It all looked so familiar.  The Giants were trailing the Patriots with the ball with just minutes remaining.  Eli Manning would have to lead an improbable drive down the field to get Big Blue a Vince Lombardi Trophy.  The underdog Giants would have to come from behind to defeat arguably the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL, Tom Brady.  The Giants would have to prove all the nay-sayers wrong once again.  Sunday night, Patriots fans had that feeling of deja blue.

Super Bowl MVP, Eli Manning would lead another magical drive down the field with the Giants trailing 17-15 and just 3:46 remaining.  The Giants scored a touchdown that was not as memorable as Plaxico Burress’s touchdown in Super Bowl 42, but one that left the same exact feeling in the stomach of Patriots fans.  Ahmad Bradshaw would run it into the endzone with 58 seconds on the clock to give the Giants the lead, 21-17.  The biggest play of the drive came on the very first play.  Pinned back at his own 12 yard line, Manning threw a gorgeous pass to Mario Manningham who made an incredible play to stay in bounds and make the catch at the 50 yard line to give the G-Men great field position.  The Patriots challenged the play and ended up losing a timeout that would have helped in their final drive in the last minute of the game.  The Manningham catch reminded many of the David Tyree catch in Super Bowl 42 off his helmet.  It was the big throw and catch that gave them life and kept the drive going.  The difference between this drive and the drive in Super Bowl 42 was that the Giants made it look much easier last night.  They did not have one third or fourth down on the drive.  The Patriots answer had no answer for Manning and the Giants offense.  Manning found Manningham and Nicks the entire drive wherever and whenever he wanted.  Eli was making passes in his brothers building that we would normally see his brother make.  His throws were as accurate as they could be finding every opening in the Patriots defense.  It was evident that the Pats defense was fatigued as the Giants were finding open receivers on every play.

The Patriots would get the ball back with 58 seconds left and a timeout at their own 20 needing a touchdown to win.  It would end up being too little too late for Bill Belichick’s team.  There would be another deja blue moment on the drive as Justin Tuck would send Brady down on a sack on 3rd and 10 that forced the Patriots to use their final timeout.  That had Giants fans thinking of the sack rookie Jay Alford put on Brady in Super Bowl 42 that would put the Pats away.  It all looked so familiar as the events unfolded.  It seemed to be destiny for the Giants who once again entered the playoffs at 9-7 and made a magical run to a Super Bowl Championship.

Tom Coughlin, the coach on the hot seat just weeks before the playoffs began will now be holding up another Vince Lombardi Trophy in the Canyon of Heroes in the greatest city in the world on Tuesday.  Eli Manning will be holding his second Super Bowl MVP trophy.  Millions of fans will be packed into the streets celebrating another Giants championship.  A team that looked to have the keys to be headed home in December will now be presented with the “Key to the City” Tuesday in what is set to be another memorable parade in New York.

Part II of the evening’s Super Bowl Special, hosted by Kevin Cunningham and Justine Jucker, along with Keiron Bigby. Key points of the Giants 21-17 Super Bowl victory were discussed throughout the program.

Part I of the evening’s Super Bowl Special, hosted by Kevin Cunningham and Justin Zucker, along with Keiron Bigby. The game between the Giants and Patriots was discussed as the action took place, with the Giants closing out their 21-17 victory in the final minutes of the program.

Here are the picks from some of our staff:

Mike Carver
Patriots 27 Giants 20
Belichick & Brady have had 4 years to think about Super Bowl XLII and will be razor sharp focused to pay the G-Men back.

Brandon Contes
Giants 27 Patriots 20
We’ll see more defense than people are expecting, take the under.

Rob Kowal
Giants 41 Patriots 17
Eli will dominate and the Giants front-four will ruin Tom Brady and the Patriots night.

Bill Donohue
Patriots 31 Giants 27
This is like watching a Phillies-Yankees World Series for me…torturous.

Derek Wasiak
Giants 34 Patriots 31 OT
The Giants will become the 1st 9-7 team (400 points allowed, 32nd ranked rushing offense) to win the Super Bowl. Why? They are healthy!

