Giants show heart of champion
There was doubt. No question about it.
We all shook our heads in disbelief wondering if this could possibly be happening.
Optimism and faith were now being replaced with thought that the this team could quite possibly be choking their season away as the Carolina Panthers continued to gash the Giants for big plays and DeAngelo Williams touchdowns.
First, the offense could not do anything for the last weeks.
Now the defense could not the Panthers from scoring.
The perfect storm had arrived.
Every team has its “crisis moment” over the course of a season unless you are so special that you can avoid it. You would hope that it never took place, but when it does, you wonder how they will respond.
When the rest of the league has been gunning and been giving you their best game every week (unless you’re the Rams) in addition to not having a chance to rest in 13 straight weeks, you might think they would have hit that invisible wall and go down for the count.
In the second half on Sunday night, the world champions, running on fumes, needed to summon all of the resolve they had to prevent a third straight loss in December and with it, handing the number one seed in the NFC to surging Panthers.
They found it.
On third downs, the defense finally got themselves off the field.
Steve Smith (the Panthers version), was shut down completely by Corey Webster.
Quarterback Jake Delhomme only completed four passes in the second half.
The Giants offense found its equilibrium.
Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and the offensive line reestablished the line of scrimmage and proceeded to run their defense over.
When they needed “a play”, they were able to get it.
It was everything that we had seen all season bottled up into those final 30 minutes and then into the overtime session. When it was over, the Giants had prevailed over a worthy opponent and established themselves as the beast of the NFC.
With it, they also sent the following message:
You want to get to the Super Bowl? Then you will have to go through Giants Stadium to do so.
The Meadowlands is not a fun place for a visiting team to come to in the month of January. It’s made even more difficult when the team will stare them in the face is a champion hungry to prove its doubters wrong and win a second straight title.
Since the middle of October, no team not named the Pittsburgh Steelers has faced the gauntlet of opponents as the Giants. We all saw it coming after beating up on junior varsity opponents for the most of the first six games.
BEFORE WE CONTINUE: I am still trying to figure out how they lost to the Browns. I officially deem that game a fluke. Cleveland did not play before or after that game and didn’t beat any quality opponent outside of the Giants the entire season. That game still pisses me off.
We now resume.
Only complacency and excessive hubris of their own abilities (and perhaps an abnormally bad weather day) can prevent them from going back to Tampa to defend their title.
I think back to something Chuck Noll said when his great Pittsburgh teams were winning Super Bowl’s in the 1970’s:
“You haven’t arrived yet. If you think you have arrived, you haven’t.”
Chuck Noll, head coach – Pittsburgh Steelers four-time world champion
You look back on Sunday, when the champion Giants were on the ropes and taking haymakers, the way Oscar De La Hoya was taking them from Manny Pacquiao a few weeks ago. It looked as if they were going to go down for the count.
Julius Peppers sacked Eli Manning on third down in the fourth quarter to take the team out of field goal range. It appeared to be a knockout blow until punter Jeff Feagles pinned the Panthers inside its own 1.
It gave the Giants life.
Manning and the team were given a second chance and they responded as great champions do.
Leave your finger in front of a lion and it will be bitten off.
When John Kasay missed a 50-yard game winning field goal at the end of regulation, they were given another life.
Once that happened, the Panthers signed their own death certificate.
Ward made sure Carolina wouldn’t have any more life left. His run of 51 yards stunned them. On third down needing seven yards, he stunned them again for 14 more before racing down to the two-yard line for 19 more yards. Jacobs would officially deliver the knockout when he bulldozed his way into the end zone from two yards out for the victory.
On great teams, you need unexpected heroes. You need overachievers and players who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the betterment of the team as a whole. It is one thing to have just talent. Add in heart, grit and a willingness to rise above challenges to be great.
That is the heart of a champion.
The Giants have many of those players. From rookie Terrell Thomas, who was making plays all over the field on defense and on special teams, to Justin Tuck, playing with the flu (and even vomiting at times) and did not want out of this pivotal game.
As I have said since the beginning of the season, it is the consummate team. All of these individual parts have come together to create this locomotive who are trying to go in one direction.
Destination: Tampa, Florida.
