ESPN NFL

Good morning. I have a confession to make. We've been having turkey bacon with breakfast lately, not links. Whew. I feel better for having got that off my chest. These here will remain links. "Breakfast turkey bacon" is just going to make the headline too long. Plus, you know ... they're links.

Dallas Cowboys

First-round draft pick Morris Claiborne called into "NFL 32" on Monday and talked about everything from what he's seen in rookie minicamp to how he deals with those silly Wonderlic questions. Claiborne can't participate in minicamps or team activities right now due to his injury, but he's been spending as much time as he can around his new team to learn and get acclimated.

Mac Engel says there's a reason no one has a problem with Eli Manning hosting "Saturday Night Live" or Tom Brady being spotted at the Kentucky Derby but that Tony Romo attending a White House Correspondents' dinner and rubbing elbows with celebs bothers his fans: Because those other guys have accomplished something that Romo still has not.

New York Giants

Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride says the Giants are expecting first-round pick David Wilson and second-round pick Rueben Randle to contribute to the offense right away. He also talked about the offensive line alignment, admitting that David Diehl at right tackle and Kevin Boothe at left guard is the way they'd likely go. I'm a little confused, though, about this part of the line quote: "If we keep Beatty healthy, he's already out now." Was Gilbride saying Will Beatty's hurt again? Because last I heard, he was cleared to go.

Manning was teased about wearing a dress and had bananas thrown at him when he returned to the Giants' locker room Monday. Both were consequences of his appearance last weekend as host of "Saturday Night Live." I can't get into the banana thing here.

Philadelphia Eagles

Jimmy Kempski has crunched the numbers, and yes, he has determined that the Eagles have the shortest group of potential starting linebackers of any 4-3 defensive team in the NFL. (Interestingly, he has the Giants and Bengals tied for the tallest.) I don't know what this means. Guess it could hurt them in pass coverage against tall receivers. Guess it could mean nothing. But I thought it was interesting, especially for May 8, so there you go. Don't thank me, thank Jimmy.

Trent Edwards doesn't know how much of an opportunity his situation as part of the Eagles' backup quarterback mix will present him, but he's thankful for any opportunity at all.

Washington Redskins

Trent Williams says he's learned his lesson from the drug suspension that cost him the final four games of the 2011 season, and that he's resolved to be more of a leader going forward. We shall see, of course, on this. If he gets caught for drugs again, he's going to lose a lot of money this time.

The Redskins believe second-year wide receiver Leonard Hankerson is capable of big things if he can get his hip healthy. Hankerson says he's on track to be ready for the start of training camp. He's a key part of a group of young receivers -- including free-agent signees Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan -- the team hopes can grow up alongside rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, whose name has now appeared in 114 consecutive editions of "Breakfast links."

INDIANAPOLIS -- In case you were wondering, no, the New York Giants' first choice was not linebacker Chase Blackburn covering Rob Gronkowski all alone 50 yards down the field. But as he'd done for so much of the night, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady checked to a different play when he saw the coverage on the second play of the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLVI, and Blackburn was stuck.

"I had to carry Gronkowski," Blackburn said after the Giants had secured a 21-17 Super Bowl victory. "I heard the crowd go wild a little bit, and I thought we had a sack. But I continued to see Gronk go up the field, and I just tried to stay with him. When I saw him look back, I looked back for the ball, and when I spotted it, I tried to just block out and go up for a rebound like in basketball."

Sure. Basketball. In case you're wondering, Gronkowski's University of Arizona media guide bio says he averaged 18 rebounds per game during the 2006 season at Pittsburgh's Woodland Hills High School. He has three inches and 20 pounds on Blackburn, who as recently as Thanksgiving weekend was hoping to land a gig as a substitute high school math teacher before the Giants called and said hey, how about middle linebacker instead? But Gronkowski also was playing the Super Bowl on a bad ankle, which Blackburn and the rest of the Giants knew. It's why they were, at that point in the game, using their better coverage linebacker, Jacquian Williams, on the Patriots' other tight end, Aaron Hernandez. After the check, Blackburn knew he had the big guy by himself.

"I knew it was a long way," Blackburn said. "He stopped for a second and I stopped with him. I was thinking it was a sack, but then as soon as I saw him go vertical, I knew I had to run and catch up with him."

