Super Bowl Recap

I will forever remember Super Bowl XLVI as the game where the drama surrounding the historical implications of the outcome surpassed the drama of the game itself. Coming into the game, I felt that neither team was really all that special. The Patriots were dragged kicking and screaming to the Super Bowl by a great quarterback, offensive line, and tight end. The Giants seemed like a collection of decent to good players other than Eli, Victor Cruz, and their defensive line. I guess the lesson we learned from the 2011-2012 NFL season is that if you have a quarterback and good targets for him to throw at, you can cover a lot of warts. The Super Bowl reflected this as the game can easily be summed up by three plays made by the two quarterbacks.

Eli Manning
It's amazing how quickly things change in the NFL. For years the dominant storyline was whether or not Peyton could win in the playoffs. Now the storyline might be whether or not Eli can be beaten in the playoffs. This guy is a stone cold murderer. General statistics help to paint a picture of a game but 30/40 for 296 and one touchdown doesn't tell the whole story. Quarterbacks should be judged by what they do in the red zone, on third down, and in the clutch. That is where games are won and lost and you need your quarterback to make a play. Eli went 6 for 12 on third down, scored two touchdowns and a field goal in three red zone trips, and when it came time for him to step up, he made the play that won the game.

Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth celebrated the catch but I think the throw was better. Eli couldn't fully step up in the pocket to make this throw as Vince Wilfork was in his face. This throw, not the helmet catch, is the signature moment of Eli's career. The defense carried him to victory in their first upset against the Pats; this throw cemented his performance as the best quarterback on the field in Super Bowl XLVI. Right now, the quarterback hierarchy is Eli, Brady, and Rodgers in some order. Incredible.

Tom Brady
Brady is agonizingly close to quarterback immortality. If Asante Samuel and Wes Welker had held on to balls they probably should have caught, he'd be 5-0 in Super Bowls with a 19-0 record to boot. That's the best resume ever folks. Instead, he has a much more ordinary record of 3-2 in Super Bowls with his last two performances being good but not great. He began this Super Bowl with one of the most perplexing plays I have ever seen him make.

Who exactly was he throwing to? Brady's major gaffe allowed the Giants to take control early and officially put his aura of invincibility in the playoffs in doubt. He had a chance later to throw an Eli-esque dart to put the game away and could not pull it off. Wes Welker probably should have caught this late pass, but it was still a bad throw by Brady. Welker had to twist himself toward his other shoulder to try to make the catch.

Since winning his last Super Bowl, Brady has posted a QB rating of 90 or higher in only four of twelve playoff games and has a 27-17 touchdown to interception ratio (21-16 if you take out the game against my hapless Broncos this year). That's not a resume that screams "playoff killer." We won't be able to tell the true effect this loss has on Brady's place in history until he retires but the trajectory of his career sure seems to have changed. Brady used to be unbeatable in the playoffs but that aura of immortality seemed to go away as soon as Rodney Harrison, Ty Law, Willie Mcginest, and Teddy Bruschi hung it up.