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Tag: Hakeem Nicks

Blogs • Giants • Giants Thoughts

Sep 16, 2013

Giants-Broncos Week 2 Thoughts: Excuses for Eli Manning

Eli Manning isn’t worried that he threw four interceptions and lost to his brother again or that the Giants are 0-2 and playing for their season in Week 3.

I’m really good at making excuses for Eli Manning. Like really, really good. I’m so good that I would be surprised if Archie or Olivia or Peyton or Cooper are as good as me at making excuses for the youngest member of their family. Why am I so good at this? I think it’s because I think Eli is better than his numbers seem to suggest or better than everyone gives him credit for. And because of that I thought the Giants would get the last laugh at Vegas for making 5 1/2-point underdogs at home against the Broncos and Eli would win what’s likely to be the final Manning Bowl. Instead, Vegas got the last laugh (at me) and Peyton added another footnote to help his case in any Manning debate forever.

How am I supposed to make an excuse for Eli after Sunday’s performance against the Broncos after last Sunday’s performance against the Cowboys? How can I sit here and tell you neither loss was Eli’s fault (or at least mostly his fault)? Should I also tell you that the day after Sunday is Tuesday or that Thanksgiving isn’t always on a Thursday or that CC Sabathia isn’t a complete waste of $23 million this year or that I’m looking forward to a postseason-less October for the Yankees? No, no, no and no. I can’t sit here today and make excuses for Eli Manning, but I don’t need to. Eli has made excuses for himself.

That’s right. Two Super Bowl MVPs or not, Eli Manning answered questions after a four-interception performance in a loss as if to say, “No big deal.” And maybe it is “no big deal” for a quarterback playing with a $106.9 million contract, but that’s also why it should be a big deal. So instead of the usual “Thoughts” following each Giants game, let’s analyze Eli’s postgame answers.

On his level of concern for the way things are going.

“I think we’ll bounce back and I thought there were some good things. The first half I thought we had a lot of opportunities. I think that’s where we did some really good things. We just didn’t get touchdowns. We got field goals and in the second half we had a weird interception off of a foot and we tried to fight back.”

Wow. What a way to start answering questions after an 18-point, four-interception loss that puts the Giants in an 0-2 hole. What a way to open the postgame media session. This would be like CC Sabathia opening a postgame session after giving up five earned runs in five innings or blowing a late-game lead by saying that he needs to get better and he will fix things and turn it around only to never get better, never fix things, turn nothing around and continue to lose. Wait a second …

“Some good things?” “Some really good things?!?!” “SOME REALLY GOOD THINGS?!?!” You threw four interceptions. Hakeem Nicks dislocated his finger. David Wilson rushed for 17 yards on seven carries. Brandon Jacobs rushed for four yards on seven carries. The famous pass rush recorded zero sacks. Should I go on?

But you’re right, in the first half there were some opportunities. And you’re right that you and offensive genius Kevin Gilbride destroyed every opportunity by settling for field goals. And saying “We just didn’t get touchdowns” so nonchalantly is just a little bit of a problem. And it was a nice touch trying to act like the “weird interception off of a foot” was the reason for the loss or the only interception and not just one of four interceptions that included three incredible picks that left me asking myself if I even like football.

“When we got down a couple of scores and tried to press, it could go either way. You could make some plays hopefully and also make some mistakes. We were in a bind. The offense, we have to get a little more balanced. We have to run the ball better and we have to eliminate the turnovers. I think we’ll keep fighting and get back on track. I know everybody in our division lost today, so the way we can look at it, we’re one game back in the division. We’ve got to get back to winning some games.”

You don’t think the offense is balanced? You don’t think 812 passing yards and 73 rushing yards through two games is balanced? Get the eff out of here! Me too!

And everyone else in the NFC East lost on Sunday? Well, when you put it that way who even cares that the Giants lost? Just like who cares that the Yankees lost on Sunday since the Rays and Rangers lost?

On going 3-for-12 on third downs.

“We’ll have to look. Just had a couple … I can think of one drop, some misfires, I got pressured on a few things. I think a couple were down in the red zone that were unfortunate. If we could have converted on those, they could have led to scoring touchdowns and not field goals.”

Yes, “we’ll have to look” at how you can convert 25 percent of your third downs with a receiving trio of Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle. It’s at least a little reassuring that you do realize that converting first downs in the red zone is an important factor in scoring touchdowns and not settling for field goals. At least we’re on the right track.

On whether or not the season feels like 2007.

“We just have to play better. I’m not trying to make comparisons to years obviously … You can look at it the same, but we have to find a way to play better. Better offense, better defense. I thought the defense played really well that last two weeks, so we have to help them out by scoring some more points and putting the opposing offense in a bind.”

Thank you, Eli! Finally, someone with their head on straight. Can everyone else please stop talking about 2007? Please? Does every 0-2 team go on to win 10 of their remaining 14 games and then win four road games in the postseason and knock off what would have been the best team in NFL history in the Super Bowl? If so, then forget me telling you to stop talking about 2007 and go on and continue to lazily use that storyline and connection and try to relive the most improbable playoff run. But that team had a pass rush and an 1,000-yard rusher. This team has turned the ball over 10 times, has two sacks and 73 rushing yards in eight quarters. Let’s hold the comparisons for a week or two or until the Giants get a win.

On whether or not Peyton will tease him about never beating him.

“I don’t think so. I think this is something that we’re both passionate about. What we’re doing is our job.  It’s my concern to this team and getting back to winning right now.”

Oh, he’s definitely going to tease you. But luckily you have that trump card in the second ring and both of them coming against Tom Brady, who Peyton has had trouble beating his entire career.

On if the loss is more disappointing because it’s against Peyton.

“It’s all team-related. You want to go out there and play well, so you’re frustrated that you lost another game. We had some opportunities early on. Their offense started clicking and making some plays. We had turnovers and we just couldn’t catch any breaks. We just really want to get back to where we’re playing better football offensively and get back on track.”

Oh, BS. You know it bothers you that you lost to your older brother and have never beat him.

On the interception intended for Nicks at the end of the first half.

“Just a bad decision by me. I was really just trying to kind of … in a little … on a blitz and trying to throw the ball away, where we wouldn’t get an intentional grounding, but we would get it close. It was unfortunate that I threw it in a spot where their guy could make a play.”

You didn’t “throw it in a spot where their guy could make a play.” You threw it to their guy as if he was the guy trying to make the play. “Unfortunate” was a good word to use.

On the fourth and final interception.

“The last one was on me. Rueben did the right thing, he ran the right route and I threw the wrong route.”

Not only did you throw the wrong route, but I would say that was the worst interception of your career. And that’s coming one week after I said your first throw of the 2013 season, which was an interception, was the worst of your career. OK, maybe the one from last week is still the worst, but this one has to be Top 5. I’m scared to know what’s in store for Week 3 and if you’re going to try to one-up yourself all season with these.

On the pass to Cruz on the first play of the game.

“It was honestly a great way to start the game. Our defense got us a turnover and to hit Cruz on a big one down the field on the first play and then got another first down running with Brandon, it was a good drive. We had a third and long and weren’t able to convert on that one, had to settle for a field goal, but it was a good start. First half there was really good things going on, we just didn’t finish some drives as well as we needed to.”

This is why the interception last week was so insane. The Giants had an entire offseason to decide what the first play of the season would be and Eli threw the ball directly into DeMarcus Ware’s chest. Then they had a week to decide how they would attack the Broncos from the start of the game and they decided on airing it out, which led to a 51-yard pass to Cruz. It was the best play of the day because it set the tone after the Broncos punted, but it also made the day that more frustrating (and of course last week’s season-opening interception that much more unfathomable).

