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In a world and a sports scene increasingly full of self-aggrandizing phonies, New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin is the real deal. He says what he feels, stands by what he believes and puts on no airs. He's refreshing for this, and the acclaim he's received after coolly and brilliantly coaching his Giants to a second Super Bowl title in five years has had the rare quality of being universally hailed as well deserved.

Coughlin's genuine away from the football field too, and that's a big reason why he was in Virginia on Wednesday night to be honored by the U.S. Army for his volunteer work with military personnel, veterans and wounded soldiers. Coughlin and Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh were honored at the ceremony, and Coughlin said he was humbled to receive the Outstanding Civilian Service Award. Per Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post:

"When the general was standing there reading off that stuff about me, it was almost like I was saying to myself, 'Who's he talking about?'" Coughlin told The Post after the hour-long celebration overlooking the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building.

"It was unbelievable to me," continued Coughlin, who was accompanied to the event by wife Judy. "The patriotism just came pouring out of me with all of the pomp and circumstance and standing there next to a four-star general. That's what you call humbling."

The Army honored Coughlin for allowing soldiers and the families to attend practices and games, for repeatedly visiting wounded soldiers at both Walter Reed Medical Center and other installations and for flying to Iraq in 2009 as part of a USO tour with John Harbaugh, Jeff Fisher, Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden.

Again, the real deal. Coughlin doesn't make a show of having military personnel at his games and practices. He'll drop a line here and there to make sure they're recognized and thanked for their service, but it comes from the heart. He feels this stuff deeply, and there's no doubt he means it when he says the ceremony Wednesday night ranked among his great professional thrills. The general who oversaw the ceremony, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Raymond T. Odierno, is a Giants fan from New Jersey. But he said that had nothing to do with the fact that Coughlin was honored.

"You're talking about someone who has really dedicated himself over a long period of time to caring about our soldiers and their families," Onierno told The Post. "His dedication to the military is quite significant."

Asked jokingly if the fact he also bleeds Giant blue had anything to do with Coughlin's award, Odierno smiled and shook his head.

"Absolutely nothing to do with that," he said. "Absolutely everything to do with what he's done for the military."

Not much more to say on this. I just really thought it was worth writing about, in case you guys missed it.

My New York Giants fans who sat through the whole ESPN blogger mock draft on Monday weren't thrilled when I traded away the No. 32 pick instead of selecting a player with it. But I maintain that, given the way the draft had unfolded to that point and what the offer was, it was a no-brainer decision that the Giants themselves would have made in the same exact spot. I'll take you through my reasoning.

I wasn't going to trade up with the Giants. It didn't seem like a very Giants thing to do, and after they've already traded away their fifth-round pick for Keith Rivers, I don't believe Jerry Reese is going to be keen on the idea of giving up more picks to move up. So I sat at 32 and had a short list of players in mind that made sense for the Giants at that spot. One was Stanford tackle Jonathan Martin -- a player who's dropped a bit and who I believe could fall to the Giants at 32 in real life. But Jamison Hensley took Martin for the Browns at No. 22.

Another one of those players -- Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones -- was picked by Mike Sando for the Seahawks at No. 27. I like Jones for the Giants if he gets to 32 because he's a pass-rusher who went to the same school Tom Coughlin went to. Feels like a Giant to me, but he was gone.

Another player on whom I had my eye was Stanford tight end Coby Fleener. I have my doubts as to whether the Giants would really pick him at 32, but I'm sure they'd consider it, given his abilities and their need at the position. Anyway, Sando took him, too, to the Seahawks at pick No. 31.

After that happened, I decided I'd take Ohio State tackle Mike Adams. I also think this is a realistic pick for the Giants, even though they haven't taken an offensive lineman in the first round since 1999. Adams is another upside guy who's likely higher than 32 on the Giants' board and happens to fit a need. He would be in a competition for the starting right tackle job right away, with a good chance to win it, and could develop into a left tackle down the road if things don't work out with Will Beatty.

