it was that ugly of a game. But looking back it probably should have been awarded to Justin Tuck rather than Eli Manning. He was a force all night, caused the early safety which was huge, and finished with 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and 3 quarterback hits.
• The Patriots have still not won the Super Bowl since 2004 despite being generally considered the best team of the last decade.
• There have been 2 quarterbacks in league history with 5 Super Bowl starts, John Elway and Tom Brady. Elway lost his first 3 starts before winning his last 2, and Brady won his first 3 starts before losing his last 2.

• Both teams missed out on several opportunities to put the game away, but I thought the Giants blew it during the 2 series that were sandwiched around halftime. The Giants had converted a short 3rd down which would have set them up in field goal range with a 9-3 lead, but a holding penalty pushed them back and they couldn’t convert on the retry. The Patriots took over inside their own 10-yard line with just a few minutes before halftime and took it all the way down the field and scored a touchdown with 8 seconds left before the break. Even though the Giants had dominated the first 30 minutes, they went into the locker room losing 10-9. That was a massive turn of events in the game, and that misfortune for the Giants was compounded when the Patriots took the opening drive of the second half to the house and opened up a 17-9 lead. I thought for certain that may have been all she wrote for the Giants, but in a Super Bowl marked with big momentum shifts they responded like champions and the Patriots never scored again.
• What is the deal with the love affair between the media and Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft? Seriously. That guy got more air time than Brady yesterday.
• I thought the commercials were subpar. It seems like everyone is trying too hard with them now. If I had to pick a favorite I guess it would be the Doritos ads or the Acura commercial with Jerry Seinfeld. Those weren’t horrible.
• The Patriots franchise is now 3-4 in the Super Bowl. Their 4 losses tie them with the Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills for most losses in the big game, although Denver and New England are the only teams in that group who have taken home the Lombardi Trophy.
• Eli Manning has become the 11th quarterback to win multiple Super Bowls which is hard to believe. He deserves the accolades that come with that though. He had a spectacular season and he has beaten the “team of the century” in the Super Bowl twice. He also won his second Super Bowl MVP award thanks to his clutch touchdown drive late in the 4th quarter that yielded the winning points.
• The Patriots didn’t win a game this season against a team that finished the year with a winning record.
• The Denver Broncos got beat twice this season by the Patriots. At the end of the day it was because New England was simply a better team. That is the way I feel about the Giants against the Patriots, especially when you consider that New England’s last 2 losses this season were at the hands of New York.
• This season proved once again that regular season success doesn’t really matter as long as you get into the playoffs. All that matters is that you get into the dance and that you get hot at the right time. It’s hard to fathom that these Giants were 9-7 this year when you consider how they played in the post-season. They destroyed a good Falcons team at home before beating the Packers and 49ers on the road and the Patriots on a neutral field. They beat the #1 seed in both conferences and the #2 seed in the NFC. That is a very impressive run and the Giants are deserved Champions.
• After watching the post-game celebration, I am more than ready for the Broncos to win another Lombardi Trophy. Let’s do this! Go Broncos in 2012!

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