<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Super winners and losers By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports February 3, 2008 Dan Wetzel Yahoo! Sports One of the great upsets and great dramas in sports history produced more than just one winner ?€“ the New York Giants ?€“ and one loser ?€“ the New England Patriots. The game within a game (not to mention the television broadcast), a week of Super Bowl excess and the crushed shot at history for the Patriots produced all of the following: WINNER: The Giants' defensive front Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Fred Robbins, Jay Alford, et al. dominated this football game, pressuring Tom Brady like no other opponent all season. It wasn't just the five sacks. It wasn't just the rushes that threw off Brady's timing and derailed the usually high-octane Patriots offense. It was how Brady was edged even when he wasn't pressured, how he overthrew wide-open receivers and made too-quick decisions. It was the false starts by the overwhelmed Patriots line. It's unlikely even Tom Coughlin thought his team could win 17-14, more likely thinking his team needed to get at least 28 points. But the line did it. The Giants thoroughly outplayed the Patriots in this game, and this was where it started. WINNER: Eli Manning He long has been doubted and often has been hammered by fans and in the media. In truth, he often has deserved it. But he matured in this postseason, and his fourth-quarter drive will cement his legend in New York forever. The numbers ?€“ 19-of-34 passing, 255 yards ?€“ never will tell the story of a guy who kept the mistakes to the minimum and, when needed, played like an all-time great. "Eli Manning Super Bowl MVP" was a phrase that probably no one ?€“ not even Archie Manning (by the way, can we have some new sons?) ?€“ would have believed just a month ago. But here we are, Eli looking on that final drive like Brady did in his first Super Bowl triumph over the St. Louis Rams. LOSER: Bill Belichick His third-quarter decision to go for it on fourth-and-13 rather than kick a 49-yard field goal will be analyzed forever. His kicker, Stephen Gostkowski, was at the end but certainly within his range. A successful kick would have made the game 10-3 and, eventually, 17-17. Even if he missed, the field position loss wasn't that bad (Giants' 31-yard line). Fourth-and-13 is about as low percentage as it gets, and for Belichick to make such a confused tactical decision seemed to help build confidence in the Giants. WINNER: 1972 Dolphins They remain the only perfect team in the NFL's Super Bowl era, their spot in history secure for, who knows, maybe another 35 years. If this Patriots team couldn't navigate the salary cap era's first 19-0 season, then who can? LOSER: The rest of us Who have to continue hearing Mercury Morris and his fellow grumpy old men crow about it.</div> Source
I feel like a winner because I don't have to listen to all of the "best team ever" led by the "best Quarterback ever" commentary for the next ten years.
I'm definetely a winner because the Ravens won't be one of the victims that helped the Pats go undefeated.
