Super Bowl XLII Flashback: From Improbable To Unstoppable

Glendale, Ariz. -- There are so many stories to tell about the fantastic playoff run by the New York Giants, who defied all odds to upset the heavily favored New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, 17-14.

But rather than focus on one story, we would much instead look at three areas that we feel are mainly responsible for the Giants' amazing 2007 season.

Defense. If there was ever any question that defenses win championships, this game should put the debate to rest.

Here you had the NFL's top offense going against the league's seventh-best defense, a unit that, by the way, started off the year at or near the bottom of almost every major defensive category, as it surrendered 80 points in two games as part of an 0-2 start.

Is it any coincidence that when the Giants defense finally came together, the team started playing better as a whole? We think not.

You have to give a world of credit to defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who stuck with his convictions and was patient enough to watch his master plan unfold into what would become one of the Gian t's most consistent units throughout the season.

Spagnuolo found ways to utilize the talent to its potential and to confuse the heck out of the opponents. Just look at the Super Bowl game against the Patriots, when on one drive, New England had two false starts because they couldn't tell when the blitzes were coming. It was, put, a work of art.

Just how good has the New York Giants ' defense been? In the postseason alone, it allowed an average of 16.2 points per game, 286.2 yards per game, and it came up with seven turnovers.

The Quarterback. Former general manager Ernie Accorsi always used to insist that an offense begins and ends with a quarterback. So he went out and took a considerable gamble four years ago when, according to many critics, he gave up the farm to get the youngest son of former NFL great Archie Manning.

In Eli Manning, the Giants found their franchise quarterback. Or had they?

Manning struggled in his first few seasons as a Giant. Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that Ben Roethlisberger, who was in the same draft class as Manning and who would have been the Giants pick had they not been able to trade for Manning, has already taken the Steelers to a Super Bowl championship.

So Eli toiled and suffered in silence as critics questioned his heart, his skills, and his leadership. In the end, the one they call "Easy E" got the last laugh, emerging as the Super Bowl MVP, a year after big brother Peyton pulled off the same feat in his Super Bowl win with the Colts.

We saw Eli Manning grow up right before our eyes, especially during the playoffs. He made better use of his resources, he took control of his huddle, and he morphed from a timid boy into an assertive young man who became a force with which to be reckoned.

He became less susceptible to the trick questions posed by the media. He even started to show some personality in his weekly press conferences, cracking jokes and deflecting questions while not being obnoxious about it.

More importantly, he lost that "deer in the headlights" look and didn't think twice about getting into a teammate's face if he screwed up.

Dare we say that Manning almost became Phil Simms-like in his on-field personality? And that's a massive compliment from us, considering we think Simms was the Giants' best field general we've seen since we’ve been following the team.

The biggest change with Manning? He tossed away his security blanket. Whereas in the past, he favored one or two receivers (typically Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer), he opened himself up and embraced the other weapons he had at his disposal, such as tight end Kevin Boss, and receivers Steve Smith and David Tyree.

By spreading the ball around, Manning became harder to read, harder to figure out, and more importantly, he managed to keep opponents on their heels, especially down the stretch when it mattered most.

Coaching. Readers of this publication know that we have been a Tom Coughlin supporter since Day 1. We covered the team through the Jim Fassel era, and we saw the deterioration take place in the locker room. In witnessing that, we knew that Coughlin's stem approach would be a welcomed breath of fresh air in restoring discipline and pride into a locker room that had become a country club.

However, Coughlin came in like a Category-5 hurricane, nearly alienating his players right from the start. When the Giants lost their second straight playoff game last year against Philadelphia, and Coughlin's head coaching career was hanging by a thread, we knew that something had to give. Would the coach agree to change his ways?

To his credit, he made some adjustments that had a positive effect, not just in the locker room, but outside of it as well. He because less prickly with the media, which allowed us to do our jobs better.

More importantly, inside the locker room he gave his players a sense of ownership rather than continue to employ a military-style "my way or the high way" mentality.

He established a 12-man leadership council to serve as intermediaries between him and the team, the council ensuring nothing was lost in the translation from the top while also squashing any problems that might have popped up in the locker room before splintering resulted.

Coughlin even brought a little fun back into the locker room. For example, during training camp, he took the team bowling instead of having them sit through meetings. Before the season, he held a casino night to promote bonding amongst teammates.

The biggest change in Coughlin, though, is he met his players halfway. Whereas in the past he might stroll through the locker room with a purpose, which precluded stopping to chat with a player, this year he changed that and would often be seen pausing to chat and joke with his players.

He became the father figure that team needed -- someone who was compassionate, but who also tolerated nothing less than the best from his players.

And they responded.

In addition to the job Coughlin did, we must mention his assistant coaches, including his coordinators, who received more than their fair share of criticism.

When you look at how the individual units performed, it's probably fair to say that the assistant coaches and coordinators got the most out of the talent with which they had to work. That went a long way toward this team becoming better and more unified.

Jerry Reese. We think back to last year when fans were disappointed that New England guru Scott Pioli declined an interview with the Giants. But as we always say, things happen for a reason. Although hindsight is 20/20, having Reese take over the reins for Accorsi ensured continuity in that Reese didn't have to undo what was a solid foundation left to him when Accorsi retired.

Instead, Reese came in and trimmed off some fat from he roster, replacing it with muscle. He made his presence known by cutting veterans like Luke Petitgout, LaVar Arrington, Carlos Emmons, and Will Demps.

He was a lot more aggressive in free agency than he was credited for, while at the same time being judicious with the team's available cap room. While other teams were throwing around huge dollars at mediocre talent, Reese got excellent value with a guy like veteran linebacker Kawika Mitchell, who was a solid starter for a bargain-basement price of $1M.

Then there was the Giants' draft class. When was the last time 100% of a Giants ' draft class made the 53-man roster, and the last time over 95% of the class contributed to the season right out of the chute?

Exactly.

Not only did Reese engineer the acquisition of some exceptional young talent, which should be around for years to come, he also did a fantastic job of finding castoffs from other teams that fit the Giants roster like a hand in glove.

We're talking about guys like Dave Tollefson, Tank Daniels, and Domenik Hixon, all of whom proved to be outstanding special teams players. We're also talking a guy like Madison Hedgecock, the Rams castoff who stepped in to provide Reese with the physical, bruising fullback he tried so desperately to acquire during the off-season.

When we look at the Giants' Super Bowl win, there are any number of heroes you can point to whose story bears telling. We feel though that the areas we've highlighted above are the reason why this team seemed to come from nowhere to shock the world.

(Originally appearing in Inside Football's "The Road to Super Bowl XLII: A Look Back at the New York Giants' Amazing 2007 Championship Season." Reprinted by permission.)