I don’t know that you’ll see a prettier ball thrown than the long pass Manning completed to Mario Manningham on the game-winning drive. That toss gave Manning the second signature play of his career, his second “I can’t believe” Super Bowl moment. All of the pre-game hype about playing this game in Indianapolis and stepping out of his brother’s shadow was deflected, and he eluded the question on the podium when accepting his MVP Award.

It was a game of near-misses, unlucky bounces and runs. Of course, the city of Boston has tabbed Wes Welker as the new era Bill Buckner and Gisele’s post-game comments have been the subject of tabloid fodder.

As I see it:

1. The Giants didn’t turn the ball over, but came close. Any one of those plays (say, the quick whistle on the 12-man penalty or the ball covered by Snee) could have turned the tide.
2. Gisele should have kept the business in the family, but the receivers’ inability to haul in Brady passes (he didn’t look quite right after being hit by Umenyiora at the end of the first half) failed to sustain drives.
3. The Welker “drop” was still a difficult catch. Yes, it’s a catch that he normally makes, but it wasn’t a “gimme” by any stretch.
4. Other than the Welker play, the play-calling in that sequence seemed too passive == the idea of running clock against the urgency to score.
5. Pierre-Paul is a monster. I don’t know that I need to elaborate.
6. Terrell Owens or Randy Moss would have looked nice running downfield. I saw Owens sprinting around the sand during the “DirecTV Beach Bowl” and wondered aloud why he didn’t have a job in 2011.
7. The odds were posted for 2013, and the Patriots rank among the favorites at 7-1. Green Bay is the top choice at 6-1. The Giants have been installed at 15-1 odds. That seems like a pretty nice line right there.
8. New York punter Steve Weatherford should have been the game’s MVP. He nailed three punts inside the 20 and set up the game’s first scoring play (the play that made a good chunk of money for players of long-odds opportunities). I stand by that.

Drop the mic.

Over the next several days, I’ll post audio, video and snapshots from my week in Indianapolis. The town put its best foot forward and nary a harsh word could be found, provided that you didn’t have to pay for parking each day.

Soon enough, we’ll turn to the NFL Combine and the reporting date for pitchers and catchers. Though our attention will be grabbed momentarily by March Madness and Opening Day, our eyes keep scanning the horizon for the dawn of a new NFL season. I can’t wait to see you all on the road to New Orleans.

So, let’s make it short and sweet.

CIN at HOU: Houston sputtered down the stretch. I expect Gary Kubiak to get back to basics and run, run, run Arian Foster and Ben Tate time and again. Wade Phillips will have the defense dialed up to make things difficult for Andy Dalton. I’ll take the home team.

DET at NO: I picked New Orleans to crash the party in Indianapolis before the season. I see no reason to abandon that selection now. Brees and company are clicking on all cylinders, with Darren Sproles playing the role of “Firestarter.” Go ahead and make the video mix to his highlights – just give me a little nod for planting the idea. My gut says that Gregg Williams’ secondary gets active today to frustrate Stafford. New Orleans advances.

ATL at NYG: I hear all of the chatter about the 2007 playoff run for the Giants and a possible repeat scenario. Two things have to happen in this game to get that road started. First, the Giants can’t leave balls on the carpet as they did for much of the season (drops played a huge role). Second, the Giants will need to get pressure on Matt Ryan from the front four. If they need to bring extra bodies to try and disrupt the passing game, the depleted secondary will be abused as it was for much of the season. I fear the sight of Julio Jones sprinting free and clear in the secondary, but expect the salsa-dancing Victor Cruz (burn some calories during the game and win the ladies’ hearts by practicing) will match him. Giants advance.

PIT at DEN: Most people I’ve talked to this week have given the Broncos little to no chance of defending their home turf as heavy underdogs. The absences of Maurkice Pouncey, Rashard Mendenhall and Ryan Clark shouldn’t be dismissed altogether, and lest we forget, Ben Roethlisberger is still hobbled. My thoughts go out to Pittsburgh running back coach Kirby Wilson, who was injured in fire in his home.

For the Broncos to win this game, it is incumbent upon Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil to get pressure on Roethlisberger and try to force the action. The myriad speed options available to Roethlisberger will be too much for the Denver secondary.

Offensively, I do believe that the Broncos will need to push downfield more, as John Elway suggested earlier in the week. Unless the Broncos mix it up early (maybe some play-action), it could be a long day. The master, Dick LeBeau, will crush the Broncos if they follow the predictable formula.

