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Confidence going into Super Bowl XXV?

SFGFNCGiantsFan : 1/12/2021 6:56 pm
How were you feeling? It's hard to believe, but we're only 15 days away from the anniversary of the game. I ask because I had the '90 Giants America Game on in the man cave earlier.

I don't really remember how I felt because I was so young, but just looking back at the particulars-backup QB facing a team coming off a 51-3 AFC Championship win/had beaten us in Giants Stadium only a month before-I probably wasn't thinking we were going to win.
I didn't really think the Giants were going to win  
81_Great_Dane : 1/12/2021 6:59 pm : link
but I was much more confident than I was going into that horrific Giants v Ravens game. The 1990 Giants just kept finding a way, and Parcells/Belichik had been there before.
Felt good  
Go Terps : 1/12/2021 7:01 pm : link
As a fan no one had or has since scared me as much as Joe Montana. I brushed up against him in a crowd on Bourbon Street a few years ago and couldn't believe how (relatively) small he was...and even then I felt like climbing a tree in terror. Bill Burr mentioned on his podcast that he saw Montana in a restaurant, and he looked like a cold blooded killer ordering his food.

Anyway, if we could beat that guy in the NFC Championship game we could beat the fucking Bills.
Was mostly concerned if Offense could get enough points  
LBH15 : 1/12/2021 7:07 pm : link
to win. But assumed it was going to be a close game with a strong enough Giants defense.

I also actually liked that Buffalo had that massive blowout win a week earlier...those kind of things normalize quickly in the NFL.
That was an interesting time...  
bw in dc : 1/12/2021 7:12 pm : link
We stopped the three peat in Candlestick, but only had a week to prepare for Buffalo. I forget why, but that year they tried to have only one week between league championship and the SB.

We played them pretty well earlier that season pretty well with Hoss and held them to 17. So I thought that would be a good baseline going in...

Still...Buffalo looked great and they were the rightful favorite.
I think maybe 45% confident...  
sb from NYT Forum : 1/12/2021 7:13 pm : link
...I would have been more confident if Simms was QB.
I had more confidence  
Enzo : 1/12/2021 7:13 pm : link
against Buffalo than I did vs. SF the week before. We had lost to Buffalo by a whopping 4 points only a few weeks prior, so I wasn't all that scared of them despite their destruction of the Raiders. Also there was only a 1 week break that year....so no real time to sit and over-analyze the Super Bowl. I think a lot of fans were still riding high after beating SF for a few days and then next-thing-you-know it's Super Bowl Sunday.
Excuse the horrible syntax...  
bw in dc : 1/12/2021 7:14 pm : link
of the second sentence.
I thought we were gonna win.  
Optimus-NY : 1/12/2021 7:18 pm : link
I had supreme confidence in our guys: coaching staff and players, especially compared top that simpleton Marv Levy and his staff who gave away a play on National TV a couple of years later against the Cowboys in an interview on TV, lol.

The national media wasn't giving us a shot, which was perfect. No other team in the league would have gone into Frisco and beaten the Niners like the Giants did the previous week. That gave them all of the momentum. I knew it was a challenge, but the Giants were up for it.

Besides, the Giants outplayed the Bills in that 17-13 game about a month and a half earlier at Giants Stadium. They outgained them and won the time of possession. The Giants weren't some punks that year. They were bigger and stronger than everyone else and had the best staff in the entire league, or even ever for that matter.

The only time I was scared the entire game was the moment of the safety. Hostetler saved the game by not fumbling. I STILL don't know how he held onto the ball without fumbling on that play. It was the Giants' destiny to win that game, especially after the Ingram play and then on 3rd and 10 right before the half when they scored a TD on that Hoss to Baker play in the corner of the end zone.
Offensive juggernaut notwithstanding,  
Big Blue '56 : 1/12/2021 7:19 pm : link
I felt confident..They did shit against us in the meadowlands against us when Simms broke his foot. After he went down, we wound up losing something like 17-13 or 17-14..