So I was typing away on the pick of Adams to the Giants at 32 when James Walker (on behalf of the Buffalo Bills) offered a second-round pick (No. 41 overall) and two fourth-round picks. This was too much value to pass up. The Giants move down only nine spots -- to a spot where Adams might still be there and, if he's not, they could still have interesting options at linebacker (Lavonte David) pass-rusher (Andre Branch), running back (Lamar Miller, Doug Martin), safety (Harrison Smith) or even wide receiver (Kendall Wright). Good value awaits at 41 and they now have four fourth-round picks with which to add depth or move up and do some interesting things in the second or third rounds. Simply too good an offer to pass up, especially with no one there screaming to be picked.

So what do you think, Giants fans? How'd your favorite pineapple do? Do you like the deal or no? And if not, who would you have picked?

Have you seen what the New York Giants have been up to in free agency? No? Me neither, and I cover the division!

Ah, we kid, we kid. Jokes about the Giants' offseason inactivity are so 2011. It is what it is, as they say in places where Giants fans live, and after the way last season ended, there's no reason to think it's going to change. Those of us who ripped Giants general manager Jerry Reese for not doing enough to improve his team last summer (and yes, of course, I very much include myself) are full to bursting from all the crow we had to eat once Reese's bunch won the Super Bowl. And the Giants' uninspiring list of 2012 free-agent pickups to date -- let's call them Martellus and the Special Teamers -- isn't worth getting worked up over now that even the doubters understand the way the Giants look at the NFL world.

See, the issue last year was that those of us who criticized got caught up in the impatience that defines our times. My point, after watching the Giants stubbornly ignore immediate needs at every level of the draft and do nothing in free agency to address the exodus of seemingly important passing-game targets, was that their philosophy wasn't working. Although it was admirable that they were determined to stick to a plan about which they felt strongly, that plan had produced two straight years without a playoff appearance and was therefore fair game for questioning.

But Reese and the Giants were looking at the landscape more broadly, and that's to their credit. The Giants don't use the draft to address immediate needs. They believe that's a poor use of draft picks -- that rushing to plug a hole with a first-round or second-round pick reduces the value of those picks. The Giants view the draft as a means of building, augmenting and maintaining a deep roster -- the kind of roster that can withstand free-agent defections, plug holes from within and consistently challenge for a playoff spot. The kind of roster that, in the years when it does reach the playoffs, has what it takes to win postseason games and the Super Bowl.

The Giants don't view free agency as some huge shopping mall stocked with all kinds of desirable goodies. Sure, if they see someone they like who plays a position where they need help, they're not above making an aggressive move to get him. Antrel Rolle is a good example from two years ago. Last year, they targeted a center, David Baas, and got him. This year, they targeted a tight end, Martellus Bennett, and locked him up on the first day. But their approach in free agency is measured, focused and patient, and that's the way they believe it should be.

Patience is a hard sell in today's sports culture, where two years without a playoff appearance can feel like an eternity even if the people running the team are the same ones that brought you a Super Bowl title not long before. So last year, the Giants' front office found itself under attack for inactivity. But Reese insisted that inactivity was the right path. The Giants believe in their system, in their coaching staff and in the core of veterans in their locker room. Reese told everyone he'd had a 10-win team in 2010 that missed the playoffs and believed his 2011 team could be better by just enough to get in this time. Lots of us thought he was nuts.

To his credit, at the Super Bowl, Reese declined to accept the accolades. He pointed out more than once that his 2011 team had won only nine games -- one fewer than the previous year's team -- and that he found it funny that somehow he was a genius this time around. Again with the big-picture viewpoint. Reese know there's some good fortune involved -- that if the Eagles hadn't kicked away so many September games or if Miles Austin had caught that pass down the sideline late in the game in Dallas, the Giants very well could have been looking at three straight years without a playoff game. This NFL is a razor's-edge business, and one can do very little to control the placement of that fine line between success and failure.

