Superbowl XLII

[MFer 0]

Well this question usually comes up when a team has a great record or win streak but fails to win the championship so I might as well ask. Would the Patriots have been better off losing one of those games during the 2nd half of the regular season (Colts, Eagles, Ravens, or Giants)?

[Precious Roy 0]

Yeah, they probably would have been better off losing one of those games. The "pursuit of perfection" obviously took a toll on them, they had to be mentally and physically exhausted, and it was the ultimate motivation for their opponents, especially the Giants after they got so close in week 17 and worked their way to a second chance. They definitely had a mental edge there.

 

Here's another question, what does this mean for Tom Coughlin? The guy has been oft-maligned throughout his time in NY, is he like virtually criticism free and un-fire-able now?

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

If Isaiah Thomas is immune to being fired, Tom can't be fired for at least one season after this win.

 

I think the Patriots needed to win this game more than the Giants. They won every game leading up to the big game and they couldn't do it. Fourth quarter was amazing. I believe the NFL Network will be replaying it on Tuesday. I can't wait for the America's Game version of it.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I'd love to see Belicheck and Brady's post game conferences, but can't google them up any where

 

HELP!

I had both of them on, and there didn't seem to be anything notable. Belichick was giving one or two-word responses and was clearly in a pissy mood. Brady was a little more talkative, but obviously disappointed.

 

As for the game, I don't even care much for football and I was enraptured by the whole thing. I wasn't buying into the whole idea that the Giants were going to get steamrolled, but I was shocked they actually pulled through. Seemed like we were watching the same old show when the Pats got the TD with two minutes to go. I can't recall ever being so into a football game. I went to pick something up after the Giants scored the go-ahead TD and my hands were trembling. And while not as impressive as Kingpk's night, I did win $25 on squares. I would've won another $25 had the Patriots kicked a field goal before halftime instead of turning the ball over.

[Craig Th 0]

Great fuckin Super Bowl.

 

My friend and I were in Time Square tonight and it was awesome.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Does this end your fandom with the Niners then, Mole?

[The Ill One 0]

Well, as a Giants fan- 18-1, bitches.

 

Seriously though, that was a hell of a game and had my entire house screaming at parts, especially during the fourth quarter. I'm assuming Strahan's done now, I haven't really checked up on it, and if he is- well, that's a great note to end a career on.

 

Edit: Oh yeah, Eli shaking off the rush followed by that catch by Tyree was un-fucking-believable.

[Red Baron 0]

Yeah, they probably would have been better off losing one of those games. The "pursuit of perfection" obviously took a toll on them, they had to be mentally and physically exhausted, and it was the ultimate motivation for their opponents, especially the Giants after they got so close in week 17 and worked their way to a second chance. They definitely had a mental edge there.

 

Here's another question, what does this mean for Tom Coughlin? The guy has been oft-maligned throughout his time in NY, is he like virtually criticism free and un-fire-able now?

 

 

If I were Tom, I'd retire now because you never know what is going to happen next year. Plus NY fans can turn on you if you don't produce the same or better results.

[Skywarp! 0]

The funniest thing about this Giants season is that everyone pointed out how they only beat the easy teams on their schedule and were bested by all the decent ones. Yet, they ended up avenging nearly every one of their defeats (Minnesota is the only team that beat the Giants without in turn also being beaten by them). You can also look at the Tampa Bay game as a measure of revenge as well, since Garcia was responsible for bouncing the Giants from the wild card round on two different teams.

[The Niggardly King 0]

So does tonight's catch replace "THE CATCH"?

[randomguy 0]

Hard to overstate how much worse that Pats looked later in the season.

 

I loved watching MNF and hearing that idiot Kornheiser say things like "the fact that they basically sucked this game and lucked out a win is just further proof that they are the best team ever!" Or "Brady just finds a way to win -- sure the Ravens had it won but called timeout on that fourth down, but still -- Brady just knows how to win!"

 

I guess Brady forgot how to win. Whoops.

 

Eli is good at late-game drives. Luckily the score wasn't 21-3 at that point. The Giants D deserves the lion's share of the credit for putting them in a situation where one last drive could win the game.

 

In so many games down the stretch the Patriots were even or behind going into the 4th, then turned it on as the other team choked. Kind of looked like it was going that way again with the 12 men on the field but the Giants avoided big mistakes. No dumb penalties, horrible turnovers or shooting themselves in the foot.

[Guest Moots]

[Kinetic 0]

It's kind of bizarre and amusing (though soon to turn frustrating, I'm sure) that we're going to get an offseason full of "What's wrong with New England" and "How can they rebuild?"

[packwingfn 0]

The thing that pisses me the most about Bill Belichick is the fact that he didn't stay until the very end of the game. He bolted out of the arena and didn't even offer a handshake to Coughlin (I may be wrong). I guess Brady left too while the defense still had to come on the field for that last second.