So yes, I was confident.
oops,  
Big Blue '56 : 1/12/2021 7:19 pm : link
shouldn’t have written ‘against us’ twice
Without Simms and going against a great Bills team  
US1 Giants : 1/12/2021 7:29 pm : link
I was not optimistic. The coaching staff won that game in IMO, especially Bill Belichick.
RE: That was an interesting time...  
prh : 1/12/2021 7:31 pm : link
In comment 15120607 bw in dc said:
Quote:
We stopped the three peat in Candlestick, but only had a week to prepare for Buffalo. I forget why, but that year they tried to have only one week between league championship and the SB.

We played them pretty well earlier that season pretty well with Hoss and held them to 17. So I thought that would be a good baseline going in...

Still...Buffalo looked great and they were the rightful favorite.


Regarding the 1 week break. I think it had something to do with adding 2 more wild card teams that year.
Felt good, but knew that it would be a tough game.  
kdog77 : 1/12/2021 7:49 pm : link
Giants beat the Niners in Candlestick back when homefield advantage really mattered and the Giants didn't have Simms. The Bills had so many weapons on both offense and defense without the stink of being multiple SB loser on them at that point. The US invasion during Gulf War I also started around the same time, so there was a lot more pageantry around the SB then I recalled from prior SBs and Whitney Houston absolutely killed the National Anthem. Honestly I was just happy the Giants made it and really happy Norwood's kick sailed wide right.
RE: RE: That was an interesting time...  
sb from NYT Forum : 1/12/2021 7:51 pm : link
In comment 15120629 prh said:
Quote:
In comment 15120607 bw in dc said:


Quote:


We stopped the three peat in Candlestick, but only had a week to prepare for Buffalo. I forget why, but that year they tried to have only one week between league championship and the SB.

We played them pretty well earlier that season pretty well with Hoss and held them to 17. So I thought that would be a good baseline going in...

Still...Buffalo looked great and they were the rightful favorite.



Regarding the 1 week break. I think it had something to do with adding 2 more wild card teams that year.


I thought it had something to do with the Gulf War.
not confident of a win  
bluepepper : 1/12/2021 7:51 pm : link
but pretty sure it would be close. Thought Belichick and Parcells would figure out a way to slow down that offense and that we'd be able to run the ball some.

The regular season game was very worrisome. When Kelly was in they moved the ball very well on our D. Scored a couple of TD's in the first half. Then Kelly got hurt. We shut them down after that but was that because of adjustments or because Reich < Kelly?
I thought they'd do well.  
section125 : 1/12/2021 8:10 pm : link
I had confidence in Hoss. I sat through the freezing cold game in the swamp thinking they should have won that game. Thurman Thomas was a beast. But Belichick's plan to knock the snot out of their receivers worked and by the 2nd quarter they were alligator arming passes and ducking.
I remember not having confidence in Hofstedler  
Bob from Massachusetts : 1/12/2021 8:15 pm : link
He just wasn't Simms. And I remember the Bills had such a great offense, they seemed unstoppable, and then friggin' Belicheck got them to pound those receivers every time they caught a pass. They just beat them up and they seemed intimidated as the game went on. I think the Bills had a better team on paper, but the game isn't played that way. The coaching without a doubt made the difference.

I kind of remember that playoff against the Vikings the same way when they had Kerry Collins, their offense seemed unstoppable, and the Giants just ran away with the game. But that was a different kind of game.
I was 10  
chopperhatch : 1/12/2021 8:17 pm : link
So I am not sure how valid my opinion is, but I did NOT feel good about that game. I just saw that Buffalo offense as unstoppable. If I remember correctly we lost to SF 7-3 in SF and then we got beaten pretty thoroughly in Buffalo. I also remember shit-stomping their way through the playoffs. I really thought that Bills O was gonna score at least 3 touchdowns on us despite our D.

Conversely, I felt really good about the 2000 Super Bowl against the Ravens. I thought we had enough offensive weapons to get at least two tuddies and maybe a field goal or two while the Ravens couldnt score in a monkey whorehouse with bags full of bananas. Not the case.
RE: I was 10  
Big Blue '56 : 1/12/2021 8:21 pm : link
In comment 15120664 chopperhatch said:
Quote:
So I am not sure how valid my opinion is, but I did NOT feel good about that game. I just saw that Buffalo offense as unstoppable. If I remember correctly we lost to SF 7-3 in SF and then we got beaten pretty thoroughly in Buffalo. I also remember shit-stomping their way through the playoffs. I really thought that Bills O was gonna score at least 3 touchdowns on us despite our D.

