Super Bowl XLII Key Players

As you know in the Super Bowl is the Patriots and Giants. But do you know their key players are? The Patriots key players are:Their whole team.And the giants key players are:Plaxico Burress,Eli Manning,Brandon Jacobs,Michael Strahan,andJeremy Shockey.And It's in Glendale,Arizona.

07-08 New England Patriots

Tom Brady was as giddy as the quarterback of an unbeaten and perhaps unbeatable team should be. Had Bill Belichick spotted him slapping the backs of his New England teammates, the dour coach might have scoffed.After all, a perfect 16-0 regular season won't mean much if the Patriots don't win their next three games and another Super Bowl."We've been dealing with being undefeated all season," Brady said Saturday night after the thrilling 38-35 victory over the New York Giants in a game worthy of the NFL's championship showcase. "It was kind of a strange game. It really doesn't mean much to either team, but it means a lot."New England became the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule, and that one was only 14-0. This victory required a Brady-engineered comeback from a 12-point deficit and smashed the Patriots' league mark for consecutive victories."Going undefeated during the regular season is a remarkable achievement," 1972 Dolphins coach Don Shula said. "I know firsthand how difficult it is to win every game, and just as we did in 1972, the Patriots have done a great job concentrating on each week's opponent and not letting any other distractions interrupt that focus. If they go on to complete an undefeated season, I will be the first to congratulate Coach Belichick and the Patriot organization."Validation of the Patriots' inexorable march through the season can only come by adding a Super Bowl championship. Do that, and there'll be no challenge to their spot at the top."Hats off to us," said record-setting receiver Randy Moss, who caught Brady's 65-yard bomb for the go-ahead score that set two major records. "I know a lot of people didn't think we were going to do it. A lot of people didn't want us to do it."In this game of football, it's hard to go 16-and-0. As a football player and a fan of the game, my hat's off to this organization."In gaining their 19th straight win over two seasons, the Patriots went on top on Brady's 50th touchdown pass of the year and Moss' 23rd TD reception. It came with 11:06 remaining.Brady beat Peyton Manning's mark of 49 touchdown passes and Moss broke Jerry Rice's record of 22 TD receptions. And the Patriots finished with an incredible 589 points for the season, another single-season record.Once the victory was clinched, Belichick was barely more animated than usual. He shared hugs with players and assistant coaches on the sideline, but there was no thought of carrying him off on the Patriots' shoulders or dumping Gatorade all over him.That will have to wait for three more wins -- if they come."It's a great feeling," Belichick admitted. "Now is the time to take a day or two and appreciate what this team has done, but at the same time we have our biggest game of the year coming up. Pretty soon we need to turn the page and move on."Who knows, the Patriots might even find the Giants on one of the next pages, especially if Eli Manning again resembles his vaunted older brother."We didn't win the game, but if you saw everybody in the locker room, everybody was excited," Manning said. "I never saw a locker room so upbeat after a loss because we played so well, did some good things and hung in there in a game where we didn't have to play. We wanted to. We wanted to come out and play well, and we did that."The Giants (10-6), already guaranteed a playoff game against Tampa Bay next weekend and with little to play for except spoiling New England's perfect ride, led 28-16 in the third quarter. It was the Patriots' largest deficit all year as the Giants showed no fear and plenty of versatility, scoring the most points New England allowed in a game during this remarkable run.Manning threw for four touchdowns and Domenik Hixon, in his first game as New York's primary kick returner, went 74 yards for a score 11 seconds after Brady and Moss tied their