Yesterday, Pete cited the article written by CHFF's KerryByrne for a good part of his reasoning in why the Super Bowl XLVI triumph was less than satisfying.  Pete is one of 6 contributors to this NY Giants blog, and his opinions are based on a unique perspective that are going to be different with that of others.  The comments received yesterday were predictable.  Everyone has their own perspective, and the only difference here is that I have the luxury of offering mine as part of a post.  Consider it part of the zen of understanding the Giants in 2011, that we can have two posts on two successive days, two different viewpoints, two Furmans (Pete is my cousin), two generations, a little bit of yin and yang.

Truths that I hold to be evident, the cold hard football facts for all Giants fans and NFL fans to acknowledge:

1)  THE GIANTS ARE SUPER BOWL XLVI CHAMPIONS.
2)  STATISTICS HELP US LEARN BUT THEY WILL NEVER EXPLAIN INTANGIBLES.
3)  THE GIANTS GOT LUCKY.  LUCK IS 20% OF FOOTBALL.
4)  IT IS BETTER TO BE LUCKY AND GOOD THAN UNLUCKY AND GREAT.
5)  COUGHLIN GETS ALL THE CREDIT FOR AFTERBURNER AND TWO SUPER BOWL TITLES.
6)  THE GIANTS WERE THE BEST TEAM AT THE MOMENT IT MATTERED MOST.
7)  FREE AGENCY MAKES THE PLAYOFF BYE WORTH A LOT LESS.
8)  LINEBACKER STILL MATTERS PLENTY.
9)  REESE HAS MADE MISTAKES, BUT THE COACHES AND PLAYERS GET EVEN MORE CREDIT FOR COVERING UP THOSE MISTAKES.
10)  FREE AGENCY HAS MADE THE NFL A WEAKER PRODUCT BECAUSE THE REGULAR SEASON DOES MATTER LESS.

In 2008, as Giants fans, we did not feel that the best team won Super Bowl XLIII.  That goes the same for Aaron Rodgers for Super Bowl XLVI.  It is not very much more complicated than that.  So I laughed when I heard that Rodgers was essentially biting his lip, unwilling to acknowledge that he or his team failed.  Rodgers believes his team is rightfully better than the Giants.  TFB.  We on this site were just as apoplectic about the playoff loss to the Eagles.  We all had our culprits- be it Eli in the wind, Plaxico's bullet, Gilbride not adjusting to Johnson's pressure...  And I am sure that Rodgers has his- 7 drops, a defense that completely F'D up at the end of the first half, yada yada.  Pete grew up in a world where the best team for an entire season was the Super Bowl Champion.  Now, in 2012, the best team in the playoffs is the Super Bowl Champion, so you just have to get to the playoffs.  That is the way the world works in 2012.  The Giants were fortunate to have been 9-7, to have been outscored during the season, yet still manage to make the playoffs.  It probably drives many Eagles and Cowboys fans crazy knowing how they too could have easily been in the playoffs, if for just one less mistake here or there.  But that is exactly the way we as Giants fans felt in 2008, and even in 2010.  You have to be handed some breaks, but then you have to have the courage to walk through the door.  You have to have the courage to be great.  The Giants have that courage.  The Giants are Super Bowl Champions. 

Despite winning a Super Bowl Championship, statistically speaking the Giants defied all logic.  According to the Cold Hard Football Facts web site, author Kerry Byrne is perplexed yet again by the Giants. Byrne wrote:

The 2007 Giants had no business winning a championship, based on the parameters defined for us by NFL history since 1940. The 2007 Giants were, quite literally, the worst regular-season team that’s ever won a Super Bowl. And then the 2011 Giants replaced them as the worst regular-season team to win a title by almost every measure.  

After scrutinizing the tables prepared by Byrne, I am too amazed the Giants won the Super Bowl.

I will argue that the N.F.L. is a microcosm of America. Once upon a time we could expect all teams to give 100% during the whole show. Obviously, that is no longer the case and this years Giants and the others mentioned by Byrne are proof positive.