Conversely, I felt really good about the 2000 Super Bowl against the Ravens. I thought we had enough offensive weapons to get at least two tuddies and maybe a field goal or two while the Ravens couldnt score in a monkey whorehouse with bags full of bananas. Not the case.


We lost at home during the regular season to Buffalo 17-13 or 17-14 after Simms went down with a broken foot
RE: I was 10  
section125 : 1/12/2021 8:24 pm : link
In comment 15120664 chopperhatch said:
Quote:
So I am not sure how valid my opinion is, but I did NOT feel good about that game. I just saw that Buffalo offense as unstoppable. If I remember correctly we lost to SF 7-3 in SF and then we got beaten pretty thoroughly in Buffalo. I also remember shit-stomping their way through the playoffs. I really thought that Bills O was gonna score at least 3 touchdowns on us despite our D.

Conversely, I felt really good about the 2000 Super Bowl against the Ravens. I thought we had enough offensive weapons to get at least two tuddies and maybe a field goal or two while the Ravens couldnt score in a monkey whorehouse with bags full of bananas. Not the case.


The Bills played us in Giants Stadium.

Yeah, SF beat us in SF and it ended with Phil Simms face mask to face mask jawing with Ronnie Lott, IIRC.
Lott and Simms - ( New Window )
Will always be disappointed that I was 3 years old at the time  
Leg of Theismann : 1/12/2021 8:27 pm : link
of that SB and therefore have literally ZERO recollection of it. My earliest football memories are 1993 (MAYBE '92). So my memory went just far enough back to remember all the heartbreak of the 90's (including Ricky Watters scoring 5 TDs in the 44-3 game) without the memories of XXI and XXV to smooth over the pain.

But, in the end everything happens for a reason. All that pain made my first NYG SB win (XLII) all the more sweet.
One of the nastiest weather days in Giants stadium history  
LBH15 : 1/12/2021 8:33 pm : link
was that regular season loss to Buffalo in 1990.

I have been to a lot of tough weather games during my younger days, but that one was just miserable - freezing icy rain, wind, and low temperatures. And we lost Simms and the game so salt in the wound.

Recall a large amount of no-shows even though this was a marquee matchup of two teams clearly heading for the playoffs.
Not very confident  
gfinop : 1/12/2021 8:34 pm : link
How many of you remember what Buffalo did to the Raiders in the AFC championship game?

Giants barely squeaked by the 49ers.
RE: RE: I was 10  
chopperhatch : 1/12/2021 8:35 pm : link
In comment 15120671 section125 said:
Quote:
In comment 15120664 chopperhatch said:


Quote:


So I am not sure how valid my opinion is, but I did NOT feel good about that game. I just saw that Buffalo offense as unstoppable. If I remember correctly we lost to SF 7-3 in SF and then we got beaten pretty thoroughly in Buffalo. I also remember shit-stomping their way through the playoffs. I really thought that Bills O was gonna score at least 3 touchdowns on us despite our D.

Conversely, I felt really good about the 2000 Super Bowl against the Ravens. I thought we had enough offensive weapons to get at least two tuddies and maybe a field goal or two while the Ravens couldnt score in a monkey whorehouse with bags full of bananas. Not the case.



The Bills played us in Giants Stadium.

Yeah, SF beat us in SF and it ended with Phil Simms face mask to face mask jawing with Ronnie Lott, IIRC. Lott and Simms - ( New Window )



Ah thats right. Like I said I was 10. I def remembered Phil breaking his leg in that game tho.
RE: Will always be disappointed that I was 3 years old at the time  
chopperhatch : 1/12/2021 8:38 pm : link
In comment 15120672 Leg of Theismann said:
Quote:
of that SB and therefore have literally ZERO recollection of it. My earliest football memories are 1993 (MAYBE '92). So my memory went just far enough back to remember all the heartbreak of the 90's (including Ricky Watters scoring 5 TDs in the 44-3 game) without the memories of XXI and XXV to smooth over the pain.

