Dont' think, don't worry, everything's just fine...

So, I feel numb. Sorry to borrow from the Edge, but that's how I feel today. Still. Since last night at around 9:15 or so, I really haven't been able to digest the fact that a) the Patriots blew a perfect season, b) they had no answer for the Giants' pass rush, and c) Eli Manning made the MVP trophy a family affair. As I watched Eli take control of the first series and I kept seeing the graphics (most third down completions on an opening drive, most plays on an opening drive...), and even when the Patriots held them to 3 points, I was nervous. They had eaten up how much time? Then Brady took over and they scored a touchdown and I calmed down a little.

But the Giants wouldn't go away and they were on the march again. Then Eli made his first big mistake and there was the pick. Only the Patriots couldn't do anything with it. Then a fumble, and the Patriots couldn't do anything with it. And they went into the locker room with a very misleading 7-3 lead.

I was also surprised by how inaccurate Brady was. That seemed to be the theme of the second half. Other than the Giants' front four doing whatever they felt like defensively, there were a lot of mistakes. I know the defensive pressure causes those mistakes, but that had been the calling card of this offense. The ability to handle a pass rush and make big plays out of it just never happened for this team, and was ultimately their downfall.

The curious decision to go for a 4th and 13(I think it was 13 - it was definitely double digits) instead of a long, but makeable field goal when you lose by 3 is another case of hindsight coaching, but was a weird decision even for Belichick. So, I'm crazy disappointed, but I will in no way discredit the Giants by saying that the Patriots lost the game rather than the Giants winning. The Giants definintely won the game. I will stop short of Mike and Mike's assertion this morning that the Patriots had the collective rears handed to them, but the Giants did win and congratulations to them for that.

The only positives that I can take from this game, are:
1. The team that took out the Cowboys won the Super Bowl (A very very very small moral victory)
2. Now, I don't have to hear anything about the Championship being "tainted".
3. Maybe now someone will finally stop leaking parade routes...