Captivating, invigorating, exasperating, culmination.

The Giants took on the Patriots once more in a winner-take-all grudge match, on sports’ biggest stage, and once more beat them in gut-wrenching fashion, using a late, clutch final TD drive to put a stake in the once infallible New England machine. And in just 120 minutes of on the field football play, the G-Men have erased the Pats perfection and their potential as the greatest dynasty ever, instead placing themselves into rather unexplainable company.

Two Super seasons, sandwiched in-between 2 no shows, and a #1 seed wasted, they way they wasted the nearly perfect Pack in the NFC Divisional round. The Giants are the most head-scratching, mediocre, mini-dynasty sports may have ever seen, but they owe apologies to no one, despite amassing just 19 regular season wins in their last 2 Super Bowl runs.

The numbers don’t justify it, the middling mediocrity in-season does anything but validate it, but the Giants play best when the lights are brightest, and when their backs are against the wall. And that my friends, makes for a Super team.

In almost eerie duplication, they practically replicated their historic Super Bowl 42 win, by following a similar blue-print to slosh the Pats. An incredible, unforgettable, immortality-in-the moment grab, a clutch Eli drive, an easy final TD, and a Pats offense stopped short on the games final drive. Only this time the 17 it took last time, wasn’t enough.  For the Patriots that is.

Besides 2 touchdowns sandwiched in between Madonna’s ‘Return to the 90’s party of stars’, the Patriots struggled to get the ball inside the pylon, and that inability to put the nail in New York’s clutch-creating coffin, gave the Giants one last chance to party like it was 2007.

New York, struggling to finish drives themselves, was on the wrong end of a 17-15 score, and a Pats TD very likely would have salted away another title for the Hoodie and the Chin.  But on 2nd and 11 from the Giants 44 with the game deep into the 4th, Tom Brady lofted up a deep throw to the sure-handed Wes Welker, who leaped into the air, watched the ball careen off his finger tips, and bounce helplessly to the ground. A stunning drop for the NFL’s leading receiver, and a sure-fire turning point in a crazy finish that had a few.

Two plays later it was the Patriots who were punting, kept out of field goal range on a failed 3rd and 11 hookup to Deion Branch, and wondering if the Giants could once again beat them at their own Super Bowl game. It was after all, clutch, that the Patriots amazing decade long run had been built on. Brady was the leader in all 3, leading the team down the field when they needed it most, the difference in all 3, well, 3.

The ball was in Eli Manning’s hands now, with 3:46 to go and as Gus Johnson would put it, one last chance to dance. And dance New York did, wasting no time in going for the spirited defining moment — a jaw dropping, can this really happen twice, (against the same team no less, in the same similarly critical moment) play that will be shown over and over again. Eli heaved a deep pass towards midfield, and sandwiched between two Pats defenders, there was Mario Manningham on the other end, somehow bringing in the incredible 38 yard completion — tippy toes and all. You could almost hear New England fans’ hearts — whether Brady bandwagoners or long-time die-hard Pats fans– breaking at once. They just had to be thinking, you have got to be kidding me.

I know I was.

Immediately David Tyree’s catch in Super Bowl 42 came into that same haunting light. That play — a miraculous use of the helmet to hold onto the ball with Rodney Harrison draped all over him catch – came on a wild Eli scramble in a critical 3rd down play. This one was on 1st down, and felt more like Santonio Holmes’ Super Bowl 44 snag, tapped toes and all, with 2 Cardinals defenders just out of reach.

You could feel the momentum swing like a pendulum, and the Pats, who really had no other choice but to challenge it, lost a critical timeout that came back to bite them later. But Super Mario’s finger tips snag re-wrote the story, and reignited a stagnant Giants offense.

From there Mario took over, as Eli zeroed in on him 3 straight times, connecting twice, and by then the Giants had gone from their own 12 to New England’s 32 and were well within field goal range. A few more first downs and they could kill the clock, trot out big-kick Tynes, and win the Super Bowl the way New England had become accustomed to — on a last second kick.

But the Giants save their clutch kicks for NFC title games, and their moment-freezing touchdowns for their final Super Bowl drive.

Eli Manning hit Hakeem Nicks for 14, and all of a sudden the Giants were at New England’s 18 with time comfortably on their side. Two plays later, another first down. This one was coming down to a field goal. There was no other way for it to end. Unless… the Pats gave up the touchdown, relinquishing the fact that there was no way two chip shot field goals would be missed to hand them two straight playoff games. Bradshaw got the ball to the Pats 6. It was playing out perfectly. Two more runs, and the Giants could run the clock to single second digits.

The Patriots were helpless. The situation looked utterly hopeless.

And then the Maurice Jones-Drew play. Or at least, that’s the first thing I thought of. Bradshaw got the ball once more, and the Pats defense parted, inviting him to score. As Bradshaw cued in on the endzone, his teammates began hollering, get down. But as Bradshaw seemingly attempted to fall down, his forward motion took him awkwardly into the endzone, giving the Giants the lead — in one of those rare, “what were you thinking by scoring!” Super Bowl plays. Jones-Drew just a few years earlier, in a 2009 game against the other New York team, the Jets, was given a free path to the endzone too, with the Jags trailing 22-21, but New York unable to stop the clock. Jones-Drew reached the 1 yard line and stopped on a dime, taking an unprovoked knee to assure that the Jags could melt the clock to nothing, kick a chippie field goal, and win. That’s exactly what happened too. Jacksonville prevailed in a 24-22 thriller on a Josh Scobee kick. It was the most talked about play the following week.

