Tim Peterson
Super Bowl XLVI
The catch made by Mario Mannigham on the Giants game wining drive wasn’t as good as David Tyree’s four years ago. But it was a great play and a perfect throw by Eli Manning.
No, Eli Manning hasn’t vaulted ahead of brother Peyton now that he has won two Super Bowls to Peyton’s one. Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl. Was he as good as Eli Manning? Or Peyton Manning? Is Eli better than Aaron Rodgers who has only won one? Sorry it just doesn’t add up.
If Wes Welker makes the catch for the Patriots in the fourth quarter all this Manning talk is a moot point. The Patriots win and Tom Brady has four under his belt.
Brady’s throw was slightly off line. But Welker, a solid NFL receiver, definitely should have made the play.
Aaron Hernandez also had one right in his hands and dropped it on the Patriots’ final possession. That one hurt too if you’re a Patriot fan.
Everybody ripped Madonna for her performance on the halftime show. I didn’t think it was that bad. Maybe it’s just that there have been so many bad halftime shows that this was one seemed good by comparison. I know I’ve seen a lot worse.
Ironically Tyree’s brilliant catch in Super Bowl XLII was his last in an NFL game. He got hurt and never caught another.
Rob Gronkowski’s injury did prove to be a big factor in the game. He was held to just two receptions for 26 yards.
Ahmad Bradshaw remembered at the last second that he was supposed to go down before crossing the goal line on the game winning touchdown. Chris Collinsworth called it a big mistake. But seriously how do you tell a guy that he screwed up by scoring a touchdown?
Mannning’s MVP performance wasn’t off the charts but it was extremely efficient. He was 30 of 40 for 296 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions.
Brady was nearly as good with 276 yards with one pick but he was noticeably missing a deep down the field threat. Deon Branch caught three balls for 45 yards and Chad Ochocinco, yeah he’s still playing, had one catch for 21 yards.
The running game was MIA for both teams. Neither team had a 100 yard rusher and the Pats had just 83 total yards for the game.
Funny moment at the end of the game: Giant Coach Tom Coughlin hugging Flavor Flav.
I don’t think Coughlin even knew who he was.
The Giants became the first seven loss team to win a Super Bowl and they also became the first team to win a Super Bowl in four different decades.
The intentional grounding penalty on Brady on New England’s first play from scrimmage that gave the Giants a safety was a bad call. He was clearly throwing the ball to somebody down the middle of the field. It’s not a call that should have been made there.
Coughlin, 65, became the oldest coach to win a Super Bowl.
It doesn’t seem like it considering how successful they have been, but the Patriots haven’t won a Super Bowl in seven years. And they’ve lost three straight to the Giants.
We did get to see the Salsa Dance once when Victor Cruz scored a touchdown. He danced almost as well as Madonna.
Mannigham was great but Hakeem Nicks (10 catches, 109 yards) was better.
An odd way to get to 21 for the Giants – a safety, two field goals, two touchdowns, an extra point and a missed two point conversion.
When was the last time you saw two penalites, one for each team, for too many men on the field in the same game?
As for the commercials? I saw one Doritos commercial about a dog that was decent but other than that I don’t know. We were watching it on DVR and the Super Bowl host fast forwarded through all of them…cool with me.
Tim can be reached at tim@midvalleysports.com.
Leave a Reply