But, in the end everything happens for a reason. All that pain made my first NYG SB win (XLII) all the more sweet.


I was lucky enough to be the ripe old age of 6 for XXI and actually do have some memories of the game. Specifically the Giants stopping of the Broncos at the goal line and the pass that deflected off of Bavaro's hands into McConkey's. For some reason, McConkey was my Dad's favorite player.
RE: RE: Will always be disappointed that I was 3 years old at the time  
section125 : 1/12/2021 8:42 pm : link
In comment 15120680 chopperhatch said:
Quote:
In comment 15120672 Leg of Theismann said:


Quote:


of that SB and therefore have literally ZERO recollection of it. My earliest football memories are 1993 (MAYBE '92). So my memory went just far enough back to remember all the heartbreak of the 90's (including Ricky Watters scoring 5 TDs in the 44-3 game) without the memories of XXI and XXV to smooth over the pain.

But, in the end everything happens for a reason. All that pain made my first NYG SB win (XLII) all the more sweet.



I was lucky enough to be the ripe old age of 6 for XXI and actually do have some memories of the game. Specifically the Giants stopping of the Broncos at the goal line and the pass that deflected off of Bavaro's hands into McConkey's. For some reason, McConkey was my Dad's favorite player.


That TD by McConkey off Bavaro was right in front of me...
RE: Not very confident  
Leg of Theismann : 1/12/2021 8:43 pm : link
In comment 15120676 gfinop said:
Quote:
How many of you remember what Buffalo did to the Raiders in the AFC championship game?

Giants barely squeaked by the 49ers.


But wasn't beating the Joe Montana 49ers and preventing their 3-peat *almost* like as massive of a feat as beating the '07 Pats back then? I would've thought that would give y'all all the confidence in the world at that point-- that if you can beat Montana in SF in the NFCCG you can beat anyone. I guess the 49ers were not seen as quite the juggernaut they were in the 80s by that point?
I was at UVA at that time...surrounded by Redskin fans  
Pete in CO : 1/12/2021 8:44 pm : link
Actually, my roommates had people come over to watch the NYG fan crash and burn. I had very low expectations for Big Blue that day, but all those Skins fans watched me get more and more amped up as the game went on. Wow...30 years ago.
Also--  
Leg of Theismann : 1/12/2021 8:45 pm : link
wasn't this still back during that period when the NFC was still head and shoulders better than the AFC? The NFC dominance I thought lasted all the way up until '98 and then shifted with Elway winning 2 in a row and then of course the rise of the Pats. That would've made me think back then that if the Giants could get through the NFC playoffs they could beat just about any AFC team, no?
Supremely confident  
Matt M. : 1/12/2021 8:56 pm : link
That Giants D, I think, was somewhat overshadowed by following the 1985 Bears. I thought they were every bit as good and dominant.
...  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 1/12/2021 9:04 pm : link
Chopper, I too was ten, Haha.
.  
Danny Kanell : 1/12/2021 9:09 pm : link
I thought we were gonna win. It’s weird, I was 13 years old and that run feels like it was yesterday. I remember all the details of watching every game in those playoffs. The Bears, 49ers and the Bills. What I ate, who was over for the games, the weather outside. Very weird. I was so captivated I remember everything.
RE: RE: Not very confident  
section125 : 1/12/2021 9:12 pm : link
In comment 15120683 Leg of Theismann said:
Quote:
In comment 15120676 gfinop said:


Quote:


How many of you remember what Buffalo did to the Raiders in the AFC championship game?

Giants barely squeaked by the 49ers.



But wasn't beating the Joe Montana 49ers and preventing their 3-peat *almost* like as massive of a feat as beating the '07 Pats back then? I would've thought that would give y'all all the confidence in the world at that point-- that if you can beat Montana in SF in the NFCCG you can beat anyone. I guess the 49ers were not seen as quite the juggernaut they were in the 80s by that point?