They both jumped for the ball, but Blackburn came down with it for an interception that was the only turnover of the game. The Patriots led 17-15 at the time, and had Gronkowski caught the ball the momentum might never have swung back the Giants' way. Instead, the Giants secured the kind of big stop they knew they needed to make all fourth quarter to put Eli Manning and the offense in position to win.

"We're confident in our defense," linebacker Michael Boley said. "No matter who the quarterback is, we know our front four is going to get pressure and so we need to give coverage on the back end."

For much of this game, though, they weren't. Brady led easy-peasy touchdown drives at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second to turn a 9-3 Giants lead into a 17-9 New England lead. The Giants, whose game plan had been a man-coverage defense because they believed (correctly) that Brady would try to beat them with "dink and dunk" short passes instead of deep shots, had strayed from the plan. They'd been so focused, defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said, on lining up quickly that they weren't lining up in the right spots. So they pulled back a little on the man-to-man and switched to more zone, only to have Brady find holes in the zone. At one point, Brady completed a Super Bowl-record 16 straight passes.

"We just couldn't get the right people in the right coverage situations," Fewell said. "They created some mismatches, so we had to get our guys together on the sideline and get them to lock in a little bit and get back to the plan, which was man."

In a lot of ways, the defense is the Giants' 2011-12 story in a microcosm. This Giants team was about patience, perseverance and a belief that everything would get better if they just kept working at it. The defense finished 27th in the league in the regular season. Their coverage units were being ridiculed on national television. But they got healthy at the end of the season. They talked their coaches into letting them play man-to-man, and they did it well. Led by that front four and the pass rush, they allowed an average of 14 points per game during their four-game postseason run.

If someone had told you that the touchdown the Patriots scored to open the second half would be their final score of the Super Bowl, you wouldn't have believed them. Not the way the game was going at that point. But the Giants are water torture. They drip and drip and drip until they finally break you. They won the NFC Championship Game by playing smart, sound, physically tough, mistake-free football and waiting for the other team to make a mistake. They won the Super Bowl the same way. Blackburn picked off Brady. Wes Welker dropped a ball he catches every time. The Giants' defense looked lost for long stretches, but bottom line, theirs was a Super Bowl-winning effort. And they were justifiably proud of it.

"At the end of the day, we knew it was going to come down to our defense," Osi Umenyiora said. "We pressured them. We sacked them. We came through victorious."

Doesn't matter what happened along the way. Doesn't matter that a substitute high school math teacher who wasn't on the team until almost December was making plays in coverage against the best tight end in the league. Doesn't matter how it looked or what came before, and it doesn't matter that this was, two months ago, one of the least likely sentences anyone would have been expecting to type on the night of Feb. 5: The Giants' defense helped win them the Super Bowl.

INDIANAPOLIS -- A few thoughts from the New York Giants' 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday night in Super Bowl XLVI:

What it means: Legacy. Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin are two-time Super Bowl champions. The Giants have won their fourth Super Bowl and completed one of the most stunning in-season turnarounds in recent sports history. They were 7-7 after losing their second game of the season to the last-place Redskins but won six in a row to claim their second Super Bowl title in five years. It’s a run that at least rivals and may even top their 2007-08 run, which also culminated in a Super Bowl victory over the Patriots.

The quarterbacks: Early on, it looked as though Manning and the Giants might run away with it. The Giants' pass rush forced Patriots quarterback Tom Brady into an intentional grounding penalty in his own end zone on his first throw of the game and were rewarded with a safety and a quick 2-0 lead. Manning got the ball back off the free kick and went down the field in nine plays, hitting Victor Cruz for the touchdown that put the Giants up 9-0. They were being physical with the Patriots, dominating time of possession and more or less doing anything they wanted. Then, the pass rush dried up and Brady got hot, at one point setting a Super Bowl record with 16 consecutive pass completions as he orchestrated a touchdown drive to end the first half and one to begin the second. The quarterback play in this Super Bowl was expected to be stellar, and Manning and Brady lived up to the hype. In the end, though, it was Manning who led his team on the game-winning fourth-quarter comeback drive -- the third time in a row he’s done it to Brady and Bill Belichick. Brady had a shot at the end, but the Hail Mary didn't get answered.

