Against Dallas in '04.
I never thought about the fact that this was the last game Wellington Mara ever saw (as John Mara recounted today, Wellington said to him: "I think we got our guy"). How fitting that the final game he saw was Eli's first comeback and a foreshadowing of all the great things to come in Eli's career.
What a gutsy audible by Eli running the ball at the end there. Equally as gutsy a lot of those winning TD passes he threw with & lt; 2 min to go actually. If Tiki doesn't get in there the clock very well could have run out and flat out ended the game (no TD, no FG, nothing). Classic Eli just living in the present moment, living on the edge, saying fuck it and just going for the win.
Like Peyton said: Eli always wanted the ball in his hands, and he wanted the TD, not just the "Field goal to tie." And as Peyton said a lot of guys like to talk/act like they have that type of mentality and have what it takes to get it done but when it comes down to it very few actually do.
Giants vs. Dallas 2004 - NYG final drive - (
New Window )
I guess we know now that while Wellington was still alive for the 05 season, apparently he was unaware of what was going on with the games.
But still, last memory being 04 finale is a good one!
I guess we know now that while Wellington was still alive for the 05 season, apparently he was unaware of what was going on with the games.
But still, last memory being 04 finale is a good one!
I guess either one would be a pretty great last game to send Wellington out on! I wonder if John meant it was the last game Wellington saw in person. But I suppose it is possible his health had deteriorated to a point that he wasn't aware of the '05 Denver game.
Either way, like we said, both were great drives. If both the last one he saw in person AND the last one he saw on TV (or was at least alive for) were dramatic Eli game-winning TD-drives I'd say you couldn't ask for anything better than that, nor anything that could epitomize Eli and what was still to come any better than that.
I forget sometimes how good Tiki Barber really was.
To see him there and then see the field general he transformed into is incredible. Everything about him by the end looked like a sharpened diamond. The five star captain patch, Walter Payton patch, shoulders back. A look of complete confidence and leadership in his face and body. Fascinating to see him transform into an icon.