Superbowl Recap: What Does 18-1 Really Mean?

18-1. What does it mean? Sure, I was rooting for the Giants Sunday and sure I rooted against the Patriots almost any chance I got the entire season. However, what do we owe to 18-1? Is the season marked by the Superbowl loss?

Unfortunately for the Patriots, they will forever be remembered as the team to go undefeated and lose in the Superbowl. It took 35 years to have another undefeated team with a perfect record going into the superbowl and it might be another 35+ before we see it happen again. It is indeed very possible that they go down as the only NFL team to EVER go 18-0 and lose in the superbowl in the history of the world.

At a wide look, a Super Bowl loss looks bad for this Patriot dynasty. The '70s Steelers 4 for 4 in their Super Bowl appearances, as were the '80s 49ers. Thus I must say that Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana are always going to have something over Tom Brady. But during those Steeler and 49er dynasties, there were years when they lost in the playoffs before reaching the Super Bowl. We shouldn't discredit the Patriot dynasty because that in one of their non-championship years, they lost in the Super Bowl instead of earlier in the playoffs. If the Patriots go on to win another championship this decade, they're legacy will still match the '70s Steelers and '80s 49ers and most likely surpas. In the grand scheme of things, when looking at this dynasty 10+ years from now this superbowl loss could be almost an asset to the team's list of accomplishments. How good of a chance do they have of doing this? I think very good. Brady is most likely going to be a Patriot for life, they have the 7th pick in the draft and if they can get Moss to come back and recharge their LB corps with some youth, they could be as good if not maybe better than ever!

To be honest if I had to say who I thought has a better chance of winning the Superbowl next season, the Giants or the Patriots, I would probably say the Patriots. For now, I'm going to ignore all Spygate and Spygate 2 allegations and info just because we aren't really sure what it entails right now. That aside, I think that there's really no telling if this loss marking the infamous "perfect" season will mark the Patriots "dynasty". Only time will tell.

Aside from that I was really impressed with the play of Eli Manning and the Giants Defensive line. Truly I would have liked to give the MVP award to the Giants D-Line. They really won the game. The New York defensive line dominated the game. Individual players like Justin Tuck, Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, and Jay Alford kept making outstanding individual plays. Tom Brady had a record setting season mostly because the New England offensive line consistently gave him time to throw and when given a chance to scan the field, Tom Brady will pick apart any defense. But the Giant pass rush consistently got to Brady, sacking him, knocking him down, throwing him off rhythm. We haven't been used to seeing Brady knocked around, but that's what the Giants did. The Giants lines, both offensive and defensive (but mostly defensive), outplayed both of the Patriots' lines.

Since in the MVP award has to go to an individual player, I think, for the game as a whole, Eli Manning is a worthy choice. In the fourth quarter, the Giants had three real possessions. Manning twice threw go-ahead touchdown passes. He completed four of five passes on 3rd down, three of them converting to first down (on a 3rd and ten, he completed a nine yard pass that allowed a short 4th down run). In the fourth quarter, he made big play after big play. He's a deserving MVP.

I tip my hat to the Giants. I'm very happy for guys like Tom Coughlin and Michael Strahan. Although, hopefully skipping training camp doesn't become a popular trend! Amidst all the screaming and cheering towards the end of the game I couldn't help but think what Tiki Barber must have been thinking!

Third Time Is A Charm For Tynes and The New York Giants

A 47 yard field goal stood in the way of the New York Giants, and a date with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 42. It was that simple. However there was a problem, Lawrence Tynes had missed the previous two fields goals which would of given New York the lead. That and both field goals were closer than the one Tynes was about to attempt. The pressure was on. If Tynes misses this field goal he is the most hated person in the big apple, but if he makes it he redeems himself and is a self proclaimed hero. The snap good, the hold good, the kick straight down the middle. Lambeau field left stunned as the Giants, who basically kept Green Bay in the game down the stretch, went in and upset Brett Farve and the Packers. Now, just like a month ago, the 30 other football teams along with football fans outside of the Boston Massachusetts area will be rooting for the New York Giants as they are the final team in the way of the Patriots and the glory of being undefeated. Why is everyone behind the Giants you ask? Because No one wants to see Bill Belichick to hoist another Lombardi Trophy , no one wants to see Tom Brady win another Super Bowl MVP, and no one wants to see the Patriots go undefeated.

Giant's Playing Lights Out Since Round 1 With The Patriots.
Tom Coughlin deserves a contract extension for making the decision to play his starters in a "meaningless" game to try and stop the Patriots from making history. The Giants were already in the playoffs, and could of rested their starters in order for them to be fresh for the wildcard round of the playoffs. Instead, he looked at the game as a "must win", and pulled out all the trick in order to trip up the Patriots. It didn't look like Eli Manning was playing the Patriots night in late December. It looked like another Peyton Manning/Tom Brady classic battle. In his four years in the league, I have never seen Eli Manning play as good as he did that night. The crazy thing is he has managed to carry that momentum throughout the playoffs, being the only quarterback in the playoffs to not throw an interception. Manning has been rewarded with another shot at the all-mighty Patriots, but this time the game has much more meaning to it. If the Giants lose, the Patriots will be the first team in NFL history to go 19-0 in a season and will have won their fourth Super Bowl title of this decade. But if the Giants win, a sports nation will rejoice. Patriots haters everywhere will bow in front of their television sets, and thank the Giants for beating those damn Patriots.

