USA TODAY International Edition
How a 9- 7 team won the title,
Champs picked up pieces, rolled after 4- game slide
INDIANAPOLIS — Fifty- one days ago, the New York Giants were 7- 7, having lost their fifth game in six weeks, a 23- 10 defeat vs. the last- place Washington Redskins.
Giants coach Tom Coughlin took responsibility for what he termed a disappointment.
Said running back Brandon Jacobs: “I didn’t see the passion in us today. I can’t tell you why.”
Monday, Coughlin stood before the news media, conceding he couldn’t explain how the Giants became the first team to win a Super Bowl after going 9- 7 in the regular season.
“I don’t know if I really can ( explain it),” Coughlin said. “But I will tell you this: From the earliest part of camp . . . we would have an injury that would be, under normal circumstances, devastating.
“I think what would happen is the players fed off of me and I fed off ( them). The players wouldn’t back down from moving forward no matter what.”
There were injuries, such as top draft pick Prince Amukamara’s broken foot, Osi Umenyiora’s and Jacobs’ knees, Justin Tuck’s neck and groin and Ahmad Bradshaw’s foot.
There were surprises, including a season sweep by the 5- 11 Redskins and a 36- 25 loss to the Seattle Seahawks ( 7- 9). Ineffective on the ground and inconsistent through the air, the Giants averaged an NFL- low 3.5 yards a carry and Eli Manning threw at least one interception in eight of the final nine games.
Then there were distractions. Safety Antrel Rolle said publicly that Coughlin should loosen up. Former Giant and franchise leading rusher Tiki Barber wrote a critical online column and told the media that Coughlin was losing his team amid a fourgame skid in November and early December.
Coughlin kept his head down, ignoring Barber’s attempts to bury the hatchet in January, as the Giants beat the Atlanta Falcons in a wild- card game and prepared for the NFC’S topseeded Green Bay Packers. Meanwhile, Rolle shaped up. “Once I matured enough and I took a step back, I understand everything behind his discipline and his structure comes with a reason,” Rolle said. “He has prepared us for a bigger and brighter stage, which is the stage we are on right now.”
They won under the bright lights at Lambeau Field, at Candlestick Park vs. the San Francisco 49ers and at Lucas Oil Stadiumvs. thenewengland Patriots to become the first team to win an NFL title after losing four in a row in the same season.
Super Bowl MVP Manning cited a Dec. 11 win against the Dallas Cowboys as a turning point. Manning rallied the Giants from 12 points down with fewer than four minutes to play.
“That was an emotional win,” he said Monday. “The excitement in that locker room was fun. Everybody got that winning feeling again and said, ‘ We have to ride this momentum.’ ”
Ride it they did. After slipping against the Redskins, they beat the New York Jets and Cowboys to win the division, then mounted a five- week, four- city, 5,000- mile title run. How was that possible? “Because of their mental toughness. . . . Because they continued to believe,” Coughlin said. “Because we continued to be in the hunt.”