T-Rock's Take on the Giants

Please check Bob Glauber's 'What About Bob?' blog for updates on the Giants and free agency.

BY KATIE STRANG

The Nassau County Independence Party honored Rich Salgado (insurance advisor/friend of several Giants), Michael Strahan and Justin Tuck at The Woodlands in Woodbury Tuesday night. Michael Strahan did not attend the event, but Justin Tuck was on hand to offer his insight on Strahan’s future plans. Joining fellow defensive leaders Antonio Pierce and Osi Umenyiora, Tuck said if he was a betting man Strahan would be back. Seems like those who know him best think Strahan may have an eye on another sparkling ring for next season.

Speaking of rings, some of the Giants (presumably those that meet with Coughlin each week) will sit down Wednesday to provide some input toward what their championship rings will look like. Pierce didn’t have any elaborate requests, but said he wanted it "big, blue and a lotta diamonds."

"I should tell you what finger I’m having it sized for," Pierce joked to reporters Monday night at the Super Bowl XLII Champions DVD premiere in Times Square. Looks like even with a Super Bowl to their credit, the Giants still have a chip on their shoulder ...

Osi Umenyiora, who showed up to Monday night’s blue-carpet event with supermodel girlfriend Selita Ebanks, said he cried when he saw all of his teammates on TV during their celebratory parade through New York City. Umenyiora, who played coy about his own rumored contract squabbles, missed the parade because he was in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.

All of the defensive guys sounded enthusiastic about the prospect of pulling in Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall, but also said they wanted guys to come in that had a team-first, "Giants attitude." Given the difficulties Hall has had with current team, I wonder if he qualifies ...

Tuck said he’d like to see as many of the defensive core from the 2007 season stay, and the more key components they can retain the better fit they are to repeat next year ... he also said he hoped Steve Spagnuolo would be the only defensive coordinator he plays for the rest of his career. At least there is one contract everyone seems to be happy with.

According to the NFLPA website, Jeff Feagles will make $1-million next season and $1.5-million in 2009. That's a healthy salary for a punter.

Then so can I. We'll have a web story and one in the paper on the Shockey subject, and here's the key part for now: Jerry Reese emailed me this response to a question about whether the Giants are shopping Shockey:

"He is our starting tight end."

I'd say that stands pretty well. Shockey is still a valuable player, especially as a blocker -- I think Kevin Gilbride could be pretty excited about the two-TE sets with Shockey and Kevin Boss for next season, especially since Boss has proven to be a very good pass-catcher and an improving blocker. Could be some very good decoy plays run out of those sets.

Shockey's salary is manageable, the whole experience of being apart from the team during this championship run could make him more manageable as a person and he's still a Pro Bowl-caliber player.

Will he show up for offseason activities? I doubt it, if only because he won't be healthy enough to do much participation. And, frankly, the balance of power has shifted. Shockey should be calling Eli now and asking what Eli wants to do, not the other way around.

We'll see what happens there.

Now, back to the congressional drama... I'd really like to hear more about Roger Clemens' butt.

According to a person familiar with the punter's plans, Jeff Feagles will not walk into the sunset with his first Super Bowl ring. He's apparently informed the Giants he'll be back for his 21st season.

Coupled with K Lawrence Tynes about to sign a five-year extension, TC is probably quite pleased that his kicking game and field-goal "operation," as they call it -- that's snapper, holder and kicker -- is intact for another year.

Feagles made $820,000 last season and he will get a decent raise off that deal, according to my source. He signed a two-year deal in 2006, when he seriously considered retirement. He moved his wife and four boys from Arizona to New Jersey in 2006 to cement his commitment.

Feagles was the most emotional Giant in the locker room after the game. He was the same way in Green Bay and in Dallas. He'll be 42 on Mar. 18 and, as much as any punter can be a leader, don't discount the effect he had on the Super Bowl team. He was a part of TC's leadership council and a guy that many of the young special-teamers look up to.

Now, the Giants have 17 days to see about Kawika Mitchell, Gibril Wilson, Reggie Torbor and Derrick Ward.

And noticing this: If Favre and Brady had shown up, three of the NFC QBs and the AFC starter could have chatted about how the Giants kicked their butts in the playoffs.

Bet that's never happened in the NFL before.

He was on with Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan earlier today. Here's the transcript:

Tim Ryan: “Talk about the meaning of being back with the NY Giants. Tell us the feeling in your heart, in your gut that [made you decide that] you’re staying.”

