Backup quarterback and former University of Texas standout Vince Young declared his Philadelphia Eagles the NFL's version of the "Dream Team" in
the offseason preceding the 2011 NFL season, and it was a phrase the sports media ran with for months, and come hell or high water, Young's words
would define the season. Vince's claim wasn't without merit. An already strong Eagles team -- led by the reformed and rejuvenated Michael Vick at
quarterback; standout Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson; and coached by one of the best in the business, Andy Reid -- brought in the motherlode of
talented veterans in the strike-shortened offseason, with names such as Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, Defensive End Jason Babin, and Young
himself bolstering an already impressive lineup and seeming to only strengthen a team that the year prior had gone 10-6 and won its division, the
competitive and talent-laden NFC East. Sports radio and television programs were abuzz with much conversation both for and against Young's
statements, though certainly there weren't too many nay sayers. After all, it looked to be true. Such an enormous amount of talent on one team, a
great head coach to gel it all together, and a former
offensive line coach suddenly promoted to...defensive coordinator? Certainly the Eagles knew what they were doing on either side of the ball and on
the sidelines. It was only a matter of time until the season started, the victories piled up, and the team soared to its Super destiny.
The team.
But Vince Young wasn't the only one with a choice quote in the weeks leading up to the regular season. New York Giants Quarterback Eli Manning,
when asked whether he considered himself an "elite" quarterback, took the bait and lumped himself in with the game's current crop of greats. Sure
he
had a Super Bowl title to his name, but did anyone else consider him in the same class as Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Ben
Roethlisberger, or even Eli's injured older brother Peyton? Indeed, the neck injury to Peyton Manning -- coupled with the contract he signed months
earlier even with the injury -- meant that, along with the Eagles, both of the Manning brothers would dominate sportscasts and write-ups
throughout the season. But with
Peyton sidelined, Eli fell out of his brother's massive shadow, and his comments seemed to only intensity the Manning spotlight that was now his
and his
alone, at least in terms of on-field performance. Could he elevate his game and prove himself to be in the "elite" class or quarterbacks? And just
what defines "elite?" Is it raw statistics,
regular season victories, Super Bowl titles, or all of the above? Could Eli shine brightly and advance his New Your Giants to the promised land in a
crowded Conference home to the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, the perennial powerhouse New Orleans Saints, the
potentially great Philadelphia Eagles, the talented Dallas Cowboys, the tough Chicago Bears, and the up-and-coming Detroit Lions and San Francisco
49ers all vying for playoffs spots in a strong conference?
Even with the stories of Peyton Manning's injury, the Packers' chances of repeating, the expected rise of the Detroit Lions, and the collapse of the
Indianapolis Colts, it was the inevitability of the Eagles and the status of Eli Manning competing for the top NFL headlines, particularly as one team
would rise and the other would falter to start the season, though not quite as expected. Would 2011 be a "Young"
man's league or would it be the year of the "Eli"tes? Much to everyone's surprise, the Eagles got off to a slow 1-4 start, not only putting them in a
hole but severely hampering their chances for a playoff berth in the highly competitive NFC. On the other hand, the Giants were red-hot straight
out of the gate. Despite
dropping their opener to the perennially disappointing Washington Redskins, the team rebounded, winning six of its next seven games and sporting a
6-2 record at the midway point, looking like a shoe-in for the divisional title and a deep playoff run, particularly considering the Cowboys' .500 record
and the Eagles' 3-5 mark after eight games. But in the NFL, anything can happen. While the Cowboys gained momentum and won their next
three games and the Eagles would drop to 4-8 with four games to play, the Giants fell asleep at the wheel, losing four straight to drop to 6-6. The
NFC East had gone from the Giants' division to lose to the division nobody wanted to win. Except, maybe, for the Eagles. Philadelphia finally put it
all together in the season's final four weeks, winning four straight to finish a still-disappointing 8-8, yet their record was good enough to make the
playoffs with help. As the Eagles soared, the Cowboys imploded, winning only one more game after week twelve. The Giants, on the other hand,
rediscovered their stride to win three of their last four, knocking the Eagles out of the playoff picture and beating the Cowboys in the final week of
the season at MetLife Stadium, a convincing 31-14 throttling to win the division title over Dallas and represent the topsy-turvy NFC East in the
playoffs.
Though a roller-coaster season it may have been, the Giants were in good position headed into the playoffs, hosting the fifth-seeded Atlanta Falcons
in
the Wild Card round. Despite Atlanta's high-powered offense, the Giants defense dominated the Dirty Birds to the tune of a 24-2 throttling,
Atlanta's only points coming off of a second-quarter safety. Though flying high, a Detroit loss the previous day to the New Orleans Saints meant the
G-Men would have to travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Packers, the previous season's Super Bowl champions and a team that in 2011 put up a
fantastic 15-1 record, the team only an inexplicable road loss at the hands of the middling Kansas City Chiefs away from perfection. The Packers
dominated at
Lambeau, Aaron Rodgers was in the midst of an incredible season, and the offense seemed unstoppable. Their weakness came in a defense that
allowed quite a few points, and the Packers would face a complete and suddenly dominant Giants defensive eleven. The Giants pulled off the upset,
winning the game by three scores and shocking the sports world by dethroning the favored champs and suddenly looking like the favorites to come
out of the NFC, even if that meant traveling to the West Coast to take on the upstart 49ers in the NFC Championship game. That game would
prove a tighter affair than either the
Atlanta or Green Bay contests. The game would go into overtime, won on a Lawrence Tynes field goal to send the Giants to Super Bowl XLVI to face
their old nemesis, the New England Patriots. The Pats, the AFC's number-one seed and with 13 regular-season wins, were searching for revenge
against the Giants squad that had several years earlier ruined perfection, defeating the then-undefeated team in Super Bowl XLII. But it seems the
Giants just have the Patriots number. Like the last time they met in the Super Bowl, the contest was close and largely decided by a miraculous
catch
late in the game; it was David Tyree's miracle against-the-helmet catch that helped seal XLII, and it was Mario Manningham's double-coverage,
tiptoe-down-the-sideline grab late in this game's fourth quarter that allowed the Giants to drive down the field for the victory.
