As New York looks into sainthood for Eli Manning, a sad Patriots nation isn’t sure where to place the blame for yesterday’s massive upset. While the offensive line was a bit porous, no one player played particularly bad. There was no scapegoat—no Scott Norwood. A Boston Herald writer suggested that Gisele was at fault, but she likely distracted both teams evenly. So what did the Patriots in? Was it the hype? Tom Brady’s bum ankle? The ghost of Wellington Mara? Did the Pats underestimate the Giants?  How did the unstoppable force get toppled by Eli Manning and the wildcard Giants? Discuss.

Bryan  Abrams, Researcher: As was reported by ESPN’s SportsGuy, Tom Brady took time before the game to shake Pat O’Brien’s hand.
So things were looking bleak for the Patriots well before the coin toss. The Giants won the battle in the trenches.  When you’re getting knocked on your ass every other time you throw the ball, you get rattled.  The Giants defense played lights out, and the offense did just enough to win.  Plus, Eli had a cool hand throughout.  Even the interception wasn’t his fault.  And the escape hatch bomb (just coined that myself) to Tyree was one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history.  Period. And finally, enough with Boston already.  That town went from lovable loserville to The Empire way too quickly.  The entire city needed to just calm down.  Thanks to the Giants they will.

Jamie Malanowski, Managing Editor: Well, you don’t have to be Vince Lombardi to see that it was the Giants’ defense, particularly the front line. They played as well in this postseason as the legendary front lines of the sixties and seventies—the Rams’ Fearsome Foursome, the Vikings’ Purple People Eaters, and Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain. If they can continue this into next season, they will need a nickname of their own.

Abrams: I’ll coin that as well- The Blue Man Group.

Joseph Westerfield, Copy Editor: Eli is destined for sainthood. Some day people will see his face on a grilled-cheese sandwich. And why not? If Joe Namath can do it based on one game—what else did he do that was even close?—Eli deserves it. The thing that struck me as odd about this win is the lack of a running game on both parts. If you told me the Giants would win, and not too many people told me that, I would have said that Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw would have combined for 200 yards. Offhand I don’t think they combined for 100 yards. The one Eli question I do have is, Where did he learn to throw? For much of the season, I thought he was actually adopted by Archie Manning from the family of Billy Kilmer. (I guess that’s a reference only Jamie and I will know, but trust me it works) And yet there he was setting up throwing bullets. It was like he had gotten religion.

Malanowski: Perhaps we need to start crediting the rise of Eli Manning to the rise of Steve Smith. The rookie didn’t play most of the season, and the Giants used Sinorice Moss as the 3rd wide receiver. Well, Sinorice didn’t set the world on fire, not did David Tyree, until yesterday. But Smith started playing around Week 14, and suddenly Eli had another good option to go to. Suddenly he’s not forcing as much, or throwing into coverage as much, or holding onto the ball as long.

Tim Mohr, Music Editor: I like execution, not playground improvisation, so I’ll leave the gushing over Eli’s last-ditch heave to Tyree to the rest of you. What gets me about the game is that, improbable as it seems, Coughlin—Coughlin!--seems to have out coached Belichick. With an extra long halftime, couldn’t Bill have come up with some shovel passes or draws to take advantage of the fact that the Giant blitz was coming on almost every play and almost always from the outside? After consistently admiring both Belichick’s schemes and his willingness and ability to change them, I have to wonder whether this loss represents a cautionary tale about hubris: Did arrogance trump Belichick’s smarts, rendering him too stubborn to go back to the drawing board at half?

Conor Hogan, Fashion Assistant: Who isn’t getting enough credit?

Ben Conniff, Editorial Intern: The media clearly overhyped Plax's 23-17 prediction in the week leading up to the game, but the response said a lot about the cockiness of the Patriot's offense. While some Giants fans worried that Burress's prediction would motivate the Pats, the real motivation came from Brady's smug response. When Brady guessed the score would be in the 40s, he was clearly underestimating the Giants' defensive line. Well, he didn't look quite so smug staring into the gap between Strahan's teeth. Also, while Tyree's catch and Burress's TD will be all over the highlight reel, I say major props go to Amani Toomer. He's struggled since last season's surgery, but he made some tough grabs mid-game to move the chains and set the tone that kept the G-men's offense fighting.

Hogan: While I am a fan of Amani Toomer too, his best catch was the result of blatant offensive pass interference that went uncalled.

Mohr: Not only offensive interference, but also a personal foul for the blow he used to the face to shove the DB out of the way. One of the worst non-calls of all time. Thank goodness there was an interception on a subsequent play so that catch didn't affect the outcome.

Westerfield: One of the worst non-calls of all time? Have you never Terrell Owens play? 

Conniff: I won't argue with the pass interference, though it was a lot of fun to watch the Pats fan next to me flip out about it. But that big pass still netted nothing. I'm talking about the passes Toomer wrestled away from tight coverage right at the chains. Toomer dropped a lot of passes during the regular season, but showed some grit and leadership through the playoffs and in the big game.

Malanowski: I think the refs deserve a lot of credit for letting the boys play last night. There was at least one play where Rodney Harrison elbowed Toomer in the head, then jumped on him after he’d fallen and gave him a forearm shiver to the base of the skull. No call—no whining.

Abrams: Yes, let’s give it up to the refs, which is a rare act in sports.  They let them play and didn’t bog the game down with iffy calls. The escape-hatch bomb could have been whistled dead (granted, it would have been a TERRIBLE call), in the ref’s constant pursuit to keep the quarterbacks breathing.  In the regular season, they very well might have blown the whistle, calling him ‘in the grasp.’  Thankfully they didn’t, the game was smooth and pretty quick, and not once did I find myself wondering aloud why the NFL chooses to use referees born during the Industrial Revolution. That ref with the mustache is as solid as they come. 

Malanowski: Regarding Bellichek- the nasty guy in me wonders if he was preoccupied with thoughts of the colossal hit his reputation will take if there are films of the St. Louis Rams running their red zone offense, as has been alleged.

Mohr:  The videotape stories—the earlier one and the new one--are ludicrously overblown. Nobody likes a cheater, sure, but the advantage gained here is non-existent. Teams have guys in the stands who write down the visual signals, down and distance, and the play then run—it’s part of routine scouting. What’s the difference if they have a picture? All this video “gate” stuff needs to go away. People who think it’s some great advantage just don’t understand the game.

Malanowski: As for the spygate allegations, I, too, think the initial complaint was overblown. But this new allegation--that the Pats taped the Rams’ offensive walk-through the day before the Super Bowl—is rather more serious. I heard Phil Simms on the radio yesterday— and he’s someone who is pretty levelheaded about things—and he thought that such information would give the team an enormous advantage.

Abrams: Tiki is really the biggest loser in all of this.  Also, the size of Troy Aikman’s hands sort of freaked me out. 

Rocky Rakovic, Junior Editor (arriving to the discussion late): I’m not sure if it was the loss or the copious amounts of Jager-bombs I did after the loss that has me feeling a bit ill. Some bullet points:

• My beloved Pats didn’t make it happen when it counted; when they were accustomed to doing such.

• Why didn’t they grind the clock down on their last possession? One or two running plays would have made sense even with the vaunted front five of the G-men.

• The cut of Belichick’s sleeves was too perfect.

• 45 rushing yards?

• The one thing I take away from this is that the Giants are better without the cancer: Tiki. Always thought he was holding them back.

• Another thing that I take away...Shockey.

• The win was all clock management. One of the better Super Bowls in recent memory as no one really f-ed things up.

• Coughlin. His perception has really done a 360.