Bradshaw’s play could’ve been the most scrutinized non-kneel down of all-time (next to the Miracle at the Meadowlands). By taking the lead over control of the clock, the Giants running back gave New England one last crack at a comeback win. But two critical drops, including a throw behind Deion Branch that could’ve really shook things up, halted New England’s momentum. Brady hit Branch on 4th and 16 to keep hopes alive, but by then the Patriots were racing the clock, as well as the field. A short pass to Aaron Hernandez got them to their own 44, but it was the last completion the usually on-target Brady would throw all night.

A spike. A hail mary to Hernandez which killed critical clock time, and one last prayer, gone unanswered, and improbably once again, the Giants were celebrating another Super Bowl title. And the Pats, bitterly wondering what could have been once more.

On the final play the ball fittingly deflected off a Giants defender — what do you do? bat it down! — and landed a foot or so from injured and stymied all world  tight end Rob Gronkowski. Gronk, had a chance to dive for it, but his hobbling ankle resulted in more of a final fall, as the ball landed maybe an arms length in front of his outstretched hands.

It was Gronk, whose injury headlined all the Super Bowl story-lines for two weeks. Maybe if he was healthy he corrals it in for the greatest play in Super Bowl history. But he clearly wasn’t himself, as evidenced by his measly 26 yards on 2 completions. Chad Ochocinco — who infamously tweeted that he landed in heaven when New England acquired him this off-season — was good for just 1 reception and 21 yards. Add it all up and a Pats team heralded for their explosive offense, was held at bay with the exception of 2 touchdown drives sandwiched between the long halftime break.

17 points, which crippled New England’s perfect 2007 season, were 4 points  short on this night. Two, was the number of fumbles, that the Pats couldn’t pounce on. A number that undoubtedly affected the outcome of this crazy game.

And so, the Giants ride into the night with the oldest Super Bowl winning head coach in NFL history. Tom Coughlin, whose hot seat was boiling lava hot going into week 16 against the Jets, became just the 13th coach in league history to win 2 Lombardi trophies.

From 6-2, to 7-7, to a 6 game winning streak and Super Bowl champions.

The New York Giants uncanny ability to dig themselves out of deficits, powered them once more, as Eli’s final drive capped a season chalk full of ‘em. It was his 8th 4th quarter drive for the go ahead-score either tied or from behind this year.

Not bad for Peyton’s little brother. Not bad at Peyton’s place.

Eli didn’t need his star to be validated, he already had it in his name. But just for the hell of it, let’s say it now and let’s say it loud: he is an Eli-te QB. He is clutch. His veins cold as ice-water in crutch time. Tom Brady once owned that throne.  But you don’t lose twice to the same team, and the same QB and hold onto that distinction.

Eli is the man now. His 2 Super Bowl titles living proof that the highly scrutinized 2004 #1 overall pick, has lived up to his lofty billing. And just think — over in San Diego, the Chargers drafted both him and Drew Brees, and have nary a Super Bowl appearance to show for it.

Over in Arizona, the Cardinals were a Nathan Poole dropped end-zone prayer from having that #1 pick. What could’ve been? Cards fans will never know.

Needless to say, Giants fans, have to be pretty happy with the way things worked out.

Unfortunately for the G-Men, with his 2nd Super Bowl win Tom Coughlin will probably never be on the hot-seat again and the Giants will be the hunted, not the hunters once more. Can they live up to the hype when people expect them to win?

I guess we’ll find out on September 6th, when the Giants host the first game of the 2012 NFL season. And somewhere in between, they’ll have that parade. And in the crowd of Giants players, will be Chris Canty, who tweeted that New York would win 28-17.

He’s no Broadway Joe, but he was right about one thing: the Giants are champs. Back on Christmas Eve, with the Giants backed up almost to their own goaline, who in their right mind could have seen that coming?

Photo: Reuters

Let’s get a few things out of the way before we get into this so it’s clear that objectivity will reign supreme.

Fact: I live in Massachusetts and am a huge Patriots fan.  It would mean a great deal to me if they won.

Fact: I have picked against the Patriots in 11 of their 18 games this season.

My Opinion: The Giants are the better team.

That being said…

Patriots -3 (2.5 @ some books) vs. NY Giants

People say that the Giants are the hottest team in football.  Not true.  The Patriots are.  They have won ten in a row since losing a heartbreaker to guess who…the Giants back in November.  Meanwhile, New York was croaked by Rex Grossman and the Redskins at home in week 15.

