Perfection! Almost....

18-1.

I don't think anybody in the world that wasn't a Giants fan would have bet on a Giants win over the previously undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII with any sort of confidence...but lo and behold: The New York Giants are your World Champions.

Although I wouldn't quite call it the greatest upset in Super Bowl History its got to be pretty damn close. How did the Giants, 12 point underdogs in Vegas and even bigger underdogs in the eyes of the general public, beat the "dynasty" that was Bill Belichick's New England Patriots??

Not one team had been able to get consistent pressure on Tom Brady all season. Coaches were too afraid to bring blitz packages because of the skill of New England's WR's and Tom Brady, they were afraid to get beat deep.
But the Giants front 4 on defense was good enough that Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo didn't need to bring blitz packages. Michael Strahan, Jay Alford, Osi Umenyiora, and Justin Tuck in particular, harassed Brady and his weak ankle all night so that the Patriots could never really settle into their rhythm.

But late in the 4th quarter Tom Brady looked like he had done it again...escaped with a win...engineering a late 4th quarter drive capped with ANOTHER TD pass to Randy Moss. The Giants had 2:52 left on the clock to put the ball in the end zone.

Emmit Smith said something in the Sportscenter post game coverage that I totally agreed with. The Giants defense had set the tempo and the intensity of the game at such a high level...that the offense HAD to match it. And Eli Manning came out and did just that. If anyone hasn't seen the 3rd and 5, 32 yard completion to David Tyree yet (well first of all I don't know what you were doing not watching the best Super Bowl since the Rams-Titans in 2001) here it is. Probably one of the top 5 plays in Super Bowl history.



One more pass to Plaxico Burress and the rest was history.

But my question is how will these 18-1 Patriots be remembered?? I can't help but think that this loss essentially diminishes everything they accomplished in the regular season. The 18 wins. The undefeated regular season. All gone. Because they didn't win the big one. What could have been the greatest season in the history of the NFL is now just another season. When people talk about Super Bowl XLII and the 2007-08 season they won't talk about Tom Brady and all the records he broke. They'll talk about Eli Manning and that game winning drive. They won't talk about Randy Moss and the dominating force that he was week in and week out in the regular season. They'll talk about David Tyree (Who??), yes David Tyree and that catch. They won't talk about Bill Belichick and how he led his players through the cloud of SpyGate to a Super Bowl title...They'll talk about Tom Coughlin.

The Patriots have become an afterthought. I only hope that Spygate is over and we don't hear anymore information that would serve to diminish the legacy of what truly is one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history. 3 Super Bowls in 4 years is impressive. But after last nights game, the dynasty is done. The allure is gone.

'Perfection' will not be synonymous with the 2007 New England Patriots.

But no one will ever forget...

18-1.