The two tight end thing: The question all week was whether the injured ankle of Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski would limit him in the game, and it clearly did. But it appeared as though the Giants took a while to adjust to that knowledge. They devoted much of their coverage early on to Gronkowski and not enough to the Patriots' other outstanding tight end, Aaron Hernandez, who had five catches for 40 yards in the first half and caught the touchdown pass on the Patriots' opening drive of the second half. The Giants adjusted in coverage and were able to slow down Brady better as the third quarter went along and the fourth quarter opened. Meanwhile, the Giants couldn't keep their own tight ends on the field. Travis Beckum left with a knee injury in the second quarter and Jake Ballard did the same in the fourth.

Turnovers kill: The Giants won the Super Bowl by beating the three best turnover-ratio teams in the NFL -- the Packers, 49ers and Patriots -- and winning the turnover battle in each game. Chase Blackburn's second-half interception of Brady was the only turnover in the game.

What's next: Free agency begins next month, and the Giants will triumphantly pick 32nd in the NFL draft in April. It looks to me as though offensive line might be a good target area, but that’s a discussion for another day.

INDIANAPOLIS — The good news for New York Giants fans is that the Giants probably couldn't have played a better first half. The bad news is that they are losing 10-9.

After dominating the time of possession, the line of scrimmage and the New England Patriots for almost the entire first half, the Giants watched as Tom Brady led his team down the field in the final four minutes of the second quarter on a 15-play touchdown drive that put the Pats in front. It was an eye-opening drive by Brady, who'd begun the game by intentionally grounding the ball from the end zone and awarding the Giants a safety and a 2-0 lead. And with the Patriots set to get the ball back to begin the second half, it could well be a turning point.

The challenge for the Giants is to remind themselves how well they played and stick with what they're doing. Eli Manning is 13-for-17 for 120 yards and a touchdown, having completed passes to seven different receivers. The defense, in spite of its obvious lingering coverage issues, has been hitting and tackling hard, batting down passes and limiting big plays. Punter Steve Weatherford has been a monster field-position weapon.

The Giants are a very mentally tough team that don't get down on themselves or get out of their game plan, so I seriously doubt they're in there listening to Madonna and lamenting their poor fortune. If they can get a stop on New England's opening drive in the second half, there's no reason to think they can't continue to win the physical battles and, ultimately, the game.

INDIANAPOLIS -- So apparently, after all of that, there's a football game today. I know, right? I couldn't believe it either when they told me.

I'm going, as is the rest of the army ESPN sent out here to cover the week. We'll have updates for you from the stadium starting at some point this afternoon. We'll have a live chat starting at 4 p.m. ET and running right through the end of the game. And we'll have plenty of postgame coverage right here on the NFC East blog and everywhere else on the site.

But for now, one last time, as you get ready for Super Bowl XLVI tonight against the New England Patriots, here's one reason for New York Giants fans to be feeling good and one reason for concern.

Feeling good: If this kind of thing matters, the Giants are by far the more battle-tested team in tonight's game. Their playoff run includes road victories over the Packers and the 49ers, who were the two best teams in the league this year, and they've only played one team since Halloween that finished the season with a losing record (the Redskins, to whom they lost). The Patriots' current 10-game winning streak has come at the expense of quarterbacks Mark Sanchez, Tyler Palko, Vince Young, Dan Orlovsky, Rex Grossman, Tim Tebow, Matt Moore, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tebow again and Joe Flacco. They have not played a team as tough as the Giants or a quarterback as good as Eli Manning since the Giants beat them in Foxborough in Week 9, and as I'm sure you've heard they only beat one team all year that finished with a winning record (the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game). The Patriots went 13-3 in the regular season while the Giants went 9-7, but there appears to have been a stark difference in degree of difficulty between the Giants' current hot streak and that of the Patriots.

Cause for concern: Tom Brady can read, and likely has televisions in his gigantic house, and so he's surely seen and heard everything that's been said about the Giants having his number and having beaten him the last two times they played him -- especially in the Super Bowl four years ago. It's doubtful that Brady's watching and listening to all of this and just sitting there nodding his head and accepting his fate. He's likely as driven and motivated as he's been at any point in his career to exact revenge for the Super Bowl loss that spoiled the Patriots' attempt at a perfect season and to quiet all of the talk about the Giants knowing how to beat him. A player as great as Brady can be pretty scary when he's motivated.

