Did Gisele Bundchen's presence at the Super Bowl have any bearing on Tom Brady's less-than-MVP-like performance in the game?
Gisele Bunchen is no Jessica Simpson. And Tom Brady is no Tony Romo. Obviously, Brady's mind was elsewhere. But can you blame him? Personally, I can think of no better distraction as a quarterback than gazing up into a luxury suite and seeing my supermodel girlfriend knocking back a glass of wine like it was Kool-Aid. However, there's no way Brady was thinking of Gisele with Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, and Justin Tuck flying at him from all directions. Apparently, Brady's offensive linemen must have been picturing Gisele in a three-point stance instead of the Giants in front of them, because they offered a limp resistance to the onrush.
But let's try not to shed a tear for Brady. He's got three Super Bowl rings to fall back on, as well as a great shoulder on which to cry, and as his tears slowly trickle down Gisele's bronzed skin, sensually finding their way past the slope of her shoulder, over her collarbone, and down into a gentle resting place between the soft recesses of her perfect ... see how easy it is to be distracted by Gisele.
How did the Giants complete one of the most unlikely upsets in Super Bowl history?
The Giants two best drives of the game were a 16-play, 77-yard, 9:59 drive for a field goal and a 12-play, 83-yard, 2:07 march that ended with a touchdown. That left the prolific Patriots offense with only one first quarter possession, only 35 seconds to manufacture a game-winning or game-tying drive, and an entire offseason to suffer the taunts of the 1972 Dolphins, as well as answer the tough questions. Like, "How did you lose this game?" and "What teams have you not illegally taped?" In between those two drives, the Giants made all the plays that, had they not made, could have turned the game in the Patriots' favor. And, in a game that close, one play was likely the difference.
Two plays like that stand out. One was Ahmad Bradshaw's fumble that he recovered himself by wresting it away from New England linebacker Pierre Woods. It wouldn't be the first time a Frenchman has given something up so easily. Woods looked to have recovered the ball on the bottom of the pile, and the Patriots probably should have taken possession, but Bradshaw snatched the ball away, as well as Woods' wallet. I'm not sure if the play was reviewable, but if it was, Bill Belichick should have tossed the red flag. A recovery would have given the Patriots the ball at the New York 30, and, at worst, New England would have scored a field goal, assuming Belichick opted not to try and convert an impossible fourth down conversion.
The other play was David Tyree's miraculous catch of Eli Manning's fourth quarter pass, made after Manning escaped a sure sack. Tyree out-leaped Rodney Harrison and grabbed the ball with two hands, maintaining possession by pinning the ball against his helmet without letting it touch the ground as he fell to the turf. And thank goodness Tyree didn't let that ball touch the ground. Otherwise, we would have witnessed one of the most controversial plays in Super Bowl history. However the officials would have ruled the play (had the ball touched the ground), the play would have certainly been challenged, and replay officials probably would have blown the call, ruining what was otherwise a well-officiated game.
How did the Patriots lose this game?
It boils down to one thing: overconfidence. Of course, when you enter the Super Bowl 18-0 and a double-digit favorite, you have the right to be the cock of the walk. But, as Plaxico Burress stated on behalf of the Giants, "We've come to snuff the rooster, and punch the donkey." Actually, he didn't say that, at least not in so many words. New England's confidence, however, somewhat clouded their judgment. On three critical plays in the game, New England players and/or coaches failed to make the plays or calls that possibly could have been the difference in winning or losing.
First, on Eli Manning's touchdown pass to David Tyree, Asante Samuel easily could have broken up the pass by extending his left arm. Instead, he went for the interception. Samuel had the play covered, but went for all the glory when he should have simply just knocked the pass down. Now, I know Samuel is one of the best cornerbacks in the league, and he does have dreadlocks, but that's no excuse to gamble when he should make the smart play, especially in a four-point game.
Second, Bill Belichick's decision to go for it on 4th-and-13 from the Giants' 31-yard line was simply foolish. The Patriots had two series on the day in which they couldn't gain 10 yards in three plays against a Giants defense playing its best game of the season. What made Belichick think the Pats could break off a chunk of yardage that big in one play is Marty Schottenheimer's guess. New England held a 7-3 lead at this point. A successful field goal would have given the Pats a 10-3 lead.