respective records.Not to worry. These Patriots are unflappable, and they matched their comebacks in wins over Dallas, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Baltimore earlier in the season. A 73-yard drive ended with Laurence Maroney's six-yard run to make it 28-23 with 4:00 to go in the third period.Then came the most familiar of scenes: Brady dropping back, winding up and hitting a wide-open Moss in stride for a touchdown. The final go-ahead TD in their perfect year.."What I'm most proud of is playing a playoff team on the road that was playing extremely hard," Brady said. "We found a way to come back and win. We did the same thing at Dallas. We did the same thing at Indy. We've been in some tough games."Everyone is going to enjoy this one. It happens once every 35 years."Although many are eager to hail these Patriots as the NFL's all-time best, such acclaim won't come unless they win two playoff games and their fourth Super Bowl this decade. And for those who might deny such greatness considering the "Spygate" scandal, well, 19-0 would speak pretty loudly.Certainly louder than any post-game celebrations at Giants Stadium, the same building where they were caught videotaping New York Jets assistant coaches in Week 1, a rules violation that cost Belichick and the franchise $750,000 in fines and a 2008 first-round draft choice. That made Belichick even more close-mouthed and dour than usual, and his team followed his lead -- right to 16-0.The Giants opened the game as if they were, well, the Patriots, driving 74 yards, sparked by a 52-yard completion on which Plaxico Burress outleapt Ellis Hobbs for Manning's jump-ball throw. Brandon Jacobs broke Tedy Bruschi's tackle to score on a seven-yard reception for a 7-0 lead.Naturally, the Patriots, the highest-scoring team in NFL history, struck back. After Stephen Gostkowski's 37-yard field goal, New England went on top -- and surpassed Minnesota's league mark of 556 points -- on the record-tying four-yard TD pass from Brady to Moss, who soared above rookie Aaron Ross for the score.The 10-7 lead lasted all of 11 seconds. The usually staid Patriots gathered around Moss as he did a dance in the end zone, prompting a 15-yard excessive celebration penalty. Belichick argued the call with referee Mike Carey, perhaps sensing how costly it might be.It was as Hixon sped 74 yards untouched to lift the Giants back in front."There is nothing but positives," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "I told the players in playing this game everything would be positives, there would be no negatives and that is how I feel."I don't know any better way to be prepared for the playoffs than to go against a team that was 15-0."Gostkowski kicked two more field goals as the Patriots grabbed a 16-14 lead with 1:59 left in the half.That's when Manning, coming off several rough games, was at his best, leading a quick 85-yard drive that included a rare scramble for 11 yards just before he found Kevin Boss in the middle of the end zone with 13 seconds remaining. The 21-16 deficit was only the second time New England has trailed at halftime this season; the other was to the older Manning and the Colts.But with such a potent offence, the Patriots never are out of any game. Once they got the lead, they closed it out with another touchdown drive, Maroney scoring from the 5. Manning hit Burress again from 3 yards with 1:04 to go, but New England recovered the onside kick."We're down 10 or 11 (actually 12) in the third quarter, the crowd was into it, and we found a way to win," Brady said. "That's the way it's going to be down the stretch ... just hope we can continue to play this kind of football."Notes: Brady finished 32-for-42 for 356 yards, while Manning was 22-for-32 for 251 yards and the only interception. ... The other teams to go unbeaten in a season were the 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears; both lost in the NFL title game. ... New England also set a league mark with 75 touchdowns. ... The Giants lost centre Shaun O'Hara, backup safety Craig Dahl and linebacker Kawika Mitchell, all with knee injuries, and cornerback Sam Madison with an abdominal strain.