On throwing seven interception in two games.

“Yeah, that’s never a goal. Before the season I like to set goals, keeping interceptions in the single digits.  I kind of have to start over here. Obviously, some of them happen and you have to look at decisions and you get some bad breaks. Sometimes you get late in games, fourth-and-10 and we have to make a play and force something here and whether it’s intercepted or incomplete, an interception probably ends up being better right there for us field position-wise. At the end of games or when you’re competing, I’m going to be aggressive and not worry about the stats or quarterback rating at the end. Honestly I’m not trying to throw interceptions, but obviously I’m just worried about getting back to playing well offensively and eliminating some of these turnovers.”

I think you could have gone without saying “that’s never a goal.” I’m pretty sure no one was going to ask if you that was a goal of yours. And I hate to break it to you, but Brendan Ryan (who has 19 career home runs in 2,327 at-bats) has a better chance of hitting double-digit home runs in 2013 (he has four home runs and there are 12 games left) than you do of keeping your interception total to single digits this season. Starting over is a good idea. We can come up with some goals this week before the Carolina game. (I already have some in mind.) And good for you for not worrying about stats or quarterback rating or anything that puts your team in a better position to win. Just keep doing what you’re doing. It’s obviously working.

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Blogs • Email Exchanges • Giants

Sep 13, 2013

Giants-Broncos Means Manning Bowl III

The Broncos are in town for Manning Bowl III and that calls for an email exchange with Ian Henson of Mile High Report.

Peyton Manning might very well be the best regular-season quarterback in the history of the NFL. But when it comes to the postseason, Peyton is the second-best quarterback in his family. Eli Manning can always use the second Super Bowl ring to quiet his critics and his brother and the fact that he beat Tom Brady (which is something Peyton has had a lot of trouble doing) for both of his Super Bowls and Super Bowl MVPs. But when it comes to the direct battle of Manning brother supremacy, Eli falls short with an 0-2 record in the Manning Bowl (2006 and 2010). On Sunday, however, Eli has a chance to close the gap a little more on which Manning is the best Manning if he can upset his brother and the Broncos at MetLife Stadium.

Ian Henson of Mile High Report joined me for an email exchange with the Broncos in town for Manning Bowl III this weekend to talk about how confident Broncos fans are, whether or not they trust Peyton in the playoffs and what will happen this Sunday in East Rutherford.

Keefe: The last time the Giants played the Broncos it ruined Thanksgiving. The Giants opened the 2009 season winning five straight games and then immediately lost four games. They came off their bye to beat the Falcons in overtime in Week 11 and then made the trip to the Denver for Thanksgiving night. Broncos 26, Giants 6.

Eli Manning threw for 230 yards and Brandon Jacobs and D.J. Ware each ran for 27 yards and the Broncos’ 16-0 halftime lead was too much to overcome.

After that game the Giants lost three of their final five games and gave up 166 points combined in those five games, finishing the season 8-8.

This time the Broncos have a chance to put the Giants’ season on life alert in Week 2. After this game, the Giants go on the road to face the Panthers, who will be looking for revenge from their Week 2 embarrassment against the Giants last year and then to Kansas City to face Andy Reid, who knows the Giants better than any coach in the league, and his new team.

With the Yankees battling for their wild-card lives I was looking forward to Giants and football season, but is it possible that it might be in serious trouble on Sept. 15? What’s it like to have your team coming off the most impressive Week 1 win in the league in which you dismantled the Super Bowl champions and your quarterback tied a single-game touchdown record?

Henson: Up until 2011, in the Season of Tebow, I had never been to a Denver Broncos game in which they had lost (and I have been to a lot of games). The last time the Broncos played the New York Giants in Denver, I was there. My phone blew up after the Josh McDaniels, “I just want to win a f—in’ game!” I had no idea what people were talking about, they got it from the NFL Network, I obviously couldn’t hear McDaniels from where I was sitting. I never considered traveling to be such a big factor when I was younger, but I know from living in New York and Denver, that the flight is just about as long as it is from New York to Los Angeles. Brutal for a flight in which you’re taking off and landing in the same country.

I have to confess, I was 18 when I moved to New York City, I was too young to get into any bars, thus forced to watch games wherever I could. That usually meant at home, this is how I developed a kinship with the Giants, they were always on and unable to see Broncos games in 2001 in a bar made me develop an interest. I will cheer for the Giants in any game that does not involve the Broncos.

The last time Denver and New York met, the Broncos had traded Jay Cutler and a fifth-round pick to the Chicago Bears for two first-round draft picks, a third round and Kyle Orton. Orton had an atrocious preseason and had Denver fans begging for him to be benched in favor of Chris Simms. Fans hated McDaniels from the start; then the season started and the Broncos under McDaniels went 6-0 (including an overtime victory in which McDaniels beat his old coach Bill Belichick), the team went on to lose their next four games and in the meantime Orton got injured. Thanksgiving 2009, the Giants and Broncos game happened.

Orton’s first game back, the team was still in the playoff hunt, in a very weak AFC West. The Broncos went on to win against the Giants and the next week they whooped the Kansas City Chiefs. The Broncos travled to Indianapolis and Peyton Manning squashed what was left of Denver, even a record day by Brandon Marshall breaking Terrell Owens’ single-game catch record with 21 for 200 yards and two touchdowns did nothing. The Broncos picked off Manning three times, but Orton could not capitalize and in Week 14 the Colts had already secured home field advantage for the playoffs. Manning was always a Bronco killer, he has yet to prove that he doesn’t remain a Bronco killer.

In 2012, the Broncos were one of the best teams in the league, the Ravens weren’t. Denver easily handled a neutered Baltimore team in the regular season. The playoffs were an entirely different animal though, two overtimes later, the Ravens move on and the Broncos are sent back home. Tebow fans were commenting how he had gotten the Broncos that far, what was the point of Peyton Manning? Denver did not game plan for a single game in the preseason this year and as far as I can tell, started running scout team preparing for the Baltimore game in Week 2 or Week 3 of the preseason. Baltimore had no choice, no one could have guessed that Manning would throw seven touchdowns, but the only doubt anyone had was whether or not Denver could be over or under on the point spread.

It isn’t homerism to say that Denver is really good this season, that Baltimore game was without Von Miller and without Champ Bailey. The Broncos have replaced their running game with Wes Welker and Julius Thomas is scary good if he can stay healthy. Even Denver’s fourth string receiver caught a touchdown. It’s good for the week to be on top, but the Giants have ruined a previous Broncos perfect season before. In 1998, Denver was 13-0, came to Giants stadium and lost 16-20. New York killed the Broncos undefeated season and it was by less than a touchdown (a trend the Giants would be so famous for in 2007).

During our podcast, we neglected to mention that Eli has never beat Peyton. I don’t know how much that is coming up in New York, but as we are both aware, this may be the last chance that he gets. Peyton’s not likely to still be playing in three seasons when the AFC West and the NFC East meet again. I think that amateurs may point to the Giants shaky running game, but Denver shut down Ray Rice in week one. New York’s running game is a trap basically, Pro Football Focus pointed out that both Champ Bailey and Chris Harris were top 15 corners in the NFL last season, but if Bailey is healthy, it would probably be a better thing for the Giants. Harris will be on Victor Cruz, Harris spent the entire preseason and training camp pairing with Wes Welker and you have Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie back in his natural position and matched up once again with Hakeem Nicks. This is why I say Bailey is the liability. I think Denver is much better off with Tony Carter on Reuben Randle than Champ on Randle.

I see no way that Denver runs the ball though and if the game is a shootout they probably wouldn’t want to anyway.

