01-25-2012, 09:29 AM
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#1
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In the Starting Line-up
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,074
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The Underdogs
Justin Tuck smirks that the mighty, scary New York Giants are underdogs because that's the way they like it.
After all, they've only lost seven games this year. Don't they deserve your respect? Don't they deserve to be celebrated for their inconsistent play throughout the year?
Aren't the Patriots the ****y frontrunners since they had gall to show up and actually play a 16 game schedule like it meant something? Because their fans didn't boo them off the field for losing to inferior teams, they are the bad guys?
These Giants. Underdogs or underachievers? It doesn't matter if they win or lose in the Super Bowl, I'll always view them as the latter. Teams with championship capable rosters don't go 9-7 and earn my respect. 10-6 in 2007? Wow, a team capable of defeating the greatest roster of all-time couldn't even win their division?
Playoff tested? Doesn't exist. It's a small sample size. It's luck. It's pressure on opponents who didn't crawl on their bellies throughout the year and are actually fighting to legitimize their success. It's teams that choke because they see how elevated their fans become when they win and try too hard. There's no such thing as a playoff version of a team and a regular season version of a team. It's the same players.
Eli Manning is an elite quarterback... probably the best in the NFL this season. He has weapons all over the field. Right?
Elite quarterbacks go on four game losing steaks? Elite quarterbacks go 9-7 with a championship roster? Score under 400 points with three amazing receivers? Throw 41 interceptions over two years. Tom Brady? Not a good enough story. Too stale. Not flashy enough. Too good and consistent. A 29-6 record over two years? Ready for another miserable finish in the playoffs. Choker. Greatest winning percentage of all-time? Big deal. Eli is better. Eli is elite. Eli is the underdog. Eli is better because he plays better than he is normally does when the stakes are high. Eli is better because he is worse.
Eli is the underdog. The scrappy little guy who no one ever gave a chance to. The little engine that could who has it tougher than any player in the NFL because his brother paved his way. Poor guy. Number one draft pick overall. Brady is a frontrunner, don't you know? Brady is not the underdog here; after all, he was given all of the advantages of Eli, right? He has the rabid New York press emanating him after an average game every week, doesn't he? Eli has earned everything and Brady has earned nothing. Brady no longer has the fire. Eli has the fire. Just look at the last game. Ignore the last ten years. Ignore how each QB has played since that fateful game.
The Giants? The biggest underdogs. The scrappy, loveable losers. Forget that their roster is filled with first-round talent, that their record never comes close to reflecting that talent. Wes Welker? Danny Woodhead? Rob Ninkovich? BenJarvis Green-Ellis? Just a bunch of frontrunners who expect to win. They don't have the nerve to stand in the game with the scary New York Giants. How dare them be good and be consistently good and not have several meltdowns during the season in which everyone counts them out. They are not worthy of being a scary dark horse that no one believed in. Sterling Moore? Kyle Love? Brandon Deaderick? Forget about them. They can't have a chip on their shoulders. They are Patriots, not Giants. They play too well too often. They're not big enough underachievers for most of the year.
Well, here's the truth. The Patriots are underdogs that win. Do not be ashamed of their success, not in 2007 or in any other year. Do not hang your head because this team had the fortitude to put it all on the field week in and week out and earn the respect of the sports world. Do not be afraid of this Giants team. Deep down, they know that they are no longer David and the Patriots are no longer Goliath. They know that the Patriots are the better team, and they rely on the Patriots to fear them. They rely on them to fold like the Packers or the 07 team. But these Patriots are underdogs that win. These aren't underachievers. These are guys that leave their heart and soul on the field every week. There is no team more deserving of a Super Bowl than this Patriots team, and their desire will apparent in Super Bowl 46. I can't guarantee that they will win, but I can guarantee we will be proud of their performance, based on everything I've seen and read in following this team constantly for the last several years. And I like those chances.
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