Same story, different year.
In the house his brother built, against his arch rival, Eli Manning has defeated the New England Patriots and Tom Brady in the Super Bowl for the second time in four years.
Showing posts with label Tom Coughlin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom Coughlin. Show all posts
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Super Sunday Ready for Super Sequel
With the NFL season reaching it's climatic finish in Indianapolis, legacies are on the line in the rematch we've all been dying to see.
New York Giants v. New England Patriots:
It was more than four year ago the New York Giants stormed into Glendale, Arizona as 12-point underdogs only to defeat the New England Patriots in arguably the greatest upset in Super Bowl history, 17-14.
Sunday they are hoping for much of the same. But the road to get here was anything, but easy.
The Giants finished the regular season 9-7, capturing their eighth NFC East Division title. They played back-to-back must-win games in weeks 16 and 17 against the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys to even get into the postseason after a 6-2 start.
They are only the third 9-win team to get to the Super Bowl. The previous two both lost, the Los Angeles Rams (1979) and the Arizona Cardinals (2008).
Since that time, New York has reeled off three consecutive postseason wins, beating the Atlanta Falcons in the Big Apple and upsetting the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers away from home, furthering their reputation as road warriors.
Commanding that ship, just like in 2007, is quarterback Eli Manning.
The 31-year-old signal caller was asked at the start of the season if he was in fact an elite quarterback. But even when the doubters questioned his yes response, he did his best to prove them wrong and has his team one win away from football's ultimate prize.
Just like in Super Bowl XLII, Manning threw a record 15 fourth quarter touchdown passes during the year and led multiple game-winning drives and comebacks.
As for his coach, Tom Coughlin now has seven postseason road wins, tying him for the most all-time. His team is 6-1 in their last seven games and have continued to live by his "humble enough to prepare, confident enough to perform" modo throughout. He has helped the franchise improve to 5-0 in conference championship games with the hope of adding their fourth Super Bowl.
Coughin, 65, could become the oldest winning Super Bowl head coach in history with a win Sunday.
On the other side, New England may be favored in Vegas, but it seems they are back to the underdog role -- a role that saw them win the franchise's only three Super Bowls in a four-year span at the turn of the century.
The Patriots are 3-3 in their six previous Super Bowl appearances with the last one a forever haunting nightmare.
Brady is now 16-5 in 21 career postseason games, tying Hall of Famer and his boyhood idol, Joe Montana, for the most wins all-time. This is Brady's fifth Super Bowl appearance, tying another Hall of Famer, John Elway, for the most ever.
If Brady is able to win his fourth career Lombardi Trophy, he join Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to do so. Montana holds the record for most Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards with three, and passing touchdowns with 11. Comparing those to Brady's two Super Bowl MVPs and seven passing touchdowns, the record books could be rewritten Sunday night in Indy.
He is also just 155 yards from breaking Kurt Warner's career record (1,156) for the most passing yards in the Super Bowl. Warner holds the records for the first (414), second (377) and third (365) most passing yards in a single Super Bowl.
It will be the fifth time Brady and head coach Bill Belichick have appeared in a Super Bowl together which is the most of a quarterback-head coaching duo.
With a win Sunday, Belichick will tie the legendary Chuck Noll for the most Super Bowl wins as a head coach. And history is one his side.
When Belichick, who spent most of his career as a defensive assistant or coordinator prior to becoming a head coach, has had an extra week to prepare for an opponent whether it's in the regular season or postseason, more times than not he comes out on top. His offense averages 25.3 points per game without the extra rest compared to 26.0 PPG with it.
But it has been his defense that truly has excelled.
Belichick's defense has surrendered 20.4 PPG on a week-to-week basis, but with his ability to scheme another week, the defense becomes stingy, allowing just 14.8 PPG.
His .739 winning percentage in the postseason is second to only Vince Lombardi's .900 and it's been his unique style of coaching and willingness to take on players that nobody else wanted that has made him one of the greatest to ever don the sidelines.
This season alone Belichick has 18 undrafted free agents on this AFC champion team, 11 of them coming on defense. A defense that has seen them rank last in numerous major categories and have 16 different players take snaps in their secondary.
These two teams have met 10 lifetimes meetings with record all even at five wins apiece. However, each of the last two times they have met, the Giants have come out on top, including their improbable Super Bowl XLII victory and most recently in Week 9 of this season.
New York went into Foxborough and Manning rallied them to one of the team's many fourth quarter comebacks this season, 24-20. Tight end Jake Ballard caught the game's go-ahead touchdown and could play a major role once again. The Giants were without wideout Hakeem Nicks and running back Ahmad Bradshaw in that win, both whom have played a major role in the team's recent postseason success.
That was the last time the Patriots lost this season, reeling off 10 straight victories since. But the loss ended New England's 20-game home winning streak and Brady's 31-game home streak -- streaks the Giants are now notorious for breaking.
Most notably breaking New England's 18-game winning streak in the Super Bowl, spoiling their bid a perfection. They are now posed with the task of breaking yet another Patriots' winning streak.