But what the Giants do is position themselves the best they can to take advantage when fate smiles on them. They don't want their season to ride on the worthiness of a couple of big offseason signings. They don't want their season to rise and fall on the immediate readiness of their first-round draft pick. If the Giants get an opportunity, they want to know they have a roster, driven by gutsy, respected leaders like Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning and Justin Tuck that's deep and talented and experienced and driven enough to spot it and take advantage of it.

That's what last season was. The Giants weren't the best team in the NFL in 2011. For most of it, they weren't even close. But they may have been the toughest. And when the time came for that to matter -- for the toughness and the depth of their roster to deliver -- that's exactly what happened.

So here the Giants are again, sitting idly by while the rest of the league rushes out to grab free agents. Do they have some holes they could fill? Sure they do. Might not filling them cost them a game or two this season? Absolutely. But the Giants know who they are and what they have. And after winning a second Super Bowl title in five years, they feel very good about it. They could win the Super Bowl again next year. They could go 8-8 and miss the playoffs. But these are the Giants, and they know one year won't define them. It's a lesson that a lot of other teams -- and a lot of us who analyze and predict this league -- would do well to learn.

The deed done weeks ago, the Washington Redskins and their fans have had little to do but wait. They know they're going to get a quarterback with the No. 2 pick in the draft later this month. Whether that quarterback is Andrew Luck or, more likely, Robert Griffin III, they believe he has the stuff to be a franchise quarterback -- to provide stability and excellence at the game's most important position for years to come. The Redskins paid a significant price for this -- three first-round picks and a second-round pick -- and since it happened there has been nothing to do about it but wait and anticipate.

What goes on during the anticipation phase? Buyer's remorse would be natural, of course. A feeling of concern. Did we pay too much? What if this doesn't work out? Have we doomed the franchise to two more decades of misery?

Natural questions, to be sure, and in their quiet moments Mike Shanahan & Co. have surely entertained some form of them. But the advice from someone who has been there before tells them not to dwell on what-ifs.

"What you're thinking at the time when it gets done is, 'That's our guy. We were able to accomplish it. Here he comes. Let's go,'" Giants coach Tom Coughlin said last week at the NFL owners meetings. "You've got to have great conviction. You've got to believe in your system. And once the deal is accomplished, there's no looking back."

In 2004, Coughlin's first year as their head coach, the Giants made a similar move up in the draft for a franchise quarterback. After the San Diego Chargers took Eli Manning with the No. 1 pick, the Giants drafted Philip Rivers at No. 4 and traded Rivers, their third-round pick in 2004 and their first-round and fifth-round picks in 2005 to get Manning. Not as steep a price as the Redskins paid the Rams last month, but it was a lot, and at the time (and in the years that followed) there was much debate as to whether it was worth it.

But to hear Coughlin tell it, that debate never happened within the walls of the Giants' team headquarters. All of that debate happened before GM Ernie Accorsi made the deal, and once the deal was made it simply could not continue.

"You make that kind of investment, you'd better have done the research," Coughlin said. "You'd better have made the decision on how he's going to impact your team. And you'd better be prepared, because that young man has got to go through what every other young guy did. This league is tough. People make it very, very hard on that position when you have a young guy taking the snaps. There are things he's going to see that he's never seen in his life -- never even imagined seeing."

Which makes it scary, this business of dealing away big parts of the future in exchange for a kid who has never played an NFL down. It has worked out well for the Giants, obviously, as Manning has led them to two Super Bowl titles in the past five years. If the Giants ever had any doubts early in his career, or in the immediate aftermath of the trade, Manning has erased them all and confined the debate over the worthiness of the trade to ancient history.

