Big Blue Huddle

I have to double check, but I think #75 is Giant rookie DT Larry Jacobsen. #81 is indeed Jack Gregory.

Big Hitter

Thank you everyone for your kind responses. A quick note. In researching the drive, I was more than mildly surprised to discover how many other

In his very insightful post, ELCHALJE raised the question:

"On Plax's catch, I remain amazed how he gave just the slightest tweak to his route to give the New England defender the idea that he was headed for the inside.  Being one on one with Plax, wouldn't you think that the defender would prevent the outside move first  and look for help on the inside?"

In researching the matter, I reviewed the video of the play. What I noticed was that the Giants seemed to dupe New England into an incorrect coverage scheme. But why? The Patriots are renowned for proper alignment. I then reviewed the entire final drive. I believe that I may have found the answer.

During the drive, which lasted twelve plays, the Giants played a four wideout, single back set on ten of the plays. As best I can tell (the quality of the film made it difficult to read the uniform numbers), the wideouts consisted of Plaxico Burress, Steve Smith, Amani Toomer, and David Tyree. Brandon Jacobs was the single back in all ten four wide sets. The Giants operated their four wide sets out of two formations: 

Split left, split right, double slot, either left or  right (hereafter: trips left or trips right).
Split left, slot left, slot right, split right (hereafter: spread).

In the trips formation, Burress plays left end, Tyree right end, Steve Smith the inside slot, Toomer the outside slot. Jacobs lines up weakside to the trips, usually staying in to block. The Giants do not use any motion on any of the four wide plays.

New England countered the Giants' four wide set with a 3-3-5 nickle defense. New England may have utilized some rotation on the line but, for the most part, their personnel looked, left to right for the offense, as:

DL: Seymour, Wilfork, Warren
LBs: Thomas, Seau, Bruschi
CBs: Hobbs, Samuels
Nickle: Merriweather
Safeties: Harrison, Sanders

The following is a play-by-play breakdown of the drive. I include the pre-snap location of the ball, as this will become important as the Giants approach the end zone.

Play One: First down. Giant 17 yard line, right hash, trips left. Pass to Toomer, middle right, complete, eleven yards, first down.

Play Two: First down. Giant 28, right hash, trips left. Pass to Toomer, middle right, incomplete. It appears as if Steve Smith ran the wrong pattern, as he brings additional coverage to Toomer's location.

Play Three: Second down. Giant 28, right hash, trips left. Sideline pass to Burress, incomplete.

Play Four: Third Down. Giants 28, right hash, trips left. Pass to Toomer, left hash, nine yards. Fourth and less than one, Giant 37 yard line.

Play Five: Fourth and one, Giant 37, left hash. The Giants go eye formation, wideout left, wideout right, double tight end right. H-back tight end comes in motion left. Fullback lead/tailback dive right. Madison Hedgecock obliterates a linebacker; Jacobs for one/plus yard. First down.

Play Six: First down, Giant 38, just right of the left hash. The Giants change up the formation. Spread formation: split left/split right/slot left, slot right. Right slot is close to the right tackle. A strong Adalius Thomas outside move flushes Manning right. Manning is able to scramble for six yards.

Play Seven: Second down and four, Giant 44, right hash. Spread formation. Deep out, right sideline, incomplete. It appears as if the receiver (Toomer?) broke off the pattern too soon. Asante Samuel had a shot at an interception, but a further look shows that he may have landed with a toe out of bounds.

Play Eight: The Play. Third and four, Giant 44, right hash. Spread formation.

The Patriots show a 3-2-6 set. The defensive linemen overload the left side, showing a zero(shade left)/3/7 front. Two linebackers cover the right side of the line, sitting in the 3 and 5 positions. The nickle and dime backs are up close on the slot receivers. The remaining defensive backs are in a Cover Two, with the LCB even yards off the LOS, the RCB ten yards off. Both safeties are playing very deep. 

