Posts tagged David Tyree at FanHouse

Former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, now a Fox television analyst, says he'll have no problems criticizing his friends and former teammates.

"I criticize them to their face in the locker room: 'You sucked today,'" Strahan tells Frank Deford in a profile on tonight's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel.

And then, as if to prove he won't hesitate to criticize former teammates, Strahan says the reason he's amazed by the famous Manning to Tyree play in the Super Bowl is that his old teammates Eli Manning and David Tyree seemingly lack the athletic talent necessary to pull the play off.

You know how there is always a movie where some guy just has bad luck and no matter what he does ... it isn't as good as someone else close to him?

Imagine Giants' quarterback Eli Manning. Dude just won a magical Super Bowl in the NFL's biggest market and he won't be the QB with the most attention in his home stadium! Brett Favre is a New York Jet and will get tons more coverage and attention from everyone than Eli.

Never mind that the last time either player was on the field, Favre threw a season-killing interception against Eli's Giants ... while Eli led an amazing drive to pull off one of the greatest Super Bowl upsets.

Good thing it is Eli since this just adds to his already "Charlie-Brown" life.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
David who slayed Goliath ... and you know how that goes in the world of fantasy football. At least you should. The residue of a strong post-season run by a team almost certainly means several players are going to be overrated the next fantasy season. I'm looking right at you, Thomas Jones. So the question with the Giants is, can you look past the post-season and judge flatly on what you think they'll do in this regular season? Imagine the Giants had lost in the first round at Tampa Bay. Now judge their fantasy players. That should be an accurate rating system. For example, settle down about Eli Manning. Sure, you can believe he's taken a giant (pun unintended, but I'm keeping the word choice) step forward in terms of maturity and taking care of the football. You also should remember that 13 QBs outscored him in fantasy points in '07. His last name doesn't do him any favors either. Hypnotize yourself into believing that Eli Smith lost in the first round to the Bucs. Now do you like him as a top ten QB? Me neither.

The Breakout
Brandon Jacobs ... I already covered him.

Plaxico Burress only had two catches for 27 yards in the Super Bowl, but none was bigger than Eli Manning's last completion of the season -- a 13-touchdown pass to Burress to give the Giants a 17-14 lead with 35 seconds left in the game.

Now, some four months later, Burress is sitting out minicamp, and he might be a no-show for training camp, too. According to CBSSports.com's Clark Judge, Burress, like everybody else, wants a new contract.

Burress signed with the Giants in 2005 after the Steelers chose not to offer him a new deal. At the time, it seemed peculiar that teams weren't falling over themselves to ink a 6-5, 230-pound deep threat, and after several weeks and one false start with the Giants (at one point the team abruptly ended negotiations), Burress was eventually signed to six-year $25 million contract, including $8.25 million in guaranteed loot.

After three seasons in New York, 46 starts, more than 3,000 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns, I'd say Burress has earned a new deal. Of course, the front office may feel differently, especially since he has three years left on his existing contract.

On the upside, the longer Plax stays way, the better it is for Mario Manningham and, if we're to believe Vinny Ditrani, David Tyree. Jeremy Shockey, however, is still angry. About something.

I've always grudgingly admired Rodney Harrison. Sure, he's a dirty player, and his on-field act can get tiresome at times. But he's the guy opposing fans love to hate because he doesn't play for their team. I get that.

I've also seen him interviewed during the offseason, and he comes across as a smart dude, someone who understands that the NFL is ultimately a part-time gig, and has plans for life after football.

Well, this offseason, between calling David Tyree's catch "lucky," Harrison penned the introduction to Tyree's book, which, shockingly, is about that catch.

"A lot of people have been asking me questions, am I mad or upset at the catch," said Harrison. "Obviously you want to make the ball come out, but at the same time when you give everything to something, you don't have any regrets. ...

"But more so than that, just from a spiritual standpoint, I heard what [Tyree] went through with his mom, her passing, and everything he kind of endured this season. You can see why he was blessed at that particular time. God has a way of showing different things through different people, and I'm not a hater. You beat us, so I congratulate you and we move on."

Harrison admits that he didn't actually "write" the introduction, but was asked "a bunch of questions" and someone fashioned one from the answers. He also didn't get paid for his time, but according to the Boston Globe's Mike Reiss, Harrison didn't hesitate because of the story's powerful message.

See, not only is Harrison human, he has feelings. Bill Belichick, however, is still assumed to be a Cylon.

Everybody knows David Tyree. That wasn't the case four months and two days ago, hours before arguably the greatest catch in Super Bowl history happened, but such moments can change your life overnight.

Now, with training camp two months off, there's a chance everybody will know David Tyree, ex-Giant. At least according to The Record's Vinny Ditrani.

