Contrary View on the Giants' Upset

Okay, so it's easy for me to write this now, but I actually wasn't all that surprised that the Giants beat the Patriots, especially when compared to when the Pats beat The Greatest Show on Turf 7 years ago on Adam Vinatieri's last-second field goal. I honestly thought -- before the game -- that the Giants could win it.

Here's why:

1. I'm an Eagles' fan and very familiar with the Giants. Under Tom Coughlin's watch during the latter part of the season, they seemed to have put it all together. As I wrote yesterday, they were the Colorado Rockies who finished the job. The Giants always seem to play very hard.

2. The Giants displayed two traits in the post-season that were most impressive. The first was the surge of their defensive line, which a) got to the QB and b) masked what only is an average secondary in my book. R.W. McQuarters can't cover all that well, but how many times did he get tested in the post-season? The second was the outstanding play of the offensive line and the ability of the Giants to go on time-consuming drives. Those drives kept the defense relatively fresh (although both defenses were dog-tired by the end of the Super Bowl) and, of course, kept the other team's offense off the field. Taken together, those two factors propelled the Giants to the Super Bowl (along with the steady, mistake-free play of Eli Manning).

3. Based on those two factors, the Giants' impressive streak on the road, the Giants' recent play, and the Giants' recent play against the Patriots, I honestly thought that if they put together the right game plan, they had a good chance of winning. I didn't think they could win by a lot, but I thought they had a good chance.

So, to put it in perspective, yes, it is an upset, because the Patriots were being called the greatest team of all time, were a double-digit favorite, have Tom Brady and, of course, were undefeated going into the game. Yes, all things considered, one of the two or three biggest upsets in Super Bowl history. I'll concede that.

Perhaps, though, where I differ is that I honestly thought the Giants had a good chance to win the game.

And so did they.