Finally, New England's decision to single-cover Burress with Ellis Hobbs on the game-winning play must have come straight from the Green Bay game plan. Hobbs was beat so bad that Burress' catch will go down as the easiest Super Bowl game-winning play of all time. He had so much time, he could have said "Jackie Smith" seven or eight times before securing that catch. Previously, the Giants made the same mistake by single-covering Randy Moss on his earlier touchdown catch. That should have been a lesson to Belichick. Instead, he chose to put Hobbs all alone across from Burress, who almost always beats single-coverage. Hobbs went for the inside fake, even though nine times out of 10, when you're facing a 6'5" receiver, the jump ball to the corner is the play. Game over.
How does Plaxico Burress' victory guarantee compare to that of Joe Namath's in Super Bowl III?
Burress correctly predicted a Giants win, and had he ran from University of Phoenix Stadium with his index finger raised high, without saying a word, his guarantee would have gone down in history alongside Namath's as the most memorable in Super Bowl history. Unfortunately, Burress was flagged down by FOX's Pam Oliver, and after giving a fairly incoherent and grammatically poor interview in which he called Oliver "man," Burress broke down and cried. Touching, yes, but not Namath-like.
Burress could have redeemed himself by asking Oliver for a kiss, but he failed in that endeavor. With tears streaming down Burress' cheeks, I fully expected "One Shining Moment" to start playing. Eli Manning may be going to Disney World, but Plaxico's going on Oprah.
What's the deal with superstar wide receivers crying this postseason? First, Terrell Owens squeals like a baby while proclaiming his love for Tony Romo, then Burress gets all misty-eyed. You'd never see Randy Moss shed a tear in such a situation. He's stone faced, whether winning, losing, or detaining a female friend against her will.
What was the best Super Bowl commercial?
My vote goes to the Bridgestone ad starring Alice Cooper and Richard Simmons. Honestly, did you ever think you'd see those two cross paths? I doubt that's the first time Simmons has lost a masculinity contest to someone named "Alice." But what kind of driver passes both Cooper with his snake and Simmons aerobicizing in the middle of the road, instead of stopping to pick up Cooper, then mow down Simmons? That would have been two good deeds done in one trip.
I could have easily gone for the Tide "talking stain" commercial, but the voice of the stain was just not irritating enough. What that ad needed was the voice of Gilbert Gottfried.
All of the Bud Light ads were entertaining, but I liken Bud Light ads to promos for the Pro Bowl. No matter how many ads for Bud Light I see, I won't start drinking Bud Light. And no matter how many Pro Bowl ads I see, I'm not going to watch it.
Other highlights were seeing Charles Barkley peering into a refrigerator with double doors, and seeing Shaquille O'Neal ride a thoroughbred to victory (something Kobe Bryant would claim Shaq's done on many occasions).
Was Terry Bradshaw on the verge of kissing Tom Coughlin as he interviewed the coach after the game?
Bradshaw and Coughlin were getting awfully close to each other, and neither seemed to mind. It's probably the closest Coughlin's come to getting a kiss in the last 10 years, and that includes his wife. His players should have waited and dumped the ice water on Coughlin then. I think Bradshaw was thrilled that Tom Brady wasn't able to join Bradshaw and Joe Montana in the "four Super Bowl win" club. For his part, Coughlin should have saved his goo-goo eyes when he thanked the person most responsible for the Giants Super Bowl win. No, not the great Jesus Christ. But Brett Favre. Jesus Christ would have never made that terrible pass in the NFC championship game that was intercepted and led to Lawrence Tynes' game-winning field goal.
Why all the fuss about Bill Belichick leaving the field early?
Give Belichick a break. If you were wearing that hideous outfit for three plus hours, you'd want to make a change the first chance you got, too. Unlike Janet Jackson, Belichick puts clothes on and has a wardrobe malfunction. Besides, when you're Belichick, you need a jump start to get to the locker rooms and prepare for interviews in which you offer no insight or redeemable answers to questions posed by reporters. The man is evasive. Maybe Belichick will be a little more candid when he's speaking under oath in front of Congress about some certain film footage from a Rams walk-through in New Orleans, 2002, or a motorcade in Dallas, 1963.
Will we ever see another undefeated team in the Super Bowl?
I'm not one to say "never," unless I'm referring to the release of a new Guns N' Roses album, but the 1972 Dolphins may have just survived the last great assault on their undefeated record. The last two teams to make a run at history, the 2005 Colts and this year's Patriots, failed to win the Super Bowl. Teams will soon realize that the glory of winning an NFL championship far outweighs the fun of irritating a bunch of 60-somethings still grasping desperately to their one moment in the spotlight.
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