IIRC, the rank was 49ers, Bills, Giants....pre-playoffs and the Giants with Hostetler at QB were a distant 3rd, with Simms they would have been about even with the Bills. And yes the NFC was extremely dominant during that period.
RE: .  
Optimus-NY : 1/12/2021 9:55 pm : link
In comment 15120708 Danny Kanell said:
Quote:
I thought we were gonna win. It’s weird, I was 13 years old and that run feels like it was yesterday. I remember all the details of watching every game in those playoffs. The Bears, 49ers and the Bills. What I ate, who was over for the games, the weather outside. Very weird. I was so captivated I remember everything.


Same.
RE: RE: Not very confident  
Go Terps : 1/12/2021 10:21 pm : link
In comment 15120683 Leg of Theismann said:
Quote:
In comment 15120676 gfinop said:


Quote:


How many of you remember what Buffalo did to the Raiders in the AFC championship game?

Giants barely squeaked by the 49ers.



But wasn't beating the Joe Montana 49ers and preventing their 3-peat *almost* like as massive of a feat as beating the '07 Pats back then? I would've thought that would give y'all all the confidence in the world at that point-- that if you can beat Montana in SF in the NFCCG you can beat anyone. I guess the 49ers were not seen as quite the juggernaut they were in the 80s by that point?


I was 11, so I knew shit. But to me the 49ers were like gods. It felt like they'd always been the best and always would be. To this day I can't be convinced there was ever a better quarterback than Montana.
RE: .  
Greg from LI : 1/12/2021 10:55 pm : link
In comment 15120708 Danny Kanell said:
Quote:
I thought we were gonna win. It’s weird, I was 13 years old and that run feels like it was yesterday. I remember all the details of watching every game in those playoffs. The Bears, 49ers and the Bills. What I ate, who was over for the games, the weather outside. Very weird. I was so captivated I remember everything.


I was 14 and I feel the same way. There was so much turmoil in my life at that time - adjusting to high school was difficult, my grandmother had just died, my dad was essentially fired by his business partner, and the Gulf War had just started. For those reasons I latched onto that playoff run like a remote on a shark. The joy those wins brought me in a dark time was indescribable. After pulling off the upset in SF, I felt good going into Tampa. Had so much confidence in those teams.
RE: RE: RE: Not very confident  
chopperhatch : 1/12/2021 11:18 pm : link
In comment 15120751 Go Terps said:
Quote:
In comment 15120683 Leg of Theismann said:


Quote:


In comment 15120676 gfinop said:


Quote:


How many of you remember what Buffalo did to the Raiders in the AFC championship game?

Giants barely squeaked by the 49ers.



But wasn't beating the Joe Montana 49ers and preventing their 3-peat *almost* like as massive of a feat as beating the '07 Pats back then? I would've thought that would give y'all all the confidence in the world at that point-- that if you can beat Montana in SF in the NFCCG you can beat anyone. I guess the 49ers were not seen as quite the juggernaut they were in the 80s by that point?



I was 11, so I knew shit. But to me the 49ers were like gods. It felt like they'd always been the best and always would be. To this day I can't be convinced there was ever a better quarterback than Montana.


I think I remmeber kicking their punk asses in the '86 playoffs and was never really afraid of them. I mean I knew they were good, but always thought they were more scared of us and lucked out too often. I was a dumb kid who watched games but was more interested in friends and Nintendo.
RE: Also--  
chopperhatch : 1/12/2021 11:23 pm : link
In comment 15120687 Leg of Theismann said:
Quote:
wasn't this still back during that period when the NFC was still head and shoulders better than the AFC? The NFC dominance I thought lasted all the way up until '98 and then shifted with Elway winning 2 in a row and then of course the rise of the Pats. That would've made me think back then that if the Giants could get through the NFC playoffs they could beat just about any AFC team, no?


The thing about thise Bills, that offense was so fast and so crazy to me with playmakers everywhere and it seemed like they were blowing teams away. I had never seen anything like it. Plus, their D had some fucking players on it. Bennett, Talley, Smith, Kelso, Shane Conlan, Nate Odomes, Leonard Smith....those guys could play.