... [A]s bizarre as it may appear, [Tyree] could be scuffling to make the team this summer - if his knee allows him to scuffle at all. ...

when the team took the field ... Tuesday, a host of young receivers lined up behind veteran Amani Toomer ... Steve Smith, whose late-season contributions were key in the title run; Domenik Hixon, the kick returner whose receiving potential remains untapped; Sinorice Moss, the so-far disappointing second-round pick in 2006; and third-round draft pick Mario Manningham all have legitimate shots at making the team.

It certainly seems less dire than that. I don't know of a team that keeps seven wide receivers on the roster, so if the depth chart is Plaxico Burress, Toomer, Hixon, Smith, Moss and Manningham, then, yeah, Tyree could be in trouble. But I'm not convinced Manningham is better than Tyree right now, and Moss has struggled to stay healthy since the Giants drafted him a few years ago. And most important, perhaps, Tom Coughlin is a big fan of Tyree's work ethic and attention to detail. That should count for something, I'd think.

Worst case, Tyree becomes the modern-day Timmy Smith, but with a much bigger Super Bowl ring.

As Rodney Harrison prepares for his 32nd NFL season, the Patriots safety took time out from biting the heads off small animals to talk to the Boston Globe's Mike Reiss. It's been nearly four months since David Tyree saved Eli Manning's career*, and Harrison is still stupefied at how the play unfolded.

"Not in a million years does he make that catch again," said Harrison. "I don't have any regrets on it. I saw the ball, went up for it, and did my best to grab it out. It goes on his head, so what can you say? "I think you have to understand that certain things happen that you just can't explain."

I think Harrison's right: a thousand do-overs and no way Tyree makes that play again. And, yeah, there are some things you just can't explain (like this, for example).

Harrison is 35 and, unsurprisingly, is as eager as ever to coldcock someone. He's old in football terms, and although he's slowed down in recent seasons, he's adjusted accordingly. Harrison can no longer run with slot receivers, but he still excels near the line of scrimmage in a hybrid safety/linebacker role.

He's scheduled to make $3.7 million in the final year of his contract, and even if his professional football career is nearing its end, Harrison has backup plans: to become an NFL official, presumably the first one who tackles rules violators instead of chucking a flag in their general direction.

* joke

Two years ago, Junior Seau had retired from football. A Bill Belichick phone call changed that, presumably because it would give the 37-year-old linebacker his best shot at winning a Super Bowl. Two years and one broken arm later, Seau made it to the Big Game, but David Tyree happened, robbing him of a ring, and the Patriots of their fourth title since 2001.

And now the 19-year veteran could have his future decided for him. Seau is recovering from offseason rotator-cuff surgery, and New England has stocked the roster with linebackers in anticipation that a few in the over-30 crowd might rightfully get on with their life's work outside football.

The Patriots used their first-round pick on Jerod Mayo, and signed Victor Hobson off the Jets' scrap heap. Thirty-four-year-old Tedy Bruschi will be back, along with Mike Vrabel (32). Which means Seau could be the odd man out.

Still, if Mayo is slow to pick up the defense, or Hobson doesn't work out, the Patriots could still be interested. Bill Belichick told the Boston Globe's Mike Reiss that "We are just not there yet, but we are closer to being there," when talking about any decisions regarding Seau's future.

After ESPN viewers chose Mike Eruzione's game-winning goal to cap the Miracle on Ice at the 1980 Winter Olympics as the greatest sports highlight, the Worldwide Leader decided to ask Giants wide receiver David Tyree, star of the greatest highlight of 2008, what he thought:

"The funny thing is, I don't even know which play that is," Tyree said. "That shows you how much of a sports fan I am, but it must be a heck of a play."

Yeah, I'd say it was a heck of a play.

Tyree was seven weeks old when the Miracle on Ice took place, so I guess it's not completely shocking that he's not familiar with it, especially since he says that he's not much of a sports fan. Still, the Miracle on Ice feels like one of those things that should be part of our shared national consciousness. At least this "greatest highlight" gimmick is introducing it to a younger generation of fans.

Everyone has been racking their brain trying to come up with a catchy name for the Eli Manning pass to David Tyree in Super Bowl XLII. According to a survey at the New York Daily News, there is a favorite.

The biggest play of Super Bowl XLII finally has a name. And just like the Super Bowl, it took a dramatic finish to find the winner.

With a final-hours surge in the fan voting on NYDailyNews.com, "Catch 42" emerged as the favored name for the famous Eli Manning-to-David Tyree play. It received 36% (2,556) of the 7,016 ballots cast.

"Catch 42" barely beat out "Hail Manning", the "Ty-Reach", "The Hat Trick" and the "Glendale Grab". I can see why "Catch 42" won out.

There were a few that didn't make the cut (check for them after the jump). My favorites were the "Cheater Beater", "The Holy Flail" and "the Flee to Tyree". Personally, I have referred to it as the Double Miracle and the Clutch In the Clutch. Honestly, I think that it will go down in history as, simply, "Manning to Tyree".