For the first time in the drive, Brandon Jacobs lines up to the strong side/short side of the field. The New England defense correctly reads an

A great compilation by all. But one game is missing in order to make the set complete:

November 16, 1986. The Giants face the Vikings in the Hubie Dome. Bud Grant's final season with the Vikings. A brutal "take no prisoners" football game by any and all standards. With 1:12 to go the game, the Giants, down 20-19, face a fourth and 17 from midfield. Under a ferocious Viking pass rush, Phil Simms completes a 22 yard deep out pass to Giant WR Bobby Johnson. First down Giants. Five plays later, Raul Allegre hits the game winning field goal.

Final: Giants 22, Vikings 20.

Big Hitter

Richie,

Nice work. I had already constructed a thread myself on this subject. I posted it separately because I intend to blog it. If only I can remember how.

Brian.

I posted on this topic a few years back on the BBWC. Back then, MG (Richie) and I discussed the matter at length. Since MG touched upon this issue in a separate thread, I thought this might be a good time to reintroduce the subject.

The thread

Fladan,

I suspect that the kicker was former Louisiana Tech place kicker Matt Stover, who spent his entire rookie season (1990) on the Giants' IR list.

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/Team/PlayerBio.aspx?id=1154

BigHitterDalama

Richie,

A nice story, but I believe that M. Klein exercised a bit of historical licence. Enterng the final game of the 1961 season, the Giants record was 10-3;  the defending NFL Champion Eagles were 9-4. A Giant "non-loss" or an Eagle "non-win" would give the Giants a title. A Giant loss plus an Eagle win would have necessitated a one game playoff to determine the NFL East Champions.

As stated, the Giants' tied the Browns, 7-7,  a "non-loss," which gave the Giants a 10-3-1 record. This tie made the Eagles' 27-24 win over a very strong Lions squad a meaningless victory.

Two weeks later (December 31, 1961), the Giants faced the Packers in Green Bay. The game, played at City Stadium (later renamed Lambeau Field), featured typical Green Bay winter weather. An injury-riddled Giant backfield negated any effective running game. This allowed the Packer defense to concentrate on the potent Giant passing attack. The Giants' offense sputtered, while the Packer running attack, led by Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung, dominated the game. Game MVP Hornung scored 19 points (one TD, three field goals, four PATs), while Packer QB Bart Starr threw for three touchdowns. Final: Packers 37, Giants 0.

One week later, the Eagles played a rematch against the Lions in a historical oddity called the Playoff Bowl. A ten year experiment (1960-1969), the Playoff Bowl was a feature game between NFL's second place finishers. Curiously, until the Super Bowl was established in 1966, the Playoff Bowl was played AFTER the NFL Championship. In the 1961 Playoff Bowl (played on January 07, 1962), the Lions trounced the Eagles, 38-10.

BigHitterDalama   

1970 New York Giants


Fran Tarkenton




Ron Johnson




Tucker Frederickson

Dasher,

Toomer scored on a six yard end around in a 20-10 playoff win against the Eagles, January 07, 2001. (2000 season, the same game in which Sehorn made the fantasic INT/TD return.)





BigHitter

Dasher,

Sorry. I have been a bit busy.

Here is what would have been my guesses:

Homer Jones
Amani Toomer
Ike Hilliard

Homer Jones
Either Amani Toomer or Ernest Gray

So I would have been pretty close, no?


Homer Jones




Amani Toomer




Ike Hilliard

Gene Filipski:

The 1967 Rams:


Roman Gabriel




Dick Bass




Les Josephsen

Dasher,

If I am not mistaken, this photo shows Mel Triplett scoring the game's first touchdown:





BTW,

Be careful in quoting Wikepedia as a source. Its information can be spotty. For example, Wikepedia lists George Halas as the Bears' HC for the 1956 Championship Game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_Championship_Game,_1956

Big Hitter

Steve,

That photo is most likely from the 1961 Championship Game, played at Curly Lambeau Field. The Packers defeated the Giants, 37-0.

How about the 1967 St. Louis Cardinals:


Jim Hart




Johnnie Roland




Prentice Gault




Big Hitter