» Super Bowl XLVI Final Word: Patriots | Giants

Five nuggets of knowledge about Super Bowl XLVI:

Home sweet road: The New York Giants have won six straight playoff games on the road or at neutral sites dating to 2007, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Eli Manning has been the quarterback for all six of them, and his six career postseason wins away from home tie him for the record with four other quarterbacks, including the New England Patriots' Tom Brady. (The others are Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach and Joe Montana, so not a bad list.) Manning's ability to remain cool under all kinds of pressure has been well-documented, and his record in hostile or neutral environments in postseason games offers yet another example.

You again? Manning and Brady are the third pair of quarterbacks to face off in multiple Super Bowls. The Cowboys' Troy Aikman and the Bills' Jim Kelly met in Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII. Aikman won both. The Steelers' Bradshaw faced the Cowboys' Staubach in Super Bowls X and XIII. Bradshaw won both. Brady is hoping to buck history and pull off a split with Manning, who beat him in Super Bowl XLII.

Hot at the right time: The Giants are the third team in history to reach the Super Bowl after failing to win at least 10 games in the regular season (not counting strike-shortened seasons). The previous two were the 2008 Arizona Cardinals and the 1979 Rams. Each of those teams lost its Super Bowl, so a Giants win would make them the first Super Bowl champion to enter the playoffs with fewer than 10 wins. The Giants are already the first team to reach the Super Bowl after being outscored by their opponents in the regular season. They scored 394 points and allowed 400 on their way to a 9-7 regular-season record. Those 2008 Cardinals (plus-1) and 1979 Rams (plus-14) were the teams with the worst point differential in Super Bowl history until this year.

Peyton's place: Eli Manning is playing the Super Bowl at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where his brother Peyton Manning has established himself as an all-time great quarterback with the Colts. Peyton had a head start on Eli and has fashioned a brilliant Hall of Fame career, but little brother's playoff numbers stack up with big brother's. Peyton Manning is 9-10 all time in postseason games with a 63.1 completion percentage and a 29-19 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Eli Manning is 7-3 in the postseason with a completion percentage of 59.8 and a TD-INT ratio of 16-8. If Eli throws three touchdowns on Sunday, it would give him 11 touchdown passes this postseason, which would tie the record for a single postseason set by Montana in 1989 and equaled by Kurt Warner in 2008.

Tough guys: According to ESPN Stats & Information's "Next Level" stats, the pass-catchers in this game are very difficult to tackle after they catch the ball. The stat they use is "yards after contact," which differs from "yards after catch." Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who's been struggling with an ankle injury since the AFC Championship Game, led the league with 290 yards after first post-catch contact. Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz was second with 245. Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker was third with 242 yards, and Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was fourth with 231.

INDIANAPOLIS -- My fellow ESPN.com NFL division bloggers and I got together Friday to enjoy some lovely midwestern February weather and talk about some of the big issues facing the New York Giants and the New England Patriots on Sunday night in Super Bowl XLVI.

Even a pineapple has to make a Super Bowl pick. I've eaten plenty of humble pie for my midseason assertion that the Giants weren't that good a team, and now that they're in the Super Bowl... well, let's just say I'm convinced. Check out my final video prediction of the season, and apologies for the lack of tiny team pennants. Left them at home.

Conference championship weekend record: 1-1

Season record to date: 32-31

INDIANAPOLIS — My favorite of today's links is Kate Fagan's diary of the Madonna news conference, and it's not because the Madonna news conference was my favorite part of the week so far. It wasn't. Top five maybe, but not No. 1. And no, it's none of your business what No. 1 was. Regardless, Kate's account of Madonna is an excellent and entertaining read. But for those of you who are more traditionally inclined and conditioned to two links per team per weekday ... well, we have that, too.

Oh, and since I know you're counting — the pedometer says I took 22,031 steps Thursday, bringing the total to 78,896 — or about 37.4 miles. All of them for you. Every single one of them for you. Even the ones that got me free gumbo from the 2013 New Orleans Super Bowl host committee. Which was awesome. I seriously wish you all could have enjoyed it with me.

Anyway, links.