Keefe: We neglected to mention that Eli has never beaten Peyton because who wants to bring up that sore subject?!?! However, the Giants could gave beaten the Colts and therefore Eli would have beaten Peyton if not for the phantom pass interference call in the 2006 game that left Al Michaels and John Madden in shock on the broadcast. So maybe it would be 1-1 if not for the call that should have never been called, but it’s not and Peyton holds the 2-0 advantage.

Eli does the hold advantage when it comes to championships, which is all that really matters, isn’t it? But you could make the case that if not for Pierre Garcon’s terrible drop against the Saints in the Super Bowl and the onside kick against the Colts to open the second half, Peyton never would have been set up to throw a game-clinching interception and he would be 2-0 in Super Bowls as well.

But since this has turned into an Eli-Peyton discussion, for the moment, and if championships are all that matters (and they are, especially for fans), then how do you feel about the Broncos chances’ this season? You saw what Peyton can do firsthand in the regular season last year and in one regular-season game this year, but you also saw what he could do in the postseason when he seems to come up short in the big spot (even if he isn’t responsible for the defensive coverage on Jacoby Jones). Knowing how good the Broncos are and how good Peyton is and can be and how weak the AFC West and AFC are in 2013, are the Broncos going to be there in the end, barring any devastating injuries?

Henson: I will point out that I hated Peyton Manning as a Broncos fan for every single season of his career up until 2012. I remember the game that you are talking about, but much like the Giants last two Super Bowls, it could have gone either way. Eli makes the play when it counts, twice now and probably once or twice more before he is finished with his career. The same could be said for Peyton in his Super Bowl loss, one miss throw to Tracy Porter and they lose, last season in the playoffs he tosses an interception to Corey Graham to end the first overtime. Three plays later, the game is over. Eli doesn’t do that so much.

The Broncos handled the Ravens and I don’t think that the Ravens are a bad team, I thought that the Cincinnati Bengals would take the AFC North, but they just got toppled by the Chicago Bears. I think that Baltimore and Denver see each other again in the post season. The parallels between 2012 and 1996 for Denver are too many, 1997 of course was the year the 0-4 (in Super Bowls) Broncos finally made it 1-4. I think this season, even without Peyton Denver can make a playoff run. People were quick to point out that the Broncos were on their third center and without Von Miller, but Denver just extended Manny Ramirez for two more seasons and Shaun Phillips (Von’s backup) has 2.5 sacks and is currently second in the NFL. Their depth is scary and the AFC is in shambles right now. Houston almost lost to San Diego, the Raiders nearly handed to to the Colts, New England? Name a receiver on the Patriots that is healthy and not named Edelman…

What is going to be interesting to me is watching Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs vs. the NFC East. The Chiefs are returning 11 Pro Bowlers from last season, Reid, as much as people may dislike him in the NFC East, is a great coach. Give him Alex Smith, who doesn’t often make mistakes, Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe … Pack that in with the fact that he’s been playing two games against every team in your division outside of his own team and man … That’s going to be fun entertainment. The AFC West may actually be the reason that the Giants win the NFC East this season. No one thinks the AFC West is worth anything, but look at Week One and how they handled themselves. I don’t know how long Terrelle Pryor will be a thing, but Mike McCoy won a playoff game with Tim Tebow, I think that he will be alright with Philip Rivers.

Speaking of Rivers, how do Giants fans feel about him?

Keefe: I have no reason to dislike Philip Rivers for any reason other than that he would have been the Giants quarterback, which I guess is enough of a reason to dislike him when you look at what he has accomplished in his carer compared to Eli Manning. It’s hard to justify not liking someone who has never really affected your team other than they would have been your franchise quarterback if things unfolded differently. It’s not like he’s David Ortiz or the baseball Manny Ramirez or Martin Brodeur or Tony Romo or Donovan McNabb or someone that has given you on-the-field reasons to not like them. I don’t like Rivers because had Archie Manning not made sure the Chargers didn’t draft Eli, he would have been a Giant. (It seems pretty stupid when you actually write it out.)

You talked about how the AFC West isn’t as bad as everyone might have thought before the season, but when I look at it I just see early-season hype storylines in Andy Reid succeeding in Kansas City, Terrelle Pryor being the much-needed franchise quarterback in Oakland and San Diego being revitalized and nearly knocking off Houston. I say “hype storylines” because these seem to be more for talking head shows rather than for real life. and it wouldn’t surprise me if all three of those teams were afterthoughts by the middle of October. (Though I’m sure it wouldn’t surprise you either.) That means the Broncos are set up to most likely run the table in division matchups and then would just need to go something like 4-6 in their other 10 games to reach the postseason and they’re already 1-0, so 3-6 now. I guess I answered my own question from earlier if the Broncos will be there in the end this year.

But there has to be something that worries you about the Broncos, isn’t there? Tell me there’s something you’re worried about because when it comes to the Giants I’m worried about just about everything. But I guess that’s Giants football no matter what year it is.

Henson: I am not a big fan and was even less of a fan of Brock Osweiler last season. Osweiler played for Dennis Erickson at Arizona State, Erickson when 6-6 and for fear of losing draft position to a new head coach’s offense Osweiler entered the draft in 2012. The Denver Broncos traded out of the Dont’a Hightower pick (Pats), then again out of the Doug Martin pick (Buccaneeers), back into the second round and picked up Derek Wolfe and Brock Osweiler. The Wolfe pick doesn’t bother me so much and may pan out to be a really good pick, but the Osweiler pick still can get me steamed. In picking up Osweiler, the Broncos missed on so many players that they had met with, scouted and knew to be good players. Denver wins the Baltimore playoff game with Doug Martin as their running back.

It doesn’t end there though, Janoris Jenkins, Bobby Wagner, Lavonte David, Rueben Randle, Coby Fleener, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins! Every one of those players could have been picked up instead of Osweiler and instead, they have Osweiler. Now, there was some PR material given out around draft time to attempt to smooth over Broncos fans and let them know that Osweiler would have been a first-round draft pick in 2013, but the Broncos got him in the second round in 2012. So, I hated the pick, more so than the player, but Osweiler looked okay in the preseason and I have no doubt that with Denver’s very easy schedule, he could win eight, nine games if the worse were to happen.

Everything that I was afraid of happened. Ryan Clady who covers Manning’s blindside is not 100 percent, Ramirez at center is really the 32nd worst starting center in the league, the running game sucks, Von Miller is out six games, Champ Bailey is probably out at least four games, Elvis Dumervil on the Ravens, Eric Decker sucking (three catches and a fumble) … I’ve covered a situation in which Manning is gone. The team just really isn’t reliant on who the players are for whatever reason. Look back at Week 1, the Broncos gave up 21 points on mistakes made by special teams and defense (Danny Trevathan’s one yard fumble celebration cost Denver seven points, turned into seven for the Ravens and Wes Welker’s punt return drop inside of the five-yard line). Jack Del Rio and John Fox have worked together two season (their first was the year Carolina went to the Super Bowl, Del Rio left to coach the Jaguars after that), both seasons their defense has been ranked second in the NFL. This is their third season, the team would be well off with basically anyone at quarterback. Who couldn’t throw to Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, Wes Welker and Julius Thomas? Now you throw Peyton into that mix and that’s 30-40 points a game, with a Top 10 NFL defense on the other side and one of the games best punt returners/kick returners.