What happens with the Redskins and their new quarterback remains to be seen. But it sounds as though Shanahan is already living Coughlin's advice. Asked last week whether it mattered to him which quarterback fell to him at No. 2, Shanahan said no, of course not. They wouldn't have given up what they gave up to get to No. 2 if they weren't convinced that Luck or Griffin could both be what they need. And they wouldn't have made the move if they hadn't already erased all of their doubts about whether it was too much to pay. Franchise quarterback is too important, and the Redskins saw a chance to get one.

"The Super Bowls that I've been involved with, with Steve Young, with the John Elways, both were franchise quarterbacks," Shanahan said. "They can make plays when everything breaks down. And if somebody can do that, then you've got an opportunity, once you get to the playoffs, to do something special. Now, can you still win without one? Sure you can. But you'd better be pretty special."

The teams that don't have franchise quarterbacks spend their existences wandering in search of one. It can consume them, as it has the Redskins for so long. That's why, when it comes down to it, there's really no such thing as overpaying for a chance to get one. Besides, if it doesn't work out, everybody who was in on the decision is going to be working elsewhere anyway. Right, Tom Coughlin?

"You don't ever go down that road, either," Coughlin said. "It's going to work."

That's the mindset the Giants had in 2004, and it's the mindset the Redskins have right now. When you're dealing with stakes and prices this high, there's really no other way to be.

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- It's good to be the Super Bowl champion. You show up at the NFL owners meetings and the first thing everybody says to you, everywhere you go around every nook and cranny of the stately Breakers hotel, is "Congratulations." New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin wore a permanent smile all week at these meetings. And as he met the media during the NFC coaches' breakfast Wednesday morning, there was nothing that was going to knock that smile off his face.

"When you ask me about what it's like to win in New York, it's not like anything you ever experienced in your life," Coughlin said after running through some memories of the Giants' victory parade. "It's the stuff of legends. It's a magnificent experience."

Coughlin's second Super Bowl title in five years has ensured his legacy. He and the team are at work on a long-term contract extension that both sides say they believe will be done soon, and while he's not going to be immune from criticism in New York over the coming years if the Giants struggle, in the big picture he has attained a measure of long-range invincibility. History will record him as a two-time Super Bowl-winning New York coach, and will likely laugh at all the times he was supposedly on the verge of being fired.

"It's worth it. Well worth it," Coughlin said of the tough parts of coaching in the New York market. "I'll take the lumps to get what's at the end of the rainbow. Anytime."

Of course, Coughlin's a practical dude, and he knows the matter at hand is the plan for traversing the next rainbow as successfully as the Giants did the last one. He spoke about the team getting right back to work on grading and evaluating players the day after the parade, and he spoke of the ways in which he plans to use the Giants' 2011 experience in getting the team prepared for 2012.

"I think you start out by bridging, which I've always done, and the bridge is going to be the intangibles that took place to get us to where we were -- the team concept and the unselfishness that was captured on the part of our players," Coughlin said. "Just win the game. Don't worry about any of the other things. Play as hard as you can and win the game, and the rest will take care of itself. That was truly the attitude that we had -- serving each other, respecting each other, loving each other. So I'll bridge that for sure, and then where I go, I don't necessarily have the plan for that yet."

The key, of course, is to move across that bridge in the right direction. Too much looking back is detrimental. The bridging, and the use of last year's success as a coaching tool, must lead into 2012 success, or it's not a useful tool. But Coughlin's done this before. The Giants went 12-4 in 2008, the last year they were defending champs, and he's got some experience with building on success.

"We're going to go as hard as we can go, looking ahead, and utilize everything that we can from the past experience as it applies," Coughlin said. "But what you did yesterday does not necessarily allow you to do the same thing tomorrow."

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Man, the San Francisco 49ers must have really been impressed with the New York Giants team that beat them in the rain in the NFC Championship Game back in January.

According to ESPNNewYork.com, former Giants running back Brandon Jacobs has agreed to a contract with the 49ers. He's the second Giants free agent to sign with San Francisco, joining wide receiver Mario Manningham.