Steve Spagnuolo: “I tell you what. As you’re saying it it’s sending chills down my spine. I love the guys that I work with. I’m talking about coaches and players and I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Coughlin, the Mara family, the Tisch family. It’s a wonderful place to be and what better city to have a celebration for a Super Bowl than New York? I can’t tell you guys how humbling and how special that parade was and that celebration over at Giants Stadium I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

On the performance of the Giants defense in Super Bowl XLII:

Spagnuolo: “Our guys made up their minds they were going to play a certain way. The leaders on our defense like Michael Strahan, Antonio Pierce, Sam Madison, Gibril Wilson, those guys just continued to will their teammates to keep playing the way we talked about all week. Really, a lot of credit goes to the players for taking what we talked about for two weeks and executing [in] the game. I know it sounds simple and a little bit cliché but that’s exactly what happened.”

On the Patriots go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter:

Pat Kirwan: “Share what was going on in your head in the drive that Brady had, the classic Joe Montana/Tom Brady drive in the fourth quarter as it went down the field and maybe what it did to resolve what you were going to do to finish it off.”

Spagnuolo: “Well, at that particular point - of course, there’s a lot of times I lose sight of what the actual score is because you know, Pat, no matter what the defense’s job doesn’t change, especially in a close game. You’ve still got to go out there and stop them. When they began that drive I was treating it like any other drive, trying to mix it up. I knew we didn’t want to give them an easy score so that was in the back of my mind, and yet, didn’t want to back off from what we had been doing which was staying aggressive. So [we] tried to mix it a little bit. If I had to do it all over again I might have pressured on that last play. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 but a couple plays before that I thought Tom Brady had sensed and picked up that we were blitzing, he’s changed the protection and picked up the blitz. I was afraid of the same thing happening. I thought somewhere in there we’d make a play. Certainly, in games before that, when we got in that situation I usually just kind of hung it on the d-line and let them just be the four guys that could get some pressure on them. I think we might have got a little winded, Pat and Tim, because I know guys were trying to go in and out on the d-line and that’s going to happen in an emotional game at the end. But we had enough juice left and we just couldn’t stop that one last play at the end. I tell you what, after that I looked up at the scoreboard and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I hope this is not going to happen like this.’ But thank god our offense came back.”

On David Tyree’s now famous acrobatic catch in the closing minutes of the game:

Spagnuolo: “Talk about using your head. That was unbelievable. I was down the ways a little bit and I remember seeing Eli get in trouble and then saw him get out of trouble. Now, you guys are going to laugh when I say this, when he decides to uncork it, in my mind from a defensive coach’s point of view, I’m saying, ‘Oh, no. That thing’s going to be picked off.’ Because he just kind of threw it but he knew better than I did. He had Dave in his sights and he got it there and they made a great play. I’m not going to lie to you, I was back to my praying on that drive. I was so distraught in a lot of ways that we had given up that touchdown and I just was obviously hoping and praying that our offense could come through and they did and it was wonderful.”

On the Patriots final drive of the game:

Spagnuolo: “We decided right from the get-go, that the very first play that we would blitz. We just wanted to send a message that we weren’t going to just sit back. It was somewhere around 30 seconds, I think and let’s face it now, Tom Brady is certainly capable of getting the team down there in field goal range. It wasn’t like they needed a touchdown, just needed a field goal. So we were not going to sit back. We were not going to take one of our linemen out of the pass rush and play any kind of prevent because it was those four guys that had led us all year long. We did pressure the first down and then after that we just kind of turned it over to our defensive line. Jay [Alford] got that sack, I think, on third down. And then when it was fourth-and-forever we just backed up a little bit and just tried to defend the stake. As long as we didn’t give them a first down we were going to win the Super Bowl. I tell you what, that drive was typical. Our guys just willed themselves, each individual, all 11 positions doing their job and doing it really at a high level.”

On DE Justin Tuck:

Spagnuolo: “He was awesome and Justin’s been doing that kind of thing all year long. When Mathias Kiwanuka got hurt in mid-season – because Mathias was the guy that we kind of moved around in those third-down situations with the four defensive ends we had in there - we knew that Justin was smart enough in the middle of the season to fit that role and so we just set out from that point on, you know, we had Freddy Robbins in there for a little while as the fourth lineman until Jay kind of emerged. We knew we could move Justin around. We knew we could drop him. We knew he could do things to kind of create some protection problems and what he did on that day was no different than what he’d been doing all year long and it’s great to have a versatile big guy like that.”

