[Business Day One] And Then That Happened

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In short, the New York Giants won because they were able to bring consistent pressure with their defensive line. They didn’t need to cheat up their linebackers or sacrifice coverage to get through He was really good.the Patriots’ offensive line. They did it with Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora on the outside and Justin Tuck up the middle. With only four or five men needed to collapse the pocket and hurry Tom Brady up, linebackers could cover the short routes and the safeties and corners could cover the deep routes. And they didn’t need to cover that long, since Brady had substantially less time to find open receivers than he’s been used to all season. That’s it. That’s the game. Like the two previous Giants championships, it was done with the defense.

The “defense wins championships” sentiment was obvious as soon as Eli Manning took the final knee. But with a night to sleep on this and a nice long walk this morning, a few others thoughts came together:

-There are three things that slightly tarnish the Giants victory for me. 1) I absolutely hate Jeremy Shockey and am disgusted that he gets a ring. 2) I absolute hate Mercury Morris and am disgusted that he’ll get to run his mouth about this. 3) I love rarity of utter dominance in sports. I don’t think I’ll get to see an undefeated football season in my lifetime – this was the closest I was going to come to it, and it was happening in my town. A team that I legitimately liked and enjoyed following could’ve done it. And it didn’t happen. This rare thing didn’t materialize and it likely never will.

-I don’t think any Giants fan ever expected to say “Yeah, Eli Manning deserved that SuperBowl MVP Award.” And a good million of them said that very thing last night.

-It was a pleasure watching Michael Strahan play last night. He was showing a first step so fast that no one on the Patriots line could block him. He wasn’t even using counter-moves and spins. He was just speed rushing around the outside and destroying the pocket. He played like a 25 year old, even though his driver’s license says 36 on it.

-I called my dad and grandpa and left messages after the game. It was a pleasure to do so.

-Watching the game with a mix of comedians and nerds (and nerdy comedians) makes for a very healthy environment. There was a lot of snark being thrown about, and the conversations revolved around Star Wars references and witty deconstructions of the commercials.

-Post-SuperBowl traffic ranks up there with Christmas traffic and Thanksgiving at the airport traffic as “worst unavoidable traffic situations.”

-National Signing Day for college football recruits is February 6th. Pitchers and catchers report to training camp in ten days. Basketball is happening right now. There are plenty of distractions out there if you want them. I suggest you take them if you need them.

Good game, everybody.