I know some Giants fans had been harboring hope that Jacobs might not get a good enough offer elsewhere and might eventually return to the Giants, but that always seemed unlikely, and now it appears that those hopes have been dashed.

Jacobs was a two-time Super Bowl winner in New York and will always be remembered fondly by the Giants and their fans. Giants coach Tom Coughlin was talking just this morning about how difficult it is to lose players with whom you've won championships

"It's very difficult. It's not easy. The guys who have been with you the longest, that's a natural feeling," Coughlin said. "But the great thing about the experiences I've had, for example, with Brandon, Brandon makes it easier on you. There is some sentiment involved in it, but we don't say good bye. We just say, 'Next time.'"

The Giants will struggle to replace Jacobs. Sure, he'd slowed down a bit in recent years and hadn't been as much a part of the offense. But he still brings something that few if any other running backs in the league bring, in terms of the speed and athleticism he has at his remarkable size. They will need some capable veteran to team with Ahmad Bradshaw and his perpetually banged-up foot, and they've already been at work on finding one.

"It's kind of like the questions that have been asked about what it's like right after being world champions," Coughlin said. "We go to the parade, we come back from the parade, and the next day we're grading players, we're ranking players. The business just goes on. Enjoy it while you can, because you've got the next hurdle, and in order to get back on schedule, you've got to deal with these kinds of things."

It’s been all quiet on the Jeremy Shockey front in Carolina since the combine, when coach Ron Rivera said he thought the veteran tight end was retiring, and general manager Marty Hurney said he’d heard nothing of the sort.

In fact, we’re still not certain if Shockey has told the Panthers if he intends to play or not this season.

But it appears Shockey has let one NFL team know of his intentions. Shockey reportedly has let the New York Giants know he’d like to return to them. That’s where he started his career and had some good years before forcing his way out in 2008 with a trade to the New Orleans Saints. Shockey had three productive and peaceful (by his standards) seasons with the Saints.

Then, Shockey joined the Panthers last season and was a nice role player behind Greg Olsen, who was Carolina’s main pass-catcher at tight end. I suspect the Panthers wouldn’t mind bringing Shockey back for another season if the price is reasonable. But it’s not a high priority for the Panthers, because they have Olsen.

Besides, it looks like Shockey might have his mind on something else. He wants to return to New York, where he once clashed with quarterback Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin. But I’m not so sure the Giants are waiting with open arms for the 31-year-old tight end. They already have signed tight end Martellus Bennett from Dallas.

Friday night’s hiring of Mike Sullivan as offensive coordinator is the biggest move Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano has made so far. Down the road, it could end up being his most important move ever.

Sullivan comes to the Buccaneers from the New York Giants, where he spent the past two seasons as quarterbacks coach and six seasons before that working with wide receivers. Sullivan never has been an NFL coordinator before and the Bucs talked to some experienced coordinators, like Ron Turner and John Shoop, before hiring Sullivan.

I initially thought the Bucs would bring in a coordinator who had handled that role on an NFL level before. Experience seemed to be a priority as the Bucs searched for someone to fix quarterback Josh Freeman and an offense that struggled last season.

But I’m thinking the Bucs went the right way when they chose Sullivan. He may not have coordinator’s experience, but he knows how to win. The Giants just won their second Super Bowl since Sullivan joined the team in 2004 and quarterback Eli Manning obviously has been playing at a high level.

Sullivan learned at the side of head coach Tom Coughlin and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride and that can only be viewed as a positive. Sullivan also worked in Jacksonville in Coughlin's last two seasons there, so he has a pretty lengthy NFL history, even if he hasn't been a coordinator. Besides, it’s not like Shoop or Turner had enormous success in their previous stints as coordinators.

Taking a leap of faith and handing the offense to Sullivan might end up being a very good move for the Bucs. Schiano and Butch Davis, who is expected to join the team as a senior assistant and adviser, come from defensive backgrounds. But the Bucs also are putting some experience and insulation around Sullivan. They reportedly are adding longtime NFL assistant Jimmy Raye II as a senior offensive assistant.

