hearing that they'd been setting up Ellis Hobbs for that slant n' go (Sluggo) route the entire game. It certainly worked to perfection. I always love seeing Peyton's reaction in the suite. Who knows--maybe he had a hand in it too?
hearing that they'd been setting up Ellis Hobbs for that slant n' go (Sluggo) route the entire game. It certainly worked to perfection. I always love seeing Peyton's reaction in the suite. Who knows--maybe he had a hand in it too?
Interesting indeed! IIRC, the Pats were in an all out blitz and I figured a slant of some sort was the call. Guess Hobbs thought so too!
“Walking out on the field for that game-winning drive with two minutes and 39 seconds and knowing that, listen, we’re gonna have to go out there and score a touchdown if we want to win this game.
And I remember being on the field, and [former Giants offensive tackle] David Diehl and [former Patriots defensive tackle] Richard Seymour were going at it during a TV timeout. And Richard Seymour basically looked at me and Diehl, and gave us the throat-cut sign like this game is over. And I remember Diehl saying, ‘No, it ain’t over yet, baby.’ And that was the mindset that we had because we didn’t waver going into that drive. We knew that we had to score a touchdown.
“And you talk about the helmet catch, you talk about my catch, but there are three or four plays that I remember vividly that helped us win the game. If [former Giants running back] Brandon Jacobs doesn’t get a fourth-and-1, the game is over with. He runs into the back of [former Giants offensive guard] Chris Snee, he doesn’t go anywhere, he fights for an extra yard and a half and we get a first down.
“And then we have a busted route on the outside, and [former Patriots cornerback] Asante Samuel drops an interception. And if you know Samuel, he don’t drop picks. If he gets his hands on anything, he’s snatching it.”
“And he drops the football! And I’m like, man, destiny must be in front of us because as long as I’ve been playing, Samuel does not drop picks.
“And then we get a third-and-ten and we throw a diagonal slant. Two slants on the outside, and Smitty [former Giants receiver Steve Smith] runs the little five-yard diagonal. And Smitty’s a rookie, but he has the mental capacity to know it’s third down. He turns it up, takes two steps and dives for a first down. What’s the probability of us getting a fourth-and-ten? And Smitty was the rookie. One of the smartest wide receivers I’ve been around for a young guy.
“And then coming out for that game-winning touchdown, we get the call. New England is running the same coverage, so we keep calling the same play! We keep calling diagonal slant with Smitty running diagonal, with two fronts on the back side. They got me on the weak side hoping I can draw single-coverage. But they keep doubling and we called it a third time and they jumped into a zero.
“And when I break the huddle, Eli grabs my jersey and says, ‘Hey, listen, if they give you one-on-one I’m throwing it.’ And I’m like, ‘Man they’re not going to single me right now.’ And I get to the line of scrimmage and I can’t even believe what I’m seeing. I’m smiling in my mouthpiece like, ‘C’mon man, hike the ball! Don’t even go through the cadence. Just go!’
“It was X fade. But check it out, TJ, they were in cover zero and in cover zero you can’t line me inside because you have no inside help. He wants to use the sideline as his defender. I was in the same position against Ellis Hobbs in Week 16 in that game when the Patriots beat us... And I knew that once he got inside the 10-yard line, he would back up to the goal line and stop his feet. I remember seeing this on film, he did it several times. I said, you know what man, I’m gonna get up to him and shake him. If he remains true to what he has shown me on tape, he’s gonna back up to the goal line and he’s gonna stop his feet.
“I trusted myself, I trusted the preparation, I trusted the film because I had seen him do it over and over again. I said, you know what, if he stops his feet, I’m not even gonna stop and I’m gonna run clean by him and that’s exactly what happened.”
....
“I trusted myself, I trusted the preparation, I trusted the film because I had seen him do it over and over again. I said, you know what, if he stops his feet, I’m not even gonna stop and I’m gonna run clean by him and that’s exactly what happened.”
....