New York Giants

Ian O'Connor says the Giants' pregame talk puts them at risk of being a punch line if they lose Sunday. I guess. Still doubt Tom Brady needs bulletin-board material for motivation to win as many Super Bowls as Terry Bradshaw won. Also, I think I think the Giants will win. But predictions come out... you know... later.

Jerry Reese thinks it's funny that his team won 10 regular-season games last year and missed the playoffs, won nine regular-season games this year and reached the Super Bowl and now people think he's smarter than he was then. This is the rare thing on which Jerry and I agree. I also think that's funny.

Philadelphia Eagles

Sam Donellon thinks Juan Castillo is in a no-win situation. I think Sam would be right if media and fan perception were the ultimate judge of the success of a team and a coach. But since it's not -- and since Castillo's employers, who like him, will ultimately make the call on whether he was responsible for the Eagles' 2012 successes or failures -- I think Castillo has a chance to win and win big.

Sheil has a look at Luke Kuechly, who'd be a pretty sweet pick for the Eagles at No. 15 in the draft this April if he's still there.

Dallas Cowboys

Jean-Jacques thinks the Hall of Fame needs Charles Haley in order to consider itself complete. We'll find out Saturday if the Hall voters feel the same way.

Michael Irvin believes that Dez Bryant will eventually be the best receiver in the NFL. That would be pretty awesome for the Cowboys if that happened.

Washington Redskins

Kyle Shanahan says his opinion on Rex Grossman hasn't changed since a year ago. I guess that's... good? Or bad? I don't know. Still pretty sure they need to upgrade.

Nathan Fenno writes that Sean Taylor's friends and family still await justice.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The New York Giants' final media session of Super Bowl week wrapped up around 11:30 am ET on Thursday, which means we won't get a chance to talk to the players again until after the game Sunday night. But man, did these uber-confident Giants make the most of their media time.

More than one Giants player has said New York needs to plan for a parade next week. The receivers have been open and honest with their opinions on a New England Patriots secondary that uses converted wide receivers as defensive backs. And on Thursday, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was so concerned with the Giants' pass rush in Week 9 that he was dodging phantom pressure:

"Yeah, he was reacting to pressure that didn't exist and he was just throwing the ball places that there wasn't a receiver there," Pierre-Paul said, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Ian O'Connor. "So imagine us just getting there even faster and we're actually doing our jobs and getting there and getting hits on him."

Hey, look. The Giants have been yapping for weeks. There's no denying it. A team that so openly disdains the boastful, chirpy way in which the intrastate rival Jets have carried themselves for the past three years has been acting out of character, openly proclaiming the self-confidence that has fueled its five-game winning streak and carried it into the Super Bowl. And if the Giants lose the game, some will claim that they got too confident, gave the Patriots too much bulletin board material and opened themselves up to a letdown.

I'm not buying that, though. It'd be one thing if this were a team that had never been here before. But there are 15 Giants who were on the Super Bowl XLII team four years ago and a handful of others who've played in Super Bowls as well. They're not unaware of what they're saying or the way it might be perceived. They're not saying it to try to send a message or pump themselves up. They're saying this stuff because they honestly believe it to be true, and the way they've played over the past month and a half has continually proved them right.

It's temping to read the Pierre-Paul comments and say, "Uh-oh... that'll fire up Brady." But this is the Super Bowl. If the Patriots win, I highly doubt you'll hear Brady say after the game that the Giants' trash talk motivated him to play better. "They should be confident," he said of the Giants on Thursday, and he's right. Both of these teams should be. For some reason, the Giants just seem a little less shy about projecting it.

INDIANAPOLIS -- I saw Jerry Izenberg here Wednesday. He's the Newark Star-Ledger columnist who's one of three guys who's covered all 46 Super Bowls. I've covered four, but earlier in my career I had the honor to work at the same paper as Jerry, which is a point of pride. Jerry was also in Zaire and Manila with Ali. I love running into Jerry. It's one of my favorite things about the Super Bowl.

Anyway, I don't know how many steps Jerry took Wednesday, but my pedometer tells me I took 15,485, which brings my total since my Sunday arrival to 56,865. I know you're hanging on each and every one. Anyway links.

New York Giants

I'm going to link to Ian O'Connor every day I'm here, and it's not because Ian is ESPNNewYork.com but rather because Ian is great and writing great stuff. Today, he writes on Perry Fewell's frustration over not being the hot head-coaching candidate he was a year ago.

