The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN IN THE PROS Mario Manningham And David Baas Help Giants Win Super Bowl XLVI and he was only very good rather than great in a 21-17 loss the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI Feb. 5. Former Michigan and cur- rent New England quarterback Tom Brady, though, showed more in de- feat than most do in victory. Had receiver Wes Welker not H e's still a Super Bowl title behind his boyhood idol Joe Montana, BY CHRIS BALAS dropped a 30-yard (or so) reception late in the fourth quarter, Brady — not New York quarterback Eli Manning — likely would have been the game's MVP, having added to his legacy with his Montana-tying fourth Super Bowl win. He did eclipse Montana's record for most consecutive Super Bowl comple- tions when he made it to 14, eventu- ally going 16-of-16 passing for 154 yards with two touchdowns in one stretch. With the game on the line, Brady made the winning plays … his re- ceivers didn't. But unlike his wife, Gisele Bundchen, who reportedly said: "You have to catch the ball when you're supposed to catch the ball. My husband cannot … throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can't believe they dropped the ball so many times," Brady didn't point fingers after the loss. "He's a hell of a player," Brady said of Welker. "I'll keep throwing the ball to him for as long as I pos- sibly can. "We all wish we could have done a bit more. That's what it comes to in football. It always comes down to one or two plays. If you make them, you're celebrating. If you don't, you don't sleep for a week." Brady took the high road and fin- Manningham caught five passes for 73 yards — three on the game-winning touchdown drive, including a spectacular 38-yard grab — to help New York defeat New England 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI. PHOTO COURTESY NEW YORK GIANTS 110 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2012 ished 27-of-41 passing for 276 yards with two touchdowns, though he threw one pick and took a bad safety on an intentional grounding penalty to open the game. Another of Michigan's best, for- mer Rimington Award winner Da- vid Baas, played an outstanding