I just didnt see it for us.
I was 23  
mpinmaine : 1/13/2021 2:22 am : link
I cant remember if I was confident...hopeful as always and still reeling from the Rams playoff loss the year befoe and the Jets as well in 88.

They played theirasses off and still my favourite Giants team.


The only had a week to prepare because of terrorist threats.
High Confidence  
monstercoo : 1/13/2021 2:26 am : link
I was 7 and was really confident in Hostetler, who I thought was a better QB than Simms. I liked his mobility, much more than Simms. The championship game vs the 49ers was insane, I didn't think there was anything stopping us.

My Dad asked my Mom to predict the score of he game, and she said 20-19 Giants. My Dad laughed it off, because he thought getting 19 points was basically impossible. We were scared to ever ask to predict the result of a game again.
I was nervous at first.  
truebluelarry : 1/13/2021 5:17 am : link
That Bills team had the look of a juggernaut in the post season and had already beaten the Giants once.

But that changed after watching a Carl Banks interview clip from media day in Tampa. Someone had asked him a similar queation, like "can you stop the Bills", and Banks responded with a smirk and wryly commented along the lines of, "yeah, we've been here before, we know what we have to do, we can handle it..." and it wasn't his words as much as how he said them. He oozed this calm confidence; unspoken was "yeah, we got this" and I thought to myself, "holy crap, they have the Bills right where they want them!" and I felt the upset coming the rest of the week.

That fact that I was going to college outside of Rochester, NY at the time, right in the heart of Bills country, made the whole experience that much sweeter. The hype that was generated for that game was unlike anything I've ever been around. It was a quiet day on campus the Monday after the game. All you could here was the sound of feet shuffling on the cold pavement. I wore my Giants hat to class but never said a word. :-)
I was 11 years old. I had all the confidence in the world  
bradshaw44 : 1/13/2021 6:04 am : link
When I would talk with non fans. Among fellow fans I was concerned due to the fact we had Simms out. That bills offense was a juggernaut.

To this day I still remember dropping to a knee and praying for Norwood to miss. I had my fingers crossed while my hands were folded and I kept my head down. My older neighbor mockingly got down on a knee and prayed for Norwood to make it to spite me. But he didn’t cross his fingers. To this day I account that miss to my fingers being crossed while I prayed and my neighbors not being crossed.

Ahhh the things we tell ourselves.
I lived in Rochester  
Steve L : 1/13/2021 7:12 am : link
And still do. I was obviously overwhelmed with Bills fans and news. They were hyped so much it was hard to be overly confident. I did win a good chunk of money that day though.
That 51-3 score was extremely frightening  
Essex : 1/13/2021 8:06 am : link
They also beat us at Giants stadium earlier that year but the game very close. I did not feel very confident, but more confident than say going against the Pats in XLII. The Ravens game I did not feel too bad about; I didn't feel the Ravens defense was as good as it was until I saw it. We never had a chance in that game.
How confident? I proposed a bet to a loud mouth Bills fan  
Victor in CT : 1/13/2021 9:09 am : link
on our trading floor $100 and put the cash down on a mutual friends desk to hold for the Giants to win outright. He wouldn't take the bet. I thought the Bills were soft and had yet to be be punched in the mouth.
Felt Very Confident  
LTIsTheGreatest : 1/13/2021 9:23 am : link
after that victory in SF the week before, I felt it was our destiny that year. Had played them just a few weeks prior I remember in that game where Simms got hurt and it was a hard fought game. Thought we would take them this time. I remember laughing when earlier that week when NBC Analyst and former Buffalo Bill Paul Maguire predicted a Bills blowout, that the Giants would have no answer for the Kelly and his hurry up offense, and that we had no LBer that could cover Thurman Thomas. That's when I knew we would win. Maguire was a blowhard know nothing like Mike Francessa
RE: Also--  
truebluelarry : 1/13/2021 11:28 am : link
In comment 15120687 Leg of Theismann said:
Quote:
wasn't this still back during that period when the NFC was still head and shoulders better than the AFC? The NFC dominance I thought lasted all the way up until '98 and then shifted with Elway winning 2 in a row and then of course the rise of the Pats. That would've made me think back then that if the Giants could get through the NFC playoffs they could beat just about any AFC team, no?


