When the Giants struck down Goliath: 10 years later
On Christmas Eve, Eli Manning and David Tyree returned to the scene.
The star quarterback and the seldom-used former receiver walked to the 24-yard line at University of Phoenix Stadium, coming to a stop when they reached the spot — or, more appropriately, The Spot. Ten years earlier, Tyree leaped at that exact patch of turf in Glendale, Ariz., pinned a football against his helmet and, defying several laws of physics, kept the ball from hitting the ground as safety Rodney Harrison slammed him from behind. Moments later, the Giants completed an epic upset over the previously unbeaten Patriots in Super Bowl XLII in what perhaps is the greatest and certainly is one of the most improbable Super Bowls wins in NFL history.
“For me, it was something I had to ensure I got done in a sense of, it’s only going to be 10 years one time,’’ Tyree told The Post. “Obviously we don’t get back to that stadium too often so I just wanted to capitalize on the experience and share that with big E, take a couple of pictures.
“Things like that you treasure the more you distance yourself from the game itself. Eli’s still in the thick of it. It was a little favor to pull him away from his routine just to show some love to one of his old buddies. You kind of get a little glimpse into the best moment of my football experience.’’
It was the best moment in all their football experiences, a 17-14 triumph on Feb. 2, 2008, that resonates to this day. Ten years later, Manning, Tyree, defensive end Osi Umenyiora and kicker Lawrence Tynes provided an oral history to The Post, taking us back to what they were thinking, what they were doing and what it all means, 10 years later.
Heading to Arizona
Umenyiora: “Still kind of in shock about the whole thing, still not really understanding what was happening, it was hard to really process the fact we had made it all the way to the Super Bowl and were playing a team that was undefeated at the time, supposed to be one of the best teams ever. It was almost like an out-of-body experience. I remember feeling really angry. You would turn on the TV and it was just all Patriots. Rightfully so, I guess because they were an undefeated team and set all kinds of records. We were so underestimated. Nobody gave us credit for the things we had done that year. We were almost like an asterisk of some sort. We were really angry about that.’’
Plaxico Burress’ public prediction: Giants 21, Patriots 17
Tynes: “There was a lot of chatter, it was an 18-0 team we were playing, they obviously felt confident, as obviously they should have, they had beaten us at our place five weeks before that. We understood their confidence, but we just didn’t like them. It was the Patriots.’’
Umenyiora: “I was happy Plaxico said that and he was confident. I got even angrier when I saw Brady do his little laugh about how many points they were gonna score, he said, ‘We’re only going to score 17?’ We had a very high level of confidence, and the only reason I say that is because we knew we had the advantage on the line of scrimmage. We had played them the final week and we played them close but we knew we didn’t really show them everything. I talked to [Michael] Strahan, the whole D-line got together and we all said, ‘If we’re going to win this game we’re going to have to perform at the highest level,’ because that was the only place we had the advantage.’’
The fateful Friday practice
Tyree: “It has become a legendary worst practice in NFL history. I can remember my teammates saying, ‘Beat ’em up, ball!’ on the sideline after dropping so many passes on Friday. That was about the most attention I got during the week. It was horrific.’’
Tynes: “I’ve never seen anyone drop as many balls, not even in high school. Seriously, it was unbelievable. There was like an uncomfortable silence in practice, and he continued to drop them, I don’t think anyone knew what to say. I mean, rep after rep after rep.’’
Kickoff and beyond
Umenyiora: “The very first play we got on the field defensively, me and Barry Cofield just hit Tom Brady. From then on it was almost like a feeding frenzy. I remember not seeing anything quite like that before, it was crazy. It felt different. We were on this man every single time he dropped back to pass. To see that come together like that was amazing.’’
The early fourth quarter Tyree touchdown catch
Tynes: “That was the play he dropped like four times in a row in practice. We all saw it and thought, well, that’s the play he dropped in practice, maybe it’s our day.’’
Tyree: “That whole thing was 100 percent Eli Manning. I could have done a better job of cutting, given the corner a little stick out to keep him off of me. I just really ran, looks more like a slant than anything else and Eli drilled it in there. It was just a great call, great timing, guy made a great throw and I made the catch.’’
Tom Brady to Randy Moss, TD, Patriots lead 14-10, 2:45 remaining
Umenyiora: “I remember feeling dejected at that point. We had dominated the whole game and to give up that late touchdown and you’re just not sure if you’re going to be able to overcome that, if the offense was going to go out there and score. I remember feeling really sick when we gave up that touchdown. But then it was like, Eli, they had done some amazing things that whole season. Sometimes Eli bailed us out, a bunch of times. Going to the sideline, I was just dejected. I’m not a very optimistic person by nature. I wasn’t like Strahan was, telling people ‘17-14.’ I expect the worst.’’