1985 Chicago Bears

Our series on the greatest NFL teams of all time concludes with its 12th installment and a look at the 1985 Bears – the greatest team ever.
The 1985 Chicago Bears would have represented the good and the bad to Papa Bear George Halas. It is highly doubtful that he would have approved of the hype surrounding Refrigerator Perry and Jim McMahon's headbands, and it's really doubtful he would have enjoyed the Super Bowl Shuffle. In general, the cult of personality that the Bears generated would not have been something that Halas would have liked. William Barry Furlong wrote about Halas, "He has all the warmth of breaking bones, a personality as daring as twin beds?"
Chat wrap: Hampton, Dent
Two members of the 1985 Bears' famed "46" defense stopped by to answer your questions – defensive tackle Dan Hampton and defensive end Richard Dent, the MVP of Super Bowl XX. It's just as clear, however, that Halas would have loved the Bears on the field. The utter domination of their opponents as well as their physical and intimidating style of play would have reminded him of his best teams, the teams that earned the Bears the nickname "The Monsters of the Midway."
While Jim McMahon was no Sid Luckman, the 1985 Bears made a lot of big plays through the air as did the Luckman-led Bears. Although the modern-day running game uses many fewer backs than the teams of the '40s, '50s, or '60s, both the 1985 Bears and Halas' best teams had very effective running attacks. Halas' best teams played ferocious defense that often totally stymied opposing offenses and, of course, the 1985 Bears played the same way. The Bears under Halas almost always played hard for 60 minutes as did the 1985 Bears. All things considered, I guess Papa Bear wouldn't mind if we called the 1985 Bears "The New Monsters of the Midway."
A few facts about the '85 Bears before I tell you why I think they are the best team of all time, at least for one season since 1950:
Since the adoption of the 16-game schedule in 1978, the 1985 Chicago Bears are the only team to score 400 or more points while allowing fewer than 200.
Led by the great Walter Payton, who ran for 1,551 yards and a 4.8 average per carry, the Bears led the NFL in rushing yardage and were fifth in average yards per carry.
Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan gets carried off the field by Super Bowl XX MVP Richard Dent (95).
The Bears led the NFC and were fourth in the NFL in average yards per pass attempt. Are you sick of hearing about that stat? Tough.
The Bears led the NFC and were second in the NFL in average yards per completion. Doesn't sound like an ultra-conservative offense to me.
Including their three postseason games, the Bears were outgained in a game just once the entire season.
The Bears' defense forced 54 turnovers, the fifth-highest total since the beginning of the 16-game schedule.
The Monday Night game against the Dolphins on December 2 is still the highest-rated game in the history of Monday Night Football with a 29.6 rating.
Nine members of the '85 Bears were homegrown first-round picks. Five of them played in the Pro Bowl.
The Bears outgained their three playoff opponents by an amazing margin of 1,023 yards to 434.
In the Super Bowl, the Patriots made positive yardage on just one of their first 16 offensive plays.
1985 Bears

Record: 15-1
Points scored/allowed: 456/198
Opponents' record: 120-120 (.500)*
Record against teams with winning records: 5-1
Points scored/allowed against teams with winning records: 180/71*For all of these opponents' records, games against this team are excluded.
I could list a dozen more. The Bears had an amazing 1985 season.
OK, so why did I pick them as the best team of all time? There's a reason I listed those four pieces of information about each team. Those were the main criteria I used to rank the teams and to pick a winner. The Bears' credentials are simply the best of the bunch. They had a great record, they had a great Power Index and they played exceptionally well against good teams, not even counting their amazing playoff performance.
Only one of these 12 teams had a better overall record than the '85 Bears, only one had a better Power Index, and no one played as well against quality competition. Only the '89 49ers had a playoff run that resembles the '85 Bears in terms of dominance. Simply put, there were no negatives in the 1985 Bears' record, which can't be said about any of the other 11 teams on the list, at least relative to each other.
I don't think this selection will be too controversial, although I have never steered away from controversy. In fact, the 1985 Chicago Bears may still be the most famous team in NFL history and much of their fame comes from the brilliance of their season, the best season by a team in NFL history.

