While many thought the Steelers might emerge from the AFC, few if any picked the Cards, who are looking to end a 60 - yes 60 - year title drought. (And you Jet fans thought you had it bad.) So what do we make of this Super Bowl and what do we make of the playoffs leading up to it? Was it fair that the Colts had to play at 8-8 San Diego? Could Jake Delhomme have played any worse? Should Titan or Giants fans be more disappointed with their teams' one-and-done efforts? Are Eagle fans ready to turn once more on Donovan McNabb? Is Troy Polamalu the best safety in the game? And what receiver is better right now than Larry Fitzgerald? Super Bowl XLIII: not quite what we at Bleacher Preachers expected it to be.
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Ode to a Title Nobly Defended
As the chains stretched beyond the nose of the football one last time in the fourth quarter on Sunday, we knew that another team would be hoisting the Lombardi trophy on February 1st. For the Giants it wasn’t supposed to end this way. Not in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Not here at Giants Stadium. Not after a season like this when the Giants had played better as champions than any Giant team had played before. But the cruel truth of the chains, matched only by the harshness of the Meadowlands winds, was undeniable. The Giant title defense was over almost as unexpectedly as the title run had begun.
A quick glance at the four teams playing in the conference championship games confirms why Giant expectations were so high. Whether it was the defense stifling Brian Westbrook on fourth down in front of a hostile Philadelphia crowd, or Eli Manning outdueling Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh and Kurt Warner in Arizona, or Brandon Jacobs and company running roughshod over Ray Lewis and the Ravens defense, this Giant team had shown the ability to beat all comers and, at 11-1, stood head and shoulders above the rest of the league. After seven straight victories, all over opponents with winning records, many Giant fans even began to compare these Giants with as fine a vintage as the Giants have ever produced – the ’86 Giants of Parcells and Simms, LT and Carson, Bavaro and Little Joe. The Giants were giving their fans a regular season to match the postseason of the year before. For eleven months, it was as good of a ride as Giants fans had ever had.
But suddenly the steamrolling locomotive that the Giants had become lost a wheel that could not be replaced. In the ’07 season, Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw combined to fill the shoes of Tiki Barber, as good a running back as the Giants have ever had. When Jeremy Shockey broke his leg in December, the passing game didn’t seem to miss a beat as Kevin Boss at tight end and Steve Smith at wide receiver played well enough in the playoffs to make Shockey expendable come July. Even the loss of Hall of Famer Michael Strahan to retirement and Pro-bowler Osi Umenyiora to a preseason injury didn’t seem enough to derail this team as Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiawanuka were up to the challenge. Every team, however, has its breaking point and Plaxico Burress seemed to be it. After that fateful evening in late November, the Giant offense was never quite the same as the team dropped three of their last four contests. Just when you want to be peaking, the Giants were now stumbling. How quickly things had changed.
There was reason to hope, however. Indeed, the Giants had won the one game in December that they had to win, beating the Carolina Panthers in a rushing performance for the ages. So maybe these weren’t the ’86 Giants, but maybe they were the ’90 Giants, a team that rebounded from three late season losses and a season-ending injury to Phil Simms to win one of the greatest Super Bowls ever. But all those dreams came crashing to the cold turf on Sunday in a game full of what-ifs and what-never-would-bes. What if Bradshaw eludes the kicker on the opening kickoff return? What if Eli throws a better pass to Smith on the very first play? What if John Carney makes those two field goals? What if he makes even one? What if Tuck pulls Donovan McNabb down on that third and twenty? What if Eli gets lower on that QB sneak? And what if Jacobs simply runs to left on that final fourth down play? Though all of these questions, in time, will be forgotten, raising them could do nothing to shorten the chains that brought this once magical season to an end.
On the bright side, the Giants have a young team with a promising future. Eli is just entering the prime of his career. Jacobs, Ward, and Bradshaw have ample tread left on their tires. Smith and Boss should be at the receiving end of Eli’s passes for years to come. The offensive line is one of the best in the league. Tuck has the look of a perennial Pro-bowler and should be better with Umenyiora rushing in from the opposite end next year. But the Giant fan is a cautious sort, which may come as a surprise to many as Giant and Yankee fans tend to be one and the same. To say, as many do, that Yankee fans expect a World Series title every year is to exaggerate any real fan’s expectations. Given the money the Yankees spend, however, it’s right to say that Yankee fans are disappointed by anything less than a playoff appearance and a serious run at the title. In that regard, fans of both the Yankees and Giants have something of a split personality. Giants fans, qua Giants fans, know that playoff appearances do not come easily, particularly when playing in a division with the Eagles, Cowboys, and Redskins. And certainly home-field advantage presents an even rarer opportunity, one that the Giants have only achieved three times in their history. So while there may be much to look forward to, hope in the future does little to make up for what could have been for this team during this season, still the greatest title defense that the New York Giants have ever made.
Though I caste my vote for the Steelers, I'm starting to lean Cardinals ever so slightly. Basically, I think it'll be a low scoring affair where one big play - Fitzgerald anyone? - could make the difference.
Also, trivia question: ESPN wrongly pointed out last night that this was only the second time that both starting QB's had already won a Super Bowl. I claimed it to be the third time and have since vindicated myself. Can you name the other two occassions?
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