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A number of things are interesting about the anatomy of the New York Giants' win over the New England Patriots.
Tom Coughlin, for one. One of the reasons the Giants hired him was because of his mental toughness, an important attribute in any coach.
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| Eli Manning rewarded the Giants' patience in him by bringing home the franchise's seventh NFL title. (Getty Images) |
The other place where mental toughness is important is in the New York market, which can be awfully tough when things are not going well. Coughlin can handle it, and that is a good example for the players.
The other part of playing in New York is having self discipline against getting caught up in all the adulation that comes with being a celebrity there. Coughlin is certainly not that type of guy.
At the end of last season Coughlin decided to make some changes in his coaching staff. It's never easy for a coach to let go assistants.
In Coughlin's case he made two excellent hires. On the offensive side of the ball he promoted Kevin Gilbride to offensive coordinator and hired Chris Palmer as quarterbacks coach.
Eli Manning's maturation as a quarterback was certainly partly due to Palmer's coaching. More important was Manning's dedication to improving. On the other side of the ball, Coughlin hired Steve Spagnuolo as his defensive coordinator. This was a gamble for both men.
For Coughlin, who had only received a one-year contract extension, he was gambling on a first-year defensive coordinator who would be installing a new system.
On Spagnuolo's part he was leaving a secure position with the Philadelphia Eagles to realize a dream of being an NFL defensive coordinator, even if it could be a one-year stop if the team did not do well and Giants ownership decided to change coaches.
Spagnuolo's defense was key in the victory over the Patriots. His attacking style lent itself to the strength of the Giants' defense and the defensive line. But also his creativity and attacking style gave the Giants an attitude that gave them confidence that was crucial to their success in the playoffs. When you play an attacking style of defense, I believe your players have a tendency to play harder all the time.
From the personnel side of things there are a number of kudos to hand out. First, GM Jerry Reese and his staff did an excellent job this year and assembling this team over the past few years.
Although this is Reese's first year as general manager, he had been in charge of personnel and played an integral role in helping pick the players. He was aided by a number of excellent personnel men, among them Chris Mara, Dave Gettleman and Jerry Shay. In any organization, you need a good negotiator and salary cap man and the Giants do in assistant GM Kevin Abrams.