I am really not this cocky about that team and I am sorry for coming off that way, I just got out of a Twitter conversation in which someone (I assume a 49ers fan) was letting me know that Colin Kaepernick is better than Peyton Manning. It’s hard to convince any Broncos fan that any new quarterback is anything other than a flavor of the day. We have witnessed Tim Tebow, through multiple seasons and see that two years later he is out of the NFL. That wasn’t Tebow winning as much as it was Denver’s defense and special teams coming through when it was clutch. Cue the 49ers, I’d like to say the Redskins too, but Mike Shanahan is an offensive genius and I think this year the Panthers could fit back into that mold. Ron Rivera has them with a stout defense again and Cam Newton just needs to air it out three to four times a game.

If the Giants are able to put together a running game, they can expose the Broncos up the middle probably. Wesley Woodyard (Denver’s middle linebacker) has just started practicing today (Thursday) and although he is good, he’s playing mike for the first time in his career and not at 100 percent. Denver would need to bring up strong safety Duke Ihenacho to assist and at that point Eli’s got the deep center over the top with only Rahim Moore to beat.

Another thing is the offensive play count, there has been much said about Philadelphia’s offensive play count, but Denver can demolish that. In the Ravens game, the Broncos only had 68 plays the whole game and exactly half of those came in the first half. In the third week of preseason, Manning had 33 plays in the first quarter and 23 plays in the second quarter (56 plays in one half). Philly had 77 in their entire game Monday night. I guess for the record in 2012, the average was 64 offensive plays per game. There are things in the Broncos arsenal that I don’t think that we will see until deep into the season, but putting up with a play count like that is going to be nearly impossible for any defense to deal with for long at 5,280 feet above sea level.

Then again, that whole thing is super hyped up. Patriots put up 94 offensive snaps in Week 1 and they damn near lost to the Buffalo Bills.

I see that you guys just put Dan Conner on season ending injured reserve, I am sure that doesn’t even really effect you though. You guys are so strong in your front seven.

Keefe: Another day, another devastating injury for the Giants. (And another devastating injury for the Yankees too as Brett Gardner hurt his left oblique striking out tonight and might be done for the season.)

Offensive play counts seem to the cool thing to care about and keep track of in the NFL now since it supposedly gives you a better chance to win. But like you said the Patriots nearly lost to the Bills (the Bills!) even with their high play total.

You mention the Giants running game possibly exposing the Broncos defense, but that would mean the Giants would have to have a running game, which they may not if Wilson is bad or fumbles again or if Da’Rel Scott plays or if Brandon Jacobs plays.

There is a lot at stake in this game. For the Giants, they need to bounce back off their six-turnover performance in Week 1 and avoid going 0-2. For the Broncos, they need to continue to prove they are the best team in the league and that Week 1 wasn’t just them taking advantage of a team rebuilding off a Super Bowl. And for Eli and Peyton it’s obviously much deeper than both of those things when it’s come to their personal rivalry, their family, their legacies and the perception of both.

It’s been almost four years since the two teams met and unless they meet in the Super Bowl between now and 2017, it will be another four until they meet again. What do you expect to happen on Sunday this time around in the Giants-Broncos meeting and the Manning Bowl?

Henson: Champ Bailey has just been ruled out for the Giants game on Sunday by John Fox. I don’t think that we were really expecting him anyway for this game and truthfully, no one is positive whether or not Bailey is needed at this point. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was targeted once in Week One, Joe Flacco sees Chris Harris laughing his ass off in Flacco’s nightmares. Tony Carter is one of the fastest players in the NFL and plays corner like he is a computer character on Madden who has been set to 99 everything and runs fundamentals perfectly.

Good news for New York is that Prince Amukamara is likely to play, I assume he takes Demaryius Thomas? And Eric Decker has already declared that he would have a better game, privately to Peyton Manning (Manning gives the offense drop statistics in their lockers after the game with that player’s name highlighted, Decker had four and a fumble last week).

Last season, Dennis Allen left the Denver Broncos as their defensive coordinator and took over the head coaching job for the Oakland Raiders. During Week 14, Allen’s Father passed away. The Broncos could have easily stomped on the Raiders, but instead turned in an incredibly conservative game and opted for field goals instead of touchdowns on four different scoring opportunities. Peyton threw for one touchdown and Knowshon Moreno ran for one off of a defensive fumble recover that ended on the Raiders’ two-yard line.

I say that story, to say this. I don’t think that anyone is going to run away with this game, if it gets to the point where Denver can offer a beat down, they won’t. The Giants are not the Baltimore Ravens. If the Giants are the ones to shift into fifth gear early, then of course Denver will attempt to keep up, but the Broncos won’t pile it on in New York. Fox used to coach there, Eli is Peyton’s brother and it’s an NFC vs. AFC game. What I do expect is for the Giants to get a turnover or two, because as bad as New Yorkers perceive David Wilson to be at fumbling, Ronnie Hillman is worse, off the top of my head, I think that he fumbled four times in the preseason, five, but one wasn’t given a red flag by the opposing coach like it should have.

Denver’s defense focuses on shutting down the opposing teams best player, so Victor Cruz may not have the greatest game, but Eli will have a ton of yards. Second-year undrafted linebacker Danny Trevathan (the one who fumbled the ball at the one-yard line, instead of scoring last week) has shut down nearly every tight end, including Jimmy Graham dating back to last season.

So, my prediction would be Broncos by two scores, unless they decide to feature Ronnie Hillman for some reason. Who covers Wes Welker? Mark Herzlich? Aaron Ross? Denver uses Welker as their ground game, a six-yard pass to Welker is just as good as a six yard run by Moreno, Montee Ball or Hillman. If you put Ross on Herzlich, how do the Giants account for Julius Thomas? It’s just too much for most, if any, defense to contain. The Broncos aren’t the 2007 New England Patriots, but Denver’s receivers are much better.

There is a huge amount of respect for the Giants receivers in Denver though, here is John Fox moments ago on your receivers, “Very formidable. Just their passing game in general — you saw what they did last week against Dallas, which is a very capable crew. Really, the difference in that game was turnovers, but otherwise offensively I think — in particular the passing game — they were right up there as far as top performances in the league.”

So there you have it, let’s see how many combined points this game can go for.

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Blogs • Giants • Giants Thoughts

Sep 9, 2013

Giants-Cowboys Week 1 Thoughts: ‘Disaster in Dallas’

A Giants letdown should have been somewhat expected on Sunday night given what has happened during the Tom Coughlin era, but it wasn’t and the “Disaster in Dallas” occurred.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that the first play of the Giants season and the first pass of Eli Manning’s season was intercepted. I shouldn’t have been surprised that the Giants turned the ball over on their second possession as well. I shouldn’t have been surprised that the Giants turned the ball over on their third possession as well. I shouldn’t have been surprised that David Wilson didn’t learn his lesson from Week 1 2012 and fumbled twice and then was benched. I shouldn’t have been surprised that Eli Manning threw for 450 yards and four touchdowns and the Giants loss. But I was.

I thought this year would be different the same way I thought 2012 would be after 2011’s Super Bowl run; the same way I thought 2011 would be after 2010’s collapse (it wasn’t until the postseason); the same way I thought 2010 would be after 2009’s collapse; the same way I thought 2009 would be after 2008’s post-Plaxico collapse; the same way I thought 2008 would be after 2007’s Super Bowl run. But Sunday night’s game wasn’t just a look at the 2013 Giants, it was a look at the Tom Coughlin Giants and it was a game that in a few years you won’t remember which season during the Coughlin era it came from because it fits perfectly in any of them.

I should have known better than to think that 252 days off between the Giants’ 2012 season finale and their 2013 Week 1 kickoff against the Cowboys would be enough time to try and correct a team that was 6-2 and headed for a division title before finishing 9-7 and out of the playoffs and unable to defend their status as “champions.” I should have known better than to think that the New York Football Giants would start a season off by playing to their potential and limiting turnovers and mistakes and penalties. I should have known better than to think the Giants would show up in Dallas and win. But what the New York Football Giants are isn’t something that I’m familiar with or something that only Giants fans are familiar with. It’s something that even the players familiar with. Here’s what Victor Cruz said.