Plaxico caught Eli's first pass of the game and not another one until Eli's last pass of the game. That may have had something to do with the single coverage. He had "slipped in the shower" a few days earlier and his mobility was limited to the point they had been using him more as a decoy.
Interesting indeed! IIRC, the Pats were in an all out blitz and I figured a slant of some sort was the call. Guess Hobbs thought so too!
“Walking out on the field for that game-winning drive with two minutes and 39 seconds and knowing that, listen, we’re gonna have to go out there and score a touchdown if we want to win this game.
And I remember being on the field, and [former Giants offensive tackle] David Diehl and [former Patriots defensive tackle] Richard Seymour were going at it during a TV timeout. And Richard Seymour basically looked at me and Diehl, and gave us the throat-cut sign like this game is over. And I remember Diehl saying, ‘No, it ain’t over yet, baby.’ And that was the mindset that we had because we didn’t waver going into that drive. We knew that we had to score a touchdown.
“And you talk about the helmet catch, you talk about my catch, but there are three or four plays that I remember vividly that helped us win the game. If [former Giants running back] Brandon Jacobs doesn’t get a fourth-and-1, the game is over with. He runs into the back of [former Giants offensive guard] Chris Snee, he doesn’t go anywhere, he fights for an extra yard and a half and we get a first down.
“And then we have a busted route on the outside, and [former Patriots cornerback] Asante Samuel drops an interception. And if you know Samuel, he don’t drop picks. If he gets his hands on anything, he’s snatching it.”
“And he drops the football! And I’m like, man, destiny must be in front of us because as long as I’ve been playing, Samuel does not drop picks.
“And then we get a third-and-ten and we throw a diagonal slant. Two slants on the outside, and Smitty [former Giants receiver Steve Smith] runs the little five-yard diagonal. And Smitty’s a rookie, but he has the mental capacity to know it’s third down. He turns it up, takes two steps and dives for a first down. What’s the probability of us getting a fourth-and-ten? And Smitty was the rookie. One of the smartest wide receivers I’ve been around for a young guy.
“And then coming out for that game-winning touchdown, we get the call. New England is running the same coverage, so we keep calling the same play! We keep calling diagonal slant with Smitty running diagonal, with two fronts on the back side. They got me on the weak side hoping I can draw single-coverage. But they keep doubling and we called it a third time and they jumped into a zero.
“And when I break the huddle, Eli grabs my jersey and says, ‘Hey, listen, if they give you one-on-one I’m throwing it.’ And I’m like, ‘Man they’re not going to single me right now.’ And I get to the line of scrimmage and I can’t even believe what I’m seeing. I’m smiling in my mouthpiece like, ‘C’mon man, hike the ball! Don’t even go through the cadence. Just go!’
“It was X fade. But check it out, TJ, they were in cover zero and in cover zero you can’t line me inside because you have no inside help. He wants to use the sideline as his defender. I was in the same position against Ellis Hobbs in Week 16 in that game when the Patriots beat us... And I knew that once he got inside the 10-yard line, he would back up to the goal line and stop his feet. I remember seeing this on film, he did it several times. I said, you know what man, I’m gonna get up to him and shake him. If he remains true to what he has shown me on tape, he’s gonna back up to the goal line and he’s gonna stop his feet.
“I trusted myself, I trusted the preparation, I trusted the film because I had seen him do it over and over again. I said, you know what, if he stops his feet, I’m not even gonna stop and I’m gonna run clean by him and that’s exactly what happened.”
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link - ( New Window )
Quote:
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“I trusted myself, I trusted the preparation, I trusted the film because I had seen him do it over and over again. I said, you know what, if he stops his feet, I’m not even gonna stop and I’m gonna run clean by him and that’s exactly what happened.”
....
link - ( New Window )
that was an awesome read.
2 words-thank you for the post
ok it's more than 2
Violets are blue
Plax in the end zone
Hobbs at the two
Violets are blue
Plax in the end zone
Hobbs at the two
Lol holy shit I haven't read this in a long time. These used to be YouTube comments on every Super Bowl video.