Congratulations to the Giants and their fans....also, congrats to the Patriots on a fine season. Ten things I learned about this year's postseason (some I learned from previous postseasons)
1. The beauty of the NFL playoffs is that you either do it on that day, or you don't. The team with the better record and/or talent doesn't always win the playoff game (see 2011 Steelers/Broncos and 2010 Saints/Seahawks). Denver and Seattle may have been inferior division champions in those matchups, but they were the better teams when the game was played and that's all that matters.
2. Teams that can go into the most hostile environments on the road and still win are better equipped to handle the big stage when they get there.
3. Doesn't matter what your regular season record was entering the dance...it's what you do once you get there. The Giants had the second-worst record among the entire playoff field, in fairness they do play in a tough division known as the NFC East.
4. Eli is coming of age, but just because he has two rings to Peyton's one does NOT make him a better quarterback than Peyton(at least not now)...are you telling me that Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson are better than Dan Marino and Jim Kelly by virtue of having more rings?. It takes more than the QB to win Championships, it takes a team!
5. You need to be able to win shootouts and grind-out games. Offensively challenged teams cannot win every game 13-10 nor can defensively challenged teams win every game 38-35 (are you listening Packers, 49ers, Saints and Patriots?)
6. Every game has a hero and every game has a goat...but one play alone cannot win or lose a game. It's about taking advantage of opportunities when given them.
7. I'm still waiting to see how these new overtime rules play out....what happened in the two overtime games this season would have had been the same under the old sudden-death format which is still in effect during the regular season.
8. As a Saints fan, while it was disappointing to miss out on a golden opportunity, it doesn't make sense to piss and moan on what might have been (yes hosting the NFC Championship would have been nice), but we didn't get the job done in San Francisco. It does make me feel better when the Giants say that they would have preferred to play the 49ers because they knew they had no chance on the road in New Orleans.
9. If Gronk was healthy, I think he makes that catch in the endzone on the last play Hail Mary...I'm just wondering which NFL player Patriots fans seem to hate more....Eli, Peyton or Bernard Pollard?...
10. Only the NFL can have a three-month plus lockout and have it's product come back better than ever...Already looking forward to September.
Enjoyed all the comments and points of view on this thread....Thanks again!
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