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So, I'm a little late with this post, but I've been absolutely drained for the last two days.

Well, I ended up watching the Super Bowl.  Until the middle of last week, I had no intention of watching, but then Erin said that she wanted to have her team over for the game, so I watched it.  I honestly didn't care about the outcome of the game.  I really didn't want to see the Patriots win and have the perfect season after getting caught cheating, with little more than a slap on the wrist as punishment.  At the same time, I didn't really want the Giants to win.  It's hard to get excited about a game where I despise one quarterback and his entire football family (Eli Manning), hate almost everything about the opposing coach (Belichick) and find the other quarterback to be one of the most overrated players to ever play the game (Tom Brady).  But I watched the game, and I'm glad that I did.  Here's my thoughts about the game:

• Overall, I thought it was an excellent game.  Definitely one of the best games I've ever seen.  I absolutely love a good defensive showing, and other than the first and second-to-last Patriot drives, the Giants put on a clinic on how to beat any team in the league.
• Here's what I was expecting coming in to the game:
  • Eli Manning has an average game, nothing spectacular, but makes some really stupid decisions that cost the Giants the game
  • Tom Brady has his typical moderately above average game, but his outstanding receivers make some great catches that make him look infinitely better than he really is, as usual.  No big mistakes, which prevents him from blowing the game, which is the only good thing I have to say about him as a player.
  • Neither team runs the ball much, since neither team really believes in that offensive philosophy.
  • Low scoring game because neither team can do much against a secondary that never has to help defend against the run.
• And here's what actually happened:
  • Eli Manning has an average game, nothing spectacular, but makes some really stupid decisions that don't cost the Giants the game because he's incredibly lucky that about five straight passes don't get intercepted in the fourth quarter (including the first touchdown pass) and his receivers are the ones that pull of the amazing plays.
  • Tom Brady has an absolutely horrible game.  His passes are consistently either short of the receiver or way over their heads.  He didn't even give his receivers a chance to make big plays because he couldn't get the ball anywhere near them.
  Neither team runs the ball much, since neither team really believes in that offensive philosophy.
  • Low scoring game because neither team can do much against a secondary that never has to help defend against the run.
• I know that the voters will never give a player the Super Bowl MVP award based on one play, but David Tyree was most definitely the most valuable player of that game.  His catch on the last Giants drive of the game, catching it with one hand, bracing it against his helmet as he got hit, and then having the presence to get his other hand around the ball as he is going to the ground was absolutely amazing.  Yes, I was amazed that Eli got out of the defenders' hands to make the throw, but that throw was atrocious, and Tyree gave them the chance to win.  Check this catch out:

• Eli Manning's performance is definitely more MVP-deserving than his brother's was last year.  There is absolutely no way that Peyton Manning should have won that MVP.  It should have gone to one (or both) of the Colts' running backs, or to the Bears defense for letting the Colts literally run over them.  How does a guy that loses a fumble and throws an interception right into the defender's hands get the MVP?  At least Eli's interception was in no way his fault.  His receiver should have caught that ball easily.
• Bill Belichick is an ass.  I've always despised him, but he reached an all-time low at this game.  He's always been low-class, he dresses like a bum, and he's a cheater, probably has been for years.  He's got to be one of the most arrogant people in the world as well, especially when you consider that he was blatantly cheating against his team's number one in-division rival, where one of his former assistants is the head coach.  And now, add incredibly sore loser to his resume.  He storms off the field with one second remaining?  What the hell was that all about?  I know that those last few seconds in games like this are absolutely meaningless, but you don't do that.  I don't think I've ever seen a coach do that in a game.  I honestly hope this man never wins another game as a coach in his life, is unceremoniously fired by the Kraft family, and never gets another coaching job again.  The sport doesn't need people like him.  No sport does.
• Watching a game like this with a Patriots fan is absolutely hilarious.  I am a die-hard Packers fan, but I've never heard a Packers fan talk like this about Favre, who is unquestionably leaps and bounds above Brady in both ability and desire:
  • About thirty seconds left, Patriots down by three with the ball on their 10-yard line.  Unnamed Patriots fan turns to me and says "Now you'll see what Brady's all about.  Now he'll show you how it's done."  Literally, five seconds later, Brady is lying flat on his back after getting absolutely pummelled by a Giants rookie defensive lineman.  My response: "So, that's how Brady gets it done?"  Brady proceeds to underthrow and then overthrow his receivers on third and fourth down, as usual, and the Patriots lose the game.  I guess that is how Brady gets it done.  Of course, with DVR, we did have to watch Brady get flattened about six times before the next play.  It was too funny.
• Once again, Tom Brady proves that he is not as good as all of the talking heads give him credit for.  He is definitely a good quarterback, but he does not belong in any discussions for best ever.  Not even top 5 ever.  Maybe, top 10, maybe. 
• I have to point out that Brady was never the key factor in any of the Patriots' Super Bowl wins.  Special teams, defense, and the ground game (or at least a balanced offense) have always been the strong points of their Super Bowl wins.  Brady just did enough to not make mistakes and keep them in the game.  He did the same thing here, but the other parts of the game weren't there.  Come on, a kickoff that I could tell was going out of bounds from the second that it was kicked?  That's ridiculous.  And somehow, the secondary decided to not even try to intercept any of Eli's passes into tight double coverage?  That doesn't make any sense either.
• Absolutely loved how easily the Giants defense was able to get to Brady on just about every play.  I have no idea how they weren't able to do it against either the Cowboys or the Packers, but those games wouldn't have been even close if the Giants had been able to do so.  Maybe that Packers offensive line wasn't the worst in the playoffs, which was all that I saw in every comparison I read.

Last point, other than a couple of decent ones, the commercials during this year's game were absolutely horrendous.  The only commercials that I thought were worthy of a Super Bowl were the following:

• The Anheuser-Busch ad with the dalmation training the Clydesdale to join the team the next year.  The Rocky theme was predictable, but it was a funny commercial.
• The lizards doing the Thriller dance with some random chick that I'm apparently supposed to recognize in an ad for some sort of vitamin water or something.  (Hey, I said the commercial was memorable, not the product)
• The Coke commercial, with the Stewie Griffin and Underdog balloons at the Macy's parade fighting over the Coke balloon.  Loved seeing Charlie Brown come in over the buildings and finally win one.  The quick shot of the girl holding the football as he is getting the coke was classic.  Definitely made the commercial.