For the quarterbacks, Brady and Manning will meet in the Super Bowl the second time, a feat that has only been accomplished two other times. Bradshaw and Roger Staubach met in Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII, both won by Bradshaw's Pittsburgh Steelers.
The only other Super Bowl quarterback rematch also contained another Hall of Fame Cowboy quarterback, but this time he was on the other side of the fence. Troy Aikman led Dallas to two consecutive Super Bowl victories over the Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly as a part of Buffalo's four straight Super Bowl losses.
History is on Manning's side.
Prior to their Super Bowl XLII matchup, the Giants lost to the Patriots in Week 17. The loss catapulted New York's season capped by their third championship. But with New England's Week 9 loss to the Giants this season could be a sign of role reversal.
There's 15 players remaining on the Giants' roster that played in their previous Super Bowl meeting, and only seven on the Patriots, so it's safe to say revenge is not a factor.
Or is it?
NYG X-Factor: Giants' Pass Rush
NE X-Factor: Chad Ochocinco
Super Bowl XLVI MVP: Wes Welker
New England, 31-27
New York Giants v. New England Patriots:
It was more than four year ago the New York Giants stormed into Glendale, Arizona as 12-point underdogs only to defeat the New England Patriots in arguably the greatest upset in Super Bowl history, 17-14.
Sunday they are hoping for much of the same. But the road to get here was anything, but easy.
 |
| The Giants' pass rush will hold the key to stop Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLVI. |
They are only the third 9-win team to get to the Super Bowl. The previous two both lost, the Los Angeles Rams (1979) and the Arizona Cardinals (2008).
Since that time, New York has reeled off three consecutive postseason wins, beating the Atlanta Falcons in the Big Apple and upsetting the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers away from home, furthering their reputation as road warriors.
Commanding that ship, just like in 2007, is quarterback Eli Manning.
The 31-year-old signal caller was asked at the start of the season if he was in fact an elite quarterback. But even when the doubters questioned his yes response, he did his best to prove them wrong and has his team one win away from football's ultimate prize.
Just like in Super Bowl XLII, Manning threw a record 15 fourth quarter touchdown passes during the year and led multiple game-winning drives and comebacks.
As for his coach, Tom Coughlin now has seven postseason road wins, tying him for the most all-time. His team is 6-1 in their last seven games and have continued to live by his "humble enough to prepare, confident enough to perform" modo throughout. He has helped the franchise improve to 5-0 in conference championship games with the hope of adding their fourth Super Bowl.
Coughin, 65, could become the oldest winning Super Bowl head coach in history with a win Sunday.
On the other side, New England may be favored in Vegas, but it seems they are back to the underdog role -- a role that saw them win the franchise's only three Super Bowls in a four-year span at the turn of the century.
The Patriots are 3-3 in their six previous Super Bowl appearances with the last one a forever haunting nightmare.
Brady is now 16-5 in 21 career postseason games, tying Hall of Famer and his boyhood idol, Joe Montana, for the most wins all-time. This is Brady's fifth Super Bowl appearance, tying another Hall of Famer, John Elway, for the most ever.
If Brady is able to win his fourth career Lombardi Trophy, he join Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to do so. Montana holds the record for most Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards with three, and passing touchdowns with 11. Comparing those to Brady's two Super Bowl MVPs and seven passing touchdowns, the record books could be rewritten Sunday night in Indy.
He is also just 155 yards from breaking Kurt Warner's career record (1,156) for the most passing yards in the Super Bowl. Warner holds the records for the first (414), second (377) and third (365) most passing yards in a single Super Bowl.
It will be the fifth time Brady and head coach Bill Belichick have appeared in a Super Bowl together which is the most of a quarterback-head coaching duo.
With a win Sunday, Belichick will tie the legendary Chuck Noll for the most Super Bowl wins as a head coach. And history is one his side.
When Belichick, who spent most of his career as a defensive assistant or coordinator prior to becoming a head coach, has had an extra week to prepare for an opponent whether it's in the regular season or postseason, more times than not he comes out on top. His offense averages 25.3 points per game without the extra rest compared to 26.0 PPG with it.
But it has been his defense that truly has excelled.
Belichick's defense has surrendered 20.4 PPG on a week-to-week basis, but with his ability to scheme another week, the defense becomes stingy, allowing just 14.8 PPG.
His .739 winning percentage in the postseason is second to only Vince Lombardi's .900 and it's been his unique style of coaching and willingness to take on players that nobody else wanted that has made him one of the greatest to ever don the sidelines.
This season alone Belichick has 18 undrafted free agents on this AFC champion team, 11 of them coming on defense. A defense that has seen them rank last in numerous major categories and have 16 different players take snaps in their secondary.
 |
| Unlike the AFC Championship game, Chad Ochocinco looks to be active for the biggest game of his life. |
New York went into Foxborough and Manning rallied them to one of the team's many fourth quarter comebacks this season, 24-20. Tight end Jake Ballard caught the game's go-ahead touchdown and could play a major role once again. The Giants were without wideout Hakeem Nicks and running back Ahmad Bradshaw in that win, both whom have played a major role in the team's recent postseason success.