Joe Montana, selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 1979 National Football League Draft, had a stellar career with the 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. A master of late-game comebacks, Montana directed his teams to 31 fourth quarter come-from-behind wins during his illustrious career, including a 92-yard drive in the closing seconds of Super Bowl XXIII.
His uncanny ability to bring a team back from apparent defeat was so common that it simply became referred to as “Montana Magic.” A true student of the game, Montana won the NFL’s passing title in both 1987 and 1989. He topped the NFC in passing five times (1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1989).
Thirty-nine times he passed for more than 300 yards in a game, including seven times in which he surpassed 400 yards. His six 300-yard passing performances in the post-season are an NFL record. He also owns the career playoff record for attempts, completions, touchdowns, and yards gained passing.
Eleven times the New Eagle, Pennsylvania native led his team to the playoffs. Along the way, he captured nine divisional championships and victories in Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII, and XXIV. His outstanding play in Super Bowls XVI, XIX, and XXIV earned him Most Valuable Player honors in each game.
Named All-NFL three times and All-NFC on five occasions, Montana was voted to the Pro Bowl eight times, which was a league record for a quarterback at the time. In 1992, after missing 31 Joe Montana, selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 1979 National Football League Draft, had a stellar career with the 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. A master of late-game comebacks, Montana directed his teams to 31 fourth quarter come-from-behind wins during his illustrious career, including a 92-yard drive in the closing seconds of Super Bowl XXIII.
His uncanny ability to bring a team back from apparent defeat was so common that it simply became referred to as “Montana Magic.” A true student of the game, Montana won the NFL’s passing title in both 1987 and 1989. He topped the NFC in passing five times (1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1989).
Thirty-nine times he passed for more than 300 yards in a game, including seven times in which he surpassed 400 yards. His six 300-yard passing performances in the post-season are an NFL record. He also owns the career playoff record for attempts, completions, touchdowns, and yards gained passing.
Eleven times the New Eagle, Pennsylvania native led his team to the playoffs. Along the way, he captured nine divisional championships and victories in Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII, and XXIV. His outstanding play in Super Bowls XVI, XIX, and XXIV earned him Most Valuable Player honors in each game.
Named All-NFL three times and All-NFC on five occasions, Montana was voted to the Pro Bowl eight times, which was a league record for a quarterback at the time. In 1992, after missing 31 consecutive games due to an injury to his throwing arm, Montana made a dramatic comeback. In the second half of the regular season finale, a Monday Night Football offering vs. the Detroit Lions, Montana performed his magic of old, completing 15 of 21 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns as the 49ers defeated the Lions 24-6.
In 1994 Montana became just the fifth quarterback to pass for more than 40,000 yards in a career. At the time of his retirement, he ranked fourth in career passing yardage (40,551 yards), attempts (5,391), and passing touchdowns (273). His 3,409 completions ranked third all-time, and his career passer rating of 92.3 was second all-time.consecutive games due to an injury to his throwing arm, Montana made a dramatic comeback. In the second half of the regular season finale, a Monday Night Football offering vs. the Detroit Lions, Montana performed his magic of old, completing 15 of 21 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns as the 49ers defeated the Lions 24-6.
In 1994 Montana became just the fifth quarterback to pass for more than 40,000 yards in a career. At the time of his retirement, he ranked fourth in career passing yardage (40,551 yards), attempts (5,391), and passing touchdowns (273). His 3,409 completions ranked third all-time, and his career passer rating of 92.3 was second all-time.