Greg Locke
Giants 27 Patriots 24
See-saw battle ending with a Tynes FG in the waning seconds. Manning MVP.

Adam Kern
Giants 27, Patriots 24
The G-Men’s defense is healthy and clicking, and Eli will lead the way in a tough-fought battle to claim another Super Bowl.

Cody Normand
Patriots 24 Giants 21
The game will come down to a last second Steven Gostkowski field goal to win the game for the Pats.

Ty Hardamon
Giants 31 Patriots 24
G-men will get it done!

Jake Brown
Giants 23 Patriots 20
Game winning field goal by Tynes will win it; Eli gets MVP.

Joe Gucciardo
Giants 27 Patriots 17
The Giants offense is much more explosive than it was four years ago, and Patriots are not even close to the their 18-1 team that same season.

Should be great game! Be sure to tune in to SPORTSTALK1240 after the game (airing from 9:00pm to 11:00pm this and every Sunday night!), and call us with your thoughts on the outcome. Remember, you can listen live online while watching WGBB’s studio webcam by simply linking to http://webcam.sportsradiony.com!

The New York Giants arrived in Indianapolis yesterday to get ready for the Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots. What to expect from Eli and company? Obviously, winning is the expectation, but to do that Eli is going to have to continue to play strong as he did against San Francisco, Green Bay, Atlanta, and Dallas.

The defense must continue to play strong as well. I don’t know if the Jets put confidence in the Giants, but the defense has played well ever since that week 16 New York rivalry game at the Meadowlands. The Giants defense is so confident that Safety Antrel Rolle predicted this week that his Giants would win the Super Bowl.

Tom Brady’s bunch will be in revenge mode to take back what happened in 2008. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said this week that his team “isn’t taking this as a revenge game.” Tom Brady and Vince Wilfork agreed that this isn’t a “revenge game.” I find that hard to believe, that is easy to say to the camera, I’m pretty sure that Tom Brady and Vince Wilfork are definitely going to play in revenge mode. How many times in sports does a team get to get revenge at playing that same team in their career for another championship?

The Patriots have two chips of revenge on their shoulders, the Giants beat them in the super bowl and the Giants beat them earlier this year on their home turf of Gillette Field. Tom Brady does not want Eli Manning to beat him again.

I compare this Super Bowl rematch to the 2011 NBA championship, when the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat matched up- a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals. I’m pretty sure Mavericks Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki had a bit of revenge on their mind, because they were playing Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat. They had a chance to get that golden trophy in Miami and they did. For the Patriots, the teams have changed a bit, but you don’t forget what happened in 2008. I’m pretty sure Dirk Nowitzki didn’t forget 2006.

The New York Giants must take this game very carefully. It’s not easy to beat Tom Brady’s Patriots. Expect not only Tom Brady to give everything he’s got, you can count on the entire Patriots team to bring it. Can it be done? Yes. Will it be easy? That remains to be seen.

Hosted by Eric Mirlis and Derek Wasiak. Guests on the show included longtime broadcaster Kenny Albert; topics on the show included a lot of talk regarding the upcoming Super Bowl between the Giants and Patriots, as well as the streaking New York Rangers.

What year is it? Is it 2008? The New York Giants and the New England Patriots are playing in the Super Bowl, so it must be 2008; wait that Super Bowl already happened! It’s 2012 and Giants/Patriots part two. There are a few tweaks this time around: the Patriots aren’t undefeated, David Tyree no longer plays with the Giants, Randy Moss is no longer with the Patriots, and Plaxico Burress plays for that other New York team.

The Giants are headed to the Super Bowl on a 5-game winning streak. They have defeated the Jets, Cowboys, Falcons, Packers, and 49ers. On this current path, the Giants defense has been tremendous. It all started against the Jets, when the Giants defense made it very difficult for Jets QB Mark Sanchez. Some Jets players criticized Mark Sanchez for his play in that game. They then played a depleted Cowboys team hanging on for dear life, and capitalized on every mistake the Cowboys made. They then shutout Matt Ryan’s pesky Falcons team, overthrew the defending champion Packers and made the final punch against a young talented 49ers team. They now need to do what many saw was unthinkable and finish off the Patriots as they did earlier in the season in Foxboro, and as they did in that unbelievable Super Bowl back in 2008.