That was the last time the Patriots lost this season, reeling off 10 straight victories since. But the loss ended New England's 20-game home winning streak and Brady's 31-game home streak -- streaks the Giants are now notorious for breaking.
Most notably breaking New England's 18-game winning streak in the Super Bowl, spoiling their bid a perfection. They are now posed with the task of breaking yet another Patriots' winning streak.
For the quarterbacks, Brady and Manning will meet in the Super Bowl the second time, a feat that has only been accomplished two other times. Bradshaw and Roger Staubach met in Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII, both won by Bradshaw's Pittsburgh Steelers.
The only other Super Bowl quarterback rematch also contained another Hall of Fame Cowboy quarterback, but this time he was on the other side of the fence. Troy Aikman led Dallas to two consecutive Super Bowl victories over the Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly as a part of Buffalo's four straight Super Bowl losses.
History is on Manning's side.
Prior to their Super Bowl XLII matchup, the Giants lost to the Patriots in Week 17. The loss catapulted New York's season capped by their third championship. But with New England's Week 9 loss to the Giants this season could be a sign of role reversal.
There's 15 players remaining on the Giants' roster that played in their previous Super Bowl meeting, and only seven on the Patriots, so it's safe to say revenge is not a factor.
Or is it?
NYG X-Factor: Giants' Pass Rush
NE X-Factor: Chad Ochocinco
Super Bowl XLVI MVP: Wes Welker
New England, 31-27
Monday, January 23, 2012
A Giant Kick
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| Tynes (9) kicking his second career game- winning NFC Championship field goal. |
It was Jan. 20, 2008.
On the frozen tundra that is Lambeau Field, Tynes spilt the uprights with a 47-yard game-winning field goal in overtime, sending New York to Super Bowl XLII, where they would pull off one of the greatest upsets in NFL history, dismantling the undefeated and Tom Brady-led New England Patriots.
That kick coming not long after Tynes had squandered a chance of a lifetime. The then-29-year-old kicker missed a 36-yard field goal, wide left, at the end of regulation with the score tied at 20. Not everybody gets a second chance, Tynes did and delivered.
Sunday night in San Francisco was much of the same, but then again, far different.
This time, more than four years later, Tynes made both his field goal attempts, both coming from 31-yards out. It was just five plays after both teams each had an opportunity to possess the ball at least once and second-string punter return Kevin Williams, who was filling in for an injured Ted Ginn Jr., muffed his second punt of the game, that Tynes was kicking the second road overtime-winning NFC Championship field goal of his career.
While Tynes was the hero and Williams the goat, it was the grit of the New York field general that inspired us all.
Eli Manning was bruised and battered all night long by the hard-nosed San Francisco defense. With their stout front seven, the Niners hit Manning 20 times, knocked him down another 12 and recorded six sacks, but isn't wasn't enough to keep the former Super Bowl MVP down.
His 32 completions, along with his 58 pass attempts both set a franchise postseason record. Manning also threw his 18th fourth-quarter touchdown this season, 15 coming in the regular season, a NFL record.
That 17-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham, which was his first catch of the game, for the moment gave the Giants a 17-14 advantage.
Second-year sensation, Victor Cruz, enjoyed one of his biggest games of the season, catching 10 passes for 142 yards. Cruz along with running back Ahmad Bradshaw each caught a pass from Manning that went for 30-plus yards, giving New York 12 plays of 20 yards or more this postseason.
The win is the fifth consecutive road playoff win for the Giants, another NFL record. Under center in all of those victories has been Manning, becoming the first quarterback in postseason history to win five road postseason games. His mentor and head coach Tom Coughlin recorded his seventh road postseason win, tying him for the most all-time.
As for the Niners, it was a bitter end to a very magical season.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was trying to become only the sixth first-year coach in history to lead his team to the Super Bowl, took over a 6-10 San Francisco team and overnight made them winners. They finished the regular season 13-3, good enough to secure a first-round bye as the NFC No. 2 seed.
His defense became his identity. They allowed a league-best 77.3 rushing yards per contest and were tied with the Green Bay Packers for the most takeaways (38) in the NFL this season. Despite only allowing 85 rushing yards, San Francisco's defense did not force a turnover against the Giants, while their special teams unit gave it away, twice.
On offensive, after six frustrating seasons that included three different head coaches, seven offensive coordinators and 17 starting wide receivers, quarterback Alex Smith enjoyed a career year. Playing in all 16 games for only the second time in his career, Smith completed 61.3 percent of his passes, threw for 3,144 yards and had a passer rating of 90.7, all career-highs.
Smith continued his great season, outplaying the Saints' Drew Brees and giving the Niners their first playoff win in nine years.
But it was Smith's inability to convert on third down against the Giants that ended their season. San Francisco's offense was only 1-for-13 on third down conversions Sunday.
Now, with all two teams left standing New York has a date with the Patriots in Indianapolis on Feb. 5. And while Brady is out for revenge, Manning and Co. are hoping history repeats itself.
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