Super Bowl Bound!!!!!!!!!!! Next stop Glendale, Arizona for Super Bowl 42.

Laurence Tynes has kicked the Giants into the Super Bowl. With his game winning kick, the Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers in overtime on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field 23-20. The Giants are NFC Champions.

With the game time temperature at -2 degrees Fahrenheit, as I stated earlier this week, I did not think the weather would preclude each team from executing their game plans.

Unlike other cold weather games which Eli Manning has not played well in, he came up big in the NFC Championship game. Eli was 21 of 40 for 254 yards. Eli did not turn the ball over. He protected the football and played very well.

Even though the Giants had a combined 134 yards rushing, I knew the Giants offensive line would have a difficult time creating holes against the Packers formidable defensive line. I thought the Packers did very well against our offensive line and contained Jacobs and Bradshaw. Brandon Jacobs' longest run was 12 yards. This was the Giants longest run of the game. I thought the Packers linebackers played very well. A.J. Hawk, Nick Barnett, and Brady Poppinga tackled very well.

I thought Plaxico Burress was outstanding. He was up against Pro Bowl cornerback Al Harris. Plax had 11 catches for 154 yards. He was able to make plays. I thought his play offensively was the difference in the game. In addition, Amani Toomer played well. He had 4 catches for 42 yards. The Giants receivers stepped up against two excellent corners. Steve Smith made 2 big catches down the stretch.

I thought the offensive line did a fantastic job overall. Because of their good pass protection, Eli had time to throw the ball. The line yielded 2 sacks. I thought Packers defensive lineman KJB was offsides on his sack. David Diehl, Giants tackle, did not have a chance. Unfortunately, a flag was not thrown for offsides.
Giants Guard Rich Seurbert got hurt. Apparently, he tweaked his knee. Again, veteran backup Grey Ruegamer came in to replace Seubert and played well. Recall, Reugamer played for injured Giants center Shaun O'Hara in their Wild Card victory over the Bucs.

Giants Defense:

Despite giving up a big play ( the 90 yard catch and run by Donald Driver), the Giants defense was terrific. As I stated in my preview, I thought the key to the game was to stop Packers running back Ryan Grant. The Giants tackles played excellent against the interior offensive line of the Packers. Defensive tackles Fred Robbins, Barry Cofield, and Justin Tuck should be congratulated for their quality play. Grant rushed for 13 carries for 29 yards. His longest run was 13 yards. I thought this was the key to the game. This made the Packers one dimensional. I thought the Packers did not move the ball well at all against the Giants. I thought they got help from the refs on the Sam Madison unsportmanlike conduct penalty. Instead attempting a field goal, the Packers maintained possession and scored on a Favre 12 yard touchdown pass to TE Donald Lee.
With the Giants stuffing the run, I thought the Packers could not use their short "West Coast" offensive pass plays as an alternative to move the football. On several occasions, the Giants defense was able to snuff out Packer screen plays. The Packers were 1 for 10 on third down conversions. By making the Packers one dimensional, Favre threw two picks. The usually sure handed R.W. McQuarters made a play and intercepted a Favre pass. After making the interception, McQuarters took off and attempted to advance the ball further upfield. For Giants' fans, he was stripped and he put the ball on the ground. Packers tackle Mark Tauscher fell on the ball. I thought this was a big turning point in the game. Although the Giants defense held the Packers to a field goal, the Packers were able to get points off that drive and tie the score at 20.

The Giants defense did not record any sacks; however, they were able to put pressure on Favre. I think Spags should be praised for mixing of his blitzes and coverage. I thought he had Favre confused. The Giants were able to come up with two interceptions. The biggest interception was by much maligned cornerback Corey Webster. This interception led to the winning field goal by Tynes. Ever since being inserted in the starting lineup late in the season(because of injuries), he has played consistent at a high level. Overall, I thought the Giants tackled very well in this game. Captain Antonio Pierce made a big play early in the game fighting off a block to keep Ryan Grant from getting a first down. The Packers had to settle for a Mason Crosby 36 yard field goal. In addition, Justin Tuck was in on several tackles on screen plays prohibiting the Packers from "moving the chains."

Penalties

I was unhappy with some of the flags thrown against the Giants. The Giants had 6 penalties for 50 yards. I am angry with the holding call against Chris Snee. This holding penalty negated a Bradshaw game winning touchdown run. After viewing the replay, I thought the call was very questionable.
Another questionable call, I thought the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Sam Madison. After coming in on a third down blitz, Madison was sparring with Packers running back Vernand Morency. I thought both guys were going at it. I thought the official should have been judicious and kept the flag in his pocket. As a result, the Packers were able to extend their drive and score a go ahead touchdown.
In the third quarter, with the Giants deep in their end, Giants tackle David Diehl was called for holding. I thought this was a borderline call. Jacobs had cleared the first down before Diehl pushed his defender to the ground. This resulted in the Giants being backed up deep in their end. The Giants could not overcome a 2nd and 3rd and long and were forced to punt. This change the field position. The Packers scored on the ensuing drive.
Safety Michael Johnson was flagged for a questionable pass interference. I thought this should not have been called. Again, this extended a Packer's drive. With this penalty, the Packers kicked a field goal to extend their lead by four in the second quarter leading 10-6.

Giant Stats:
Giants led in time of possession. The Giants had the ball for 40 minutes while the Packers had the ball for 22 minutes.
The Giants won the turnover battle. The Giants had two takeaways while the Packers had one takeaway.
Packers running back Ryan Grant was held to 29 yards rushing. The Packers had 28 total net rushing yards.
The Giants had 134 combined rushing yards.
Plaxico Burress 11 catches for 154 yards. I think the offensive MVP.
I thought Corey Webster was superb. I saw him play at LSU.(Louisiana State University). Because he was injured his senior year, he slipped into the second round. The Giants drafted him in 2005. He was a star in college. He could cover and has a long arm span. This enables him to defend passes and make plays. He played good pass defense and had the game changing interception.
Laurence Tynes for making the game winning field goal in overtime. Although he had two chances to win the game in regulation, I thought he was a professional and made his third kick.

I thought the two fumble recoveries by TE Kevin Boss on the goal line and KR Domenik Hixon at the Packer 49 were huge. If both guys do not recover the ball, this could have spelled disaster.

I am proud of this team. They have played through adversity all year long. I am happy they will get a chance to play the Patriots in the Super Bowl.