People say the Giants have beaten superior teams.  Record-wise, that is true.  But let’s look exactly at what they have done during their run.  They beat the Cowboys and the Jets, two underachieving teams in the midst of their seasons being flushed down the toilet.  They basically shut out a fraudulent Falcons team at home.  Then they beat the Packers which was, at first glance, a shock.  However, in order to beat them they needed a halftime Hail Mary conversion and a 66 yard Nicks catch-and-run touchdown where Packer defenders bumbled all around him and did everything but tackle. And let’s not forget that most of the Packers’ key starters hadn’t played a game in three whole weeks.  There was a little bit of rust in play.  We’ll get to the 49ers game in a bit.

People say the Patriots haven’t beaten a team with a winning record all year before last weekend.  This is true, but the key is that they laid no eggs in the process which the Giants are extremely prone to do (Washington, Seattle, Vince Young’s Eagles, and Washington again).  The Patriots lost to two good teams (Pittsburgh and these Giants) by one score each in the middle of the season while they were putting together a patchwork defense of waiver pickups, wide receivers, and undrafted free agents.  They also lost to Buffalo after racking up a 21-0 lead and then falling asleep.  That is the extent of their blemishes this season.  It’s not their fault that they had to play “bad teams”.  They were supposed to beat them and they did.

People say the Patriots shouldn’t even be here because they were lucky and shouldn’t have won last week.  Well guess what?  The Giants were also lucky and shouldn’t have won last week.  Ted Ginn was out so the Giants ended up on the good side of two special teams turnovers at critical times in the game.  Prior to the second one they had the ball twice in overtime and couldn’t score.  Without a turnover, that game might still be going on now.

People say that the Patriots’ defense sucks.  A really crappy defense probably lets up 30 points regularly, right?  New England has only allowed 30 once, 27 once, and nobody else has scored more than 25 against them all season.  These Patriots can put up four touchdowns and a field goal if they need to.

People say that the Giants have already beaten the Patriots once this year.  What they don’t tell you is that New England had the game in hand with seconds to go when Sergio Brown interfered with Victor Cruz on the goal line and gave New York a fresh set of downs to take the game.  Mr. Brown does not play so much since then.  A wide receiver took over his spot until Patrick Chung came back from injury.

People say that the Giants will maul Tom Brady like they did four years ago.  First of all, in the game they played this season Brady was sacked twice and hit three times.  That means he was touched basically once per quarter.  That ain’t so scary considering in their first Superbowl he was sacked five times and reset the counter for how many times he was knocked to the ground.  Secondly, New England’s offensive line is strong now that they have added rookie Nate Solder and Sebatian Vollmer has come back from injury.  Brady will get rid of the ball quickly now that he doesn’t have to wait for Randy Moss to run the length of the field.  He’ll stay clean.

People say that emotions and intangibles will play no part in this game.  They say that X’s and O’s and matchups will determine the outcome.  The Giants hold the edge at nearly every position on the field except for tight end and (maybe?) quarterback.  But this Patriots team needs to win this game.  Eli, these receivers, and even Tom Coughlin will be around for a long time.  Brady is on the back 9 of his career.  He’s not just yet calling ahead to the clubhouse to order a hot dog from the 18th tee, but he’s probably on the final par five of the course.  The sun is creeping behind the trees and his wife is calling his cell phone asking him when he’ll be home while his buddies roll their eyes.  “Almost done,” he’ll say, maybe stretching the truth a bit so she’ll leave him alone.  Maybe not.  Time will tell.  He and Belichick want two more rings so they can be untouchable.  They know they lucked out this year with injuries around the league and their first playoff opponent.  They can steal this one.  They want payback for the one that got away.  And they have the memory of their beloved owner’s even more beloved wife to honor.

People say none of that matters.

Those people haven’t seen the look in the veteran Patriots’ eyes lately.

What’s old is new again.

Coming from nearly identical paths back to the Big Game, the New York Giants and New England Patriots will square off once more for the Lombardi trophy. I’ll write a story when I can make sense of all the madness that we witnessed on Sunday throughout the day: the botched plays, the incredible performances, the nail-biting finishes, the head-scratching calls from both the refs and the coaches, but first I have to show you just how eerily similar this Super Bowl rematch is:

> In 2007 the Giants made the Super Bowl as a 5 seed with a 10-6 record.
> Today the Giants clinched a Super Bowl berth as a 4 seed with a 9-7 record.

> In 2007 the Giants had to win 3 playoff games to get to Arizona.
> This year the Giants had to win 3 playoff games to get to Indy.

> In order to clinch that Super Bowl appearance the Giants had to go in adverse conditions and knock off the #2 seed Packers in overtime with a Lawrence Tynes 47 yard FG (The Packers were 13-3, 7-1 at home).
> In order to clinch their Super Bowl XLVI appearance the Giants had to go in adverse conditions (this time, wind and rain, compared to Lambeau’s frigid conditions) and knock off the #2 seed 49ers in overtime with a Lawrence Tynes 31 yard FG (The 49ers were 13-3, 7-1 at home).

> Manning’s leading receiver versus the Pack: Plaxico Burress (151 yards)
> Manning’s leading receiver versus the 49ers: Victor Cruz (143 yards).

> 2007: versus New England (at Giants Stadium): Patriots win by 3.
> 2011: versus New England (at Gilette Stadium): Giants win by 4.