Eli Proved He Is A Good Quarterback
Ok so if anyone read my last weeks column that said Eli Manning was mediocre, I would like to take that statement back. At the end of my column I said if he was able to beat the Green Bay Packers he would leave me speechless, and as Tynes 47 yard field goal went right down the middle of the goal posts thats what I was. I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe that Green Bay was going home. I didn't want to believe that just a year after his older brother Peyton made it to the Super Bowl, that little brother Eli would be playing for his first ring. I didn't want to write this and say hey Eli Manning is actually a good quarterback. Because you have to have a good quarterback in order to win on the road consistently in the NFL, especially in the playoffs. Forget that he played god awful in front of the home town Giants fans, going 3-5 in their 8 home games (including 4 straight). If you saw the Giants road to Super Bowl 42 then you would know that it was anything but a cake walk. The Giants played in three of the toughest stadiums to get there, and three good quarterbacks who were wanting their own playoff success story. They faced a Hall of Fame quarterback destined to end his storybook career with a win in the Super Bowl. They faced a gun slinging Cowboy, who up until the media swarmed him with questions about playing with little blond sticks watching, was one of the best quarterbacks in the league. They faced a traveled veteran who was looking for his chance at playoff stardom. Now the Giants face a man picked in the 6th round of the NFL draft, and might be the most successful playoff quarterback in NFL history. Can the Giants stop Tom Brady and the mighty Patriots? As the Giants have shown us throughout the playoffs, anything is possible.

Nate Gonner is a guest writer for The Sports Flow. He writes his columns every Monday and Thursday for Gonners View. Check his site out here

Eli Manning Playing Consistent At The Right Time

So anyone who knows me at all knows how hard of a column this is to write for me. I have to swallow my pride and actually give credit to a quarterback who I flat out despise. However, something clicked in the New York Giants locker room after that narrow 38-35 loss to the New England Patriots to end the regular season. Maybe Manning found some type of confidence in himself that he could finally play with those elite teams in the NFL. Maybe they feel they aren't as intimidated to the New York media anymore. Maybe his older brother Peyton said something.

Whatever happened though it turned my perception of Manning as a football player around (I still don't like him as a person) from a horrible quarterback to eh he's not bad. It started with the second quarter of the Giants 24-14 win at Tampa Bay two Saturdays ago. The Bucs had dominated the first quarter and led 7-0. Then the Giants started to get into a groove, scoring 24 straight points. Then last week, Manning led the Giants passed the #1 seeded Cowboys, a team that beat the Giants twice in the regular season. In the two playoff games, Eli has thrown 4 touch down passes and no interceptions.

Still Can't Get Over Draft Day Four Years Ago.
Ok so for the people who don't know me, here is the reason why I dislike Eli Manning as much as I do. Four years ago when Manning was coming into the league, the San Diego Chargers had the #1 pick in the draft. Considering Manning was the number one NFL prospect that year, the Chargers were planning on using their pick on him. When he learned this he went and had a press conference begging the Chargers not to pick him, and told San Diego if they did pick him that he would not sign with them. I really couldn't believe it. Now I am not a Chargers fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I thought what he did to the Chargers was rather snobbish. That and I absolutely hate players who think they are "too good" for a team. I mean really who do you think you are Eli, your not Joe Montana or Dan Marino. You are the younger brother of Peyton Manning, that doesn't give you the right to choose where you get to play at. I mean you should be privileged to even be getting a chance to play in the National Football League.

Now some say Eli's dad, Archie Manning, had something to do with Eli's decision. While that might be true, this is what I have to say to Eli. Are you going to let your daddy make every decision for you? Freaking grow a pair, and just accept that you were going to be riding the bench for the Chargers for a couple of years. Basically for all of you who don't know what happens the Chargers do pick Manning, but eventually trade him to the Giants for Phillip Rivers and 3 other draft picks, which the Chargers used to draft Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding (the other they traded away for left tackle Roman Oben). So far it looks like the Chargers ended up with the better part of that deal. Until this season, heck until three weeks ago Manning has never lived up to his potential. Both in their fourth season in the league, Rivers and Manning are both one game away from the Super Bowl. The kicker is that Rivers did it in his second year as a starting quarterback, Manning did it in his fourth.

Eli's Chances Of Getting To Super Bowl 42.
The Giants are 9-1 in ten road games this season, while the Packers are 9-1 at home. Something has got to give. If the Giants have a chance to win they will have to limit the turnovers like they have been, and make sure that Brett Farve doesn't get comfortable in the pocket. Ultimately the game is being played in Brett Farve's ice kingdom aka Lambeau Field, and with the tempature expected to be in the teens I think the Packers will pull it out. I do want to bring up that Green Bay won the regular season meeting at the Meadowlands 35-13, and that was without Ryan Grant being the primary running back. If Grant played like he did after the first five minutes of last weeks game, it is going to be hard for the Giants to compete. Bottom line Eli is going to have to pull some of his big brothers heroics if he is going to win on Sunday. Who knows maybe he can. If he does he will lead the Giants to their first Super Bowl appearance since 2001, and that will keep his critics (including me) speechless.

Nate Gonner is a guest writer for The Sports Flow. He writes his columns every Monday and Thursday for Gonners View. Check his site out here