Jason Pierre-Paul says that Tom Brady is a great quarterback but that "it's not like he's God." Left unanswered was whether Pierre-Paul thinks he could sack the Almighty or whether he'd backflip out of the way due to awe. I guess it would depend on the quality of the offensive line.

Philadelphia Eagles

There was lots we didn't get to about Andy Reid's Tuesday news conference, but Rich Hofmann thinks one of the biggest issues was what he said about the 1-4 start in which quarterback Michael Vick turned the ball over at critical times. As much as anything, Vick's sloppiness with the ball was a reason for the Eagles' disappointing start and season, and he needs to do better.

Geoff Mosher writes that the next most important item on the Eagles' offseason agenda is DeSean Jackson. I still think he's a goner, but there remains a chance they franchise him while they continue to work out a deal. The franchise number isn't a bad one if they can be sure he's happy with the progress on a new contract, and it's not as if they have someone else on which they desperately need to use it.

Dallas Cowboys

The Oakland Raiders wanted to hire Cowboys special-teams coach Joe DeCamillis as an assistant head coach, but the Cowboys wouldn't allow it, which is their right. Todd Archer writes that the best way for DeCamillis to re-establish himself as a head-coaching candidate is to be part of a winning Cowboys team in 2012.

The Cowboys may have been able to use veteran guard Brian Waters this year, and he's from the area and likely would have liked to play for them. But Waters doesn't give a big rat's patootie. He's in the Super Bowl.

Washington Redskins

Dan Daly thinks that, if things play out the right way, Peyton Manning could end up being a Washington Redskin next year. I really like Dan. He's a smart guy and a good columnist. He takes intelligent stands on issues like this. And no, I'm not just saying that because I made this point like three weeks ago. I'm really not. Oh, and stop with your comments about how he'd never play in the same division as his brother. Guy's about to be unemployed, and his brother's about to win his second Super Bowl. Sentiments and feelings change. Time passes. Etc.

Lorenzo Alexander is one of my favorite Redskins. He's happy. He's content. He's a veteran who helps his younger teammates learn the game. He holds fan appreciation events in the offseason. Good dude.

INDIANAPOLIS -- We're all expecting a shootout in Super Bowl XLVI between a pair of quarterbacks who aired it out all season. And it's entirely possible that the New York Giants' Eli Manning and the New England Patriots' Tom Brady will put up big numbers Sunday night.

But K.C. Joyner, ever the contrarian, thinks the Giants would do well to try and run the ball in the Super Bowl. K.C. points out, correctly, that "over the past seven games, most of which were against playoff contender-caliber competition or better, the Giants' rushing attack has been every bit as powerful as it was last season." K.C. also has data to illustrate a "sieve-like showing" by the Patriots' run defense over its past six games, and figures that's an opportunity for the Giants to exploit a weakness.

K.C.'s story is Insider, so that's all you'll get of it from me because we want you guys to pay for the Insider access. But part of the reason for the improvements in the Giants' run game since Week 12 has been the return of Ahmad Bradshaw, who's playing and running hard in spite of a fracture in his foot. As we've discussed before, Bradshaw isn't often given credit for being the physical back that he is, probably because he's compared to his extremely large backfield mate, Brandon Jacobs. But Bradshaw is a tough, powerful, physical runner who obviously doesn't mind getting hit. His work in blitz pickup, where he's among the best in the league, is a testament to that.

I asked Bradshaw about that aspect of his game during media day today and he brightened.

"Always," he said in answer to my question about how long blitz pickup has been a part of his game. "Since high school, when I played safety. I love the contact. Every bit of it. I love getting hit and delivering hits."

If the Giants see the same things K.C. sees on film, Bradshaw could get a heavy share of the load -- and a lot of contact -- Sunday night.

INDIANAPOLIS -- During his rookie season, while he was in the midst of losing his first six games as the New York Giants' starting quarterback, Eli Manning got an unexpected phone call. It was from Derek Jeter, the star shortstop of the New York Yankees, and he had a simple message for Manning, who remembers it to this day.

"It was kind of right after I'd become the starter and had a couple of tough games," Manning said. "He just told me, 'Keep your head up, keep doing what you're doing and it'll get better.'"