Will this game against the Patriots be tough? You better believe it, Tom Brady is certainly no a fan of the Giants, who ruined Brady’s perfect 2007 season, and ruined his 20 game home win streak in Foxboro earlier this season. We know Brady’s Bunch will be in revenge mode and try to make it extremely tough for Eli Manning’s group. It seems that pressure doesn’t bother Eli Manning or the Giants. They squeaked into the playoffs on the regular season’s final day of football, they were heavy underdogs against both the Packers, and 49ers. They don’t panic, and never give up and they have the hearts of champions and will be looking to once again to disturb Tom Brady from getting another Super Bowl ring.

The Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, February 5th in Indianapolis. All will be on the line as America and the world will be watching at what many expect to be another classic Super Bowl Sunday.

Hosted by Joe Carcagno, sitting in for Greg Locke. Topics on the show included the NFL playoffs, including talk about the Giants as they played the 49ers throughout the program.

Hosted by Paul Revelant and Vinny Chiarucci. Topics on the show included the NFL playoffs, including talk about the Giants as they played the 49ers throughout the program.

No team is riding high like the New York football Giants are right now.  This team has all the confidence and motivation in the world.  They beat the Jets to stay alive in the playoff race.  They beat the Cowboys to win the NFC East and host a playoff home game.  They crushed the Falcons in the playoffs with their defense not giving up a point.  If that was not enough, they went into the frozen tundra in Green Bay Sunday and defeated the 15-1 Packers, who had one of the best regular seasons in the history of the NFL.

The Gmen are playing the best defense we have seen them play all year and they are doing it at the perfect time.  The offense is playing tremendous as Eli Manning continues to show the world that he is indeed an elite NFL quarterback.  Manning went out and beat Aaron Rodgers, the Super Bowl MVP and arguably the best quarterback this season.  Many thought it would be a close game, but the Giants had a dominant performance never trailing.  They went into the half with a 20-10 lead thanks to an unbelievable last second hail mary to the endzone from Manning to Hakeem Nicks for 37 yards.  The play helped send the Giants to the locker room with all the motivation they needed to get to San Francisco. They pulled away in the fourth quarter scoring two touchdowns and putting the game out of reach for the defending Super Bowl Champion Packers.

The Giants will now travel to San Francisco in the NFC Championship to play a 49ers team that has been surprising everyone with their defense, which has been one of the best in the league.  Alex Smith made a name for himself in the victory over the Saints leading not one, but two fourth quarter drives for touchdowns that helped the 49ers top Drew Brees and the Saints.  Coming into the year, all the talk was how Alex Smith has been a major bust and would never be a good quarterback.  All that talk has been put aside as Smith had a solid season and an unbelievable playoff performance.  The Giants lost earlier in the season at San Francisco in a very close game, 27-20 and looks for revenge Sunday night.  The last time the Giants played the 49ers in the playoffs, it was a game that all Giants fans want to forget.  The Giants blew a 38-14 lead in that game in the playoffs in 2003 and lost 39-38. It was one of the biggest collapses in football history.

This run that the Giants are on right now brings back the memories of the 2007-2008 Giants team.  Big Blue came into the playoffs with all the momentum they needed and went out and beat the Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Packers all on the road to get to the Super Bowl.  Giants fans are feeling nostalgic as one cannot help but look back at that team and their magical run ending with a Super Bowl win over the previously undefeated New England Patriots.  There is a chance we might just see Brady face off against Manning again come February.  If the Giants can contain Frank Gore and the 49ers rushing attack and play the defense we have seen in this playoff run so far, Tom Coughlin and the Giants might just be headed to Indianapolis to fight for another Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Photo by cool13902008

For another season, the playoff spot is slipping away from the New York Jets. Talking the talk, but not walking the walk again – Mr. Rex Ryan. But no one seems to be putting the blame on the big guy; alll fingers are pointed towards Mark Sanchez. Sanchez has made shocking decisions, has bad time management and thrown some ill-timed interceptions in the past weeks. His work ethic always seems consistent, but it is not enough.