1 Calvin Johnson
2 Roddy White
3 Wes Welker
4 A.J. Green
5 Vincent Jackson
6 Steve Smith
7 Brandon Marshall
8 Jordy Nelson
9 Mike Wallace
10 Larry Fitzgerald
11 Marques Colston
12 Julio Jones
13 Dwayne Bowe
14 Demaryius Thomas
15 Santana Moss
16 Dez Bryant
17 Hakeem Nicks
18 Antonio Brown
19 Victor Cruz
20 Nate Washington
21 Lance Moore
22 Santonio Holmes
23 Miles Austin
24 Percy Harvin
25 Stevie Johnson
26 Laurent Robinson
27 Jabar Gaffney
28 Malcom Floyd
29 Jeremy Maclin
30 Torrey Smith
31 DeSean Jackson
32 Michael Crabtree
33 Brandon Lloyd
34 Darrius Heyward-Bey
35 Plaxico Burress
36 Mike Williams
37 Greg Little
38 Kevin Walter
39 James Jones
40 Eric Decker
41 Mario Manningham
42 Nate Burleson
43 Donald Driver
44 Golden Tate
45 Damian Williams
46 Pierre Garcon
47 Earl Bennett
48 Titus Young
49 Jerricho Cotchery
50 Jerome Simpson
51 Early Doucet
52 Reggie Wayne
53 Denarius Moore
54 Davone Bess
55 Chad Ochocinco
56 Harry Douglas
57 Doug Baldwin
58 Andre Roberts
59 Devin Aromashodu
60 Devin Hester
61 Brad Smith
62 Vincent Brown
63 Jacoby Jones
64 Randall Cobb
65 Steve Breaston
66 Robert Meachem
67 Jason Avant
68 David Nelson
69 Preston Parker
70 Roy Williams

Get it started with the juggernaut in San Diego.

1. Philip Rivers vs. Minnesota
2. Tom Brady at Miami
3. Michael Vick at St. Louis
4. Matt Schaub vs. Indianapolis
5. Eli Manning at Washington
6. Tony Romo at New York Jets
7. Josh Freeman vs. Detroit
8. Rex Grossman vs. New York Giants
9. Matthew Stafford at Tampa Bay
10. Kevin Kolb vs. Carolina
11. Mark Sanchez vs. Dallas
12. Jay Cutler vs. Atlanta
13. Kyle Orton vs. Oakland
14. Ben Roethlisberger at Baltimore
15. Matt Ryan at Chicago
16. Matt Cassel vs. Buffalo
17. Joe Flacco vs. Pittsburgh
18. Sam Bradford vs. Philadelphia
19. Colt McCoy vs. Cincinnati
20. Ryan Fitzpatrick at Kansas City
21. Kerry Collins at Houston
22. Luke McCown vs. Tennessee
23. Matt Hasselbeck at Jacksonville
24. Chad Henne vs. New England
25. Donovan McNabb at San Diego
26. Cam Newton at Arizona
27. Tarvaris Jackson at San Francisco
28. Alex Smith vs. Seattle
29. Jason Campbell at Denver
30. Andy Dalton at Cleveland

I propose that they chop up the first six weeks of the NFL season and add a two-hour special to the programming block. You don’t need to grab anything other that Dallas Cowboys highlights (lowlights) and a few clips of the New York Giants defense.

We build the villain by showing Peyton Manning’s surgeon-like precision against the Giants in Week 2 that helped create this monster. It’s the “Genesis” story.

- You build things with bad penalties and tipped balls.
- You add some levity and feel-good moments with lighter mood music. This gets put over clips of the Houston game and definitely take the game of leap-frog in the end zone out of context.
- Then, you start building the drama by showing a series of brutal hits against quarterbacks past by the Giants – you can get a LOT of mileage out of that Chicago game.

Our hero is about to come face-to-face with the monster.

Cue the big stage on Monday night. Show some Romo warm-up tosses. Cue some Jason … uh, it’s Justin … Tuck. Sorry, I got lost in the horror theme.

We need a montage of training and Cowboys-Giants games past. The story builds with the opening possessions and the early 10-0 lead for Dallas. It’s a positive story. Our hero will ride off into the sunset.

Cue the missed block by Gronkowski and the big hit on Romo. The music turns and a somber melody runs as the hit is shown from every angle. Credits roll as Romo remains on the turf.

The Giants have struck again. Cue the sequel in two weeks when this rested unit takes a shot at Matt Hasselbeck.