> 2007 Giants: started 6-2, finished season 4-4
> 2011 Giants: started 6-2, finished season 3-5

> 2007 Giants: Tom Coughlin’s job reportedly in jeopardy, until team pulls together, wins Super Bowl.
> 2011 Giants: Tom Coughlin’s job in great doubt if Giants don’t beat Cowboys final game of the season, to get in playoffs (they win).

> 2007 Patriots 16-0 (AFC #1 seed)
> 2011 Patriots 13-3 (AFC #1 seed)

So what does all of this tell us? It tells us that the Giants are a team built for the post-season. It tells us that Tom Coughlin, should always be on the hot seat (even though he may never be again), because his team plays better with their back against the wall then any team in the NFL. The Giants play with a chip on their shoulder and are unphased no matter what road they have to take.  But when they’re the favorites they don’t meet the hype.  When people expect little to nothing of them they excel. If people want to pick on the 9-7 NFC West division winning Cardinals as one of the worst teams to ever make a Super Bowl, then the Giants should be in the discussion too, as they are also 9-7.

I’m just saying.

Still, it’s incredible that 4 years later, what’s old is remarkably new again. The Patriots are clearly the superior team on paper once again, but once again, it’s the Giants standing in their way for another Super Bowl title. This has all the makings of another classic heavyweight bout. And what’s amazing, is that, while there are some new faces, 4 years later a lot of the same familiar ones remain. Tom Brady versus Eli Manning. The Hoodie versus Coughlin. Incredible offense versus suffocating pass rush.  The Patriots on a red hot winning streak — 9 games  in a row, running into the team that barely made the show.

This time the setting will be Indianapolis, in a dome. How very familiar. We have two weeks to dissect it, and to ask the same question we asked then, that we’re already asking now: Is Eli Manning an elite QB? The Giants still win with their defense and the Pats are more of an offensively off-kilter than they were in 2007 (and they were a freaking juggernaut back then).  This time, the Patriots won’t hear about how great they are. This won’t be the sports’ most poignant upset if the Giants win. Records aside, New York can play with anyone and they love the limelight.

We’ll hear for the next 2 weeks how Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels will game-plan that Giants rush, and how Brady has another crack at his 4th Super Bowl ring (now making his 5th appearance). We’ll hear about New England’s historic run, the records they’re running down left and right (all time playoff wins – move over Joe Montana, make room for Brady) and what it would mean for Brady and the Hoodie to win an amazing 4th Super Bowl title as a pair. But now, the Giants, in the most unlikely of ways, have a chance to win an unlikely 2nd Super Bowl in 4 seasons. Dynasty, no? How could you if you miss the playoffs twice in that span. But Goliath killers? Yeah.

The stage is set for another rematch. We were this close to the Harbaugh Bowl instead we get the Bah Harbaugh No!

Baltimore and San Fran both had ample opportunities to flip the script, but both teams made ghastly mistakes: Lee Evans go ahead TD drop, Billy Cundiff’s horrendous hooked FG, and Kyle Williams’ gruesome pair of muffed kicks, the second one dooming a back and forth, field possession game to a chip-shot FG. It became abundantly clear as both teams exchanged possessions late in the 4th that the first team to screw up, would get booted out of the playoffs by a kicker. Neither team could sustain a drive and both pass rushes were unstoppable. Throw in miscues, bad penalties, and two would be picks turned 49er teammate collisions, and San Fran has to be ready to pull its hair out, knowing how close it was to winning this game. The Ravens probably feel like they cheated themselves of a win.

Joe Flacco re-earned my respect (before his dumb post-game tirade, really Joe?) and Vernon Davis showed he’s a primetime player with another big time effort (although he couldn’t get the ball enough).

But in the end it’s Brady and Manning. Again.

Ready for Giants-Pats Super Bowl 2.0?

Last Week: 4-0 /  Season: 158-84 (65%) / Playoffs: 7-1

We are down to the “Final Four” of the NFL Playoffs. While some fans may have tuned out to the league with their teams out of loop, those who have still hung on have had the joy of some breathtaking contests. The two match-ups for this weekend have great defense against great offense written all over both of them. The Niners and Ravens bring the hard-hitting Harbaugh mentally, while the Patriots and Giants can stretch the field and score points with the best of them. Somethings will have to give this weekend. Let’s Take it to the Bank.

NFC

NY Giants @ 49ers

Pick: 49ers 27-23. The match-ups are flowing in this one. The top rushing defense against the (former) two-headed running attack, a steady offensive line against a (seemingly) unstoppable pass rush, and two quarterbacks so different that they are almost similar. If you were to to list the pros and cons NFL-style for both teams, you’d see that these teams match up so well together because each’s strength is the other’s weakness. My favorite battle in this game is one that will likely go understated in the hype and build for this contest: the turnover battle. The Niners don’t turn the ball over but they haven’t played a pass rush like New York’s on a consistent basis. Eli Manning has limited his mistakes this year, but he is also going against the team that tied for the most turnovers in the league (with the Packers). This game will come down to who makes the most mistakes (as cliche as that sounds). It is hard not to love the intensity (in a positive way, not Mike Singletary’s way) and poise that Jim Harbaugh has brought to San Francisco. The Giants’ dreaded West Coast trip and the golden leg of David Akers could play major factors in sealing a victory for the Bay Area’s own.