Raye has been a coordinator before and he can help guide Sullivan. But, more importantly, the Bucs landed Sullivan, a coach who may have some fresh ideas and knows how to win.

INDIANAPOLIS — Ashley Fox's column off of Super Bowl XLVI is on New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin and his worthiness for the Hall of Fame in light of his second Super Bowl title. It's a topic Coughlin doesn't want to discuss because he's just not into such things and besides, he's been busy having the time of his life coaching a team with which he's fallen in love.

That was a word Coughlin used in his pregame speech Saturday night, telling his players that championship teams were made up of players that loved each other, and that he loved each and every one of them. Several players spoke about it in the wake of their Super Bowl victory, and it's clear that their connection with their 65-year-old coach is as deep as it's ever been.

"I thought he was going to come in with 'Finish,' which he's been preaching all year, but instead he came in with 'Love,'" defensive end Justin Tuck said. "He almost got a standing ovation when he walked out. I normally don't listen to those speeches, but as he got going, I picked my head up and started listening. I'm pretty sure we could have gone out and played right then. It was hard to go to sleep after a speech like that."

Not for Coughlin. He slept for nine hours Saturday night. Nervous? He was having the time of his life, on the run of his career with a team that was doing everything a coach dreams a team might do.

"What a wonderful experience it was to see the team come together like it did," Coughlin said.

We tend to oversimplify what it means to do a "good coaching job" in sports today. Too often, we look at the surprise teams — the teams that outperformed expectations — and assume their coaches must have pulled something out of them that we didn't know was there. Surely, the 2011-12 Giants are such a team, but I think the brilliance of the work Coughlin did this year goes beyond that.

This is an example of a man connecting with his team and his team getting it. Coughlin first had to figure out what he had in his locker room, then decide what was the best way to bring the best out of it. By the time the Giants had lost to the Redskins for the second time and were 7-7 with two games left in the regular season, he knew what his players needed to hear — upbeat, positive support. So there was no yelling that week, only a sense of opportunity. He told them, accurately, that they'd be division champs if they won their final two games, and he went on about what a great thing it was to have such an opportunity in the NFL.

The message hit home the right way, and the team still hasn't lost a game since. Coughlin showed his players the love. They responded in kind. And by the time they were assembled for their final pre-Super Bowl meeting Saturday night, everyone in the room already knew how everyone else felt. It almost didn't need to be said. Almost.

"For coach to come out and show you his emotional side, that gets your attention," said Giants cornerback Aaron Ross, who was benched for poor play way back in Week 2 against the Rams and ended up having a fine bounce-back season. "He's always a tough, stern guy, so to see that and hear that, it meant a lot."

These Giants mean a lot to Coughlin, and vice versa. I'd venture to say nothing he's ever done in his coaching career has been quite as fulfilling as this surprise run with this team and its great big heart.

INDIANAPOLIS -- New York Giants punter Steve Weatherford set a Super Bowl record on Sunday night with three punts that forced the New England Patriots to start inside their own 10-yard line. Elias Sports Bureau reports that Weatherford is the first Super Bowl punter ever with three such punts. He could have had four, but a bad bounce carried his second one into the end zone before the Giants' coverage team could down it.

Now, I know some of you complain when I talk about punters, but Giants fans who remember the Matt Dodge era know what Weatherford has meant to the team. He was one of the "non-sexy" signings GM Jerry Reese talked about in the offseason when I and others were ripping Reese for inactivity, and Weatherford's performance in the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl capped an outstanding season.

A couple of other Giants set records Sunday night as well. Tom Coughlin became the oldest coach ever to win a Super Bowl, at the age of 65. And Eli Manning set a Super Bowl record for most consecutive completed passes to start a game. Manning completed his first nine.