“I thought that was the typical Giants story of how we come back. Kind of how we always are. We get down here, and we have to crawl back and fight back. And we make some big plays and the pendulum swings.”

“Typical Giants story?” “Kind of how we always are?” “We have to crawl back and fight back?” It’s probably not good that Cruz knows what the Tom Coughlin Giants are and are about. It’s one thing for me to write and talk about it, but it’s another thing for the players to actually understand that the Giants are always going to be involved in games like they were on Sunday night.

There was the “Miracle at the Meadowlands” and the “Miracle at the New Meadowlands” and now we have the “Disaster in Dallas.” Three interceptions, two fumbles and one effed-up punt return for a 36-31 loss and an 0-1 record. The lasting image from the game won’t be Eli Manning punching the air after Da’Rel Scott gift-wrapped a touchdown for Brandon Carr to end the game. And it won’t be Tom Coughlin looking so infuriated that the only thing to compare his anger to would be a parent who found out that their kid was kicked out of college for academic and substance abuse reasons, got a girl pregnant and racked up $45,000 of credit card debt and found these things out all on the same day. No, the lasting image will be David Wilson standing on the sideline with no one to talk, staring into nothing at AT&T Stadium with his helmet lifted up on his head wondering what the eff happened. Because that what all Giants fans were wondering: What the eff happened? Well, Tom Coughlin summed it up pretty well.

“Six times we gave the ball away. Six times. I’m totally disappointed and embarrassed by that. That’s sloppy football.”

Tom Coughlin hates turnovers more than you hate anything in your life and turnovers were the only reason the Giants lost and are now faced with the Broncos as the only separating them from being 0-2 and then going on the road for back-to-back games. So on that note, let’s get to the Week 1 Thoughts.

– It’s scary that the Giants had six turnovers and lost 36-31 and actually had the ball with 2:41 left and a chance to win the game 31-30. Does that mean A.) The Giants have the best offense in the league? B.) The Cowboys suck? C.) Both teams suck? D.) Nothing, it was just a Week 1 game? I’m hoping it’s A and B and not C, but it’s probably D.

– I have no idea what Eli was doing on the first play of the game. Zero idea. He has thrown 147 interceptions in his career and that was the worst one. For all the wrong-footed, ill-timed, goal-line interceptions he has thrown, that was the worst thing I have ever seen from Number 10.

– The Giants trail 30-24 and have the ball with 2:41 left and two timeouts. It’s third-and-5 from the Giants’ 22 and Eli hits Reuben Randle for 26 yards. The Giants now the ball on their own 48. They come out of the two-minute warning and on the first play Eli throws a pass to Da’Rel Scott that Scott deflects into the hands of Brandon Carr, who returns it for a 49-yard touchdown to end the game.

It doesn’t matter if Eli made a bad pass or that Scott should have had it. What matters is that Nicks, Cruz and Randle all had over 100 yards receiving at that point and the play is to Da’Rel Scott, who barely made the team and was only in the game because David Wilson had the worst game a running back could have. That’s your play? Is this real life? The only thing I hope is that that wasn’t supposed to be the play coming out of the huddle and a TV timeout for the two-minute warning. Please don’t let that be the case.

– Victor Cruz: five catches, 118 yards, three touchdowns. Hakeem Nicks: five catches, 114 yards. Reuben Randle: five catches, 101 yards.

It the Giants don’t turn the ball over six times a game, the Giants offense is going to be the offense everyone around the league gushes about and not the Broncos, 49ers, Falcons or Packers. But I guess that would only create hype and expectations for the Giants and in turn they would fail to live up to them.

– The defensive line was still missing from the end of the 2011 season on Sunday night until the Giants had to get a stop to get the ball back while trailing 30-24 and then Justin Tuck, Linval Joseph and Jason Pierre-Paul showed up. The defensive performance won’t be talked about since Eli’s three picks and David Wilson two fumbles and the overall loss to the Cowboys are the major storylines, but the defense was much better than I thought they would be. They bailed out the turnovers each time, got the biggest stop of the game to give Eli the ball with 2:41 left, held Dez Bryant to four catches for 22 yards and gave up just 331 yards of total offense.

Knowing the Giants, this will be like the 2013 Yankees where they either hit or pitch, but don’t do both together, and the offense will bounce back in Week 2 and limit the turnovers and the defense will get torched by Peyton Manning. If Week 1 retaught me anything I have learned about the Giants in my life, it’s don’t get too down on a big loss or too high on a big win. So I’m just going to say it would be really awesome if the defense would play like that again on Sunday. That’s all.

– I had to save the Man of the Hour for last. The Giants don’t have a choice, but to play David Wilson and fix his fumbling problems. They used their 2012 first-round pick on him, benched him for nearly the entire season after Week 1 a year ago and then he failed to live up to the job of being the No. 1 back with tons of pressure and hype on him entering last night. I didn’t think that not even 12 hours after the first game of the season I would be hearing rumors and reports that Brandon Jacobs could be returning to the Giants. Ladies and gentlemen, the New York Football Giants!

After the game, Wilson said, “I’m at the bottom now. Nowhere to go but up.” Well, that’s not true since you and the Giants could stay at the bottom. And with Peyton and the Broncos coming to the Meadowlands this week, going up might have to wait another Sunday.

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Blogs • Giants

Feb 13, 2012

Super Bowl XLVI Final Thoughts

After a week of digesting the Super Bowl win and everything that has come with it and from it, Neil Keefe gives his final thoughts on the Giants’ improbable run.

It’s been eight days since the Giants won the Super Bowl and it still hasn’t really set in yet, and maybe it never will. How did the team cruising on the Second-Half Collapse train at 200 mph without any brakes turn into world champions? How did the team that lost to Rex Grossman twice, Charvaris Whiteson and Vince Young beat Aaron Rodgers and the 49ers’ defense on the road and then decapitate Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots’ dynasty in the postseason? The answer is: expectations.

All season long I talked about how poorly the Giants play with expectations and how well they play when everyone throws dirt on them. People want to make the connections between the end of the 2011 season and the end of the 2007 season, but I think the connections go all the way back to the beginning of the season.

The 2007 Giants started the season 0-2 and allowed 80 points in those two games and I remember telling my roommates that they might not win a game all year. They were a goal-line stand in Washington away from being 0-3 and basically eliminating themselves from the postseason before September ended. This season I lost all expectations when all the key free agents went elsewhere and the entire team suffered season-ending injuries in preseason. After the Giants lost to the Redskins in Week 1 and let Grossman throw for 305 yards on them I thought the season was over.

The Giants’ season came so close to ending so many times during the regular season, but oddly enough it never really came close to ending in the postseason until Wes Welker couldn’t catch Tom Brady’s poorly thrown pass. What we witnessed since the comeback with 5:41 left in Dallas in Week 14 up until Tom Brady’s Hail Mary attempt hit the ground last Sunday night was more miraculous and more improbable than what we saw in 2007.

I’m exhausted from the last eight days between watching the game, celebrating the victory, attending the parade, listening to every possible Giants interview and consuming every piece of content regarding the team. I’m still running on fumes from last Sunday and drafting off fumes from the Super Bowl victory. I thought about doing a What Went Wrong And Right from my columns on the Giants throughout the season the way I did for the Yankees at the end of their season, but when you win a championship, there’s nothing worthy of complaining about. (Yes, even Kevin Gilbride gets a pass here.)