The NFL wants me to give up hours of my time, spend lots of money on “stuff”, an look up to a sport that has stolen my passion!

People can no longer afford to see their heroes in person.  Kids, so many kids will never know the thrill of a live game, the dogs ,the beer, and the excitement  of a game well played.  We have devolved from most teams leaving it on the field to just a few. I am supposed to applaud players who have no idea of what football used to be and sit”zombie” like in a mindless trance and cheer!

The Giants pulled it off again.  And they are not a good team. Eli,Cruz, JPP, Osi, Nicks and Tuck, (when healthy) were great. Jacobs played the horse's ass week after week as his “game” was over two years ago. Thankfully, he is gone.  Amen.

The Giants tell us from owners to coaches to some players that we are so very lucky to have them. Tom stinks up the field year after year while people pay “big bucks” and are scammed. Let us not forget, the Giants outsourced their management this year. The Afterburner organization saved this team.  And I will give credit to Coughlin for at least being open minded.

The only way the Giants win is via the miracle! Eli had a year that is almost impossible to repeat. The Giants still have more holes than imported swiss cheese.  And now, we won the right to get the last draft pick in every round.

The Giants O-Line is still a sieve. We have no linebackers, running game, poor special teams return game.  If it was not for Eli restructuring his contract, barely enough  room to maneuver under the cap. One must really believe in miracles because we will need one again.

By the way, the draft is very weak.  The main reason I give Luck the benefit of the doubt is because his former coach Jim Harbaugh  says he is the “real deal”. I saw him play several times and thought he was O.K.  But Luck ran an offense tailored to his strength as the OL in this draft will show. He was not very accurate when I saw him but did have some presence .  Although Stanford scored points, they gave up way too many.

I have some doubts about Luck and only a few players to call “screaming buys”.  Unfortunately, we won’t see any of them.  So whatever is left when we draft: Do we get “gold” again via free agency and  the undrafted?

In the meantime, the NFL owners are meeting in sunny Palm Beach, Florida.  Giants GM Jerry Reese was on SiriusXM NFL radio.    

It appears the Giants are not going to resign Jonathon Goff and Chase Blackburn.  Reese intimated Michael Boley might be the Giants starting MLB on opening night.

Reese expects James Brewer to compete for a position on the offensive line.  We ranked Brewer a FIVE.  This means we believe he will amount to a back up.  On the other hand, Brewer is big and strong (6'6" 323 pounds). Because of his strength and size, he may win the right tackle spot.  

Finally, the Giants were awarded a fourth round compensatory selection.              

1) Details of Mario Manningham's deal were disclosed late last week.  In the grand scheme of things, the amount of money (and the length of the contract) is not that large.  Or, to put it another way, I would not have had a problem with Reese paying that amount to keep Mario Manningham. And his departure from the Giants is getting more touches.  As Giants' fans, we saw first hand the 49ers do not have enough weapons at the wide out position.  In the NFC Championship game, 49ers wideouts caught ONE pass. One of the ways that I can articulate a defense of that view is that when I watched a replay of the Giants' season on the XLVI DVD, I was struck with how many TDs were scored by MM.  During the regular season, when teams had not yet started rotating their coverage to Victor Cruz, MM pulled down 4 TDs.  By the playoffs, that had changed- MM had 3 TDs, second only to Hakeem Nicks' 4.  Victor Cruz had 1 playoff TD (vs NE).  What we all know is that Manningham was an integral part of this Super Bowl run, and those TDs remind us that it will be important for others to step up.

For Manningham going forward from here, the first thing the 49ers are going to see is how slowly Mario picks up the offense.  MM was in the league for 4 years and he could barely go a game without being on the wrong page with is QB on a route tree.  SF was well-coached last season in the first year of Jim Harbaugh.  We would expect them to simplify the routes of MM, for the sake of both WR and QB. Needless to say, MM will not have a problem picking up their offense because most of Smith's drop backs are one read throws. 