AFC

Ravens @ Patriots

Pick: Patriots 30-24. The Ravens and Patriots always seem to be among the best in the league and they will settle who is better this weekend. Everyone and their mother seems to be predicting the Pats to win this, simply because of their offense. Take it to the Bank has no shame, so I will concur with those national pundits. The Ravens are consistently inconsistent on the road; so much so that they are the wildcard of the remaining four teams. If Baltimore wants to win this game, they have to find a way to hold onto the ball and they have run on the Pats defense. The key is clock management and avoiding mental errors. Bill Belichick always brings something new to the table, so the Ravens need to be patient against Tom Brady or he’ll end them. Baltimore struggled against the Texans last week (give them a break, they were playing the number two defense in the league) and it is hard to see New England’s tight end duo getting tamed by the Ravens secondary. As much as the Harbaugh Bowl is the more interesting sell for the Super Bowl, John Harbaugh will have to wait till next year.

Photo: Getty

“Dan Orlovsky???”

“Matt Moore???”

“Ryan Fitzpatrick???”

“Rex Grossman???”

“If these guys are doing this, what’s a good quarterback going to do to them in the playoffs???”

Such questions and worries have been popular in New England over the past month.  During that time the Patriots have let up 96 points to the above quarterbacks, mostly through the air and mostly on their home field.   Only five times this whole season have they allowed less than 20 points.  Their best cornerback just played safety in the last game of the season because he can’t run with his back to the play.  Will he play there in the playoffs?  Who knows.  That’s been a crowded position after wide receivers and waiver pickups have been playing there for most of the year.  The defense is a mess and has consistently been strafed since September.  There was hope to build confidence halfway through the season due to the schedule and the lineup of backup and crappy quarterbacks to finish out the string, but the Patriots failed to shut even them down.  Therefore the question remains.

Now that they’re in the playoffs, what’s a good quarterback going to do to them?

The answer is simple and surprisingly refreshing for Pats fans.

The exact same thing.

Why is that good news?  Because it simply can’t get any worse.  There is an announcer in just about every Pats game that says something like “This New England defense is making this quarterback look like Drew Brees.”  Well then, by that rationale, if Drew Brees plays against them he’ll do the same damned thing.  The Patriots are not going to flip a switch and all of a sudden play well against the pass.  Teams are going to throw on them and throw for a lot of yards and points.  Bad quarterbacks have put up eye popping numbers in unthinkably short spurts of time, but the Patriots went 13-3.  They are winning games despite their defense being atrocious.  Ryan Fitzpatrick just put up 21 points in the first quarter.  What’s Aaron Rodgers going to do?  The same thing…but so what?  It’s not going to be any worse just because a good quarterback is doing it.  What are the Patriots fans so afraid of?  Are they afraid that Rodgers is going to do his Discount Double Check dance after each score?  So what?  Is Drew Brees going to shoot laser beams out of his eyes and incinerate the Patriots’ bench?  Probably not.  Are Ben Roethlisberger’s touchdown passes worth 10 points each?  No.  They’re going to do what everybody else does; score a lot.  It actually puts more pressure on the good quarterbacks to do well, because if they don’t it looks bad for them that they couldn’t do what Rex Grossman could.

The fact is that there are only so many possessions and so much time in a game.  Bad QBs have pretty much exposed that and maxed out the potential of playing against this defense.  An elite passer literally can not do much more.  It’s like a tornado blowing out candles on a birthday cake.  A regular human with two lungs can do it.  They inhale, exhale, and they’re blown out.  A tornado comes by with all its power and intimidation and guess what happens.  The candles get blown out.  Same result.  No better, no worse.

The Patriots’ strategy…I shouldn’t call it strategy because that implies they have a choice.  The Patriots’ mindset should just be to relax.  There is no sense in putting unnecessary pressure on the defense to meet unreasonable expectations.  It’s like in the movies when the good guy gets tortured and beat up so bad that he finally looks up at the bad guy, smiles, spits in his face, and tells him to screw because he knows the worst is over.  The defense should really be of no concern because the offense can put up enough points to win any game.  They should just go out and play loose, maybe pick off a pass or two, and see what happens.

New England’s success rides on Brady and the offense.  If they’re on, they’re going to win regardless of the defense.  If they’re off, it’s all over.  But either way, the other team is going to put up about 30 points.  So roll out Big Ben, Brees, Rodgers, and Superman if you want to.  All they can do is score.  Just like Matt Moore.

Photo: Reuters

SCOTT JACOBS

The Jets flipped the script.  Braylon Edwards did a double flip.  And New York finally knocked out the mighty Patriots from the Playoffs.

All in a day’s work for Rex Ryan’s ferocious loud mouthed bunch, who talked all week, and then came into Foxboro and stomped on New England’s Super Bowl dreams.  Atoning for a humiliating 45-3 loss on Monday Night football in week 13, the Jets went into Gillette Stadium and knocked around the NFL’s best team, sending shockwaves throughout the football universe.

Holding Tom Brady to short out routes and check down passes, the Jets forced New England’s usually potent offense to a mere standstill, the Patriots needing nearly 3 quarters to get into their usual double digits.