So comes the word from a person close to the situation just minutes ago. Spagnuolo decided not to pursue an offer from the Redskins, likely for the reasons outlined frequently over the last few days -- too much meddling from above and an untenable salary-cap situation, with the Skins $20-million over the 2008 cap.

More later.

Just sent this in for what we call a "web story," but I'll post it here too.

Steve Spagnuolo left Redskins owner Daniel Snyder's home late on Wednesday night without a contract offer, according to two people familiar with the discussions, and it appears he is leaning towards returning to the Giants for at least another season as defensive coordinator.
Spagnuolo was spending this morning deciding if he wants to be considered for the job, following nearly a full day's worth of talks with Snyder and Redskins vice president of operations Vinny Cerrato. Spagnuolo, who has a new contract on the table from the Giants that will make him one of the highest-paid coordinators in the NFL, flew to Washington, D.C. immediately after the Giants' championship parade and stadium rally on Tuesday evening.
He met with Snyder and Cerrato late into the night, stayed over at a guest house on Snyder's property and resumed talks early Wednesday morning. Those lasted into the night, but Spagnuolo left for his home in New Jersey to discuss the situation with his wife, Maria.
Former Giants coach Jim Fassel is considered the top candidate for the job, along with former 49ers ad Lions coach Steve Mariucci. One of the people familiar with the job search said the Redskins may choose either of the veteran coaches as early as this afternoon.

From HBO's Inside the NFL, which is apparently ending its broadcast run after 31 seasons:

Before Super Bowl XLII, Tom Coughlin went out to greet the game officials. Here's his exchange with referee Mike Carey.

Carey: "How was the frostbite (in Green Bay)? It was pretty cold, wasn't it?

TC: "At least they're talking about my face this year. Last year it was my ass."

You can see for yourself that Eli, after a bit of a quiet start, warmed up to his Letterman appearance, which airs later tonight.

Dave: “In Super Bowl XLII, our first guest led his team to victory against the undefeated New England Patriots in one of the biggest upsets in NFL history.” (roll tape of Eli’s pass to Plaxico Burress for touchdown) “Look at that ball, look at that pretty ball, oh my God, is that a beauty. From your World Champion New York Giants, here’s Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning.”

Who was meeting with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder into the afternoon after spending the night in Snyder's guest house in suburban D.C.

A person close to the situation said the Giants have a new deal on the table for Spagnuolo; ESPN's John Clayton said a little while ago that the deal would make Spags one of the highest-paid coordinators in the league.

The person close to the situation said there were "no promises" with said deal, so Spags is not assured of being next in line to succeed TC. No matter how big a contract the Giants offer -- and this is my analysis -- it's really only a one-year deal, because if the Giants defense is even 3/4 as good as it was this season, Spags will have his pick of head coaching jobs for 2009.

The Giants do not want him to leave yet, especially for the 'Skins... But that may be up to Spagnuolo.

Former Giants coach Jim Fassel is "standing by," I've been told. That's all for now.

A person close to Spags confirmed this to me a little while ago, following up on the NFL Network's Adam Schefter reporting it earlier today.

Spagnuolo spoke with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder on the phone last night and the two had a good talk, so Spags will hop a private jet to Washington later to speak in person with Snyder and Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins' VP of operations, tonight and tomorrow morning.

Several members of the Giants organization have said privately that Spagnuolo would be crazy to go to the Redskins, who already have an offensive coordinator (Jim Zorn) and a defensive coordinator (Greg Blache) in place. But the person close to Spags pointed out that Spags didn't get to hire any of his assistants in New York this year and did a fine job.

Spags will definitely listen to what the Skins have to offer, if they offer him anything. The Giants, quite honestly, should be lucky that there's only one job open now, because Spagnuolo would definitely be a goner if there were a competition.

He said it happened on the third-down catch he made with 8 minutes left in the game on Sunday, a throw where he dove back to catch it just short of the first-down marker.

He stayed in the game and made two more catches on the final drive. He'll have x-rays later.

Also, check out former Newsday legend Paul (Dr. Z) Zimmermann's piece off the Super Bowl, with some quotes from Giants team doc Russ Warren:

"Guys doubling over, cramping, I didn't think some of them would make it," New York's team doctor said after Super Bowl XLII on Sunday. "Plaxico Burress, my God, what pain he played in. He fell in the shower on Tuesday. I thought he'd torn his MCL. You didn't know that, did you? Of course you didn't. No one knew. And he'd injured his knee in the Green Bay game.