There was doubt. No question about it.
We all shook our heads in disbelief wondering if this could possibly be happening.
Optimism and faith were now being replaced with thought that the this team could quite possibly be choking their season away as the Carolina Panthers continued to gash the Giants for big plays and DeAngelo Williams touchdowns.
First, the offense could not do anything for the last weeks.
Now the defense could not the Panthers from scoring.
The perfect storm had arrived.
Every team has its “crisis moment” over the course of a season unless you are so special that you can avoid it. You would hope that it never took place, but when it does, you wonder how they will respond.
When the rest of the league has been gunning and been giving you their best game every week (unless you’re the Rams) in addition to not having a chance to rest in 13 straight weeks, you might think they would have hit that invisible wall and go down for the count.
In the second half on Sunday night, the world champions, running on fumes, needed to summon all of the resolve they had to prevent a third straight loss in December and with it, handing the number one seed in the NFC to surging Panthers.
They found it.
On third downs, the defense finally got themselves off the field.
Steve Smith (the Panthers version), was shut down completely by Corey Webster.
Quarterback Jake Delhomme only completed four passes in the second half.
The Giants offense found its equilibrium.
Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and the offensive line reestablished the line of scrimmage and proceeded to run their defense over.
When they needed “a play”, they were able to get it.
It was everything that we had seen all season bottled up into those final 30 minutes and then into the overtime session. When it was over, the Giants had prevailed over a worthy opponent and established themselves as the beast of the NFC.
With it, they also sent the following message:
You want to get to the Super Bowl? Then you will have to go through Giants Stadium to do so.
The Meadowlands is not a fun place for a visiting team to come to in the month of January. It’s made even more difficult when the team will stare them in the face is a champion hungry to prove its doubters wrong and win a second straight title.
Since the middle of October, no team not named the Pittsburgh Steelers has faced the gauntlet of opponents as the Giants. We all saw it coming after beating up on junior varsity opponents for the most of the first six games.
BEFORE WE CONTINUE: I am still trying to figure out how they lost to the Browns. I officially deem that game a fluke. Cleveland did not play before or after that game and didn’t beat any quality opponent outside of the Giants the entire season. That game still pisses me off.
We now resume.
Only complacency and excessive hubris of their own abilities (and perhaps an abnormally bad weather day) can prevent them from going back to Tampa to defend their title.
I think back to something Chuck Noll said when his great Pittsburgh teams were winning Super Bowl’s in the 1970’s:
“You haven’t arrived yet. If you think you have arrived, you haven’t.”
Chuck Noll, head coach – Pittsburgh Steelers four-time world champion
You look back on Sunday, when the champion Giants were on the ropes and taking haymakers, the way Oscar De La Hoya was taking them from Manny Pacquiao a few weeks ago. It looked as if they were going to go down for the count.
Julius Peppers sacked Eli Manning on third down in the fourth quarter to take the team out of field goal range. It appeared to be a knockout blow until punter Jeff Feagles pinned the Panthers inside its own 1.
It gave the Giants life.
Manning and the team were given a second chance and they responded as great champions do.
Leave your finger in front of a lion and it will be bitten off.
When John Kasay missed a 50-yard game winning field goal at the end of regulation, they were given another life.
Once that happened, the Panthers signed their own death certificate.
Ward made sure Carolina wouldn’t have any more life left. His run of 51 yards stunned them. On third down needing seven yards, he stunned them again for 14 more before racing down to the two-yard line for 19 more yards. Jacobs would officially deliver the knockout when he bulldozed his way into the end zone from two yards out for the victory.
On great teams, you need unexpected heroes. You need overachievers and players who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the betterment of the team as a whole. It is one thing to have just talent. Add in heart, grit and a willingness to rise above challenges to be great.
That is the heart of a champion.
The Giants have many of those players. From rookie Terrell Thomas, who was making plays all over the field on defense and on special teams, to Justin Tuck, playing with the flu (and even vomiting at times) and did not want out of this pivotal game.
As I have said since the beginning of the season, it is the consummate team. All of these individual parts have come together to create this locomotive who are trying to go in one direction.
Destination: Tampa, Florida.
No comments:
Post a Comment