After a week of digesting the Super Bowl win and everything that has come with it and from it, I have decided to follow up my Super Bowl XLVI Thoughts with my Super Bowl XLVI Final Thoughts. Just picture Jerry Springer sitting on the stool at the end of his show trying to explain what just happened on his Stamford, Conn. stage, except I’m going to try and explain what happened over the last month and a half after letting the idea that the Giants are world champions again settle in.

– Last Tuesday I sprinted down Church St. to get to Broadway, high-stepped some horse manure, got some Dos Equis splashed on me, weaved in and out of thousands of people and rode a crowded subway that had the stench of an element not yet discovered just to see the Lombardi Trophy make its way up the Canyon of Heroes. It was worth it.

– I don’t know who had cheesier lines at the City Hall celebration between Mayor Bloomberg and Steve Tisch? I’m going to go with Bloomberg since Tisch is part owner of the team, so he gets a pass, while Bloomberg decided to start inducting people into the Hall of Fame as awkwardly as possible and predicting another Giants’ championship next season.

– How badly does Michael Strahan wish he played for the Giants this season? Part of me thinks that he thinks he did play for the Giants this season. I was waiting for him to have the final word at City Hall and “stomp out” the Patriots again. I kind of wish he did.

– Eli Manning killed it in Disney World, on David Letterman, at City Hall and at MetLife. There’s no one left that refers to him as “Aw, Shucks” or anyone who doesn’t think he’s elite anymore. This pleases me.

– I’m not sure how many relationships and marriages have been destroyed because of the NFL Network’s existence (and also the MLB, NHL and NBA Networks), but it has to be staggering.

– I spent the weekend in Boston, and it’s always fun to head to the rival city after a devastating defeat, especially one that came out the hands of a New York team. And while in Boston I saw an elementary school in South Boston with huge Patriots logos on the front windows of the building, and I couldn’t help but think about the seven-year-old kids in that school who wonder if their Patriots will ever win the Super Bowl, and whether or not they are becoming the Bills.

– The Giants were incredibly lucky the way their two fumbles bounced, and that the first fumbled was negated by a Patriots’ penalty, and I can’t get over how luck they were. The biggest asset of Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz is their ability to make that one big play that can change a game (or save the season like Cruz did against the Jets), but their biggest flaw is their attempt to make that one big play that leaves them vulnerable to get stripped or hit from behind for a fumble. The same goes for Ahmad Bradshaw.

The Giants kept running the ball and trying to dink and dunk their way to victory over an embarrassing pass defense, and I tweeted during the game that “Running the ball with Bradshaw/Jacobs over passing & letting Tynes kick field goals is like having unprotected sex. Eventually you will lose.” The Giants made a few trips to Planned Parenthood last Sunday, but fortunately got the results they wanted.

– Last week I said…

“Here are some other things we learned this season that no one can do or should do against the Patriots.

1. The Patriots don’t lose in Heinz Field.

2. The Patriots don’t lose back-to-back games.

3. The Patriots don’t lose at Gillette Stadium.

4. Tom Brady never has back-to-back bad games.

5. You don’t want to give Bill Belichick two weeks to prepare a game plan. (This is my favorite because Belichick lost in XLII.)

All of these are now fairytales.”

Now I’m thinking of turning these fairytales into a series of children’s book. If anyone knows a good illustrator, please let me know.

– When I watch the final play of the game I keep thinking Rob Gronkowski is going to catch the Hail Mary attempt and I get this worried sensation that he will. It’s the same feeling I get when I re-watch XLII and see Randy Moss racing down the sideline trying to haul in Brady’s last attempt at perfection. But like Moss, Gronkowski never makes the catch no matter how many times I watch it.

– I’m going to say Tom Brady is more at fault for the missed catch by Wes Welker since he could have thrown a better ball, and I know he could have since he’s Tom Brady. (Don’t tell Gisele.)

– Jake Ballard didn’t do his knee any favors when he tried to come back in the game since he tore his ACL, but I admire him for trying to get back on the field in the Super Bowl despite having a TORN ACL! No one seems to be talking about how the Giants lost Travis Beckum earlier in the game to a torn ACL and then lost Ballard to the same injury. Maybe that many people just aren’t aware of it since Kevin Gilbride wasn’t. Here’s an excerpt from a story on ESPN.com.

Kevin Gilbride was discussing plays with Manning on the sideline when the quarterback blurted, “We can’t run those plays. We don’t have any more tight ends.” He didn’t smile or roll his eyes. He was nonchalantly matter-of-fact, as always, and Gilbride silently nodded, scanning the rest of his play card.

It’s never a good thing when your offensive coordinator doesn’t know which personnel are available in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. No big deal.

– I love the idea of Bradying. I love it so much that I decided to get in on the fun last week.

– Mario Manningham’s catch wasn’t David Tyree’s catch and shouldn’t be compared to it since it was a perfect throw and a perfect catch in the smallest of windows. The Tyree catch was the result of a combination of a missed sack attempt, absolute chaos, an insane pass and a miracle catch in the middle of four Patriots defenders. Most people think Manningham will leave the giants since they won’t want to pay him to be the No. 3 receiver, and Paul Dottino told Mike Francesa on WFAN last week that Manningham wants to play in a warm-weather city after playing in college at Michigan and then playing for the Giants. If Manningham’s last game as a Giant was XLVI, we’ll always have his touchdown in the NFC Championship Game and the most important catch of XLVI to remember his time with the Giants,

– Rob Gronkowski partying like he won the Super Bowl after his team lost the Super Bowl isn’t that big of a deal since he’s 22 years old and it’s just another reminder that not every athlete reacts to a devastating loss like fans do. (And no one on the Patriots cared as much Tom Brady and Bill Belichick since they had the most at stake). All I can say is that if Alex Rodriguez were out dancing with his shirt off after losing Game 7 of the World Series, it would be the end of the world. (I mean a shirtless Alex Rodriguez in Central Park during the season was headline worthy.)

– Why all the talk about Tom Brady missing the chance to be “immortal” by not winning XLVI since it would have been his fourth? He also had a chance to win his fourth in XLII and finish the perfect season and didn’t but I don’t remember this much talk about missing out on immortality then. Maybe it’s because this might have been his last chance to get back to the Super Bowl or because he’s getting near that age where quarterbacks start to decline and throw passes to wide-open receivers over the wrong shoulder with a chance to potentially clinch a championship. Nothing would have been more immortal than being 4-0 in the Super Bowl with a 19-0 season on your resume. Why are people acting like this Super Bowl caused him to miss out on immortality? He has missed the train twice now.

– I was a big fan of “Written in the Stars” by Tinie Tempah when it came out. I overplayed it on iTunes and my iPod as if the song was Scott proctor in 2006 and I was Joe Torre. I didn’t kill it by overplaying it like FM radio did with Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” but I played it enough. Then when the song became the anthem for the 2011 MLB playoffs (playoffs the Yankees would be eliminated in) I didn’t think I could ever listen to it the same way again. Then when the Giants came out to the song for XLVI I thought it was a bad omen after what happened in the 2011 ALDS. But the Giants won the game and now I can enjoy the song again. “Seasons come and go, but I will never change, and I’m on way!”

– Why are the Jets taking out a full-page newspaper ad to congratulate the Giants on winning the Super Bowl? It’s very weird. We all know that both teams don’t like each other and their fan bases certainly don’t like each other, so I’m not really sure who thought this was a good idea. Maybe the same people that thought it was a good idea to have Darrelle Revis hang up in the middle of a phone interview? If the Mets took out a full-page ad to congratulate the Yankees on winning the World Series, their fans would go crazy. (Obviously there isn’t a hypothetical where the Yankees would be congratulating the Mets since the Mets aren’t winning anytime soon.)

