What Giants win DOESN'T mean for Birds
Philly.com, Inquirer, and Daily News coverage of the Eagles
What Giants win DOESN'T mean for Birds
Les Bowen
I'm guessing you aren't up today for any long-winded, chin-stroking analysis of what the Giants' Super Bowl victory last night means for the Eagles.
That's good, because I'm not up for writing one.
All through the buildup for what to me became an inevitable Giants victory, I kept thinking about last year's big Super Bowl "lesson," and the bogus concept that every Super Bowl winner produces some sort of blueprint that ensures a Lombardi Trophy next season, if only another organization can copy it.
Last year the Packers won, despite an impressive log of injuries. Backups stepped in at key spots and Green Bay kept going. So the big revelation was that depth is super-important; Eagles management talked about this as part of its offseason planning. This is the "trend" that brought you Ronnie Brown, Steve Smith, Donald Lee, Jarrad Page and others who contributed next to nothing to an 8-8 season.
I dunno what the Eagles will take out of the Giants winning the Super Bowl, despite having lost to Vince Young in November. If the lesson is that drafting guys who are really physically dominant, like Jason Pierre-Paul and Hakeem Nicks, is maybe more important than drafting guys who are captains and good citizens, that might be an OK thing. If the lesson is that "hey, that could have been us, the Giants were 7-7 at one point," well, that would not be a good thing.
I think the Giants won the Super Bowl for two reasons: What should have been a dominant defense all year long woke up, got healthy, or whatever, in December. And Eli Manning was the best quarterback in the postseason.
That last part was the most important; it was what separated the Giants from, say, the 49ers. Eli was sacked 11 times in the playoffs - more than any other quarterback. He still completed 65 percent of his passes, threw for nine touchdowns and was intercepted exactly once. His QB rating was 103.3. He averaged 304.8 passing yards per game.
Good luck copying that "blueprint," NFL GMs. And Eagles fans, do you really see Michael Vick throwing for nine touchdowns and one interception?
In asking the question, don't think I'm mindlessly bashing Vick. I'm not -- Tom Brady didn't do what Manning did, quite, which is why the Patriots aren't the team providing the "lesson" for everyone today. Brady made exactly two Super Bowl mistakes -- the first-play safety and then the interception, when his team was rolling. Otherwise he was spectacular. It wasn't enough.
Manning, for all his foibles, is the reason the Giants have two Super Bowl rings the past five years, an era in which they have never really been a dominant regular-season team. He is lethal, a stone killer, on the biggest stage. The Eagles just don't have that guy. Most other teams don't, either. Including the Patriots.
Also, teams that want to copy the Giants' blueprint should practice having their fumbles bounce straight into the arms of teammates. That helps, too.
- Most elite teams plays well against the Eagles. It seems every time an opposing player does something spectacular the announcers acknowledge it as setting some sort of record. I've watched many games where this has occurred and I'm sure others have as well and all I can do is hang my head in frustration.