 

Then I love it when the Patriots lose a game (which obviously hasnt happened in awhile). Belichick says the same things about the game "They made some plays, we made some plays. In the end, they made a couple more than we did." What an a-hole.

 

[Black Lushus 0]

He shook Coughlin's hand, patted him on the back and then bailed.

 

I haven't watched any ESPN since, how is this Superbowl being remembered? For the Giants incredible playoff run and big time upset or for the Patriots shitting away the perfect season?

[garfieldsnose 0]

He did shake Coughlin's hand, but that was about the only classy thing he has done since the Pats beat the Rams in 2002.

[Cartman 0]

Yea I was aggravated that he ran off the field completely before the game had officially ended. Not something you do when everyone already thinks you're classes.

[garfieldsnose 0]

To be fair, although I really despise Bellichik, the clock ran down to 0 then back up to 1 second, then to 0 and then to 1 again. Maybe he spotted the clock when it was 0 seconds left and just thought it was over. I'll try to give him the benefit of the doubt on running out on the field early, but I'm sure somebody told him there was 1 second left before he hightailed it.

[MFer 0]

Hard to overstate how much worse that Pats looked later in the season.

 

I loved watching MNF and hearing that idiot Kornheiser say things like "the fact that they basically sucked this game and lucked out a win is just further proof that they are the best team ever!" Or "Brady just finds a way to win -- sure the Ravens had it won but called timeout on that fourth down, but still -- Brady just knows how to win!"

 

I guess Brady forgot how to win. Whoops.

 

Eli is good at late-game drives. Luckily the score wasn't 21-3 at that point. The Giants D deserves the lion's share of the credit for putting them in a situation where one last drive could win the game.

 

In so many games down the stretch the Patriots were even or behind going into the 4th, then turned it on as the other team choked. Kind of looked like it was going that way again with the 12 men on the field but the Giants avoided big mistakes. No dumb penalties, horrible turnovers or shooting themselves in the foot.

That's basically how it always works in that situation. If you're a highly regarded team, you "found a way to win". If you're a mediocre to bad team, you got "lucky".

 

But yeah, as Steve Young put it in the ESPN postgame, it almost seemed like the Patriots were waiting for someone to come and beat them, but it never happened (until the end).

[NoCalMike 0]

I didn't pay close enough attention when it was live, and every time I see a replay on the news they seem to cut the clip short.....did Tyree really come down with the ball, or did the Giants catch a break there? Was at least suprising that Belichek didn't challenge it?

[devo 0]

He came down with the ball. It never even touched the ground.

[J.B. Buzzkill 0]

 

Holy shit, the tags for this are hilarious.

[Black Lushus 0]

That was a legit catch, completing one of the most clutch plays I have ever seen.

[Mik 0]

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02...-a-game-it-was/

 

Best article I've read. Despite all the deadspin tomfoolery... Will Leitch can be a pretty damn good writer sometimes.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

Stinging loss but the Giants made the plays.

 

The Eli scramble and Tyree catch, even as a Pats fan, was just a thing of beauty.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

so, as the Patriots major upset of the Rams led to the Pats dynasty, will this upset become a similar transition, or are we going back to one-year wonder teams again?

 

Either Colts or Packers next season.

[NoCalMike 0]

This will probably be considered a bigger upset then it deserves to be, because for all the domination the Pats displayed during the regular season, they weren't displaying the same dominance during the post-season(or during any other of their post-seasons either). That is the main reason why I would have had a hard time calling the Pats the "best team ever" even had they gone 19-0.

 

 

[NoCalMike 0]

so, as the Patriots major upset of the Rams led to the Pats dynasty, will this upset become a similar transition, or are we going back to one-year wonder teams again?

 

I'd say at this point it is really hard to tell. When you look at the Giants over the course of the season, they got better as the season went along, but they never seemed to dominate the competition. They have some vets that could be close to retirement, Strahan, Madison, Toomer, but then also plenty of youth as well.

 

Really, over the last five seasons, the Patriots have been the only "sure thing" if you can call them that, every other team seems to remain a mystery until the end of the season, especially the NFC where you can basically toss out W/L records. This Giants team gives me a Steelers "got hot at the right time" vibe and not a dynasty vibe, but then again it is a lot harder to build a dynasty these days.

[naiwf 0]

As a Giants fan, I don't see this being the start of a dynasty at all. They seem like the type of team that can make the playoffs maybe 3 times out of the next 5 years, but I don't know if they've got another Super Bowl run in them during that timeframe. However, at this point I don't really care.

 

[AnnieEclectic 0]

Congrats to all the Giants fans from a diehard Colts fan. Thank you for doing this year what we couldn't, and thank you for just demoralizing and destroying the Patriots. As a Colts fan living in New England... you cannot imagine how hard the next month would have been had they won. I can now breathe easy living here.

 

 

Thank you. For that, and what was easily the craziest and most exciting Super Bowl I have ever seen in my 25 years.

 

Manning Bowl next year?

 

-Annie