Additionally, Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw became the fourth player to score the game-winning touchdown in the final minute of the Super Bowl (even though his team was telling him not to score it). The others are John Taylor, Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes, which means it's now been done in three of the last five Super Bowls.

QUARTERBACK: Eli Manning completed 30 of 40 passes for 296 yards, one touchdown and a 103.8 NFL rating. He did not turn over the ball, which was huge for the Giants during their 21-17 victory. Manning's 38-yard sideline strike to Mario Manningham showed the raw arm talent that made Manning the first player selected in the 2004 NFL draft. Not many quarterbacks can make that throw. Manning made it when the Giants trailed, 17-15, with less than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Manning completed his first nine attempts for 77 yards and a touchdown, staking the Giants to an early lead as they dominated time of possession to begin the game. Manning made effective use of his running backs and tight ends, executing a mostly conservative game plan. But the Giants settled for field goals too frequently. Both teams had trouble striking on pass plays down the field until Manning found Manningham in the clutch. The two had failed to connect deep down the right sideline earlier in the fourth quarter. Manning's pass was a bit wide. Manningham could have done a better job getting his feet down. Grade: A-minus.

OFFENSE: The Giants came to life in the fourth quarter, a theme for them all season. They also avoided turnovers, a huge key. That excused their earlier offensive struggles, but we'll cover them anyway. New York twice committed drive-dooming penalties after crossing midfield. A first-half holding penalty against guard Kevin Boothe on a third-and-1 play proved pivotal. The infraction wasted Brandon Jacobs' 10-yard run, setting up third-and-1. The Giants went from driving toward likely points and a potential 16-3 lead to watching Tom Brady execute a 96-yard touchdown drive as New England pulled in front, 10-9. Then, with the Giants trailing 17-15 in the fourth quarter, a penalty for illegal procedure left the Giants in another third-and-10 situation, leading to another punt. The Giants did enjoy success early in the game. They were fortunate to recover their own fumbles, especially when Ahmad Bradshaw lost the ball deep in Giants territory. Losing tight ends Travis Beckum and Jake Ballard to injuries left New York with only one available tight end, Bear Pascoe. Grade: B

DEFENSE: Justin Tuck's pressure on Brady forced a safety on the Patriots' first offensive play. That was a sensational start for the Giants. Tuck closed out the game with a third-down sack with 39 seconds remaining. The Giants failed to get enough pressure between those plays, allowing Brady to shred their defense for stretches. But Brady averaged only 6.7 yards per attempt. The Giants held the Patriots to 17 points, about two touchdowns below their regular-season average. Jason Pierre-Paul was effective batting down passes. Chase Blackburn made his presence felt with a de-cleater hit on BenJarvus Green-Ellis. He also picked off a deep pass for Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots' quickness in general and Danny Woodhead's in particular gave the Giants problems, especially with Brady having time to operate. The Giants caught a break when Wes Welker got wide open and dropped a pass that would have moved New England into field-goal range while leading with about four minutes left. Grade: B-plus

COACHING: The Giants left 57 seconds on the clock when Bradshaw scored on a run up the middle to take a 21-17 lead. Bradshaw tried to sit down at the 1-yard line, but his momentum carried him into the end zone. The points were nice, but leaving that much time on the clock for Brady carried risk. The offensive plan seemed conservative and without enough play-action passing early. That was to be expected given Tom Coughlin's philosophy. That showed up when Coughlin handed off instead of taking a shot deep down the field on an early second-and-1. Grade: B

SPECIAL TEAMS: Lawrence Tynes made both field-goal attempts. The Giant did not allow a punt return. They forced New England to begin three drives inside their own 10-yard line. The Patriots never started a drive outside their own 29. No complaints here. Grade: A

» Super Bowl XLVI Final Word: Patriots | Giants

Five nuggets of knowledge about Super Bowl XLVI:

Legacy builders: The New England Patriots and New York Giants didn't have much interest in talking about the big picture during Super Bowl week. Anything beyond Sunday's game was too much to comprehend. But this game is important for legacies on both teams. For the Patriots, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick can tie the record for the most Super Bowl wins by a quarterback and head coach with four. (Former Steelers coach Chuck Noll won four Super Bowls; quarterbacks Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw also have four rings.) For the Giants, a second championship would cement quarterback Eli Manning's status as an elite quarterback. New York coach Tom Coughlin also would have a stronger case for the Hall of Fame with his second ring as a head coach.

