Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Justin Tuck Earns Second Super Bowl Ring IRISH IN THE PROS BY WES MORGAN the Super Bowl after the G-Men held off the New England Patriots, 21-17, in the 46th installment of the cham- pionship. But Manning sprinted di- rectly to defensive end Justin Tuck, a seven-year pro out of Notre Dame, to celebrate the title. "That guy stole my MVP again," N ew York Giants quarterback Eli Manning was named the MVP of Tuck joked after the game before praising Manning, who was also named the Super Bowl MVP after beating the Patriots four years ago, for leading the Giants on an 88-yard game-winning drive that culminated with an Ahmad Bradshaw TD run with 57 seconds to go in the game. "I don't think I could have written he was just 7-of-17 passing for 75 yards with an interception. Although his play was critical to containing the Patriots' high-pow- ered offense, Tuck was quick to praise his teammates. "Another Giants team win," he told ESPN.com. "I had a pretty good game individually, but the secondary did a great job of playing the cover- age that we called and giving us time up front to go to work. … We just continued to play together and when you have 11 guys that go out there and play as one, you're going to be tough to beat." Tuck also put forth an MVP-like a better script than this one," Tuck said. "We've talked about it all year, and it's just fitting that it came down to a final drive by Eli and a closing out by our defense." Tuck was limited earlier in the year Tuck posted three tackles, including two sacks, in the New York Giants' 21-17 win over New England in Super Bowl XLVI. PHOTO COURTESY NEW YORK GIANTS while dealing with lingering neck and groin injuries, and a toe ailment also slowed him down midway through the season. However, he was at his best when the Giants needed him the most. He made three tackles, including two sacks, and pressured Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady throughout the game. On New England's first play of Player, Team (Years) Mark Bavaro, New York Giants (1987, 1991) Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh (2006) Steve Beuerlein, Dallas (1993) Rocky Bleier, Pittsburgh (1975, 1976, 1979, 1980) the contest, Tuck forced a safety that staked the Giants a 2-0 lead when his pass rush led to an intentional grounding call in the end zone against Brady. Then, when he was sacked by Tuck with just less than six minutes to go in the third quarter, Brady injured his left shoulder and wasn't the same after. Before the hit, he had completed 20 of 24 throws for 201 yards with a touchdown. After, FORMER IRISH PLAYERS WITH SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONSHIPS Rocky Boiman, Indianapolis (2007) Junior Bryant, San Francisco (1995) Nick Buoniconti, Miami (1973, 1974) Dave Casper, Oakland (1977) Jerome Collins, New York Giants (2008) Eric Dorsey, New York Giants (1987, 1991) Dave Duerson, Chicago/N.Y. Giants (1986, 1991) Marc Edwards, New England (2002) David Givens, New England (2004, 2005) Terry Hanratty, Pittsburgh (1975, 1976) Craig Hentrich, Green Bay (1997) Jabari Holloway, New England (2002) Paul Hornung, Green Bay (1967) Lindsay Knapp, Green Bay (1997) www.BLUEANDGOLD.com Bob Kuechenberg, Miami (1973, 1974) Bobby Leopold, San Francisco (1982) Todd Lyght, St. Louis (2000) Jim Lynch, Kansas City (1970) Red Mack, Green Bay (1967) Derrick Mayes, Green Bay (1997) Joe Montana, San Francisco (1982, 1985, 1989, 1990) Anthony Peterson, San Francisco (1995) Tom Rehder, New York Giants (1991) Hunter Smith, Indianapolis (2007) Steve Sylvester, Oakland/Los Angeles (1977, 1981, 1984) Aaron Taylor, Green Bay (1997) Tom Thayer, Chicago (1986) Joe Theismann, Washington (1983) Justin Tuck, New York Giants (2008, 2012) Ricky Watters, San Francisco (1995) Brock Williams, New England (2002) Bryant Young, San Francisco (1995) performance in New York's Super Bowl victory over the Patriots four years ago, when he notched six tack- les and two sacks. However, this year's victory was especially sweet for Tuck. "Each one is very unique, and this one is probably more exciting," Tuck told Yahoo! Sports. "Probably more so because of the kind of year we had. What a wonderful experience to see the team come together like it did. "Our defense started to play well, and when the defense played well, we gained some confidence. As they say, the rest is history." New England reserve safety Sergio Brown, who played his final year for the Fighting Irish in 2009, didn't re- cord a stop in the game. 2003-06), DT, Philadelphia Eagles: Missed the year after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during train- ing camp. • Armando Allen (2007-10), RB, Chicago Bears: • Victor Abiamiri (Played at Notre Dame from NFL PLAYER UPDATES Final Began the season on the Bears' practice squad … Released Oct. 11 and resigned to the practice team Nov. 2 … Placed on active roster for final two games and had 15 carries for 48 yards. • Arnaz Battle (1998-2001), WR, Pittsburgh Steelers: Didn't record a reception this year, but captained the special teams and had four tackles in 10 games. • David Bruton (2005-08), S, Denver Broncos: Finished the regular season with 20 tackles and three pass deflections … Had 14 tackles in Denver's two playoff games. • Sergio Brown (2006-09), S, New England Pa- triots: Finished the regular season with 37 tackles MARCH 2012 77