"He said, ‘Shoot me up for this one if you have to. I'm not going to miss the Super Bowl.' "

I should also mention that Dave Diehl played almost the entire season with a torn ligament in his thumb.

Michael Strahan had a gift for each of his teammates today: A bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label with the player's name and "Super Bowl XLII Champions" inscribed on the bottle.

Strahan, who got a call from Osi Umenyiora while chatting with reporters (Osi's in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl), said he didn't know what he was going to do next. I think that meant where he'd be, but it also meant what he's doing next season.

He did promise to tell the Giants what his plans are by next month, but that was before this whole championship thing.

Jeff Feagles said he had no announcements forthcoming. "Not today, anyway," he said.

BY JOHNETTE HOWARD

Giants general manager Jerry Reese was as happy as anyone Monday as he re-lived the Giants' Super Bowl victory over New England. But he was already talking about a repeat yesterday and striving for a dynastic run like New England has had.

"That's what you want to do," Reese said. "We have a really young team. We just don't want to go away. New England set the bar really high. The league is not built for one team to stay on the top long."

Even at positions where the Giants have older players such as Michael Strahan and Amani Toomer, they already have capable replacments on the roster in defensive lineman Justin Tuck and possession receiver Steve Smith, who have five catches in Sunday's Super Bowl game.

Sleepy-looking linebacker Antonio Pierce, asked later if he was already thinking of defending the Giants' title next year, disappeared into his hotel room yesterday morning laughing and saying over his shoulder, "Let me enjoy this one first."

BY NEIL BEST

PHOENIX - As players, coaches and assorted other celebrants in the winning locker room basked in the glow of the Giants’ Super Bowl XLII victory, John Johnson quietly got dressed and reflected on his excellent timing.

Johnson had decided the game would be his last after 60 years on the team’s training staff.

Good way to go out? "Absolutely fantastic, as far as I’m concerned," he said.

Why retire? “I’m getting a little old," he said.

How old? “Oh, I don’t know," he said. “About 90. So I think it is time for me to go easy. Walking up steps and hills starts to get you a little bit. But it was a great game, great for me and a lot of other people."

It starts at 11 tomorrow morning, through the "Canyon of Heroes." The Giants will bus over at 10. Bring your shredded paper.

BY TOM ROCK

Staple made the point that one of the biggest crowds in the post-game locker room was swarming around Peyton Manning. Certainly he's one of the faces of the league, so there's some validity to it. But there are other options.

It brought to mind the time last year when I was covering the AFC title game in Indy between the Colts and the Pats. That was the game when everyone finally stopped saying that Peyton couldn't win the big one (though I think they're starting to say it again after this year's early playoff exit). Anyway, I was walking through the tunnel and I came across Eli. I congratulated him on Peyton's win and then asked him if he had any thoughts on it.

"Nah," he said. "This is Peyton's day. Go talk to Peyton."

Yesterday was Eli's day. Go talk to Peyton.

While waiting for Eli to come out and scoop up this nice, white Escalade sitting on the third floor of the Phoenix Convention Center...

-- John and Chris Mara standing in the middle of the winners' locker room, chuckling over having to sit in a suite instead of their preferred spots in the press box. Their mother, Ann, and several children were in there. There was a moderate amount of cursing.

"We tried," Chris said.

-- Only in a scene like that would you have a billionaire (Steve Tisch) and a practice-squad running back (Kay-Jay Harris) having a chat about winning a title. "That's the right ending," Tisch said, referring to his chat 10 days ago about what a Hollywood story his Giants have been.

-- A big crowd around Peyton Manning, almost bigger than the one that greeted Eli once he was done at the podium. Maybe it's time to retire that storyline, seeing as how Eli and his brother have accomplished the same thing now, with Eli in less time.

-- Jeff Feagles, tears in his eyes still, with his four boys around him. "I'm in shock," he said, his voice hoarse. "There's no words to describe this."

-- Lexington, Mass., native Dave DeGuglielmo, the Giants assistant OL coach, shouting as he got off the elevator to join the celebration: "Now that's a wicked pissah!"

Commentary and analysis from Newsday's experts in Glendale:

Bob Glauber: How the Giants shocked the Patriots
Newsday's NFL columnist is putting aside the "wow" and breaks down the Xs and Os to give five reasons why the Giants are Super Bowl XLII champs.