Part of the Bills hype was they were going to break the NFC's SB streak in that they were similar to and NFC team in that Buffalo is a cold weather city, they could run the ball with Thomas and the defense with Bruce Smith was good. In fact, Smith wasn't shy about telling anyone with a mic that he was better than LT and Reggie White.
cautiously optimistic  
Grey Pilgrim : 1/13/2021 11:29 am : link
...
I think that the Bills had a better team  
US1 Giants : 1/13/2021 11:30 am : link
The Giants out-coached them.
RE: RE: Also--  
truebluelarry : 1/13/2021 11:35 am : link
In comment 15121119 truebluelarry said:
Quote:
In comment 15120687 Leg of Theismann said:


Quote:


wasn't this still back during that period when the NFC was still head and shoulders better than the AFC? The NFC dominance I thought lasted all the way up until '98 and then shifted with Elway winning 2 in a row and then of course the rise of the Pats. That would've made me think back then that if the Giants could get through the NFC playoffs they could beat just about any AFC team, no?



Part of the Bills hype was they were going to break the NFC's SB streak in that they were similar to and NFC team in that Buffalo is a cold weather city, they could run the ball with Thomas and the defense with Bruce Smith was good. In fact, Smith wasn't shy about telling anyone with a mic that he was better than LT and Reggie White.


In addition, Buffalo was 3-1 vs the NFC East that year, with the only loss coming Week 17 at Washington in a game that was meaningless for the Bills as they had already locked up the #1 seed in the AFC. I don't recall if they rested any starters for that game or not though.
It's why I'm also a fan of the Patriots...  
Grey Pilgrim : 1/13/2021 11:48 am : link
The GIANTS don't win SB XXV without little bill.
RE: It's why I'm also a fan of the Patriots...  
Essex : 1/13/2021 11:53 am : link
In comment 15121137 Grey Pilgrim said:
Quote:
The GIANTS don't win SB XXV without little bill.

I know this is talked about a lot and BB's game plan is in the hall of fame, but the Bills scored 19 points in 19 minutes. The best defense we had that game was Time of Possession. The OLine and Otis Anderson just mauled them. That drive to start the second half was a beauty. I love BB for all his years here, I had his red starter jacket as a young kid in the 80s, but I often think he gets too much credit for this one (believe me, though, there so much to give him credit for in his years here).
RE: RE: It's why I'm also a fan of the Patriots...  
Victor in CT : 1/13/2021 11:59 am : link
In comment 15121149 Essex said:
Quote:
In comment 15121137 Grey Pilgrim said:


Quote:


The GIANTS don't win SB XXV without little bill.


I know this is talked about a lot and BB's game plan is in the hall of fame, but the Bills scored 19 points in 19 minutes. The best defense we had that game was Time of Possession. The OLine and Otis Anderson just mauled them. That drive to start the second half was a beauty. I love BB for all his years here, I had his red starter jacket as a young kid in the 80s, but I often think he gets too much credit for this one (believe me, though, there so much to give him credit for in his years here).


Yes. Erhardt's execution of Parcells' order to "shorten the game" doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves.
RE: RE: RE: Also--  
Victor in CT : 1/13/2021 12:02 pm : link
In comment 15121127 truebluelarry said:
Quote:
In comment 15121119 truebluelarry said:


Quote:


In comment 15120687 Leg of Theismann said:


Quote:


wasn't this still back during that period when the NFC was still head and shoulders better than the AFC? The NFC dominance I thought lasted all the way up until '98 and then shifted with Elway winning 2 in a row and then of course the rise of the Pats. That would've made me think back then that if the Giants could get through the NFC playoffs they could beat just about any AFC team, no?



Part of the Bills hype was they were going to break the NFC's SB streak in that they were similar to and NFC team in that Buffalo is a cold weather city, they could run the ball with Thomas and the defense with Bruce Smith was good. In fact, Smith wasn't shy about telling anyone with a mic that he was better than LT and Reggie White.