We entered the year with grand expectations at tailback, and conventional wisdom kept the draft board running back-heavy in the opening rounds.

That age-old strategy just might fall to the wayside in 2010 given the number of pass-happy attacks and the proliferation of two and three-back-systems throughout the NFL.

I’ll give you two statistical nuggets to start your valuation process for 2010.

• 10 quarterbacks passed for at least 4,000 yards.

• Only 15 running backs reached 1,000 yards.

In this installment of my 2009 review, I’m raising a toast to the top-notch performers of 2009. It was certainly a topsy-turvy campaign, but some players gave owners consistent efforts throughout the year and others emerged to vault them into title contention.

I’ll forgo the analysis of Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Philip Rivers, as they gave owners the strong performances we anticipated (we’ll save the Week 16 and 17 sit-downs for the blogosphere).

Let’s start in Minnesota, where Brett Favre produced a masterful season.

Quarterback: Brett Favre, Minnesota

I can’t write about the top players of the year and not doff my cap to the incomparable, ageless wonder. Depending on when leagues were drafted, Favre was a late-round flier on the whispers of his comeback or a top-15 quarterback selection.

He certainly paid off for those owners who gambled on draft day that the Vikings would rely more on Favre’s arm than the legs of Adrian Peterson. Favre finished second in the NFL with 33 touchdowns (his most since 1997) and 4,202 passing yards (his most since 1998). He also threw only seven interceptions in 531 attempts, six fewer than any of his previous full seasons in the NFL. Favre also posted the best passer rating of his career.

I know. Some of you are less than enamored with him for his Week 15 effort against the Panthers. I have to look at the full body of work and just marvel at what he was able to accomplish following the summer waffling.

Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay

Not to be outdone by his Minnesota counterpart, Rodgers effectively utilized his deep receiver corps to great heights. Rodgers averaged 277.1 passing yards and rolled up 11 multi-touchdown efforts (30 overall with 11 turnovers). While Rodgers wasn’t able to replicate his long-distance connections with Greg Jennings from 2008, his decision-making improved (six fewer interceptions) and he spread the ball around brilliantly. He was a top-five quarterback for me in 2009 and will be right on the heels of the leaders for 2010.

Quarterback: Matt Schaub, Houston

Fantasy owners were undecided about Schaub coming into 2009. They were obviously enamored with his connection with Andre Johnson and his big arm, but Schaub’s inability to finish a season was definitely scrutinized. Schaub had played in only 11 games in back-to-back seasons coming into 2009.

Despite myriad issues in the running game and injuries to Kevin Walter and Owen Daniels, Schaub took his game to another level in 2009. Schaub led the NFL with 4,770 passing yards and nearly doubled his touchdown total over his 2008 total. He still committed some egregious errors in judgment – something Houston fans take issue with – and tossed 15 interceptions. Schaub averaged 298.1 yards per game and played in all 16 contests.

Running back: Chris Johnson, Tennessee

Johnson was drafted toward the end of the first round in most leagues, as owners contemplated the role to be played by the slimmed-down version of 2008 vulture back LenDale White. He gave owners weekly brilliance and topped 100 yards in 11 straight games to close the year (12 100-yard efforts overall with a 97-yard game for good measure).

When you review the game logs, Johnson actually started the season slowly. He’d only scored two of his 14 touchdowns before Week 8 while averaging just shy of 100 rushing yards. Once the Titans turned to Vince Young in Week 8, things clicked and his race to 2,000 yards began. Johnson lost a 62-yard touchdown sprint to a holding penalty in Week 17.

Running back: Thomas Jones, New York Jets

Cedric Benson gets an honorable mention here for his huge year in Cincinnati. However, Jones’ huge touchdown total and the Jets’ reliance on the veteran back put him in this slot. Fantasy owners dismissed Jones on draft day because of fears about his yearly workload, Shonn Greene’s arrival and problems to be faced with Mark Sanchez under center.

Jones responded by carrying the ball 331 times, his fifth year with at least 290 carries. He amassed 1,402 rushing yards to finish third in the league and established a new career mark with 14 rushing touchdowns. Jones scored or rushed for 100 yards in 12 of his final 14 games of the year.

Running back: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota

Peterson racked up 180 yards and three touchdowns against the Browns. The chatter in the blogosphere gravitated to Peterson’s pursuit of a 2,000-yard season. While AD didn’t reach that stratosphere, he still produced a phenomenal season for fantasy owners. He scored in 12 of 16 games (18 overall), including six in the final four games of the year.

