Eli talks, sounds like Brady
Eli Manning, Super Bowl XLII MVP, met the media Monday morning to receive his tropy and new car – he chose a Cadillac hybrid Escalade – and sounded a lot like Tom Brady in his comments.
Manning credited his teammates and coaches and said they never doubted their ability, even when all things were going bad.
"We just had a great will on this team and it was the right group of guys,'' he said. "It was a special group of guys. We were determined and we had great faith in ourselves. Everybody knew their role and their responsibility and no matter what happened, what we've been through, it helped that a lot of the players have been together the last three or four years and we've learned to deal with adversity. We've had to overcome mistakes or bad play or disappointment and had to put it behind us.''
Manning said he got little sleep Sunday night, spending the time after the game with his family and friends. He watched the game again – especially the jaw-dropping 32-yard completion to David Tyree in which Manning escaped a sack by Jarvis Green and Adalius Thomas and Tyree held onto the ball on his helmet – and then replayed it in his head.
"I didn't get to appreciate what a great catch it was,'' he said.
There was a light moment when Manning was asked how he would spend the next couple of weeks. He noted that he would like a little time off to rest before the team gets together for off-season workouts. He said he didn't know when they began and Coach Tom Coughlin, sitting to his left, said, "Monday.''
Coughlin noted that it was nice that Manning won a car, but noted there weren't any other free cars around.
Coughlin praised the Patriots for being a great opponent. Of his team he said, "We kept getting better and our confidence grew and the players felt we could win under any circumstances.''
Some final notes from the Super Bowl:
Tom Brady set a record for most career Super Bowl completions. He now has 100. He also attempted the most passes in a game (48) without an interception.
Wes Welker tied the single-game mark with 11 catches.
The teams combined for the longest scoreless stretch in Super Bowl history (33 minutes, 52 seconds).
New York punter Jeff Feagles became the oldest player (41 years, 333 days) to appear in a Super Bowl.
The teams combined for the fewest rushing attempts (42) and fewest rushing yards (136) in a Super Bowl game.
Junior Seau set a record for most years between Super Bowl appearances (13)
The Giants became only the second team in Super Bowl history to win the championship after trailing in the final minute of the fourth quarter (San Francisco beat Cincinnati in Super Bowl XXIII on a John Taylor touchdown reception with 34 seconds left)
The Giants were the first team to win a Super Bowl after trailing at the half since Dallas beat Buffalo 30-13 in Super Bowl XXVIII after the Bills led 13-6 at the half.
Posted at 12:09 PM
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