By Anthony Bosco
Even so, the Giants are getting no respect as they head into Super Bowl XXXV against the most feared defense in the league, perhaps of all time, the Baltimore Ravens.
The Giants were the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and at home, yet were still underdog to a dome team in January. And now, even after such a dominant showing, there are still doubters. And maybe those doubters have a point.
Dissecting the Giants' win in the NFC Championship, it is easy to see how they won and in retrospect, exactly what they needed to do against Minnesota.
After winning, cornerback Jason Sehorn said the defense's main focus was to stop the big play. They did that to perfection, but what helped that cause was the offense and in particular the performance of quarterback Kerry Collins.
On the team's first possession of the game Collins hit paydirt, connecting with wide receiver Ike Hilliard for a 46-yard touchdown pass less than two minutes into the game.
That was just the beginning.
On the ensuing kickoff the Vikings' two deepbacks, Moe Williams and Troy Walters, booted the ball inside the Minnesota 20-yard line. Giants' special teams player Lyle West pounced on the ball at the 18-yard line, giving Big Blue the ball again.
On the very next play Collins found fullback Greg Comella just inside the right pylon for six more points. Before the capacity crowd at Giants Stadium could barely take a breath and before the vaunted Minnesota offense ever took a snap, the Giants went in from 14-0 and the rout was on.
All year long the Giants have been maligned for the team's strength of schedule, its lack of explosiveness on offense and its defensive secondary, despite the presence of Sehorn. The Vikings were supposed to pick the Giants apart using four offensive weapons, wide receivers Randy Moss and Chris Carter, quarterback Daunte Culpepper and running back Robert Smith.
But the 14-point deficit quickly put the Vikings in must-strike mode, something the Giants' secondary was more than aware of. Abandoning any hopes of trying to establish a running attack, Minnesota became a one-dimensional team, which played right in New York's hands.
The Giants had the ball four times in the second quarter and scored on each possession, including two Brad Daliuso field goals and two more Collins touchdown passes, to Joe Jurevicius and Hilliard, making the score 34-0 at halftime.
Minnesota ran just 14 plays in the quarter for a total of -11 yards.
One more touchdown in the second half, a 7-yard pass from Collins to Amani Toomer, and the scoring was done. When the dust finally settled, Collins finished with phenomenal numbers, 28-of-39 for 381 yards and five touchdowns. The Giants also amassed more than 130 yards on the ground.
Minnesota's air attack was held to just 78 yards, with Moss and Carter picking up just more than half those yards on five catches combined. Smith ran the ball only seven times for 44 yards.
The performance could not have been more complete, yet it was not perfect either.
Collins was picked off twice in the first quarter, but neither time was Minnesota able to put points on the board. Had they cut into the Giants' lead early, the game might have taken on a different tone, at least in the beginning.
But one thing should be made completely clear: Minnesota did not get to the NFC championship because of its defense. What the Giants did Sunday was execute a smart gameplan which exploited the Vikings' defensive secondary. On the other side of the ball the defense put pressure on Culpepper, preventing him from finding his receivers for big plays. And when he did go deep, Moss and Carter were covered.
Baltimore is a different ball of wax entirely. The Giants did not score an offensive touchdown against the Eagles the week before beating Minnesota. Against Baltimore, they will be lucky to score at all.
The one bright spot in this is that the Ravens are not a great offensive team. If the Giants can keep Baltimore off the scoreboard like they did Minnesota, all it takes is a field goal to win.
But I think the defenses will cancel each other out in this one and the Super Bowl will come down to two things – turnovers and special teams.
One thing I noticed during the win over Minnesota was Daluiso's short kickoffs, of which there were many. A better kick returning team, like the Ravens, could have easily been in Giants territory on nearly every kickoff. Shoring up their kick coverage is a must for the Giants against Baltimore.
And on offense, the team needs to be perfect, giving up no turnovers at all. The Ravens may not exactly be explosive offensively, but they do capitalize on opponents' mistakes. If given the opportunity to score they usually do.
This Super Bowl, maybe more than any other I can think of recently, really has some interesting matchups on both sides of the ball. If the Giants win most of those matchups they probably will win the game and get the respect that has eluded them all year.
If not, maybe they didn't deserve it at all.