Before the season in an email exchange with Ralph Vacchiano of the Daily News, I said:

“All I can hope for is that the season ends better than it did the last two years. And with the way it ended in 2009 and 2010, I will take any playoff berth in any possible way. Give me the No. 6 seed and a path to the Super Bowl built around road games. I don’t care. I just want to watch the playoffs with the Giants in it, and I’m not sure if I can emotionally and physically take another collapse that forces the “Should Tom Coughlin be fired?” discussion for weeks after the season.”

Once they made the playoffs, all I wanted them to do was extend the season for as long as possible. They took us through January and into February (the worst two months for sports and weather in the Tri-State area), and now they pass the baton to the dominant Rangers and surging Knicks as we’re just days away from pitchers and catchers. If the Garden’s teams falter or if February actually turns into February, it won’t matter because I’ll have Super Bowl XLVI to draft off of.

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Blogs • Giants

Feb 6, 2012

Super Bowl XLVI Thoughts

Sunday night was epic. Here are some thoughts from the day after the Giants’ win in Super Bowl XLVI.

“Welcome to the longest 57 seconds of your 2012.”

That’s what my brother texted me when Tom Brady and the Patriots walked up to their 20-yard line with 57 seconds left in their season and trailing by four points in Super Bowl XLVI. It felt like the end of Super Bowl XLII and it ended in almost the same exact fashion. Except this time Eli Manning didn’t need to kneel the ball to clinch the victory. This time the ball bounced around the end zone as the Patriots hopelessly watched their Hail Mary attempt fail. Both endings worked for me as they both ended with the New York Football Giants as champions.

Sunday night was epic, and because of it I’m running on three hours of sleep, have a minor headache and I’m typing this with my left eye closed since that’s the side of my head (right above my eye) where the pain is. But I don’t care that I’m running on fumes because I feel like I can draft off this Super Bowl win until at least Opening Day.

There’s so much to talk about from Sunday night, and so much I want to talk about, but with the win so fresh, and fatigue setting in like I’m half-heartedly backchecking in the sixth overtime of an NHL playoff game, I decided to take things a different route than usual for the day after another Super Bowl win.

My “friend” Mike Hurley of CBS Boston, who is no longer my friend thanks to the Giants’ win over his Patriots, writes weekly “leftover thoughts” columns about the Patriots where he writes down, well, his thoughts from that week’s game. I felt like it would be nice of me to dedicate a Giants’ Super Bowl XLVI column with the same concept to him since he will forever be scarred by the letters “X,” “L,” “V,” and “I” and likely will never reference Feb. 5, 2012 again for the rest of his life. It’s important that I continue to remind him about the fall of the Patriots and this is a great place to start.

Here are some thoughts from the day after the Giants’ win in Super Bowl XLVI.

– I have been supporting and arguing for Eli Manning for years to his critics and doubters (mostly Patriots and Jets fans), but I don’t need to anymore. He is a two-time Super Bowl champion and MVP.

– Last week I had a tweet argument with WFAN sister station, 98.5 The Sports Hub, in Boston’s mid-day hosts Gresh and Zo about their logic that “You can’t beat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick twice in the same season.” I guess you can do it.

Here are some other things we learned this season that no one can do or should do against the Patriots.

1. The Patriots don’t lose in Heinz Field.

2. The Patriots don’t lose back-to-back games.

3. The Patriots don’t lose at Gillette Stadium.

4. Tom Brady never has back-to-back bad games.

5. You don’t want to give Bill Belichick two weeks to prepare a game plan. (This is my favorite because Belichick lost in XLII.)

All of these are now fairytales.

– Here’s a big difference between Eli Manning and Tom Brady: Eli can succeed with pressure and chaos around him like he did in San Francisco against a great defense in a hostile environment in miserable weather. Tom Brady can’t succeed without ideal conditions and a strong pocket to protect him.

– Tom Coughlin will be getting a contract extension and millions of dollars, and he deserves it. He has put up with more crap (I’m part of that) than any coach that has won in this city (except for maybe Joe Torre at the end of this Yankees tenure). Up until a month ago, most people would have rather had Rex Ryan coaching their team than Tom Coughlin, now there might be seven or eight people that feel that way.

– There are few things better than making the rounds on the Boston sites and sports radio shows after a devastating defeat. The last time this was possible was four months ago after the Red Sox’ loss in Game 162, and that four months has felt like way too long. I could listen to Murph from Charlestown call 98.5 to complain about Wes Welker all day for weeks, and I just might.

– I remember maybe one or two commercials from the game, but that’s partially because there weren’t any worth paying attention to. It still blows my mind that people get paid to sit around conference tables to come up with commercial ideas and then higher-ups approve these ideas to be made into multi-million dollar commercials and that there can be so many bad ones. But really I didn’t pay attention to the commercials because I was busy during TV timeouts checking Twitter and pacing. I was also trying to text message Kevin Gilbride some possible plays to run that didn’t involve having Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs run directly into the defensive line.

– Kevin Gilbride has earned immunity from me for the 2012 season. However, in the fine print of this agreement it says: “Subject to change if a third-and-7 draw play for D.J. Ware is called at any point during the 2012 season.”

– I would like to take this time to thank the following non-Giants for making this miracle run possible: Miles Austin, Jim Leonard, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Rex Ryan, Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez, Alex Smith, Eric Smith, Mike Smith, Mike Westhoff and Kyle Williams. If I forgot anyone that helped the Giants go from five minutes and 41 seconds away from elimination in Dallas in Week 14 to become Super Bowl champions, I apologize, but you’re every bit as important to this championship run as the rest of the goats. And mostly, I would like to thank the New England Patriots, especially Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, for making this possible. Thank you!

– Cris Collinsworth said, “Wes Welker makes that catch 100 times out of 100.” If 100 times out of 100 equals 100 percent then what was that missed catch?

– Obviously Mario Manningham didn’t get to see Collinsworth ripping him on NBC (and rightfully so) and the broadcast showing a graphic of how Manningham should correctly run routes down the sideline, but Manningham fixed his route running the next time Eli went to him down the sideline, and it ended up being the most important offensive play of the game.

– If I were a white punt returner for the Patriots, would Al Michaels call me Wes Welker, Julian Edelman or Danny Woodhead? I guess it doesn’t matter since they’re apparently all the same player anyway.

– Why do we have to decide which Manning is better? And why does anyone care outside of Eli and Peyton (who I’m sure love to see each other succeed, but also love the brother rivalry)? Can’t Giants fans just be happy that Eli is a Giant, and can’t Colts fans just be thankful that they had Peyton for as long as they did (and maybe longer)? And can’t fans of teams that don’t have a Manning on their roster just worry about something else?

– I’m sure Aaron Hernandez looked great to Patriots fans catching a third-quarter touchdown pass and opening the vault and making it rain all over the end zone, but he looked even better to Giants fans dropping a wide-open pass on the Patriots’ final drive that cost the Patriots a lot of yards, a down and time on the clock.

– I love that it helped the Giants, but it’s another flaw in the NFL rules where the Giants could have 12 men on the field in the final seconds and Tom Brady throws an incomplete pass, and time still comes off the clock, but the Patriots get to replay the down. Why not just put 50 guys on the field and make sure it will be an incomplete, and watch the clock wind down play after play in the final seconds?

– I had XLII flashbacks at the end of the game screaming, “Get back! Get back! Get back!” with Tom Brady launching bombs toward the end zone to try and win the game.

– Thank you to Las Vegas for making the Giants +3 and +120. Thank you for also making them underdogs against San Francisco and Green Bay.

