Five months ago this guy, Eli Manning was seemingly the second coming of Ryan Leaf. Giants' fans everywhere were regretting the draft day swap of Eli Manning for three pro bowlers, Philip Rivers, Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding. And can't blame them, Eli turned the ball over this season more than any player in the National Football League. But over the past 6 weeks, Eli Manning underwent a transformation likened to LeBron's game 6 performance against the Pistons. Each player went from a player with tremendous talent, to a winner. It appears the G-Men have found their franchise QB, just 4 years after they drafted him.
This upset happened for a few reasons. 1) A tremendous 4th quarter performance by Eli Manning. If the previous 4 games hadn't proved it, 9-14, 152 yds and 2 TD in the biggest pressure quarter against a top defense..that might do it. 2) Hitting Brady 18 times. Part of what allows Brady to be so dominant is that he's never touched, he's only hit a few times a game. On Sunday, Brady was not only sacked 5 times, but knocked of his feet 18 times. The Giants' front four was tremendous, and the difference make in the game. 3) No big plays from the Pats. As I said in the preview, a key was to limit big plays. No Maroney 50 yard runs, no Moss 60 yard TD bombs, no pick sixes. The Giants made the Pats sustain long drives to score, of which they could only produce 2. 4) The Patriots' arrogance. Mostly this was demonstrated by the genius head coach opting to bypass a 48 yard FG in a dome and go for it on 4th and 13. I don't buy the long FG argument, if you can't trust your kicked to a 48 yd FG in perfect conditions, then why have a kicker. They went for it because Belichick was saying 'you can't stop us'. I think a lot of Pats went into the game with that attitude, and it contributed to their demise.
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