Odell Beckham Jr. of the Giants had one of the greatest catches you may ever see. He was being mauled by the defender--it was a penalty. He shook the mauling off, snatched the ball one-handed and landed on his back in the end-zone, not part of him out of bounds...
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I was thinking about Giants catches in recent memory, and how this could stack up. The other two that fully come to mind are both part of the Lore of Eli, like that's a William Blake illustrated classic or something.
The first is, of course, the Super Bowl-swinging, never-happen-again-deliberately-if-you-were-trying Tyree helmet-catch:
Watching Eli avoid the sack, get free, launch a pass to the middle of the field, and then see Tyree trap it against his helmet? Ridiculous moments turning into incredible memories. We knew the Giants were winning at that point. Twenty seconds later when Eli found Plaxico in the end zone open for the TD, we weren't surprised.
The second incredible catch had less to do with luck or the skills of the receiver, but were a bit of a show that Eli himself was putting on: another Super Bowl moment, but one in which Eli was fully the narrator of: Manningham on the sideline during Giants/Pats II:
Perfect throw to a tight spot. I was in Honduras for that game, watching it at a hostel with lounge music playing over the muted television. I had the feeling the G-Men were in control after the safety on Tom Brady's first pass attempt. They coughed up the lead, but I always felt it.
Of course, we'll always have the other side of the Eli-Era coin, the side titled simply "Eli Face":
It shows up regularly after interceptions, dropped passes, or blown routes. So there's that, too...
If it weren't for Eli, Tom Brady may have five Super Bowls championships and be considered the best quarterback ever. That makes me laugh.
(I'm not sure who took all of these photos, but I appreciate their professionalism.)
That's an excellent call on the Tyree catch in the Super Bowl. Yes, it was clear they were gonna come out on top after that catch. It's a "salient moment" and a very clear memory. I watched the game at my father-in-law's house; I was up and down and walking around in a fit of nerves the whole time. I was a one-man private cheering section. Since the Broncos rule Denver, no one was upset to see New England's perfect season flushed down the toilet.
ReplyDeleteI worked that Sunday from the morning to the afternoon, and once off I raced to Marc and Linda's apartment on 50th west of 10th Ave. Marc was on a work trip in Denver, having agreed to go way before the idea that the Giants might be in the Super Bowl. When I got there, Corrie and Linda and two other folks were already partied out, getting ready for, eh, naps. I watched the game by myself, not really able to sit, pacing and jumping, a "fit of nerves" indeed. Afterwards we all went to the roof for a shout and smoke. I remember the distant car horns honking and fellow revelers similarly hollering from their rooftops...
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