This was 2004. Jeter was an established New York superstar, owner of four World Series rings and on a Hall of Fame path. The phone call mattered because Jeter was someone Manning had been studying carefully.

"Derek's a guy, from the time I first came here, that I definitely have paid a lot of attention to," Manning said last week after a Giants practice. "He's a great player, but he's also a guy who really shows you what you have to do to succeed in a place like New York. The way he's handled himself on the field, off the field. The way he's dealt with all of the attention without letting it affect the way he does his job. He's done that better than anybody."

As Manning prepares to play the New England Patriots on Sunday in his second Super Bowl, he's the focus of much attention and hype. There is an urge to rate him, to compare him, to discuss his place in the pantheon of quarterbacks -- both current and all time. He is compared to his brother, the great Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. He is compared to Tom Brady, the three-time Super Bowl winner he's trying to beat in the big game for the second time in five years. But the best comparison for Manning may actually be a guy who plays a different sport in the same town.

Jeter has succeeded as a New York superstar without once saying anything to get himself in trouble or embarrass his organization. He is a quiet leader whose entire team respects and follows him without question. At a young age, he established himself as the kind of player who excels in clutch situations, and the way he does that is by remaining exactly the same regardless of the intensity of the situation. By refusing to let the game become too big or too important at times when it feels that way to many other players, he effectively raises his game at the critical moment. All of these same things can be said about Eli Manning, and it's no accident.

"Playing in this market, you learn quickly that you've got to be immune to the distractions," Manning said. "And watching Derek and seeing how he's kept his private life private and managed to keep the focus on the field and on the job he has to do, that's a big help for someone like me. That's what you've got to do, and he's the ultimate example."

It's not a perfect comparison, of course. Jeter is a single guy who digs the club scene and has, throughout his career, been romantically linked to movie stars and Miss Universe contestants. Manning is married to his high school sweetheart. Jeter was Rookie of the Year, won the World Series in his first full season in the major leagues and three more times before the end of his fifth. Manning struggled at the start of his career and to this day continues to fight a perception that he's not one of the game's great quarterbacks. A quarterback is more integral to the success of a football team than a shortstop is to that of a baseball team. Jeter is nearing the end of his career, while Manning's appears to be taking off.

"Eli is Eli," said Justin Tuck, Giants defensive end and admitted Yankees fan. "If you want to make the comparison, he's more Jeter than he is Peyton. I'll give you that. But he's Eli. He's himself. He doesn't need to be compared to anyone."

But the comparison to Jeter as a clutch player and an even-keeled star is a worthy one, and it seems to please Manning and Jeter, who share a mutual respect.

"I've always appreciated the way Eli has carried himself, not only on the football field but more importantly away from it," Jeter wrote in an email through the Yankees' media relations department. "He certainly seems to me to have the perfect demeanor to handle the spotlight that comes with playing in New York. He's already had a great deal of success in his career, and I don't see any reason that won't continue for a long, long time to come."

If it does, part of the reason for it will be the example Jeter set and the intelligent extent to which Manning paid attention to it. The classy phone call from the star shortstop to the rookie quarterback seven years ago was a part of that example, and the meaning it held for Manning is part of the reason he's so determined to follow Jeter's lead. It's not easy being a star athlete and winning championships in New York. But if Manning really is about to win another one, the comparison between the football star and the baseball star will only grow closer. And you only have to ask Manning about it once to learn that it's no coincidence.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Morning, all. Hope you're all doing well out there in the sane world.

The pedometer says I walked 14,714 steps on Monday at the Super Bowl, bringing the grand total since Sunday's arrival to 24,693. And we're just getting started out here. Heck, today's media day.

Ah yes. Media day. Eager to see what this year's funniest media costumes are. This is not the day when the most real work gets done, as you may know, but if you go into it with the right attitude you can have some fun with it. Also, it helps if you get your links.

New York Giants

Tom Brady won't be the toughest quarterback on the field Sunday, Ian O'Connor writes. Eli Manning will. As evidence, Ian points to all Manning has had to go through to get to this point, including try and live up to his famous brother, who happened to be the dominant topic of his Monday news conference.

Mathias Kiwanuka is back in his hometown for this game, and back to the place where he nearly lost his brother in a motorcycle accident. Kevin Armstrong talked with the Kiwanukas.

