Magical Giants have feeling of invincibility

The Tampa Bay heat couldn't stop them. The division rival Cowboys couldn't stop them. Not even the frigid sub-zero temperatures of Green Bay could hold them down. Whatever Eli Manning critics were left before Sunday night's NFC Championship Game between the New York Giants and the Packers now have to shut up. All of the Big Blue doubters who said New York simply got "lucky" against Dallas last week now have to eat crow. Why? Oh, not much, really, except for the fact that the New York Football Giants are headed to their first Super Bowl since 2001.

Manning orchestrated yet another symphony by the Giants' offense, passing for 254 yards and controlling the game for all four quarters. The much-maligned quarterback continued his turnover-less streak in this year's playoffs, and threaded the needle on many throws to a variety of different receivers ranging from Plaxico Burress, who had a monster game, to special-teams expert David Tyree. Eli has finally arrived.

Because of Manning's performance, though, many other players who stepped up in this game for New York will get overlooked. Ahmad Bradshaw, for example, essentially took over the game offensively for the Giants in the second half, finishing with 63 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. The 22-year old also had a huge 48-yard touchdown run with 2:15 remaining in the fourth quarter called back due to a holding penalty on guard Chris Snee. Despite that, he Bradshaw still delivered with several clutch runs down the stretch and consistently kept the chains moving.

Someone who won't be discounted is Burress, who caught 11 passes for 154 yards and dominated physical star cornerback Al Harris all evening long. The 6'5" receiver really opened up the field for Manning and New York's offense and made big play after big play throughout the game to help the Giants get to the promised land.

Not enough can be said about New York's defense, either, as it held Brett Favre to only 21 yards passing in the second half. He was picked off by R.W. McQuarters in the fourth, but McQuarters fumbled the football and Green Bay tackle Mark Tauscher recovered to give the Packers a fresh set of downs (they would eventually tie the game at 20 on a field goal). Favre was then intercepted by Corey Webster in overtime, and this time, the Giants didn't lose the ball. Webster's pick set up Lawrence Tynes for the game-winning 47-yard field goal that would send New York to Arizona.

Michael Strahan took over late, bull-rushing Tauscher and forcing Favre into several bad throws down the stretch. Osi Umenyiora also got in on a couple of plays and rushed the 38-year old quarterback out of the pocket. Antonio Pierce and Gibril Wilson both put forth great efforts, as well, as Pierce did an outstanding job reading plays as usual and Wilson characteristically was a huge factor in stymying Green Bay's running game. Ryan Grant, who smoked the Seahawks for 201 yards and three scores last week, was held to a mere 29 yards on 13 carries by this New York defense.

Also, how about the play of kick return specialist Domenik Hixon? He did an excellent job of getting the Giants great field position to work with in the final moments of the game and recovered a huge McQuarters fumble on a punt return that prevented the Packers from re-gaining possession with just over two minutes to play in regulation.

New York's Cinderella story is one of the more remarkable ones in sports this year. Most "experts" picked the Giants to finish below .500 and out of the playoffs. They said general manager Jerry Reese was setting coach Tom Coughlin up to fail and that Coughlin would surely lose his job by the end of the year. They also said that Manning was on the hot seat at quarterback and the possibility of him being benched was very high should he slip up. Most everyone also felt that the loss of Tiki Barber to retirement would cause the Giants' offense, primarily the running game, to take an enormous hit that it wouldn't be able to close. I think Brandon Jacobs did that job this season, as has the newly found Bradshaw in recent weeks.

Now, Strahan and Amani Toomer will get another shot at winning the big one. Their first and only chance came in the 2000-01 season. After demolishing the Minnesota Vikings 41-0 in the NFC Title Game that year, they went on to lose to the Baltimore Ravens 34-7 in the Super Bowl. It left a bitter taste in the mouth of New York that all but two of its players (Strahan and Toomer) would never get another chance to correct.

But hey, why can't these Giants do it? They were doubted during the regular season, and even after winning six straight to improve their record to 6-2 midway through the year, the negative Nancies still found something to complain about: "They haven't played anybody; the secondary has issues; Eli still looks a far cry from being an elite quarterback in this league." Then, after Manning threw four picks, three returned for touchdowns, in a loss to the Vikings in week 12, many began to wonder whether or not New York would even make the playoffs. What happened? The G-Men responded by winning in Chicago thanks to clutch play by Manning in the fourth quarter and then went on to beat the division-rival Eagles in Philadelphia the following week.

That still wasn't enough. Even though they were sitting at 9-4, many said that the Giants had to win against Washington in week 15 to play January football. Well, they didn't, as the swirling winds forced Manning into throwing an unreal 35 incomplete passes in a 22-10 loss that got everyone talking. New York had Buffalo in its next game and that had to end the season at home against the undefeated Patriots. To a good majority of NFL analysts and fans, the Giants were done. There was no way they would beat an inspired Bills' team that would have Kevin Everett on the sideline for the game, and with that loss, they would be forced into a must-win situation against New England in the final week of the season in a game they would almost certainly get annihilated in.

New York again silenced its critics, beating Buffalo to clinch a playoff spot despite getting down 14-0 early. The Giants then gave the Patriots all they could handle in the last game of the 2007 campaign, holding a 12-point lead at one point late in the third quarter. They would eventually fall, however, 38-35. Still, Manning threw four touchdowns compared to a single interception in that contest, and since then, he has been darn near perfect.

The Giants are now New York's darlings. The Yankees couldn't get it done in the postseason, losing in the first round for the third consecutive year, and the collapse of the Mets left the other half of baseball fans in the Metropolitan area spinning. The Knicks...well, I don't think we need to go there with them. Big Blue is now "the team," and rightfully so.

Strahan and company will get another shot at New England in two weeks. Something tells me the result of this game will be a little different.