Johnette Howard: Eli outduels Brady
In the end, it was Eli Manning, not Tom Brady, who made the big plays with the game on the line.

Shaun Powell: Can't stop Giants magic
Much of the focus was the Patriots' perfect record coming in to Super Bowl XLII, but it was the Giants using backyard plays and a great gameplan to end that streak, writes Shaun Powell.

Patriots' offensive line can't protect Tom Brady
The Giants' front four, and their reserves, gave a highly respected offensive line fits and was a major factor in the victory.

Giants' pressure defense stops Patriots
Big Blue wasn't scared of sending the house at Tom Brady, and No. 12 on New England did not have a clean jersey by game's end.

Randy Moss only partially effective
The high-profile Patriots' wide receiver did catch a touchdown, but he was relatively quiet in Super Bowl XLII.

Neil Best: Buck, Aikman get Super credit
Newsday's media columnist high remarks for Fox's game coverage, but what about their operation and new pregame show format?

Mike Rose: Following along with XLII
Head still spinning from the excitement? Re-live it with Mike Rose's account of the game's highs, lows and biggest moments.

Complete Giants Super Bowl and playoffs coverage

BY MIKE ROSE

What an upset! What an amazing game! The Giants have beaten the New England Patriots 17-14.

Eli is the MVP. Remarkable turnaround for the Giants quarterback. But he deserves it.

Doesn't that make it 2-for-2 for Joe Namath? Namath said earlier that the Giants would win it. So which is a bigger upset? Jets over Colts or Giants over Patriots?

And what about the Patriots? This season becomes meaningless. Who cares about 18-0 now? They say nobody ever remembers who finishes second. But I have a feeling many, many people will remember this.

They're saying on television that this one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history. I think it's much bigger than that. I put it right up there with Villanova beating Georgetown for the NCAA men's basketball championship. Or how about the U.S. beating Russia in hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics. It's that big.

You'll see this game as a documentary on HBO.

I'll rank the Super Bowl upsets (just for fun).

1)Super Bowl III: Jets over Colts. Remember, the AFL was seen as inferior to the NFL. And the Colts were loaded. But Namath delivered his guarantee.

2)Super Bowl XLII: Giants over Patriots. Just remarkable how the Giants were able to put pressure on Brady. And Eli played big. This was an 18-0 team that people were saying was the best ever.

3)Super Bowl XXXII: Broncos over Packers. Green Bay was expected to repeat. Denver wasn't even the favorite in the AFC that season.

4)Super Bowl XXXVI: Patriots over Rams: The Patriots were big underdogs. The Rams had "the Greatest Show on Turf."

5)Super Bowl XXV: Giants over Bills: Bills had a high-powered offense that season. Giants were missing Phil Simms. Didn't matter.

Also, the parade is scheduled for Tuesday. It will indeed be a Super Tuesday.

KEY STATS/STARS

-- First, Eli was 19 for 34 for 255 yards and two touchdowns. But, most importantly, he shook off his first interception of the postseason and didn't let it bother him.

-- The Giants outgained the Patriots 338-274 in total yards.

-- Tom Brady was sacked five times and pressured countless times.

-- Steve Smith, Kevin Boss and David Tyree all came up with big plays. Smith caught 5 for 50, and Boss had the one catch for 45 yards, but how huge was that? Tyree caught 3 for 45 and the touchdown.

-- Wes Welker caught 11 for 103.

-- James Butler and Antonio Pierce each had 11 tackles. Butler had 10 solo tackles. For the Patriots, Rodney Harrison had 12 tackles (11 solo), but he got beat by Boss on the 45-yard catch.

FOURTH QUARTER

The lowest scoring Super Bowl? Ironically, the Dolphins' 14-7 win over the Redskins in Super Bowl VII. That win gave the Dolphins a 17-0 season.

Huge pass play from Eli Manning to Kevin Boss for 45 yards. Boss beat Rodney Harrison. We've really got something here. Wonder what Shockey's thinking.

Another nice pass from Manning, this time to Steve Smith, who is playing well. Giants are inside the Pats' 15. And Bradshaw for seven yards. Manning to David Tyree. Touchdown!

Wow! The Giants are up 10-7 with about 11 minutes to go. Time for the defense to do it.