Most people expected a rout, but this game looked nothing like the massacre that took place on the same field December 6th.  Instead it was the Jets who withstood a sluggish first quarter to take a shocking 11 point lead into the break.  From there it was all about controlling the tempo, holding onto the pigskin, and letting that harrassing Rex Ryan defense stymie Brady’s bunch.

Harass they did.  New England’s deep passing game was non-existent as Brady was forced into checking the ball short most of the night.  Even trailing 24-14 and in depserate need of  a quick score, the Pats had to slowly go down the field, unable to break a stout Jets defense that had the Golden Boy on his heels all night.

The Jets didn’t put up huge offensive numbers, but they controlled the clock and kept Brady on the bench in large chunks.  And when they needed a play, their key off-season additions were there.  Ladanian Tomlinson scored the first touchdown on a short pass to put the Jets up 7-3.  After years of frustration with the Chargers against this very opponent, LT was dying for another opportunity.  Today it came and he made the most of it.  “What an unbelievable win for our team,” he said after the game, as his old team, the Chargers sat at home.  Then there was Santonio Holmes, the former Steeler, who also scored a touchdown.  And down the list it went, each Jet doing their part to send the team from New Jersey soaring over their nemesis from New England and into the AFC Championship game.

New England’s clock management late in the game was baffling.  Down ten a third of a way into the 4th quarter the Pats took their sweet time as if they were looking to run clock.  It backfired horribly as not only did they use up nearly 8 minutes of the precious 4th, they didn’t even convert the long drive into points.  But it was that kind of game for New England.  Trying to rush Shane Graham onto kick the field goal before the 2 minute warning, the Pats were unable to get the play off, and even though it didn’t count, Graham missed anyways.  Talk about a “not your night moment.”

So now the Jets, the most brass, obnoxious, in your face team money can buy, are one win away (again) from the Super Bowl.  To book their berth in Dallas they’ll need to upend one final hurdle, the rugged Pittsburgh Steelers.  The Jets have already beaten Pittsburgh once this season at the Big Ketchup Bottle, but that was without Troy Polamalu.  They’ll have to take down the Black and Gold with a healthy Troy to advance to the ultimate goal.

But that’s for tomorrow.  Today’s headline is that the Jets gone done did it.  They took out the NFL’s best team, it’s most heralded quarterback, in their house, a little over a month after they were white-washed on national TV.  Unfortunately for the Pats, the Jets claimed the game that really mattered, and they did it in stunningly convincing fashion.

Anybody can talk (and the Jets do plenty of it) but today they walked.  They flew.  They ran off the field arms up like a G6 flying out of Foxboro on the ultimate high.

“For all the media and everybody else that was on the Patriots jock, take that,” said Edwards.

Yup, the Jets are still alive. And until next weekend, they’ll be no shutting them up.

Photo: Reuters

JIM RUBERA

Special Contributor (Rubera writes for The Spop)

The Randy Moss trade isn’t a day old yet and everybody already has a theory as to why this happened.  Some make sense.  Some are crazy.  We, the public, will never know for sure what the real reason was.  But here’s my guess.

Bill Belichick knows that the Patriots just aren’t that good and that this isn’t the year.  Their record is 3-1 and they lead the league in points scored, but there are darker truths beneath those stats.  Take a look.

Vs. Cincinnati:  Won 38-24.  Bengals and Patriots offenses played even.  Patriots had  defensive and special teams touchdowns.

Vs. New York:  Lost 28-14.  Got a miraculous catch by Moss for a touchdown.  Got shut out in the second half.  Let Mark Sanchez have a career day against them.

Vs. Buffalo:  Won 38-30.  Let up 30 points to the Bills who were previously averaging 8.5 points per game.  Patriots scored at will against a horrible defense.  That’s the only reason they won the game.

Vs. Miami: Won 41-14.  Losing at halftime.  Two more defensive and special teams touchdowns.  Poor decisions by Miami’s offensive coordinator and quarterback led to a blowout.

None of those games inspire any confidence at all.  They played one team with a winning record and they lost.  And for the games that they won, they needed a little luck or magic or whatever you want to call it.  They won by methods you can’t rely on every week, not even every other week.

The Patriots have scored 131 points, tops in the NFL.  28 of those points are from special teams and defensive touchdowns.  Throw in 7 more for the punt block that gave Brady a 15 yard field for a quick Green-Ellis touchdown. We won’t even count any other points off drives that originated after turnovers.  That’s 35 points out of 131.  That’s 26% of their points that are artificial offense.  Their legitimate passing offense ranks 16th in the league, just 3 yards per game ahead of San Francisco and 5 yards per game better than Sam Bradford’s Rams.  The hype surrounding the potency of this offense is smoke and mirrors.  And Belichick knew it.