2) A while back we discussed QB-led 4th Quarter comebacks.  Here is a list of where every NFL QB ranks historically in that category.  There are many takeaways to be gleaned from this list. 

The top 8 on the list are all in the Hall of Fame or going there. (Sorry Vinny.)

I have always said that Kerry Collins is underappreciated.  Showing up at #11 all-time does nothing but remind us that he was a gamer.

Eli Manning, at his current rate, is on a path to join those Top 8 if he stays healthy.

A player like Joe Montana is punished statistically when you look at this criteria because the defenses he played with were simply better than Marino's.  (If you were/are a great QB, you just want to show up somewhere relatively high.)  

Eli, Brees and Roethlisberger are all on trajectories to go to the Hall of Fame as long as they stay healthy.

Being a Giants fan is pretty great these days.  As usual all is quiet over at the Timex Center, just the way we like it. Of course you’ll have your usual suspects (that buddy of yours who thinks that they can do a better job than the GM)  who will complain about Reese’s lack of activity, because that is what they do. Let them be, because we know that the world championship isn't won in the offseason.

Oh yeah… and they won their fourth Super Bowl. Business as usual.

For those who want a bit more off-season entertainment may I recommend that you take the 20-minute drive from the stadium over to Florham Park, where things are also business as usual.

Tannenbaum once again looks set on spending his offseason trying to catch lightning in a bottle. God forbid the man made a few moves that gave the impression that he was trying to BUILD a winner. Instead, he went out and did what has become the trademark of the Jets organization since they acquired Favre; make a splash in the media. SMH Mike, SMH.

Let us first thank Tannenbaum. Without you to serve as a contrast, we probably would never be able to appreciate just how great Jerry Reese has been over these last few years. 

So on to Tebow…

Listen, I know there are those out there who really get on Tebow. And while it still puzzles me as to why people are so adamant against him, they are entitled to their opinion. So the purpose of this isn’t to be a debate about whether or not he is any good. People are pretty set in their ways on this guy so there really isn’t much more to say in that sense. 

Just for the sake of getting it out there, I myself enjoy watching Tebow. And I do know this--there are far worse guys you can support. And while he flat out sucks at throwing the football (really no need to sugarcoat it), who knows, maybe, just maybe, this guy will improve. I’ve heard he works pretty hard….

Within a few years we will know the fate of Tebow’s NFL career path and there will certainly be some eating some crow, one way or another.

Until then let’s talk about what we do know. He isn’t a good passer, yet. No matter what though, he righted the Broncos ship and got them to the divisional round in what seemed to be like a lost season. Sure some of those wins were hard to explain and you can’t sustain success like that at this level. But at the end of the day, Tebow quarterbacked teams have won much more than they have lost and there is something to be said for that.

So what is his effect on the Jets going to be?

1. Locker Room Presence- Tim Tebow will help ease some of those concerns with the Jets locker room. People may think his arrival means even more chaos in the Jets locker room, but I disagree. His attitude is contagious. The guy is going to work, keep wokring, and then work some more. Others will surely take notice.
Of course you’ll still have your bushel of bad apples who will remain nameless. Hint: his name rhymes with Hantonio Solmes. The hope is though that the good will outweigh the bad. That the positive influence will take over the Jets locker room like it did in Denver, where it changed the culture last season. 

Brian Dawkins, a leader in Denver’s locker room had this to say on his twitter: @TimTebow, I wanna thank u, 4 wht u helped us do last year. On the field & off! I have NO doubt that u will B a blessing 4 the Jets!

So it’s very likely that Tebow’s presence can be a positive step on the road to repairing a fractured group. At the same time, his mere presence has the ability to create an uncomfortable situation for the Jets' fourth-year QB

2. Good Pressure?- I’m not really sure this is the type of pressure that the Jets really wanted to put on Sanchez. Don’t get me wrong, they needed to put a boot up his ass. But this is the wrong kind of boot.

Perhaps Sanchez is ready to make the jump to a consistent, productive quarterback and maybe what he needed was a veteran passer who could put some heat on him and help him along the way. This move feels like quite the opposite.