Setting the tempo: An area that hasn't been talked about much this week is New England's effective use of the no-huddle offense. The Patriots used it more and more late in the season, and it's helped set the tempo. New York likes to use plenty of substitutions, particularly on its talented and deep defensive line, to keep everyone fresh. But a no-huddle will disrupt New York's substitution packages. New England didn't use the no-huddle offense much at all in the previous loss against the Giants in Week 9. How will New York adjust to it in the Super Bowl?

Gronkowski's contribution: Patriots Pro Bowl tight end Rob Gronkowski is officially listed as questionable with an ankle injury. But he is expected to play. Gronkowski won't be 100 percent, but his presence already makes an impact in this game. New York has to account for him, and that will open things up for others, like receiver Wes Welker and tight end Aaron Hernandez. Gronkowski caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown against the Giants in the regular season. Don't expect that type of production in the Super Bowl.

Don't forget the kickers: Gronkowski, Brady, Manning and New York's defensive line have dominated the discussion for two weeks, but do not forget the kicking game. This Super Bowl is expected to be close and could come down to Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski and Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes. Both have done a good job this season. But there is a big difference kicking in the Super Bowl. In the AFC Championship Game, Baltimore Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff couldn't handle the pressure and missed a chip shot near the end of regulation. Gostkowski and Tynes could have opportunities to be heroes or goats.

New England's track record with revenge: The Patriots have downplayed the revenge factor all week. Regardless of whether it's on their minds, they have done a great job of avenging prior postseason losses. The Patriots entered the season 0-3 in their last three playoff games. The most recent postseason loss was against the AFC East rival New York Jets. A motivated New England team convincingly swept the Jets in two regular-season games. The revenge tour continued in the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens, who knocked New England out of the playoffs after the 2009 season. The Patriots returned the favor two weeks ago. Now, New England has a chance to avenge the Super Bowl XLII loss to the Giants. Will the Patriots complete the trifecta?

INDIANAPOLIS -- Lots of talk around here about talk -- specifically all of the very confident talking the New York Giants have been doing about their belief that they will beat the New England Patriots on Sunday night in the Super Bowl. A theory has emerged that the Giants are making a mistake by giving the Patriots potential bulletin board material. It reached the point at which Giants coach Tom Coughlin was asked about it in his Friday morning news conference, but Coughlin seemed surprised that it was even an issue worth discussing.

"I'm not sure what you're referencing," Coughlin said. "I know that there are one or two quotes out there, but to be honest with you, I don't know that either one of them is any different than Tom Brady's quotes. Our team has played good football against great football teams. We always focus our team on 'humble enough to prepare, confident enough to perform.' That's the way we look at it."

Coughlin's reaction seemed genuine, and it speaks to the sincerity at the source of all of the Giants' predictions of victory and parades. They aren't out there pounding their chests and talking about how great they are. They aren't out there ripping the players on the other team. They aren't saying all of this stuff for the purpose of sending any kind of message. They just really don't feel they can be beaten right now. That feeling is born, as Coughlin points out, from a string of victories over the very best teams in the league, the last couple on the road, and the accurate sense that they're playing their best football of the year at the right time.

The Giants have, for weeks, been expressing supreme confidence without, in my opinion, arrogance. They just really believe in themselves and think they're good. And as they were in each of their first three playoff games, they're sure they'll win. It remains to be seen whether they're right. But they're not acting out or making any of this up. They're saying what they really believe.