Take a short drive south from Foxboro and it’s just a few hours before you enter the state of New Jersey and just a few miles later you will encounter a brilliant football coach.
A man who faced adversity, was nearly fired and bounced back to become a Super Bowl Champion. I speak, of course, about the great Vince Lombardi.
Every time my wife and I drive south on I-95 we celebrate surviving the horror show that is driving through NYC by stopping at the Vince Lombardi Rest Area along the New Jersey Turnpike for a quick bite to eat.
(Travel note: It’s really a lovely rest area, located just south of the home field of the New Jersey Giants or Hackensack Orphans or whatever they are calling themselves these days.)
Anyway, I thought I would use some words of wisdom from the great man himself to explain to delusional Giants’ fans why the chances of catching lightning in a bottle and upsetting the Patriots a second time in four years are as slim as those of Hoffa’s body being found.
In truth, I’m doing you a favor. Lowering your expectations will help dull the pain of inevitable heartache.
“The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory. That’s the essence of it.”
Don’t look for Bill Bellichick to be wearing a red hoodie on the sidelines on Sunday. Four years ago, the Patriots were Mike Tyson to the Giants’ Buster Douglas. They lost focus, lost killer drive, let their guard down and the Giants got in a lucky punch. Brady, Bellichick and co. are all business this time.
“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”
Two losses to the Redskins … really? The 9-7 regular season record says it all. The Giants play with all the consistency of Tapioca pudding. They’ve had a couple of good playoff outings. Congratulations. “Big Blew” is ready for a stinker and the fans know it.
“The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.”
Fun fact — New England gave up 21.4 points a game this year. The Giants gave up 25 points a game. Just sayin’.
On paper, the Patriots defense seems to lack the talent to win a Super Bowl. But a funny thing happens when they get on the field, this group of nobodies plays together with heart. They dig in their heels and refuse to be embarrassed. For the record, I’d be confident, too, if I thought Jerrod Mayo was the best player on the New England defense. But he’s not. Never mind the fact that Vince Wilfork is unblockable, by late Sunday night, you will be sick of hearing the names Brandon Spikes and Mark Anderson.
Offensively, Brady just has way to many options. You can start with Gronkowski but you’d better figure out how to cover Hernandez and Welker and Branch, too. And if your chorus line up front commits to trying to pressure Brady, the Patriots will be content to run the ball down their throats as they did against the mighty Ravens.
“Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.”
Tom Brady is in a foul mood and that is bad news for the Giants. A lot has happened since David Tyree borrowed a tub of stickum from Lester Hayes, applied it to his helmet and told Eli Manning in the huddle, “Just aim for my head!” There was a season-ending injury and two disappointing playoff losses. Brady has waited a long time to redeem himself on the big stage and he won’t waste it.
Schedule the Duck Boats! Patriots 38, Giants 24
For the New York/New Jersey perspective, read Chris Vaccaro’s column here.
Bil Gilman is Editor of Tewksbury Patch (tewksbury.patch.com).