I think his plan going into the season was that his veteran offense would carry games and his first and second year defensive players would take most of the season to find themselves and they’d end up just average enough to support a playoff run.  He quickly saw through the first quarter of the season that he was right about the defense.  They’re not very good right now.  When quarterbacks not named Chad Henne throw to their own players, there are usually a lot of points scored.  (By the way, Henne still threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns)

He also found out that he was wrong about the offense.  They have been good, but not the juggernaut they were supposed to be.  They’re averaging 24 points per game, which is average.  He looked at the past and the future and just didn’t see a trophy coming with this group and this style of play, so he made the final changing of the guard and got rid of Moss.  Randy had been complaining after wins and it just wasn’t worth the distraction anymore.  So Belichick decided to duplicate his defensive plan on his offense as well.  He took a third round draft pick, which is more than he’d get when Randy walked after the season, and he’ll not let his younger receivers get experience and grow this year.

Everybody guesses that Brady is furious and maybe he is.  But Belichick has to sell him on the fact that he did this as a favor to him.  The only point he has to convince Brady of is that they weren’t going to win it all this year.  He shouldn’t have too tough a time of that.  All he has to do is refer to the defense and show him what’s coming down the road.  Left on the schedule are games against Baltimore, San Diego, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, the Jets, Chicago, and Green Bay.  WITH Randy Moss they would have been lucky to win half of those games.

Once Brady sees and accepts that, he’ll see that a year of his career has been salvaged.  Next year, instead of having Brandon Tate and Taylor Price stepping into serious playing time at receiver for the first time, they’ll have had almost a whole year of game experience and a whole preseason as starters.  That, combined with the defensive growth and their two young tight ends, should put the Patriots back in serious contention for the final three or four years of Brady’s (and maybe Belichick’s) reign in New England.

…unless they trade for Vincent Jackson or Steve Smith.  Then they’ll be awesome right now again and the young guys can get bent.

Photo: Reuters

JIM RUBERA

Special Contributor (Rubera writes for The Spop)

The Patriots Dynamic Offense, 3, of Foxboro, died suddenly Wednesday of unexpected complications from a nagging disease.

Born September 9th 2007 in East Rutherford New Jersey, the Patriots Dynamic Offense exploded onto the scene putting up 38 points in a rout of the Jets.  That season they worked in perfect symmetry combining the best quarterback in the league that year with the best deep threat and the best slot receiver, each taking pressure off of each other, and each needing the other two to succeed.  They set individual and team records and achieved perfection until a defensive lapse in the last five minutes of the season.

The Patriots Dynamic Offense loved the shotgun, the flea flicker, play action, fourth down conversions, and most of all points.  Injuries slowed down the show in 2008 and late 2009, but the Offense recovered quickly and was thought to be back to a picture of health.  Lately though friends could see that things just weren’t right and that even though the Offense looked full of life on the outside that it was being eaten up by a greedy selfish parasite on the inside and its days were numbered.

The Offense is survived by its parents (separated) William Belichick of Foxboro and Joshua McDaniels who currently resides in Colorado, brothers Thomas Brady and Wesley Welker, grandsons Aaron Hernandez and Brandon Tate, and newborn cousin Defense.  It was the glue that held the family together and will be sorely missed by all.

Calling hours for mourning will be held most every Sunday from 1:00 to 4:15 for the rest of the year.  For more specific dates and times click here.

In lieu of flowers, the organization asks that contributions be made to The National Sleep Foundation to assist them in quickly developing a pill that will put New England fans to sleep for three years.

Photo: Getty

SCOTT JACOBS

In 2007 Randy Moss teamed with Tom Brady to form the most potent single season duo in the history of the NFL.  The Patriots went 18-1, falling to the Giants in the Super Bowl.

Just three years later, Moss and New England are in a much different place.  The Patriots no longer represent the NFL’s cream of the crop, and the honeymoon that Moss enjoyed during that record breaking campaign is a faint memory.  And just a day after Moss recorded 0 receptions in a 41-14 pasting of the Dolphins on MNF, Moss’ tenure with the Pats may have finally reached it’s grand finale.  Sans the grand.

Moss wants one final big contract and the Patriots don’t want to pay him, which has left New England and it’s greatest downfield threat on two opposite wavelengths.  So far apart it seems, that all those reports of a potential trade may finally be in it’s final  nitty gritty stages.

According to FoxSports.com’s Jay Glazer the Pats are in serious discussions to trade their disgruntled star to the Vikings, who have been desperately looking for a big time talent to pair with Brett Favre.  And although the trade hinges on Moss reaching a contract with the Vikes, it seems like he is as good as gone.

Which shocks the hell out of me.

The Patriots have been unafraid to make bold trades in the past or cut their veteran cogs, but to trade Moss 4 games into the season as they sit in a tie with the Jets for the AFC East lead is well, baffling.  And for Pats fans and the team, totally discouraging.

Maybe the Patriots have come to the conclusion that they are no longer good enough to win a Super Bowl.  But coming off a record per-year contract extension for all-everything franchise cornerstone Tom Brady, how could the Patriots fill one team’s huge gap for a stretch the field guy, by leaving themselves with that same gaping hole?

For that matter, how do the Patriots, who are no longer the defensive juggernaut they were in recent years, expect to compete on a week to week basis when they have no one to go deep?

Some people have accused the Patriots of being cheap in the past, but we never fully doubted Bill Belichick, because he was that guy, the one who could pull a rabbit out a can of mushroom cream soup.  And so as the Patriots have cut and traded former stars in exchange for loading up in the draft, while hesitant to always understand the rationale, few were ready to doubt it.

