Eli’s Coming…to Arizona: Eli’s finally got something to brag about in the Manning household.
Papa Manning, cursed with playing with bad teams all of his career, never sniffed a Super Bowl.
It took Peyton nine seasons and three AFC Championship games to finally reach a Super Bowl last season.
But, Eli, as maligned as he’s been all season, and for that matter, all of his short career, has made it to the Super Bowl in his fourth season, his third as a full-time starter.
The fact that Eli’s job is made a little easier by one of the league’s top defensive units is an edge he also holds over Peyton, because while the Colts have perennially had one of the best offenses during his career, it’s taken a long time for the defense to catch up.
Wonder if Tiki Barber has any doubts about Eli’s leadership skills now?
Road Warriors: If there are some Giants fans who may have wanted a refund on their season ticket after having to see their team struggle to a 3-5 mark at the Meadowlands, it would have been a valid complaint.
But, thanks to the team’s road run through the playoffs, there might be a lot of fans relieved about the Giants having to be on the road the last three weeks.
New York went 7-1 on the road in the regular season, so it shouldn’t be such a big surprise that they’ve made it this far, as they’ve knocked off Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Green Bay, all away from the unfriendly confines of home.
If I were Tom Coughlin, I’d be petitioning the NFL right now to be able to play every game next season away from the Meadowlands.
Home Is Where the Hardware Is: In their history, New England has hosted the AFC Championship Game three times.
The result? Three trips to the Super Bowl.
In the 1996 season, a 20-6 victory over the upstart Jaguars clinched the AFC title and sent the Drew Bledsoe-led Pats to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Packers.
The last two victories have come under Tom Brady, as New England beat Indianapolis for the AFC title in both 2003, and then took down the Chargers on Sunday.
Brady is a perfect 8-0 in home postseason games in his career, which, if you do the math, is 100%. It’s been a few years since I’ve had a math class, but last I remember, that’s pretty good.
History of Success for Both Pats and Giants: New England’s victory over the Chargers made them 4-1 in AFC title games under Brady and Bill Belichick, and 6-1 overall.
That would be the best percentage, but the Cincinnati Bengals are two for two in AFC title game appearances.
However, their .857 win % is best among teams who have been in the conference title game three or more times, but it has to settle for second-best overall, AFC or NFC title game.
Who’s #1? The Giants, who have won all four times they’ve been in the NFC Championship Game (1986, 1990, 2000, 2007).
Instant Classic: Sunday’s overtime thriller at Lambeau Field was one of the closest conference title games since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
Only twice before had a conference championship been decided in overtime – Denver 23, Cleveland 20 (1986 AFC Championship), Atlanta 30, Minnesota 27 (1998 NFC Championship).
There’ve been some nail-biters in the last four decades, but Sunday’s game was only the seventh time in 76 conference championship games that the outcome was decided by three points or less.
The others:
1981: San Francisco 28, Dallas 27
1983: Washington 24, San Francisco 21
1990: New York 15, San Francisco 13
1997: Denver 24, Pittsburgh 21
This past weekend was the first time since the 2001 season that both conference championship games were decided by single digits (AFC – New England 24, Pittsburgh 17; NFC – St. Louis 29, Philadelphia 24).
Weather Non-Advantage: If you were watching the FOX broadcast of Sunday’s game, the analysts went on and on about how cold it was.
Not to play down how cold it was, because I know it wasn’t sunbathing weather, or anything close to it, but it wasn’t near as much of an advantage for Green Bay as it was made out to be.
They must have been confusing the football team with the baseball team, because it’s anything but warm in the Giants’ home base right now. Well, unless you’re from Green Bay, or Greenland.
Speaking of Green, the hero of Sunday’s NFC title game, kicker Lawrence Tynes, was born in Greenock, Scotland, home of inventor James Watt and Catherine Muir, mother of Jay Leno.
I’d have to put the odds of him getting an appearance on the Tonight Show as a tad bit higher than getting a statue next to Watt, but if he boots another game-winner in the Super Bowl, it might be Lawrence Tynes Day in Greenock in early February.