This Super Bowl Highlight video offers a 70-plus minute trip down memory lane for the season that was in 2011, highlighting the Giants' thrilling
wins, terrible defeats, and the story of the regular season that came down to the wire against the team's arch-nemesis, the Dallas Cowboys. It
opens with a short recap of the 2010 season before taking viewers to training camp and a game-by-game showcase of the 2011 New York Giants
season, including key match-ups with the then-red-hot Buffalo Bills, a terrible defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Saints, and regular season
clashes with would-be playoff foes Green Bay, San Francisco, and New England. The film focuses a bit more on the playoff games, but even those
are only presented as minutes-long highlight reels. Still, the film goes all the way through to the big game, emphasizing the early safety that put
the Giants up 2-0, Manningham's catch, the "hesitant" touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and the Super Bowl post-game celebration. The
narrative is strong and the film's tempo fast-paced. The photography is wonderful, the majority of it shot on film. This film is sure to please football
fans and Giant fanatics alike with its excellent structure, quality visuals, a great storybook flow.
Vivendi's 1080i Blu-ray release of NFL Super Bowl XLVI Champions: New York Giants looks fantastic. Though slight aliasing and a few scan lines
appear visible, the image boasts good clarity with only a few slightly-soft shots. Fine detail is exemplary. The vast majority of the imagery was shot on
film rather than video, giving the material a quality texturing that accentuates the crisp, well-defined look of turf, uniform stitching, faces, and the
texture of the football. Colors are equally strong, whether the green grass; the Giants' red, white, blue, and gray uniforms; or the multitude of hues
seen on opposition uniforms. The image is even and well-balanced, with no banding, blockiness, or other eyesores to report. In general, the image looks
fantastic, the good far outweighing the small and infrequent bad.
NFL Super Bowl XLVI Champions: New York Giants features a rousing DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The program is defined by its big,
exciting score. Clarity is excellent, bass is superb, spacing is fine, and the music's super-high quality and unflappable presence only enhance the
narrative. Narration is deep but not boomy, solidly grounded in the center but playing with a big feel. Sideline chatter is crystal-clear as heard from
"mic'ed up" players and coaches, all the way from training camp to the Super Bowl. A few random sound effects are thrown in for good measure, for
instance the light rumbling of a train as heard in a brief segment leading up to the regular season Giants-Packers matchup. This one is all about that
music, however. It's superb and perfectly sets the stage for the exciting visuals it supports.
NFL Super Bowl XLVI Champions: New York Giants contains a a nice assortment of extras about both the Giants and the
league-at-large.
Super Bowl Media Day (1080p, 11:37): Interview excepts with Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin, Mario Manningham, Osi Umenyiora, Justin
Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, Antrel Rolle, Brandon Jacobs, and Hakeem Nicks.
Super Bowl Post-Game Ceremonies (1080p, 9:21): The presentation of the Lombardi Trophy and player and coach interviews.
Super Bowl XLII Recap (1080p, 5:20): A look back at the previous Super Bowl matchup between the Giants and Patriots.
The Eli Manning Conversation (1080p, 4:56): Kurt Warner interviews Eli Manning.
The Receiving Giants (2080p, 3:40): Michael Irvin interviews Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, and Mario Manningham.
Catching Up with David Tyree (1080p, 4:35): The Super Bowl XLII hero remembers his famous catch. The piece also takes a look at his
home life and personal history.
2011 NFL Shots of the Year (1080p, 6:30): A compilation of amazing, hard-hitting, and humorous footage from the season that was.
2011 NFL Players Wired for Sound (1080p, 8:15): Sound bytes from various players from around the league during the season.
2011 NFL Coaches Wired for Sound (1080p, 7:36): Sound bytes from various coaches from around the league during the season.
Elite? The New York Giants are, at least for 2011. Lucky? Their last two Super Bowl Wins were defined by miraculous catches late in the game. But no
matter how skilled or how lucky a team, it's hoisting the Lombardy Trophy that matters at the end of the day. There are 31 other teams that wouldn't
care if they were very elite or very lucky; a win is a win, and a Super Bowl Victory is a thing for the ages. It's Eli Manning's second, one more than
brother
Peyton and two more than the vast majority of quarterbacks ever to play the game. Rings aren't everything, but they count for quite a bit. Dream
team, elite team, or lucky team, winning the last game of the season is what really matters. NFL Super Bowl XLVI Champions: New York Giants
features strong video and great audio along with a fair assortment of extras. Recommended to football fans, and Giants fans need buy now.
Next month, Vivendi and NFL Films will bring NFL Super Bowl XLVI Champions: New York Giants to Blu-ray. This retrospective chronicles the 2011 New York Giants' road to Super Bowl glory. NFL Super Bowl XLVI Champions: New York Giants streets on March 6th.
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