It is very hard to detach yourself, emotionally, from a team when they mean so much to you. I try to approach each week with some degree of evenhandedness but what happened at around 10 pm eastern time on Sunday, February 3 will be etched in my memory forever. Just after Christmas in January of 1997 my family lost everything it owned in a house fire – left without the simplest of necessities the community reached out and donated winter coats, among other things. The only jacket that fit me was an old, pretty tattered Giants winter jacket. Pretty indifferent about football to that point, but after receiving that jacket I made a conscious decision to make the Giants “My Team” from that day on. And it’s been pretty tough sledding since.

It’s still pretty incomprehensible, completely unreal – that the team that struggled so hard at times to find its identity even when they were putting together a six game winning streak are now the world champions. “Five weeks ago I never would have thought that this team would beat the Patriots,” said Michael Strahan. He certainly wasn’t alone in those feelings.

The Giants road to their third Super Bowl title was a long and arduous one, a road that is perhaps the toughest that any team has ever endured – and certainly the most unlikely. What was particularly ironic about the Giants path to the Super Bowl were the teams they had to defeat on the way, teams that evoked a lot history and emotions – demons like Jeff Garcia (who orchestrated two of the worst defeats in Giant playoff history), long timed hated division rivals (and the team that beat the Giants twice in the regular season) in the Dallas Cowboys, destiny itself in the form of Brett Favre, and the team that could lay claim to being the best regular season team in the history of the sport.

The historic significance of what has been accomplished in astounding as well. In the past month and a week, the Giants have doubled the playoff road win count of their previous 85 years of the team’s existence from three to now six. The Giants also took down both number one seeds in each conference and the NFC’s number two seed. And although it seems like they surpassed the record six months ago, the Giants have shattered the record for consecutive road victories. In their wake, the Giants have left three of the greatest playoff games in franchise, nay playoff history. Put in the simplest of terms, there may never be another team like the 2007-2008 New York Giants.

The game itself was a bit slow at times as FOX went to extra commercial break to make up for some long drives early. It seemed as though the game failed to fall into any kind of rhythm until late. Down 7-3, the first play of the fourth quarter was the opening shot of one of the best quarters in NFL history – as Kevin Boss reeled in a pass and ran for a 45 yard gain. After maneuvering to the 5 yard line of the Pats, David Tyree kicked off his great quarter with a touchdown catch.

Tom Brady and the Patriots would strike back, driving 80 yards down field after forcing the Giants into a rare three and out. The 5:12 drive was the first time since the first quarter that the Pats were able to move the ball on a Giant pass rush that dominated the game. But as the Giants got the ball back with 2:42 and three timeouts, you had the feeling the Pats ad left a little too much time on the clock. “The real distinguishing factor was that we just kept getting better and our confidence grew,” said Tom Coughlin. “Our players actually felt that they could win under any circumstance.”

It was only fitting that the Giants would have to drive down for a final score against the team that had done it so many times in their three previous Super Bowl wins. The final drive started slowly, only picking up 11 yards in the first 40 seconds, but it became evident that the Patriots were incapable of stopping the Giants from converting third and fourth downs. The first heart stopping moment of the drive came on a fourth and one conversion that Brandon Jacobs barely picked up.

The big strike came on what will go down as the best play in Super Bowl history – on third and five Manning dropped back and found himself immediately under pressure from three Patriots. Despite being in their grasps, Manning somehow freed himself and set himself just long enough to launch the ball 35 yards in the air to David Tyree who had to wrestle the ball from Rodney Harrison and pin it against his helmet with one hand to prevent the incompletion. Yet another third and long was converted when Steve Smith tip-toed along the sideline to convert third and eleven and set up the game winning strike. “People were asking me how I got out of that jam I was in, and I really don’t know,” said Eli Manning. “They were pulling me down. I felt them holding me, but I never felt anybody pull me to the ground. I stayed alive and I saw David in the middle of the field. I gave him a shot to make the catch, and (it was an) unbelievable catch.”

I will always remember the feelings flowing throughout my body when I realized Plaxico Burress hard beaten Ellis Hobbs like a drum to catch that wide open fade. As a Mets and Giants fan, it has been a long time since a team I root for has won a title, certainly the first title that I can recall with any clarity. It is something that I can’t explain, something surreal that I never expected to happen. All of the pain and heartbreak really is worth it folks, everyone deserves to feel that rush at least once.

Game Review

Offense
What more is there to say about Eli Manning other than he has completed the single most impressive playoff turnaround in NFL history. In truth, the Super Bowl was a test from the get go for Manning – after nearly turning the ball over twice on consecutive drives in the second quarter it would have been very easy for Eli to get down and fall into old habits. Instead he stuck to the game plan that got him to the Super Bowl, and when it counted late he came through against one of the best teams in history. The final drive of the game saw Eli teeter on a knives edge between goat and hero. Near interceptions were overshadowed by fantastically clutch throws like the pass to Tyree. His pass to Burress to take the lead with 30 seconds left was perfectly drawn up and cemented what will go down as one of the best drives in playoff history. His final line was 19 for 34, picking up 255 yards and the two biggest touchdowns of his career. It was only fitting that Manning win the MVP after his stellar performance, leaving Giants fans hungry to see if he can parlay that success into a good start next season.