Shall it be football malpractice? On November 13th Sanchez killed a timeout with only 1:24 remaining against the New England Patriots. Then the Jets seemed strong against last week’s Denver Broncos, but ended up getting Tebow’d in the end. In the past three games Sanchez has only had two touchdowns and four interceptions. His completion rate is only 56.7 percent.

New York fans are tough. They are right by their team’s side when they are winning, but when they are losing they cut them no slack. Does anyone really know why the Jets are not performing at the level they should? Throwing Sanchez off the team bus at this point should not be a question. Just look at Eli Manning’s stats his first three years in the league; they are comparable to Sanchez’s record. Not to mention, Sanchez never got the chance to sit behind a senior QB, as Aaron Rogers did behind Brett Favre. He’s been fighting on the field from the beginning.

Rex Ryan during a press conference two weeks ago went on an air-muffling rant on all his injured players.

This week’s key injury is LaDainian Tomlinson. During the same game, LT had a late knee injury. It is looking like he will be on the injury list instead on the field against the Buffalo Bills.

In their first meeting with the Bills the Jets had a well-balanced attack on offense. Even though Sanchez overall completion rate has been low often, he connected for 71 percent of his passes against Buffalo. The Jets might just get lucky since the much-anticipated Bills have fallen off their winning wagon. The Jets can not afford another division loss. Already being 5-5, they need a 6-0 record to make the playoffs. If not they will be watching the playoffs far from the sidelines.

This weeks side note to the controversial Jets: Rex Ryan’s smack talk won’t likely be directed at the fans. We all heard you when you said you could afford the $75,000, but beware pedicures are expensive.

Photo by Daniel Spiess

The New York Jets playoff push will officially begin this Sunday when they host the Buffalo Bills at Metlife Stadium. After an embarrassing defeat against the New England Patriots and a not so surprising last minute loss against the Denver Broncos just three days later, the Jets are now riding a two game losing skid. But, despite the fact that the Jets are two wins behind the AFC East leading Patriots (three games back with head to head match ups), there is still a small amount of hope for Rex Ryan’s squad.

I have to admit I was one of the many frustrated Jets fans after the loss against the Broncos. Shortly after the game I called my father and insisted that he sell our tickets to this weeks game against the Buffalo Bills. I couldn’t get the “Same old Jets” thought out of my head and I was enraged with the way the season has gone so far. But, even having to get over two consecutive tough losses I am looking ahead. Despite the Jets owning a 5-5 record with just a game left in November to play, I did what any worried fan would do. I immediately took a look at the season standings.

Thanks to this week’s losses by the Bengals, Titans, and Bills the Jets are still are still very much alive. Aside from poor consecutive performances from Mark Sanchez and the rest of the offense, the Jets are only one win behind the final playoff spot in the AFC with six games left to play. Of those six games only one team (New York Giants) owns a winning record and the Jets will face them on December 24th. By then that game might not even be relevant in terms of playoff standings.

Coming up the Jets will host the Bills, Redskins, and Chiefs which are all beatable teams and defenses that individually give up more than 330 total yards per game. Also, of those three teams the Jets defense will go against a struggling Bills quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick, a rookie Chiefs quarterback, and who knows which underachieving quarterback will be the guy for Washington.

If the Jets want to prove to the league that they deserve to be playing football in February than they will have to do what they have done since Rex Ryan has been at the helm. They have to have a stellar second half of the season. Impossible? I think not, after all this is the script the Jets have written the past two seasons.

Just find a way to make the playoffs and playing the role of the underdog has been the game plan for the past two years, third times a charm. To those fans who are counting the Jets out, I say not yet. After all if the Jets beat Buffalo this weekend they can very well find themselves sitting as a sixth seed come Monday. Isn’t it funny how many football fans can change their minds after one game?