Manning played nearly mistake-free football(even his one INT was more of a fumble by Steve Smith than an INT. The pass was perfect) and looked calm and confident in the pocket and on the sideline. Meanwhile Brady, looking like he was up til 6 am partying with his bloodshot eyes and red face, was getting his ass handed to him by the unstoppable pass rush of Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Michael Strahan, and spent most of his time off the field sulking on the bench with his head down. If you didn't know who was who and tried to identify the quarterbacks on the sideline by reputation alone, you would never have guessed that that was the guy who had just won 18 straight games, was dating a Victoria's Secret model and had a baby with a Hollywood actress. You never would've guessed that the guy on the other sideline was the pouty, less-talented baby Manning, who has been routinely criticized for his lack of leadership.
I never thought I'd see the day when I was giving Eli Manning kudos for being the Super Bowl MVP, but there you go. But as good as Eli played, especially in the 4th quarter, lets give credit where credit is due. The MVP belonged to the defense, most notably the 3 defensive ends. Without that defense, Eli could've had 5 4th quarter TD's and they still would've lost by 14 points. Even while rushing 5 or less most of the time, the Giants sacked Tom Brady 5 times. The Patriots offensive line had only allowed 21 sacks ALL YEAR. Justin Tuck had two sacks, 5 tackles, and a forced fumble. Osi Umenyiora had 3 tackles and a fumble recovery. Michael Strahan added 2 tackles and a sack. None of those number take into account the other 10 or 15 times that Brady got knocked down after throwing a pass. I wouldn't have had a problem with David Tyree getting it either. That 3rd down catch on the last drive was one of the most amazing catches I've ever seen. I am still in shock that that actually happened.
Perhaps the best part in my mind is that Bill Belichick lost this game. This is the man who is supposed to be one of the greatest football minds of all time. The word Genius is thrown at this guy without hesitation, yet in the third quarter he let his ego get in the way and it potentially cost him this game. I'm the last guy that will give a coach shit for going for it on 4th down, but that was a flatout horrible call. 4th and 13 from the 31 and you go for it? A field goal gives you a touchdown lead. You can't tell me a 48 yarder is out of Stephen Gostkowski's range. That was just Belichick being too cocky. He was the coach for the undefeated New England Patriots, playing against Eli Manning and the New York Giants. He thought he was unbeatable and was going to prove it once and for all. Unfortunately, he didn't prove it, and when the dust settled, those three points he passed up ended up being the margin of victory for the Giants. One game sent you from being tied with former Steeler coach Chuck Knoll as the only coach to win 4 Super Bowls(serves him right, Belichick doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Knoll). You went from being one of only 3 other teams with 4 Super Bowl rings(49ers, Cowboys, and the Steelers) to still being on the kiddie table list of teams with 3 wins. Which, by the way, thanks to their win on Sunday, now also includes the New York Giants.
So how'd I do on the betting side of the game? The Giants win put me at 8-3 overall picking the playoff games. The prop bets ended up paying out nicely as well:
Giants +12 over Patriots - W: Ha Ha...Suck it Boston
Combined total over 54 points - L: Wow, not even close on this one
Coin Toss Tails - W: I told you tails never fails
Giants win coin toss - W: hells yeah, things are looking up
No on all the pregame pundits picking Patriots to win - W: This was a close one, but Frank Caliendo, the one guy who wasn't an ex-football player or coach knew what was up
National Anthem takes under 1'42" - L: So technically I lost this one, but you wanna hear the best part? I accidentally hit the wrong button and bet the over. I was fucking pissed off, and while I'm watching Jordan Sparks sing it, I'm getting a little more confident everytime she holds a high note an extra beat. It was still way too close to comfort, but then she took like 20 seconds alone on "land of the free, and the home of the brave" to hit the over on this one. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
Joe Buck mentions Peyton Manning over 5.5 - L: I don't think he mentioned his name once during the game, but there were plenty of camera shots of him. Looking back I bet the wrong way on this one. I should've known they wouldn't talk much about Peyton because they wouldn't want to take the spotlight of little brother Eli. Live and learn I guess.
Tom Petty opens with "I won't back down" or "running down a dream" - L: American Girl? Fuck you Tom, these two teams have been battling for 5 months to get here and you honor them with some sappy-ass song like American fucking Girl?
Tom Petty lights up a joint during halftime - L: OK, no surprise here, but at 100/1 odds, it was worth a shot. Can you imagine if you actually won money on Tom Petty lighting up a joint during the Super Bowl? I would be telling that story to everybody I met for the rest of my life.
MVP thanks coach first - L: Technically this bet hasn't settled yet, and I couldn't hear Eli's speech, but I think it was teammates. And rightfully so, the defense won that game.
Giants score first - W: Nicely done Eli
Giants score last - W: Not the way I expected it to play out, but a wins a win
First score is a FG or Safety - W: So pretty much the first 10 minutes of this game went as perfectly as possible for my bets. Giants pick tails and win, go down the field and score a FG. I was 4-0 just like that.
Total FG's over 3.5 - L: The overall lack of scoring cost me here
Patriots don't convert a 4th down - W: If you had told me that Belichick would attempt 2 conversions I probably wouldn't have made this bet, but it worked out.
Manning doesn't throw an INT - L: Steve Smith owes me money on this one. That ball hit him in the hands and he just handed it to Ellis Hobbs
Amani Toomer - total receiving yards is an odd number - L: I blame the refs on this one, they gave a horrible ball spot on one of his catches in the 4th quarter
Wes Welker total receptions over 7.5 - W: easy win here, Welker tied an NFL record with 11 catches
Lonest reception either Plaxico Burress or Jabar Gaffney - L: Kevin Boss got the award for this one.
Patriots have the most turnovers - Push: Steve Smith dropping that pass into Hobbs hands cost me again. DAMN YOU STEVE SMITH!!
So there you have it, 9-10-1 on the picks(10-9-1 on the actual bets though thanks to that Jordan Sparks
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