Well, this one I’m already to doubt.  Majorly.

This would be a deathblow to New England’s chances.  It would infuriate a loyal fan-base.  Finally it would leave questions if the Pats still had it.

I know Brady is still Brady and Wes Welker is still great, but we’re talking about a team that sans Moss has no deep threat and no running backs.  How do the Pats expect to outscore people without weapons?  How do they expect to stay on the heels of the Jets, a team they already lost to in week 2, if they can’t keep up with them.

Maybe out of desperation the Vikes give up a second round pick for Moss (which in the win now world of Brett Favre is still a steal) and maybe the Pats turn that into an elite speed guy down the line.  But nothing they receive in this trade is likely to help them now, and with Brady not getting any younger how could New England ignorantly waste away a remaining prime year of his career?

I get that New England has no interest in resigning Moss and paying him what he wants, so they want to get something for him while they still can, but giving up on a season like this? — is not the way to do it.

Moss may have had 0 catches on Monday Night against Miami, but maybe that was because the Dolphins were blanketing him all game, forcing other Patriots to beat them.  Now picture New England without him and without a servicable replacement guy in the wings.

Pretty scary huh?  Music to opposing teams ears.

Photo: Getty

JIM RUBERA
Special Contributor

(Rubera writes for The Spop, a great web site that delves into sports and pop culture. He is an avid football fan and a terrific writer.  We’re happy to have him on the site)

First of all, I don’t understand why people are writing and saying that the timing of Randy Moss’ rant was ill timed because it took away from the team win.  Huh?  Does the result of the game change because of something somebody says?  No.  It took nothing away from the win.  The Patriots killed the Bengals.  They looked awesome scoring in all three phases of the game.  Everybody saw it.  Jets game this weekend.

So the fact that he got up and decided to vent is of no concern to me at all.  But what he said is as ignorant as it is inconsistent.  Take a look at some of these examples of what he said and then what he proceeded to say/do after.  Keep in mind, this is all in the same press conference, all taking place within about 15 minutes.  Here is a link to the transcript from the Boston Globe for you to double check, because you’re not going to believe some of it.

“I’m not here to start any trouble.”

“I don’t talk much.”

His speech was longer than the Gettysburg Address.

And started a lot of trouble.

“But I think that a lot of things that are being written or has been said is looking at me in a negative light, and I don’t want it to be in a negative light.”

“But I don’t want to do anything negative to come out of this, like it usually does.”

“I’m just telling you straight up that everything is not going to be positive.  There’s going to be some negatives.”

“If I honestly cared about what you all write, then I think I would be up here talking to you every day.  But I really don’t care.”

“So I don’t really care about a lot of the extracurricular stuff about what you write.”

“So I don’t want to wait until…I have a bad game and then…reporters are saying I don’t want to be here.  That’s what I don’t want to happen.”

Also, If he didn’t care, then he wouldn’t have hijacked the press conference or appeared on SportsCenter because he was mad at what the media said.

“Look, I don’t want to talk about my contract.”

“I’m going to play my last year out on my contract.”

“This is the last year of my contract.”

“Right now I’m still under contract.”

“Basically, what I want to let you all know is that I know this is the last year of my contract.”

“I just want to let you all know because I’m here to play my last season out.”

“To be offered a contract after this season is over, that would be a smack to my face.”

“I want to be here in New England.”

“I want to be here as a Patriot, I love being here.”

“I’m not saying that I want to stay here.”

“And I’m not saying I’m not appreciated here.”

“I really don’t think that me personally, I’m appreciated.”

Moss is caught in between two worlds; the one where you say the right things and make yourself appear honorable and the one where you say what you feel.  Either one is an acceptable strategy.  BUT YOU CAN’T DO BOTH AT THE SAME TIME!  He appears indecisive, oblivious to what he’s doing, and worst of all desperate.  He’s like a boy when he pretends to be tough in front of his friends and says he doesn’t like a girl, but he really has a huge crush on her.  “Who? Her? She’s gross.  I’m going to the movies with her Friday.”

He clearly knows these two worlds exist, but he’s just not smart enough to pick one and stick with it.  It’s just the latest case of not thinking before you act or speak.  He spouts off about his real feelings and then realizes that he could get in trouble or (worse) not get what he wants, so he backtracks and ends up contradicting himself, looking like a fool, and having everybody see right through him.

He’s doing all this because he wants to have one more big payday.  He’d prefer the Patriots because of Tom Brady, but he really doesn’t care where it is.  The funny part is that if he just stayed quiet or at least just picked one side to argue, he’d get what he wants from somebody.  All he’d have to do is play this season and catch 10 touchdowns from his Hall of Fame quarterback.  Not tough at all for a man of his ability.  But he chose the fourth option; being a moron.

Fortunately for him, there’s no penalty for being a moron NFL receiver.  It’s almost expected.  But after witnessing his backstabbing loyalty, it would just be nice if this silent orator, this valuable afterthought, this unbiased lobbyist…wasn’t an oxymoron as well.

Photo: AP