The helmet catch
Manning: “It could have gone differently in so many different ways. It could have been intercepted, incomplete, sacked, thrown away. A lot of bad things could have happened on that play and fortunately we kind of got the one good outcome to happen for us. Not the greatest protection I had on that play. And I love those guys and I think I thanked ’em for blocking nobody. Maybe if they blocked better we get an incomplete or no telling what would have happened. [Richard Seymour] had a good hold on the jersey, but I was able to somehow sneak away.’’
Tyree: “It was just backyard football. If you’re going deep you got to come back and give your quarterback a shot, that’s really what I did, I looked for green grass in the middle of the field. By the time Eli did his best mobile quarterback impression, which was miraculous in and of itself, I think that’s the missed half of the miracle oftentimes. He kind of gave me a shot, Locked eyes a little bit and gave me a shot.
“As he pops out of there, as soon as he’s able to set his feet just to throw the ball, it’s up there and in my mind I knew I wasn’t going to be open long. I can remember saying that to myself, ‘Brace for contact.’ As much as I knew I was open I knew it wouldn’t last long. That’s it, ‘Chariots of Fire’ is playing in the background and that’s the moment.
“For a split second I got two hands on it, I got the ball, I got the catch and the contact comes and in my mind I’m like, ‘I got this, I’m not letting this go.’ I’m clutching, I’m straining, I never had a clue the ball was on my helmet, I just knew it got loose.’’
Umenyiora: “I saw them grab Eli and as soon as I saw them grab him, my heart just dropped all the way to the floor, because I thought it was over. I lost all hope then. Next thing you know, Tyree is standing up and I didn’t see the actual catch. Only when I saw the replay did I know what happened. I was like man, it was incredible, like how is that even possible what he did?’’
The Plaxico game-winner
Umenyiora: “I saw the ball hanging up in the air and I saw it going to Plax, and if there was one person that year you want the ball thrown to in that situation it was him.’’
Tynes: “I was still nursing that kind of foot thing from the NFC Championship so I would go into the facility after I kicked for ice at the Arizona Cardinals facility. I talked to [Burress] personally, we’re pretty good friends, I remember him telling me, ‘I don’t know, Tynnesy.’ I was asking are you gonna play, how you feeling? And he was going ‘I don’t know.’ I knew how hurt his knee was.’’
The confetti
Manning: “I think with age you realize how hard it is to get there. It was my fourth year, third year in a row making the playoffs, hadn’t won a playoff game, but just thought that was the norm. The way we got there, I was relaxed as can be, no cares in the world. You don’t know how hard it is until you play long enough and see the ups and downs of the way football can go. It takes a while to kick in. You think, ‘I just won a Super Bowl,’ and what that means. What it means to your family. What it means to your fans and ownership and how it all happened.’’
Tyree: “The only way to explain that feeling is just awe. A …W… E. Awe. There’s so many emotions that are experienced. There’s the jubilation of joy, there’s this, ‘This is a surreal moment,’ when you look at all the minutes you’ve labored with, coaches, families. It’s just so non-real in light of every ambition and goal you can consider from your childhood. I can remember fragments and moments and sharing a laugh, a hug with a number of people here and there. But there’s so much that is lost in the midst of jubilation. It’s a beautiful moment of awe.’’
Umenyiora: “Just disbelief. When you go through a situation like that, when literally nobody gives you a chance to win, to have done it, in that fashion and all of a sudden it was over you don’t know what to do. One of the greatest accomplishments of my life, for sure.’’
Tynes: “Your heart stops. It’s funny, you know you won the game, you’re so happy, you’re hugging people. I grabbed [coach Tom] Coughlin. It’s an amazing, surreal feeling. I don’t think it truly sets in until the next day, when you’re with your team again and it’s quiet and you’re on the plane to go back home. Really, it was the parade, that’s when it truly hits home that you are a world champion. It gives me goose-bumps just talking about it.’’
Ten years later
Tyree: “Just considering the speed of life, once you stop playing football it goes by in the blink of an eye and next thing you know you’re talking about 10 years from a climactic moment in your NFL experience.’’
Manning: “No, it doesn’t seem like 10 years. I guess you don’t know how it changes your life. Obviously when you win a championship, just the relationships you have with the guys you win a championship with change. There is always kind of a tightness and closeness with those guys, and I was close with them already, but it is something you keep forever.’’