The running game did exactly was the Giants needed it to; it wore down the defense early and opened up some plays down field. The most run heavy drive of the game was the Giants first possession, one that last an NFL record 9:59 and really kept the Pats from getting into any sort rhythm as FOX was forced into some odd TV breaks for commercials. As the game progressed, the Giants preferred to go through the air, more of a function of the fact that the team needed points quickly. Brandon Jacobs got off to a fairly quick start of the first drive, laying out a Pats player similar to the way he floored Charles Woodson against the Packers. Ahmad Bradshaw came with a hair of breaking off a touchdown run but was barely tripped up. In the end, the stats were nothing special each back had in the mid 40’s in yard accumulated but the big benefit was seen in the percentage of third downs converted and the length of some of their drives.

Coming into the game, Plaxico Burress had done the most talking of any Giant by some distance. For the most part, Asante Samuel kept Burress in check. His big catch was the final touchdown which is what he will end up being remembered for in this game. Amani Toomer was again the most consistent receiver on the field – he bailed the Giants out of some tough third down conversions and nearly broke a few tackles for a touchdown reminiscent of his catch and run earlier in the playoff against the Cowboys. Steve Smith had a fantastic night and made some key catches in some big spots against Rodney Harrison – most of which came over the middle and were for first downs. But the unquestioned star of the receivers was special teams ace, David Tyree. The Syracuse star caught a bullet from Manning to give the Giants their first lead and then reeled in the catch of a lifetime against a pro bowl safety. Kevin Boss doesn’t make a lot of catches, but the ones he does make are usually for big chunks of yardage and at big points in the game – his 45 yarder was no different but it was also the only catch he made.

The offensive line did a much better job handling the blitz packages than the first game, when the Pats used their pass rush to dominate the second half. With little to no penalties called against them in the game and providing a pocket that allowed Eli to step up and make strong throws. A big factor in picking up the blitz was Brandon Jacobs; Jacobs stoned multiple free rushers in pass protection. Late in the game, Eli found himself under siege as the line wore down. The run blocking failed to get a big push most of the game, as evidenced by the fact that their longest run was for 13 yards. When push came to shove, the O-Line did enough to allow the playmakers to win the game.

Defense
The defensive line was quite simply THE REASON the Giants walked away victorious. Without the pass rush that the front four were able to get on Brady, the Pats would have hung a slew of points of the defense because when they did have the time, they drove for touchdowns. The clear star of the defensive line was Justin Tuck, sacking Brady twice and forcing a fumble that took what could have been three points off the board. Michael Strahan also played like a man possessed; along with Osi and Tuck he put Tom Brady on his back consistently. Perhaps just as important, but less heralded was the job the Giants did against the run – holding Maroney to just 36 yards, most which came in the first half. Essentially they imposed their will on the Pats from the opening kick off – stopping the run game and forcing the Pats into third and long situations. Special mentions go to Jay Alford who speared Tom Brady on the final possession and really iced the game.

The linebacking group was pretty important in terms of stopping the run and getting to Brady when they rushed five. Kawika Mitchell probably earned himself an extension with his play, blowing up a few screens and sacking Brady once. Antonio Pierce played a pivotal part early, all over Benjamin Watson on a play in the end zone that was flagged as pass interference. In the end, he chipped in on 10 tackles, a tidy total. Reggie Torbor was probably the least effective Giant on defense, not really getting pressure and only making two tackles. Torbor has really failed to cement himself in Kiwanuka’s absence this season, and if Kiwi is moved back the defensive line the Giants may need to look for other options there.

It helps the secondary when your defensive line takes away all five step drops from the quarterback. The Giants defensive backs struggled when Brady had time, but they did come up with some big stops late against Randy Moss. The safeties did a strong job bringing the heat on delayed blitzes. They ended up figuring in on 25 tackles in total, and James Butler ended up leading the team with 10. All in all, the Giants may look pretty strong at cornerback right now but may look to the safety positions first to upgrade this offseason, but there is plenty of time to consider those options.

Special Teams
The star of the special teams unit was the old man, Jeff Feagles, who really looked like he wanted to go out on top with a Super Bowl ring and he pinned the Pats deep whenever he could. Feagles is almost certainly done after this past season, the Giants had to coax him out of retirement and it ended up working out for both sides. Tynes did a nice job of converting the points that were asked of him. The return game was pretty quiet although RW McQuarters did have a nice return.

The Verdict
If this doesn’t seem real to you, it doesn’t to me either. This whole season hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but when it does the Giants will go down as one of the most unique teams in NFL history. In order to be the best, you need to be the best and there’s little argument that Giants didn’t beat three of the best teams in football. And with most of the starters locked up beyond next season, it should be interesting to see where the teams goes from here.