– The Giants fumbled three times, recovered the two that counted and lost the one that didn’t count because of a penalty for 12 men on the field against the Patriots. That’s a ridiculous amount of breaks, and no one can be mad about any missed holding or passed interference calls throughout the game since the Giants were lucky enough to not lose the game because of their carelessness with the ball.

– Speaking of luck, these fumbles remind us how hard and nearly impossible it is to win a championship, which makes it even more impressive that the Patriots won three in four years when every play has the potential to ruin your season. And it makes it that much more special that the Giants have now won twice in fours years.

– I don’t think we’ll be seeing “Philip Rivers is better than Eli Manning” written anywhere anymore unless we’re talking about the amount of flannel shirts in one’s closet.

– When are we going to start talking about how Tom Brady was fortunate to be part of good teams that won the Super Bowl? I think we should start now. Outside of the game against the “How The Eff Are They In The Divisional Round” Broncos, Brady was bad against the Ravens, and not good enough against the Giants. (Yes, I know going 16-for-16 at one point in a Super Bowl game is remarkable.) Brady’s first play of the game resulted in a safety after he had two weeks to create a game plan and script the first drive, and his interception after breaking free from a sack was as bad and ill-advised as his pick intended for Matthew Slater in the AFC Championship Game. Seven years ago, Brady had three rings in his first four years and people thought he might win 10 more. Now he hasn’t won in seven years when the team has been his team.

– What was with those weird Tom Brady poses and pictures NBC used when talking about TB12? How did he agree to do that, and who thought it was a good idea? I’m going to say he didn’t mind since he did sign up for that goat picture once, and I’m also going to say the idea came from an NBC staffer that’s a Giants fan. And yes, I just answered my own questions.

– I don’t care if Eli Manning ends up in the Hall of Fame or not. I’m not a fan of the Giants to root for guys to someday win a nonsensical vote to get into the Hall of Fame. I’m a Giants fan for nights like Sunday night. It seems like most people that care about the Hall of Fame passionately are those who are fans of teams that aren’t any good. That probably explains why my Twitter feed was full of Jets fans ecstatic about Curtis Martin getting in over the weekend.

– The only Patriots-related person I feel bad for is Mr. Kraft. The emotional stories about his wife, Myra, for who the season was dedicated to were touching, and to see him standing there after the game in his box alone (probably because no one knew what to say to him) and watching him just stare at the ground was hard to watch.

– Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks make up two-thirds of the best wide receiver trio in the NFL. They also are two of the most careless receivers with the ball in the NFL, always leaving the ball open to be stripped as they try to make that one extra move to gain one more foot while a defender gets them from behind. They are both fortunate that because of penalties and the right bounce that they didn’t cost the Giants yesterday, and they are heroes instead. (This goes for you too, Ahmad Bradshaw.)

– I have been hard on Brandon Jacobs all season. I said he entered the A.J. Burnett Zone and he did, but like Burnett stepping up in Game 4 of the ALDS, Jacobs stepped up on a much bigger stage in XLVI, and ran with more determination than he has since the 2008 season. A few months ago there was no way Jacobs was going to be with the Giants next year, but now I’m not so sure. If Sunday was his last game with the Giants, it was a good way for him to go out.

– I feel the same amount of comfort with No. 42 in the ninth inning as I do with Eli Manning in the two-minute drill or in the fourth quarter. 2005 Neil thinks 2012 Neil has lost it.

– Even though he said he was, Rob Gronkowski wasn’t 100 percent. If 100 percent of Rob Gronkowski means two catches for 26 yards in the Super Bowl, then I think WEEI’s Gerry Callahan needs to rethink his statement that Gronkowski is “the best tight end in history.”

– Wes Welker has earned a lot of credit and hype in his five seasons with the Patriots, so when he does something as bad as drop a potential game-ending pass, it’s good to see him taking the heat when something goes bad. He could have ended the game and didn’t, and he admitted it and blamed himself for the loss.

– I liked Danny Woodhead with the Jets in Hard Knocks, but I have hated him with the Patriots. I’m not sure why since I don’t like the Jets either.

– A quick brag: I didn’t know it was going to take a safety and missed two-point conversion for the Giants to get 21 points, but I did predict the Giants would win 21-17 here and here and in the Keefe To The City Super Bowl Podcasts last week.

– How about David Tyree, standing on the sideline, getting some camera time as the Giants’ started their final drive and right before Mario Manningham’s Tyree-like catch? It’s really hard not to be amazed by the strong comparisons between the 2007 and 2011 Giants with the way the season played out each week with nearly identical plays, final scores and results down the stretch and in the playoffs.

– I haven’t seen or heard many Bostonians counting down the days until Red Sox pitchers and catchers. I guess that’s what happens when your manager, general manager and closer leave and you new general manager is forced to hire a manager he didn’t want, and your starting shortstop is a Nick Punto-Mike Aviles platoon and you don’t have a right fielder on Feb. 6. If you thought there were a lot of new Bruins fans last spring, there are going to be that many more this spring. I really just hope NESN can dust off and update their piece about the 2011 Red Sox challenging the 1927 Yankees as the greatest team in the history baseball. It’s not that hard to change a few names and change 2011 to 2012 in the headline, is it?

– Why can’t Patriots fans just accept that they lost? Why does their need to be excuses? Tom Brady and Wes Welker and Bill Belichick didn’t make excuses, but the entire fan base seems to. It’s like with Rich Eisen referring to Aaron Hernandez as Adrian Hernandez throughout the postgame highlights and then saying on Twitter, ”If I said Adrian, it’s the end of a long week. Respectfully, back off.” We know it’s been a long week, Rich. Just say you effed up and that’s that. But Boston fans and Boston sports radio repeating “If Gronkowski was 100 percent…” or “If Welker caught the ball…” or “If the fumbles bounced the other way…” then the Patriots would have won is embarrassing. They didn’t do any of those things. The “if” game is a game for losers.

– The Packers, Patriots, Saints, Eagles, Steelers, Texans and Ravens all have better odds in Las Vegas to win Super Bowl XLVII than the Giants and that’s just the way I want it.

– I said, “I would have the Giants suck and not make the playoffs for the next decade if they beat the Patriots on Sunday,” and I meant it. But after 2007 when they won, and then when they were the best team in the league during the 2008 regular season, you can’t help but think about winning it again. It’s not until you don’t win that you forget how hard it is to win. (See: Yankees, 2001-2008.)

– I still have time to write my book, The Last Night of the Patriot Dynasty based off the idea of Buster Olney’s, The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty. Had the Patriots won on Sunday night, my idea would have been dead, but thankfully, it’s alive and well.

– I think I was more excited to watch the Giants’ defensive line dominate Tom Brady on Sunday night than anything else and they really didn’t until the fourth quarter. I was looking forward to Brady laying on his back and slowly getting up all night, but he went untouched for the most part until Justin Tuck clearly injured his left shoulder and then when Tuck pulled a “Jay Alford” on the final drive of the game. It’s interesting how Brady always references Tuck when speaking about problems with his game against the Giants every time they play. I have a feeling he closes his eyes and goes to sleep and envisions Tuck “bowing” after a sack. Either that or his supermodel wife next to him in bed.

– The Patriots’ dynasty is over (it’s been over since Champ Bailey picked off Tom Brady in Denver six years ago), but Brady and Belichick’s legacy hasn’t been completely tarnished. If their legacy were a car, their back windshield has been smashed in, their fender is hanging off, two of the tires have been slashed and someone keyed expletives on one side of it, but hey, it’s still drivable. And because the Patriots are no longer what they once were, I leave with you the words of Brandon Jacobs and his thoughts on the Patriots’ dynasty.

“We decapitated them. They can’t wear that crown no more.”

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