Walter Payton Biography

Payton, Walter (25 July 1954-1 Nov. 1999), NFL Hall of Fame football player, was born in Columbia, Mississippi, the son of Peter Payton, a factory worker, and Alyne Payton. Walter, or "Spider Man" as he called himself as a boy, was active in Boy Scouts, the church choir, camping with friends, and playing drums in the band before he finally turned to football his junior year in high school at the all-black Jefferson High School. Already bigger and stronger than most of his teammates, Walter was an instant starter.
Halfway through his junior year at Jefferson, the all-white Columbia High School was ordered to integrate, and Payton and several of his teammates transferred there. They were upset, however, when a white coach, Tommy Davis, was hired for the Columbia job instead of their Jefferson coach, Charles Boston. Already socially conscious at the age of sixteen, Payton boycotted spring practice that year to express his dissatisfaction, but, recognizing that the decision would not change, he joined the team for the start of his senior season.
Payton led his Columbia team to an 8-2 record that year and was named All State. But with just one year at the school and two years of high school football, he was not heavily recruited. He attended nearby Jackson State University, where he joined a team that featured a number of other future NFL players and Pro Bowlers, including Jerome Barkham, Vernon Perry, Ricky Young, Robert Brazille, and fellow Hall of Famer Jackie Slater. At Jackson State Payton rushed for 3,563 yards, achieved a 6.1 average, and became the NCAA's all-time leading rusher with 65 touchdowns. He majored in communications and graduated in 1975.
In the spring of 1975, the Chicago Bears made Payton the fourth player chosen on the first round of the NFL college draft. While it may have seemed strange at the time for the young man from rural Mississippi to leave the small city of Columbia for the second largest city in the country, the shift proved ideal. Payton spent his entire thirteen-year professional football career in Chicago, becoming one of the greatest players in the history of the game. And he did it as arguably the toughest and hardest-working player the game had ever seen, giving meaning and hope to the citizens of the "City of Big Shoulders" who flocked to Bears games to watch Payton carry his mediocre team week after week.
Payton played all but one game his rookie year. Over the player's strenuous objections, Rookie coach Jack Pardee forced his prize pupil with a sprained ankle to sit out the fifth week of the season. This game, with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was the only game Payton missed in his thirteen-year career, a record that perhaps more than any of his others raised number 34 to legendary stature.
Walter Payton married Connie Norwood in 1976; they would have a son, Jarrett, and a daughter, Brittney.
Over the next twelve seasons Payton averaged 1,337 yards rushing per season. He went to his first Pro Bowl in 1976 and then eight more in '78, '79, '80, '81, '84, '85, '86 and '87. In 1977, playing with a bad case of flu, Payton set an NFL record rushing for 275 yards in a game against the Minnesota Vikings. On 7 October 1984, he rushed for 154 yards against the New Orleans Saints, shattering what was believed to be Jim Brown's unassailable record of 12,312 yards. Payton finished his career with 10 NFL records including 3,838 rushes, 16,726 yards, most 1,000-yard seasons (10), and most 100-yard rushing games (77). He also set 28 Chicago Bears records and was the team's backup punter and place kicker. He even played quarterback in a game in 1984. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on 31 July 1993, the first player in the history of the Hall to be presented by his son. His wife and daughter were also in attendance.
Payton was, however, far more than just a great football player. Mike Ditka, Payton's coach for the last five years of his career and during his only championship season in 1985, said of Payton, "I mean no disrespect to any player, because there've been a lot of great ones. I'll just say I believe he was the best I ever saw and probably the greatest ever." To millions of fans in Chicago and around the world he was known affectionately as "Sweetness," the name he earned for the way he both played on the field and carried himself off it. Payton was successful in business as well as sports; he had interests in restaurants, real estate, banking, construction, and, particularly, auto racing. One of his great disappointments was failing to become an NFL owner because of a failed bid to gain an expansion team in St. Louis when the clubs were awarded to Jacksonville and Carolina and the Rams then moved to St. Louis.
Late in 1998 it became obvious that something was wrong with the always robust Payton when he began losing weight and the whites of his eyes began to yellow. In February 1999 he went public with the news that he had primary sclerosing cholangitis, a rare disease of the liver. Fans everywhere expected to hear that the unstoppable Payton would be receiving a liver transplant, but when a trip to the Mayo Clinic in May revealed a tumor in his liver, all hope was lost. His last months were spent as a crusader for organ donorship and transplants. He died at home in South Barrington, Illinois.