In addition, Buffalo was 3-1 vs the NFC East that year, with the only loss coming Week 17 at Washington in a game that was meaningless for the Bills as they had already locked up the #1 seed in the AFC. I don't recall if they rested any starters for that game or not though.


The Giants were pushing them around pretty good though in that game at Giants Stadium until Simms got hurt, and then IIRC Hampton left the game too.
I thought we were gonna get our butts kicked  
butler : 1/13/2021 12:28 pm : link
Buffalo was really good. I remember I was all set to watch the game on the big screen TV at my frat house but I got a late start so I ran downstairs and started watching it on the dinky TV in my dorm common room thinking I would hightail it to my house (which was literally across the street from the dorm) during a commercial break. Well, with the game going surprisingly well and the G-Men keeping it close I was too scared to jinx it so I stayed and watched the whole game practically by myself :)

I got called out about that for a while afterwards and felt stupid so the next time the Giants made it the Super Bowl I decided to go to a party. After that debacle and how shitty it was seeing my team get blown out amongst a bunch of jag offs talking about the commercials and telling me to calm down, I didn't fell dumb any more! :)

My father-in-law had Super Bowl parties for the last two Bowls and there was no way I was going so I watched both of those by myself while my wife and kids went to NJ. I still get crap for that too but I don't care. And you're welcome!!
my confidence was low  
markky : 1/13/2021 12:30 pm : link
i didn't think we had the offense to hang with them. i didn't count on the Giants eating all of the clock and Bill B's plan to punish the receivers going over the middle. we won because of brilliant up front planning.
Confident. About 75% confident.  
x meadowlander : 1/13/2021 1:16 pm : link
Because I felt the Giants had already beaten the best team in the league - one of the best teams ever, stopped the 3-peat, did it IN SAN FRANCISCO.

At that point, the AFC was a lower-level league. The NFC had already won 6 straight Superbowl wins, in the middle of a 13 straight year run of such wins and this was not by fluke. The NFC had franchises that were simply that much stronger. Niners, Bears, Redskins, Giants, later Cowboys and Packers added to the dogpile - until Plan B Free Agency began breaking these teams up, they were taking the Lombardi year after year.

So in 1990 - yes, we knew the Bills had a dangerous offense, but the Giants had already faced the Bills and only lost by 4, despite losing Simms in that game - indeed, in that game, the Giants led in all offensive categories.

A loss would have been an upset, IMO.
I was in 6th grade  
rsjem1979 : 1/13/2021 1:25 pm : link
So I had all the irrational confidence that comes with being an 11-year-old who watched Matt Bahr's kick the week before through his fingers while crouched next to the couch.

I remember being so angry after the loss to Buffalo during the regular season when Simms broke his leg that I literally ripped his poster off my wall (I later taped it back up).

I also remember that my friend Nick and I bet our friends (twin brothers, Bears fans) $2 each that the Giants would win. Pretty sweet collecting on that bet on Monday.
Bruce Smith was an incredible pass rusher  
Greg from LI : 1/13/2021 1:27 pm : link
But, as an all-around player, he wasn't close to LT. The Giants ran right at him over and over again on those two long drives in the Super Bowl. No one ran at LT.
RE: Bruce Smith was an incredible pass rusher  
Victor in CT : 1/13/2021 1:59 pm : link
In comment 15121265 Greg from LI said:
Quote:
But, as an all-around player, he wasn't close to LT. The Giants ran right at him over and over again on those two long drives in the Super Bowl. No one ran at LT.


damn straight!
Bills had 4 HOFers on offense!  
Alan W : 1/13/2021 5:02 pm : link
and from Wikipedia:

"David Halberstam wrote that one of defensive coordinator Bill Belichick's specific plans to combat the Bills involved convincing his defense (who had been the best unit against the run in the NFL that season) that they would win the game if Thurman Thomas ran for more than 100 yards. Belichick also felt that Jim Kelly was not as good at reading defenses as some other elite quarterbacks were (for example, Joe Montana), and that Kelly tended to "freeze" what he was seeing from a series and then use that information on the next one, which meant the Giants could be a step ahead of him all game if they alternated their cover plans from drive to drive."
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