You must credit the Giants for putting the pressure on Brady. This is the time the Patriots are usually magical. But Osi, Strahan and Co. keep coming.

Giants punted. Patriots get the ball back with 7:54 to go for the championship. More Brady magic coming? He's got 28 career game-winning drives.

Laurence Maroney could be a key player in the fourth quarter. He runs hard and could throw off the Giants' defense while they're worrying about Brady.

Welker is starting to heat up. He's got 11 catches for 103 yards. Maroney, Welker and Faulk. Any one of them can score.

Moss has resurfaced. Brady to Moss for a touchdown, six-yard reception. Corey Webster fell down. There's 2:42 to go. Patriots lead 14-10. It's all on Eli now.

Big play for the Giants. There's a measurement coming. Fourth down. They have to go for it with 1:40 to go. Jacobs got it. There's 1:28 to go.

How did Eli avoid the sack? Incredible. Tyree out-jumps Rodney Harrison for a great catch. The Giants are still alive.

Smith has had a really nice game. Manning is going to Smith for big catches and he's delivering.

Manning has just hit Plaxico Burress for a 13-yard touchdown. Hobbs got beat by Burress. The Giants are up 17-14 with 35 seconds to go. Simply amazing!

Well, Manning delivered. What about Brady? This could be his most amazing comeback.

Penn State graduate Jay Alford just got a huge sack of Brady. And Webster bats away a ball on a bomb throw toward Moss. The young guys stepping up. Ten seconds to go.

Brady's final pass was batted away. A second remains. The Giants will be world champions.

FINAL: Giants 17, Patriots 14

THIRD QUARTER

Brady starts the second half as he has during the 18-0 run - avoid pressure and hit Wes Welker on a quick pass.

Can't be good for the Giants that Brady is starting to hook up with Welker. But the Giants again come up big, stopping the Pats two yards short of a first down.

A big penalty on the Giants, thanks to a challenge by the Patriots. Twelve men on the field for the Pats' punt. Chase Blackburn is the guilt player. Can't do that. Some big mistakes by the Giants, including the pass interference on Pierce.

Big play - again - by Kevin Faulk. He's always Brady's safety valve. Third and 13, Faulk catches a pass from Brady and fights for 14 yards.

Why did the Pats' decide to go for it? Belichick clearly has no confidence in Gostkowski. Brady's pass to the end zone was incomplete. The Giants hold - again. No Gostkowski, no glory, I guess.

Not good for the Pats that Faulk is headed to the locker room. He's always big in the fourth quarter.

The Giants can't do anything with their possession.

End of the third quarter. Patriots still lead 7-3. Patriots are set to punt. Giants' D is playing great. Again, offense needs to do something. The game is right there for them.

HALFTIME

Good choice of music by Tom Petty at halftime ('I Won't Back Down'). That should be the Giants' theme for the second half.

The Patriots lead the Giants 7-3 at halftime. But the one statistic that is amazing is time of possession: Giants have had the ball for over 19 minutes. Incredible.

The defense is keeping the Giants in the game. Now the offense must step up.

FIRST-HALF BREAKDOWN

Hero: I've got to go with the Giants' D. The Patriots haven't done anything. Since the Patriots' touchdown they had two three and outs for -6 yards before they found some success with under two minutes to go in the half. They got really nice pressure on Brady. The Giants are attacking. They're not sitting back. Credit Spagnuolo. Credit Strahan, Osi and Tuck. Brady was sacked three times, lost a fumble and was hit 10 times. Brady is a human 8 for 14 for 82 yards.

Memorable play: I still like that Bradshaw run where he carried Warren. Big play on third and inches.

SECOND QUARTER

Tom Brady looks like his ankle is bothering him and the Giants are getting good pressure. That would appear to be a favorable situation for the Giants. But two things killed them on the Pats' opening drive: the opening kickoff by Laurence Maroney that gave the Patriots the ball on their own 44-yard line, and the pass interference call on Antonio Pierce while covering Benjamin Watson. That set the Patriots up on the 1. Maroney finished what he started with a 1-yard touchdown run.. Patriots lead 7-3 with 14:57 remaining.

By the way, the two possessions in the first quarter sets a Super Bowl record. With the two records already in the books, I think we're in for a memorable finish.

The Giants are doing the right thing. Pound the Pats with Jacobs now so they're too tired to chase Bradshaw later.