Philadelphia Eagles

Andy Reid's decision to bring back Juan Castillo for another year as defensive coordinator is a big one, Jonathan Tamari writes. Nothing less than Reid's coaching future rides on it. That's kind of why I don't agree with those who believe this was an act of stubbornness. There's too much at stake for Reid. Anyway, Reid will talk today at noon. I'll be at the Giants' portion of media day when that's going on, but I will track it and blog on it later this afternoon, I promise.

If you want to relive Castillo's first-year performance game-by-game, philly.com has you covered. If you don't ... well, it'd be hard to blame you.

Dallas Cowboys

No less a Cowboy great than Roger Staubach has joined the chorus of people who believe that Tony Romo is not the team's problem. This seems obvious to me, but I bring it up here because (a) it's not obvious to everyone who reads this blog and (b) those to whom it's not obvious may be more inclined to listen to Staubach than to me.

Mat McBriar's leg problems this year were apparently caused by a cyst below his left knee. So he's going to have surgery to get that taken care of.

Washington Redskins

Rich Campbell did a really nice, detailed story off of Senior Bowl last week. Redskins exec Scott Campbell (no relation, I assume) let Rich tail him around Mobile, Ala., and talked in-depth about the ways in which the Redskins are trying to transition into a team that builds through the draft.

London Fletcher got in a teeny bit of hot water with the NFL for a tweet he sent out during the Pro Bowl offering money to a follower who could predict the final score. Jeez, letting them tweet during the game seemed like such a good idea, too.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Yeah, that's right. Breakfast links coming to you live from the host city of Super Bowl XLVI. The AFC champion New England Patriots hit town Sunday night, but the NFC champion New York Giants don't arrive until Monday afternoon, so I really don't have much Giants-related Super Bowl stuff for you until later today.

I am here for you, however, and knowing how much you guys would like to be here, I want to give you some sense of what it's like. There's a lot of walking that goes on when you cover the Super Bowl, and I've brought a pedometer with me to track how much walking I'm doing. On Sunday, after checking into my downtown Indianapolis hotel, I walked 9,979 steps, which roughly equates to 4.6 miles. And that doesn't even count the 4 miles I ran on the treadmill on what wasn't even a real work day! We'll check this number every day I'm here and keep track of how much I've walked, if only to help me explain to myself the way my calves feel.

Meantime, the links don't get a week off just because it's the Super Bowl. The links, like The Dude, abide.

New York Giants

ESPNNewYork.com wants to know if you think Tom Brady was overconfident when he told the crowd that showed up at Gillette Stadium to see the Patriots off that he'd be back for a victory party next week. Thoughts?

Of all the long shots on this long-shot Giants team that barely made the playoffs and finds itself one game away from a championship, Chase Blackburn may be the longest. Johnette Howard has this story.

Philadelphia Eagles

So if you've been sitting around wondering what Andy Reid thinks of the Cleveland Browns' decision to hire Brad Childress as their offensive coordinator, check this out. If you've been sitting around wondering what Andy Reid thinks of the Eagles and who should be their coaches and players next year ... well, you're going to have to keep waiting like the rest of us.

Bleeding Green Nation, for example, would like to know what the Eagles plan to do about DeSean Jackson and his contract situation. It's a mystery, in large part because Reid doesn't seem to feel the need to answer for an 8-8 season.

Dallas Cowboys

You may still be wondering what the Cowboys will do in 2012 for a backup quarterback, but Jon Kitna cares not for your concerns. He has moved on, and will be a high school football coach in Washington.

Oh, and DeMarcus Ware asks for your perspective and patience, as he believes that things will "all pan out" with another year with Rob Ryan as Cowboys defensive coordinator. Ware apparently doesn't understand the era in which he plays, which requires a team to have instantaneous success each and every week.

Washington Redskins

The opportunity to coach the South team in the Senior Bowl this past week was a big one for Mike Shanahan and the Redskins' coaching staff, and Shanahan said he believes the Redskins got a lot of good work in with the senior-class prospects in this year's draft. Keep an eye out and see if anyone from this year's South team gets picked by the Redskins.

The Washington Post offers a nice profile of new Redskins secondary coach Raheem Morris, who was an NFL Coach of the Year candidate last year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.