More on Butkus

It is fitting that Richard Marvin “Dick” Butkus hails from Chicago, Illinois; the city and state with which he will always be identified. He was born December 9, 1942, to a blue-collar Lithuanian couple living in the Roseland section of Chicago's South Side. The youngest of eight children, Dick learned early on to compete hard for what he wanted. By the fifth grade he had already decided to become a professional football player. "I worked hard at becoming one, just like society says you should,” Dick recalled. “It said you had to be fierce. I was fierce. Tough. I was tough." Dick’s ferocious intensity first came to the public’s attention when he attended Chicago Vocational High School, where he was a star football player, and then with the University of Illinois, where he enrolled in 1961. In 1963, his junior year, Dick made 145 tackles and forced 10 fumbles, leading Illinois to the Big Ten championship. The team finished the season ranked third in the nation, and went on to defeat Washington in the Rose Bowl, 17-7.Dick was a unanimous All-American, playing center and linebacker, and repeated as an All-American in 1964. Despite not carrying the ball, he was a top contender in the Heisman Trophy balloting both years, finishing sixth in 1963, and third in 1964. His jersey number, 50, was one of only two ever retired by the University of Illinois, the other being 77, worn by the legendary Harold “Red” Grange. Eventually, Dick would be named to the College Football Hall of Fame (1983). He is generally considered one of the greatest college football players of all time. Today, an honor is given annually to the nation’s outstanding college linebacker – The Dick Butkus Award. In 1965, Dick Butkus was drafted by his NFL home team, the Chicago Bears, and suddenly the Midway had a brand new Monster! Picking up where he left off in college, he made 11 solo tackles in his first game and served as the catalyst for dramatically reversing the fortunes of a Bears defense that had been struggling. He was a top contender for NFL Rookie of the Year honors, but was edged out by his teammate and fellow first-round draft pick, the spectacular Gale Sayers, drafted by the Bears the same year. Ranging from sideline to sideline with speed, quickness, and instinct, the 6-3, 245-lb. Butkus terrorized opposing ball carriers and quarterbacks. His mauling style of tackling was worthy of a grizzly bear. Adept at forcing fumbles, he recovered 27 in his nine-year career. He also excelled at pass coverage against tight ends and running backs, and finished his career with 22 interceptions. Most of all, he was the undisputed leader of the Chicago Bears defense, epitomizing the clean, hard-nosed, brutal athleticism that set the standard for every NFL middle linebacker who followed.Part of Dick’s success, by his own admission, was his ability to play with anger. “When I went out on the field to warm up, I would manufacture things to make me mad,” he said. “If someone on the other team was laughing, I'd pretend he was laughing at me or the Bears. It always worked for me." No doubt, many an opponent of his era would grudgingly concur.Dick suffered the first of a series of knee injuries in 1970, which resulted in surgery that was never fully successful. For the last three years of his career, Dick played in pain, yet continued to dominate from his position, registering 117 tackles and 68 assists, recovering three fumbles, and intercepting four passes in 1971 alone. By the time he retired in 1973, Dick had been named first-team All-NFL six years, and played in eight consecutive Pro Bowls. His career totals include 1,020 tackles and 489 assists. Dick underwent reconstructive knee surgery in 1997, which relieved much of the pain he had endured since his playing days.
For Dick Butkus, the end of his football career meant the beginning of a new one: acting. His outgoing personality and rugged persona served him well in many a movie role and TV commercial. In the first of what would become a long-running series of Miller Light ads, Dick played against type, portraying a gentlemanly tennis player who cheerfully debates the beer’s merits with fellow ex-NFL defensive star Bubba Smith. Almost over night, the campaign’s tag line “Less Filling! Tastes Great!” was a household phrase. He has also appeared in motion pictures such as Necessary Roughness and Any Given Sunday, and as a regular character on TV shows such as My Two Dads and Hang Time.Most recently, Dick appeared in the ESPN Original Entertainment series titled Bound For Glory. The series followed Dick as he coached a real-life high school football team for an entire season. Outside of professional endeavors, Dick is a family man. Helen, his wife since 1963, was his high school sweetheart. Their children include one daughter, Nicole, and two sons, Richard and Matthew. Matthew followed in his father’s footsteps in college football, playing defensive line for the University of Southern California and their 1990 Rose Bowl winning team.As time goes by, Dick’s legacy has only grown. He was selected the 70th greatest athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, the 9th best player in league history by The Sporting News, and the 5th best by the Associated Press. The National Football League named him to their all-time team in 2000. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. On October 31, 1994, Dick received what may have been the highest honor for a hometown Chicago boy. At halftime of the Monday night game at Soldier Field against the Bears’ arch rivals, the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears retired Dick Butkus’ jersey number. Joined by teammate Gale Sayers, who was likewise honored the same night, Dick could take deep satisfaction in knowing something any fan of NFL Football already knew -- there will never be another number 51 for the Chicago Bears!