Eli looks awfully confident. He stayed in against some pressure and hit Amani Toomer, who did a great job of keeping both feet in, for 38 yards. The Giants' O-line is doing a nice job giving Eli time to pass. Jacobs and Bradshaw are picking up the blitzes.

BUT just when things were going smoothly, Smith can't haul in the pass from Manning and Ellis Hobbs. Can't blame Eli for that one. Smith had his hands on it. Football coaches always say that if you get your hands on the ball you must catch it.

The question is: will Eli's first interception of the postseason transform him into the old Eli? Stay tuned.

The Giants couldn't capitalize on Stephen Gostkowski's blunder of sending the kickoff out of bounds, giving the NYG the ball at their 40.

The interception didn't hurt (well, I'm sure it hurt Smith). The Giants' D stepped up and stopped the Pats, forcing a three-and-out.

I think the Giants need to go back to the pass. Get Eli's confidence in check. You definitely don't want to have him dwell on the pick. Onward and upward.

Steve Spagnuolo has devised a nice game plan. Pressure Brady and keep the receivers in front of the secondary.

Well, the Giants did indeed go back to the pass and Eli got sacked. The confidence meter is dipping. Now Eli fumbles the handoff. Bradshaw came up with it. He's tough, that No. 44.

Remember, it's still only 7-3. But it feels worse, doesn't it?

Eli looks rattled. It's amazing how good he looked on the opening drive. But that's the genius of Bill Belichick. He is able to adjust quickly. Waiting to make adjustments at halftime is not part of Belichick's coaching style. Adjust on the fly - and adjust correctly.

Pressure, pressure and more pressure. Strahan and Mitchell just sacked Brady to make it third and 17. Now Tuck got Brady. Wow! Two straight three-and-outs for the Pats. They had 29 the entire regular season. The Giants' front is bringing it. And that gippy ankle is not helping Brady.

By the way, where is Randy Moss???

I'll tell you, Bradshaw is dangerous. He just broke a 13-yard run. I think he's going to break one for a touchdown before it's over. Just a hunch.

What a wild play. Adalius Thomas sacks Eli, the ball comes loose, Bradshaw bats it forward and Steve Smith recovers for a first down. BUT hold on!! Ilegal bat by Bradshaw. But it's still third down. Bradshaw was absolutely trying to bat the ball out of bounds, but it ended up going forward for about eight yards. Better than Eli's fumble getting recovered by Thomas.

This is looking a lot like the Giants-Bills Super Bowl. With 1:54 remaining in the first half, the Giants have had the ball for 19 minutes. Nineteen minutes!! Yet there's only three points to show for it. The NYG need to score touchdowns. Field goals won't beat the Pats. The Giants have spent a lot of time in Patriots' territory.

The Pats again cam up with nothing. More pressure from the Giants resulted in a sack and strip by Tuck and fumble recovery by Strahan.

BY TOM ROCK

No, not anything to do with spying or other dirty little NFL secrets and scandals. The cover-up is over the field here at U of P Stadium where the roof is closed to protect us from the showers. A news flash just came across the TV screens that there is a winter weather advisory in the area. Presumably that is up in the mountains.

Personal note: I've now been to two Super Bowls, and it's rained at both of them. None of the first 40 Super Bowls were played in the rain. This one won't either, but it would have been nice to open the skylight here. I wonder if the smoke from the sure-to-be-launched pregame pyrotechnics will get trapped in the building.

Actual football news: Tom Brady is on the field. He doesn't appear to have any external tape or support around his right ankle and he's not walking with a limp. Jeremy Shockey is also in the house. TV cameras caught him walking out the tunnel on a pair of crutches. But I'll let the Giants guys expound on that.

Madison will come in as the third corner, moving Ross inside... So it'll be Webster on Moss, it seems.

Inactives:

Jared Lorenzen (3rd QB)
Danny Ware
Geoffrey Pope
Adam Koets
Manny Wright
Sinorice Moss
Jerome Collins
Russell Davis

ESPN just reported that Antonio Pierce said the Giants practices were so intense this week that there were a few fights. A person who attended all three practices said he did not see any fights first-hand, but several players said there were some scuffles this week.

He wouldn't name names, but I can guess a certain left guard who wears No. 69 was involved in at least one of them.

So it appears the Giants are pumped to be here, in case you didn't already know that.

TC addressed the team as expected. Perhaps not expected was TC asking Lt. Col. Greg Gadson to speak to the players on Saturday night. Gadson spoke to the team prior to their 24-17 win over the Redskins at FedEx Field back on Sept. 23, when he was first introduced to the Giants.

