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February
8, 2008
Well,
the game is over, but the excitement has yet to diminish.
The game was exciting straight from the beginning, but
was even better in the fourth quarter. After the Patriots'
fourth quarter TD pass, my 10 year old son, witnessing
his first Giants Super Bowl game, needed a television
timeout talk from his father to soothe his shattered nerves.
I could hear the tears already welling up! "Don't
worry, buddy," I said, "Eli will pull them through."
Quickly out his mouth was, "But, Dad, the Giants
were doing exactly what you said they would do, and now
they might lose!" But, when Eli Manning (his new
hero) threw the TD pass to Plaxico Burress (his old hero),
he was super happy once again.
At
the final whistle, he was glad Eli Manning was his QB
and Tom Coughlin was his coach.
I
wrote a feature just before the Tampa Bay playoff game,
wondering that if the Giants lost, was the Tom and Eli
show over? This theory was based upon the notion that
the NY media and their fans would want heads to roll if
the Giants lost. "C'mon," the fans would cry!
"It's been three years and no Super Bowl title! Coughlin
and Eli stink. Get rid of them" As if three straight
years of playoff football was not enough!
Hey
New York fans - newsflash! Only three other teams had
made the playoffs three straight years (Colts, Seahawks
and Patriots). The main reason? All four teams have had
continuity with the same head coach and QB. In fact, only
two other teams have had the same QB and head coach the
past three seasons - the Eagles and the Bengals. We all
know what a disgrace the Bengals are on defense (and in
the courtroom!), but the Eagles are a very good team,
but with injuries to Donovan McNabb, missed out of the
playoffs in two of the past three seasons.
All
the other teams in the NFL over the past three seasons
have had either a change in their head coach or starting
quarterback. After last season, when the Giants limped
off the field in Philadelphia after a heartbreaking playoff
loss, the NY media wanted Coughlin's head. The media wanted
Eli gone, too. After the Giants devastating loss this
season to the Vikings (Eli's worst game of his career),
the media questioned whether NY was too tough a media
market for the "non excitable" Eli. Coughlin
was too tough a coach, and Eli was too soft a QB. In today's
day in pro sports, if you don't win every year, or at
least meet the expectations of your uninformed and impatient
fans, the coach and star player need to go!
That
leads us to this years co-MVP's for the Super Bowl champion
New York Giants. Not, its not Coughlin and Manning; and
for you cynical fans, it's not even Tiki Barber and Jeremy
Shockey, although they are a close second.
The
Giants co-MVP's are John Mara and Jerry Reese, the Giants
owner and general manager!
Why?
Not because of the great 2007 draft, although this draft
produced 8 rostered players, seven of which played significant
roles in the Super Bowl. But, because both Mara and Reese
resisted fans and pundits alike and kept the Coughlin
and Manning duo intact for another season.
A
look at the last 42 years of pro football history reveals
that Super Bowl winners generally need to "put their
time in" before the achieve the ultimate victory,
meaning they usually lose a few tough playoff games before
they get to and win the big one. Eli's brother's team,
the Colts, are the perfect example. Peyton and the Colts
lost countless heartbreaking games to the Patriots before
they finally defeated their nemesis last season, moving
on to win the Super Bowl. This trend goes back to the
late 60's through the 70's when Tom Landry's Cowboys had
to overcome several title game losses before beating the
Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI. Those same Dolphins finally
won the Super Bowl the next two seasons. Following those
Dolphins Super Bowl wins, the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh
Steelers were eventual AFC Super Bowl Champions, teams
the Dolphins beat in prior AFC title games. See how the
transition, and passing of the torch is supposed to go?
The only mini-dynasty not to "win their way up"
is the New England Patriots from 2001-2004.
A
Common Variable
All
those great 1970's teams had great head coaches and a
great QB. Landry had Staubach, Shula had Griese, Noll
had Bradshaw and now Coughlin has Manning. It takes a
few years to win, but it eventually happens to stable
teams. A team can not win every single season, as there
are too many variables in sports, especially pro football.
Landry, Noll, Shula and Madden coached every season for
their teams during the 1970's, as did Bud Grant of the
Minnesota Vikings. The Steelers won four Super Bowls,
the Dolphins and Cowboys won two each and the Raiders
won one. Although the Vikes never won a Super Bowl, they
were in three during the decade, and were in four NFC
title games in five years. All teams were steady Super
Bowl contenders due to their stability and continuity
in the two most important positions. Those 1980's 49ers
teams also had a great head coach and steady QB, and they
were somewhat successful, too.
More
owners and GM's (are you reading this Daniel Snyder?)
should look at what history reveals rather than succumb
to the whims and tirades of their overzealous, uninformed
media and "what have you done lately for me"
fans. Stability in the head coach-quarterback partnership
is the only sure way to win long term in the NFL. The
tremendous season by the 2007 Giants would never have
happened without Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning and the great
playoff effort of the Giants defense. But, this season
might not have happened if John Mara and Jerry Reese had
fired Coughlin and/or rid themselves of Peyton's brother.
The Giants future now looks significantly brighter - as
long as that coach/QB partnership remains intact.
That
is why John Mara and Jerry Reese are the co-MVP's of the
2007 New York Giants.
Joseph DelGrippo is the baseball coach for Point Pleasant
Beach High School in New Jersey. In addition to coaching,
he still plays hardball in two different leagues, continuing
to gather baseball knowledge. One of those leagues is
the college age Jersey Shore Baseball League, where he
is the oldest active player at 42. For more on Joe, visit
his website: www.baseballforparents.com.
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