He did have several games with smallish rushing efforts, much to the chagrin of expectant fantasy owners. In fact, Peterson topped 100 yards only twice after the first week and had four games with fewer than 60 rushing yards. Peterson may not have flirted with history, but he still delivered routine trips to the end zone and gave owners a strong weekly baseline. As such, I’ll go against the grain and not chastise this year’s overwhelming choice at No. 1 overall.

Running back: Jamaal Charles, Kansas City

I felt that I needed to give a nod to Charles’ brilliance in the second half of the season. He produced an amazing run in the final month of the season with four consecutive 100-yard game. He capped the Week 17 scoring with a 56-yard sprint to the end zone. He finished the game with 25 carries for 259 yards and two touchdowns. Charles averaged 111.6 rushing yards per game over his final nine appearances.

Wide receiver: Andre Johnson, Houston

Johnson has been the model of consistency for fantasy receivers in the past four years. He started the season with a pedestrian effort against “MasterLock,” Darrelle Revis. Johnson turned things up in Week 2 with 10 catches and two touchdowns and went on to record his third 100-reception season in the past four years. He finished with 1,569 receiving yards.

Despite myriad issues in the running game, the Texans’ passing game couldn’t be denied. Johnson was particularly brilliant down the stretch, give fantasy owners back-to-back 190-yard days in Weeks 15 and 16 with a touchdown grab in Week 16. He’ll own the top spot in wide receiver rankings for 2010.

Wide receiver: Steve Smith, New York Giants

Smith experienced somewhat of a breakthrough in 2008 as a PPR threat. Plaxico Burress’ incarceration established him as Eli Manning’s No. 1 target for the 2009 campaign. The third-year receiver from USC finished the year with a 10-catch day against the Vikings to give him 107 for the year, second in the NFL to Wes Welker.

He caught four or more passes in 15 of the Giants’ games (three in the 16th), and averaged 76.2 receiving yards per game (60 or more in 13 of them). Smith scored seven touchdowns, including pivotal back-to-back weeks in the fantasy playoffs.

Wide receiver: Miles Austin, Dallas

What else can you say about Austin? For the first quarter of the season, he was a non-factor for the Cowboys. He amassed just five receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown prior to that monster performance against the Chiefs in Week 5.

Austin averaged 6.3 receptions and 103.3 receiving yards over the Cowboys’ final 12 games to help lead Dallas to the No. 3 seed in the NFC Playoffs. He also scored 10 touchdowns during this period. More importantly, he scored in eight of those 12 games and finished with 90 or more receiving yards in two of the remaining four contests.

Wide receiver: Sidney Rice, Minnesota

I put Rice on the radar for a breakthrough season with rumors of Favre’s arrival in Minnesota. Rice became one of the season’s biggest breakout stars as Favre’s go-to downfield receiver. His ability to leap up and over defensive backs was put on display while his willingness to fight through coverage for jump balls was one of the things that endeared him to Minnesota fans. He finished with 60 or more receiving yards in 10 different games and hauled down 83 passes.

Rice finished the season with eight touchdowns, three in the final two weeks of the year. As such, there’s still some room for growth provided that the Vikings can get Favre to commit for a second run. Rice finished the year with the fourth-most receiving yards in the NFL despite the myriad options available to Favre this season.

Tight end: Vernon Davis, San Francisco

The former top-five fantasy tight end experienced the resurgence of the ages. Davis was left on the wire in most leagues this season, as owners didn’t quite know how to evaluate his place in the offense or his relationship with Mike Singletary. Davis started the season quietly, then caught fire in Week 3. He scored in six of his final seven games to carry fantasy owners to the promised land.

Davis finished the season with 13 touchdowns, four more than he’d produced in his first three seasons in San Francisco. He narrowly missed reaching the 1,000-yard mark (965) and caught 78 passes. To put things in perspective, Davis had caught only 103 passes for 1,132 receiving yards. That’s fantasy gold, and a true example of a breakthrough campaign.

Tight end: Dallas Clark, Indianapolis

Clark was already a mainstay at the tight end position, but the injury to Anthony Gonzalez made him the true No. 2 receiver in Indianapolis for Peyton Manning. The seventh-year tight end out of Iowa established new career marks in receptions (100) and receiving yards (1,106 yards), his first career 1,000-yard campaign. Clark topped 60 receiving yards in nine games this season and caught three or more passes in 15 contests.