With Tebow as his backup, Sanchez better be on his game because the burden will be on Sanchez to perform. Greater than it has ever been.

The problem is the pressure should be coming from a guy who is truly pushing Sanchez. An established quarterback who has proven that he can play some QB at the NFL level. Kyle Orton, David Garrard, Jason Campbell. All three of these guys were free agents this off-season who could have been serviceable backups had at an affordable rate. 

In Tebow’s case, the heat will most likely be coming from the media and the fans, not from what the coaches are seeing in practice reps. What is Sanchez going to think when there are calls for him to be replaced by a guy LESS accomplished than him?

So....

I just don’t see the juice being worth the squeeze.

Nothing against Tebow, but the Jets should have used this off-season to right the ship after being knocked down to a low point after back to back appearances in the AFC title game. They had an opportunity to take the spotlight off of them, something they desperately needed to get back to winning. Out of the limelight they could have focused on things that matter like getting back to the playoffs.

Instead, the Jets have positioned themself to once again be the focus of the NFL, all season long. They managed to do so without being any closer to a world championship. If you ask me, this is literally the last thing that the Jets needed. I'm not going to come out here and say this move can't and won't work because quite frankly, it can and plus, who am I to say that?

What I do know is that the Jets are right back under the microscope, probably moreso then ever before. And no matter how they try to spin it, the Jets will be using two quarterbacks this season. Not the most supportive move for your quarterback who won four road playoff games in his first two seasons.

So as usual the Giants will continue to build a franchise that will hopefully keep them as close as possible to the NFL summit.

And as they do best the Jets continue to look to make a splash that will win them their version of a championship… a second appearance on HBO’s Hard Knocks.

Let the debate commence.

Roger Goodell lowered the sonic boom on the Saints yesterday.  The Saints got hit hard with the loss of 2 second round picks in 2012 and 2013, $500k, Payton 1 year suspension and 6 8 game suspension of their GM.  Was this a power play by the commissioner of the most powerful organized sports league in the world, or a justified action?  We have heard a lot from the Commish’s office over the last couple of years about player safety with severe public fines such as his poster boy Steelers’ Harrison.  The League is undergoing pressure with a slew of lawsuits from former/retired NFL veterans on concussion related injuries including one recently from Jim McMahon.  But, why was the levy so harsh?  Let’s not be naive, as we all know that bounties are not uncommon in the NFL.  One has only to infer that the Saints lied through their teeth to interfere with the investigation in order to get levied in this way. 

In other related news, the snitch has been speculated to be none other than former TE Jeremy Shockey.  The alpha male has been singled out by Warren Sapp, which makes sense in terms of a) what we’ve experienced with his outbursts on being out-coached and b) his exact tenure with the Saints.  Yet, Pro Football Talk questions Sapp’s source.

Team Tebow has landed in our shared building.  It makes a lot of sense to the Jets, whose current OC (Toney Sparano) started the ‘wildcat’ scheme with the Dolphins.  Expect Tebow to be utilized solely in that role, but knowing Jet fans you might see a billboard on the Jersey Turnpike soon lobbying for Tebow as their starting QB.  Broncos, how did that work out for you 2 years later?  Tebow was a 1^st rounder in 2010 and traded away for a 4^th rounder in 2012.  By the way, how many are you peeved with the Texans giving up DeMeco Ryans for a 4^th rounder to the Igles?

On a sad note, the late Ron Erhardt passed away yesterday at the age of 80.  We honor Erhardt for bringing us 2 Super Bowl rings.  He had a conservative offensive game plan, but with great defense, he delivered the bottom line with 2 trophies that we celebrate up there on the banner.  Besides the Lombardi trophies, I respected how he utilized Bavaro in his system and I give credit to him for the development of Phil Simms.  An interesting historical note, Erhardt gave Bill Parcells his second NFL job as LB coach with the Patriots in 1980 in between stints with Perkins.  R.I.P. Ron Erhardt.