Now, after being on the sideline for the playoff wins over the Bucs and Packers, Gadson got a chance to talk to the team on Saturday night. "Inspirational," said one member of the Giants organization who was there.

Here's the rundown of the Saturday night meeting:

The video department put together a 2 1/2-minute highlight reel of the three Giants playoff wins, accompanied by Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)." That was also the song that played over the Seinfeld highlight episode.

Lt. Col. Gadson spoke for five minutes about pride, poise, team and belief in one another.

Then, TC spoke. He shared his memories of Super Boxl XXV, when he won a ring as the Giants' WRs coach. He told his players that he wanted them to feel what he felt 17 years ago and how he shared that with family and friends, and that they deserved to experience that and earned the right to experience that.

BY TOM ROCK

So it's a little less than three hours until the game and Pats DE Richard Seymour is on the field -- in a three-piece suit. Oh, there are some people in uniform. They appear to be Seymour's kids. They're running around on the indoor grass here at University of Phoenix Stadium wearing their No. 93 jerseys. There's even a kid out there wearing a No. 37 -- not sure if it's Rodney Harrison's kid or is there's some dissention in the Seymour family over who is the favorite Patriot.

Anyway, Seymour looks sharp and relaxed, dressed for success. He now appears to be orchestrating a race among the Pats.

A few cameras just noticed the same thing and are not swarming around the action. And here comes Bruschi for his usual pre-game Super Bowl romp with his kids. He's wearing sweats and a T-shirt, though. Not quite as dapper as Seymour. I'm sure you'll see it soon on a pregame show near you.

By the way, while the two Pats defenders were enjoying some family time, Tynes and Feagles were on the field warming up and practicing.

Some of you excellent commenters have been wondering what exactly my picks have looked like this season. Here's a rundown of what I attempted to predict and what happened, starting with Week 4 against the Eagles, when I actually started the blog game preview/predictions:

Sept. 30 vs. Eagles

Me: Giants, 23-21

Score: Giants, 16-3

Didn't give the D enough credit.

Oct. 7 vs. Jets

Me: Giants, 27-10

Score: Giants, 35-24

Close enough.

Oct. 15 at Falcons

Me: Giants, 20-7

Score: Giants, 31-10

Gave the Falcons' D too much credit.

Oct. 21 vs. 49ers

Me: 49ers, 17-14

Score: Giants, 33-15

I defer to a commenter who chided me with these two words: Trent Dilfer. Amen to that.

Nov. 11 vs. Cowboys

Me: Giants, 28-20

Score: Cowboys, 31-20

Remember the old days, when these Giants were just unreliable in the big games?

Nov. 18 at Lions

Me: Giants, 24-20

Score: Giants, 16-10

Too much credit to both offenses. And Jon Kitna. Still think the better team lost that day, Jon?

Nov. 25 vs. Vikings

Me: Vikings, 17-13

Score: Vikings, 41-17

Never could have foreseen the actual outcome.

Dec. 2 at Bears

Me: Giants, 20-10

Score: Giants, 21-16

I was on a hot streak around this time.

Dec. 9 at Eagles

Me: Giants, 24-21

Score: Giants, 16-13

Again, hot streak. With no scientific evidence to prove why.

Dec. 16 vs. Redskins

Me: Giants, 20-6

Score: Redskins, 22-10

End of the hot streak. For all of us.

Dec. 23 at Bills

Me: Giants, 16-10

Score: Giants, 38-21

I think my prediction was based on the actual number of points scored by each offense. Or something.

Dec. 29 vs. Patriots

Me: Pats, 28-13

Score: Pats, 38-35

Wrong!

Jan. 6 at Bucs

Me: Giants, 27-10

Score: Giants, 24-14

Of all the picks I made this season, I was surest of this one. Swear.

Jan. 13 at Cowboys

Me: 'Boys, 34-24

Score: Giants, 21-17

This is when the "unbeliever" chants started around here.

Jan. 20 at Packers

Me: Packers, 28-17

Score: Giants, 23-20 (OT)

More chanting.

Today, Super Bowl XLII vs. Patriots

Me: Pats, 31-21

Score: ??

So, now you have all the information you need... And for those superstitious types, you can see that I've picked the Giants to lose by 10 or 11 points in each of the last three games. They won two. The third gets decided today.

Enjoy. Inactives and other assorted hijinks in a bit.