Well here it is, the two weeks of hype leading up to Super Bowl 42 on February 3 in Arizona between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. The Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers in an overtime game in the -4 degree weather in which Brett
Favre can be held accountable for the loss.
Favre threw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted by Webster and gave the Giants favorable field possession to win the game. I had almost certainly been convinced the Packers were the team of destiny here and were going to win the game. With all the magic Brett
Favre had all season long and with the two missed field goals by Tynes (not to mention GB winning the overtime coin toss) it seemed to be Green Bay's Year. Eli Manning definitely stepped up and has been playing some good football lately to bring the Giants back to life.
Plaxico Burress single-handily ripped apart Al Harris all game and Ahmad Bradshaw came out of nowhere to play a big role for the G-men. Winning 10 road games in a row, it seems as though the Giants have earned their position in Super Bowl and are not exactly unfamiliar with the Patriots. I should also point out in a previous post I did not give the Giants a chance to win the NFC, I'm just saying...
As for the opponent for the Giants, it is some team that has not lost a game yet but recently has come back down to Earth with the Eagles, Ravens, Giants, Jags, and Chargers all giving them pretty good games, the Patriots. MVP Tom Brady has especially looked human-like in the game against the Chargers where he threw for 3 interceptions (side note:
Cromartie is good). Laurence
Maroney had one hell of a game rushing for over 120 yards and helping the Pats salvage a
shakey passing game. Where has Randy Moss been lately? Wes
Welker is looking like the number one option on most plays. I do give props to Philip Rivers for having surgery prior to the game and still giving all he had for San Diego in a gutsy performance. (A second side note: I hope the Dolphins noticed that Wes
Welker and Chris Chambers had some pretty decent performances in this game). The whole LT thing really baffled me for the fact that he was able to start the game and was not on the injured list but was pulled after a series. It was reported that it was
Norv Turner's decision and if this is indeed true, this just exemplifies another reason why he should not be a head coach.
Personally, Two week is WAY to much time between the conference championships and the Super Bowl. Now I know it all has to do with money, commercialization, and the media, but seriously if your team is not in the Super Bowl by Wednesday of the first week you can't even turn on Sportscenter for more than 3 minutes without hearing some back lifestory of the 3rd string Offensive lineman who walked on at some small college.
It did not even take a day before the first ridiculous storyline came out for this year's Super Bowl. I'm sure you all know that I am referring to the continuing coverage of Tom Brady and "BOOTGATE". (Incase you are living under a rock and haven't heard about this then peep this,
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid285859616/bclid294430730/bctid1386375873). It's really a shame when ESPN and all the media is stooping to this level and to treat Tom Brady like he is Britney Spears being carried away on a stretcher. Maybe I should just sit back and get a good laugh at all the ridiculous stories that come out during this two week period? By the way did you that Jerome Bettis is from Detroit?!
Also in response to the comment from the post on the NFC Conference Championship preview --
I did enjoy the matchup of Plax vs. AL-HA throughout the game with Burress doing some serious work. As a former Eagle, and not a very good one, I never understood the hype that Harris received for being so good because he got torched all game and it did end up being one of the key matchups of the game, although an uneven one in the end. Eli definitely had some really good performances these playoffs and once again it's a showdown between Brady and Manning (Eli). I am not to sure if the doubters will be silenced just yet for two reasons. (1) He plays in New York, just ask Randy Johnson, Jason Giambi, A-Rod, Tiki, Stephon Marbury, etc. etc. about the mental fatigue the city puts on you. No matter what he does it will most likely not be enough. (2) He is the younger brother of Peyton who has already won a super bowl now and been successful for years. Both Mannings will always be compared with each other especially in how they fare against Brady. If Eli pulls off the upset he will definitely have earned some of the doubters to be silenced, but who knows with New York. I guess you could say it's better that Eli is always under the microscope in NY because he could be Chad Pennington on the lowly Jets where no one really gives two hoots about them anymore. Appreciate the feedback (Don't forget to peep Certain Songs: a music blog <-- )
...til next time
-E
-don't forget to vote in the new poll
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