— essell - Dear in the Headlights Look and 29 Giveaways By Michael Vick won't even get an Honorable Mention from SPCA or NRA— Kevinmac
- @CosmoK - Eli makes better decisions than Vick when he's on the stage and has proven he can win the big game. Vick has only shown that he can play well against average opponents during regular season contests. Has he willed his team to win in any meaningful games late in the season for either Atlanta or Phila? He doesn't have "it."— Sam Crow
- Vick has done what you said he's incapable of doing as recently as 2010, as several readers have pointed out. His recievers were a big part of his problem this year, some tipped balls up in the air, rather than catching them,some fumbled the football after making the catch, and some quit on the play ( that's usually #10) before it was over. Yeah, he'll have to make better decisions with the football this year, but the offense in general will have to stop doing dumb things. The defense at least has the talent excuse; the offense just doesn't give 100% often enough, they have plenty of talent.— drbob1
CosmoK, before last season, Eli had won a SB. He had proven he could do it. I think Vick was in jail at that time or on his way to it. The Eagles should be so lucky to have had a QB as "bad" as Eli, who, by the way, is on his way to the HOF. Eli rises to the occasion on the ultimate stage. What QB in Eagles history has done that? Someone back in the 1940's.- Light and fast and small no talent linebackers, light and fast no talent safeties, light and small d-lineman, light and small backs ALL add up to Bird failures....we are light years behind either of those teams, the Packers and the Saints and the 49ers....Koolade drinkers, sheep and others who think we are close are delusional....and with Howie selecting talent we are doomed to continual failure...and which one of our receivers would start on either team.....TALENT IS THE DIVIDER....and we have a coach whose talents cannot match up with those of NE, GB,SF,NO,NY Pitts...and we have a QB who is not as good as Eli, Drew, Aaron, Tom, Ben.....and after the two corners we just got but who the DC screwed up, and the LT and maybe the TE, there is not one of our players who could start in place of any player on the giants, the patriots, the saints, the packers, the 49ers, the Steelers.....and we have a DC that cannot even be mentioned in the same breath with any other DC in the entire league....nice guy but who cares...IT ISD about winning...and we have a talent selector whose only training is sitting at the feat of an accountant....and we have an owner who acknowledges that everything was "Completely Unacceptable" yet held on to the status quo....so what the giant win does mean to the eagles is NOTHING....we are not even close.....remember andy' record against teams with winning records and that says it all....— nuggett
Comment removed.- Difference in the game is Manningham catches the ball - Hernandez and Welker don't. But one big difference between Brady/Manning and Vick (or any other Eagles QB in recent memory) is coolness in the pocket. They step up; step to the side; etc. Our QBs conduct a Chinese Fire Drill at the first sign of a pass rush and I do not believe it is a better OL or better receivers. It is all in the QB position and we've never had one.— Bama
- Chinese Fire Drill indeed. I'm still mystified why some commentators and writers equate Reid with being a genuis at teaching quarterbacks. They give Reid WAY to much undeserved credit.His tendency is to select "athletic" quarterbacks who's first reaction, apparently, is to run if their number one receiver isn't open. While it's nice to have a dual threat quarterback in the backfield, it's clearly not working in this offense. What he should be doing is looking for quarterbacks who played in pro-style offenses. as a pure pocket passer. At any rate, the Eagles are going nowhere fast with Reid, Banner,Roseman, and Lurie in charge so I've resigned myself to dying and NEVER seeing a Super Bowl parade in Philly. — essell
- you people do realize that the Vick streak you guys keep talking about was against the Lions, Jaguars and Redskins (2x) right?....they were the dreck of the NFL at that time but somehow you think that means he could do it in the playoffs?.....Vick has yet to win ONE playoff game for the birds while Eli has won 4 just this year...wake up people— IcanTakeit
- As long as Reid makes drafting decisions the Giants will always end up with better players and laughing at the Eagles.— farley
- As the 9-7 NY Giants have proven all things are possible, but luck is needed more than anything by Philly teams in any sport because they seldom have any. Their collective histories prove that...but I honestly wonder if all of the hometown booing has anything to do with all of that because it seems players just can't handle it even if they say it's not a big deal.— BCRock
- To wonder that is to let them slide easily off the hook. Somewhere in that equation the players, coaches, front office has to take responsibility for their countless mistakes on and off the field. If anything, it (booing) should make them even more determined to prove their worthiness. That's the NORMAL human response. — essell
- When the Super Bowl game was on the line, The Giants quarterback stepped up. Our Quarterback threw up.— zeke128
- Your blind hate for the Eagle's regime is sickening. Phillies haven't done anything in 3 years. In fact, from the losing the world series to a wild card round loss. Don't be surprised if they don't even make the post season next year. What this superbowl shows, just like the several previous superbowls, is that anything is possible once you get into the post season. Regular season record doesn't matter. There is a lot of luck and timing when it comes to the playoffs. The best chance to win is to be competitive in the regular season and hope the team gets hot in the playoffs. Thats how the Eagles org thinks, which is correct IMO.— penncrow19
