David Tyree

David Tyree. I’m giving the Super Bowl MVP to David Tyree. After catching Manning’s first touchdown pass of the day, Tyree ran downfield on the ensuing kickoff, and made the tackle. That’s really been his day job for the Giants – Special Teams. I don’t know how far down the depth chart he’s listed as a wideout, but I know he’s not one of the statistical leaders. But the award really goes for the remarkable third-down catch that saved the final drive – after Manning had somehow escaped the pass rush, and then tossed what was essentially a Hail-Mary right down the middle of the field, into traffic. Tyree grabbed the ball at the top of his leap, with Rodney Harrison draped all over him, pinned the ball to his helmet as he fell, and as Harrison struggled to knock it loose, and despite all that, maintained possession . The Giants had the ball in New England territory, inside the thirty as I recall, with a minute on the clock. After an ill-advised scramble, Manning completed another two passes, the last to a wide open Burress in the endzone for the winning score. None of that would have occurred had Tyree made the best catch in recent Super Bowl memory.

Everyone immediately compared it to “The Catch”, Dwight Clark’s grab at the back of the endzone, that gave the Niners a championship win over Dallas, and their first trip to the Super Bowl. OK, that was a good catch; Clark had to go way up for it; but he had no defenders draped over him; in fact, there was absolutely no contact after the catch. For a more athletic receiver (think of Moss), it would have been totally routine. The better comparison was Lynn Swann’s great grab in Super Bowl X, when the Steelers beat the Cowboys. Swann had to go up in traffic, and literally take the ball away from one of the Cowboys safeties. Still, that catch, as great as it was, never led to a score, let alone the go-ahead score.

As this year’s game started, I felt no great rooting interest, and after the first quarter, found my attention waning. I know Giants fans liked the great defensive effort, but the second and third quarters produced little that was memorable. However, in the fourth quarter, I found myself pulling for Manning and his Giants. And that final quarter made this one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever. When it was over, and New England’s perfect season was spoiled, the 72 Dolphins remained the only team to have run the table, and I was glad to see them receive a bit of belated recognition for that achievement. So often this past year, the media assumed that the Pats would go undefeated, and once that occurred, would be crowned the greatest team ever. The coronation pieces were probably written, ready for filing the moment the game ended. A bit premature, however. Now, the only place you’ll read about those undefeated Pats is in the recycle bin. I remember that despite their 16-0 record, the Phins were underdogs in Super Bowl VII. Vegas gave them points; and SI picked the Skins. Of course, had it not been for a bad snap, and Garo’s ridiculous attempt to pass the ball, the Phins would have pitched a Super Bowl shutout, the only one ever. The game would have finished the same as the season, 17-0.

And as long as we’re giving awards, Victoria’s Secret ran the best commercial. I thought Charles and Wade were funny, but for a one-time commercial, run especially for the Super Bowl, VS beat out all the unfunny beer ads, and the movie parodies, and the pretentious computer spots. So if I ran things, Tyree would get the Escalade, and he’d get one of their hot models to ride shotgun, so to speak.