We couldn't ask for a better Super Bowl. Lead changes, sacks, safety, big plays, awkward TDs, and David knocking down Goliath.....again. Everyone watched this great game so let's see just how these Patriots fell....

Mario Manningham - With all the hype surrounding Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham waited patiently for his opportunity which turned into opportunities. For the game he had 73 receiving yards but he decided to get 56 of those on their last drive of the game. Of course we all saw in super slow motion where 38 of those yards came from. A GO route up the sideline with a ball perfectly placed in between two defenders to just graze the fingertips of Mario who clamped down on the ball and quickly got two feet down to secure the huge play. Mario stepped up in the clutch and will forever be remembered in Giants, Patriots, and Super Bowl history.

Bernard Pollard - Yes he plays for the Baltimore Ravens, he is also the Raven that tackled and injured Rob Gronkowski in the AFC Chamionship game. Although Gronk could break it down just fine in the club after the game, he was nowhere near full speed or effectiveness during the game. For the regular season Rob was averaging 83 yards and 1 TD per game. He elevated his game during the postseason to 116 yards and 1.5 TDs a game before the Super Bowl. While injured he only managed 2 catches for 26 yards. On Sports Science they even suggested if healthy, Gronk could've laid out for that Hail Mary. But if healthy the Patriots very well may have never needed that Hail Mary.

Patriots Receiving Core - The fundamental ultra dependable receivers for Tom Brady are not the best but they catch the ball and get up field. It seemed the pressure of the game got to these guys or someone from the Giants put butter all over their gloves. Aaron Hernandez and Deion Branch both dropped critical passes on their final drive. Mr. Dependable Wes Welker dropped what could have been the nail in the coffin late in the 4th quarter. It was not a perfect ball but Tom Brady hinted at it and Wes Welker said he should have caught it.

Defensive Pressure - There are not many ways to beat Tom Brady but one way to disturb any QB is to have defenders in his face throughout the game. The Giants managed to do this with 2 sacks and 8 hits on Brady. One of those QB hits resulted in the first score of the game, a safety. One of the sacks by Justin Tuck crippled the Patriots final drive. When they werent trying to hit Tom on those quick drops the D-Line would keep their heads up and knock the ball down. As a defense they had 7 batted balls, many of those coming at the line of scrimmage. So on 17 pass plays the Giants defense batted the ball down, hit, or sacked Tom Brady. That kind of pressure will rattle any QB.

Eli Manning - What a year it has been for Eli Manning. From the beginning of the year in his interview when he knew he was an elite QB and even compared himself to Tom Brady. Then having the best regular season of his 8 year career. All the way to MVP of the Super Bowl. The best tweet after the Super Bowl was, "You can't spell elite without Eli!" Eli played flawless during the Super Bowl, no one was taking this game from him. 30 of 40 for 296 yards and a TD. 75% completion in the Super Bowl! Eli was right, he is elite and he outperformed the mold of elite in Tom Brady on the biggest possible stage to prove it to everyone else.

 

-Ernie Simmons

Follow @FFChamps on Twitter

The views and content in this article are not necessarily the opinion of Fantasy Football Champs, www.FFChamps.com, and its in-house experts.