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Giants' Tyree makes catch of a lifetime

BY JIM BAUMBACH | jim.baumbach@newsday.com

February 4, 2008

David Tyree pins the football against his helmet to make a catch in the fourth quarter against the Patriots. Pats safety Rodney Harrison (37) couldn't knock the ball away. (Newsday / David L. Pokress / February 3, 2008)

GLENDALE, Ariz. - To grasp just how unlikely David Tyree's clutch performance was last night, understand this: He had more receiving yards (43) and touchdowns (one) in Super Bowl XLII than he did in his entire 2007 season.

As impressive as Eli Manning was leading the Giants to the stunning upset over the Patriots, they couldn't have done it without Tyree, who capped the rockiest season of his career with one heck of a night.

Not only did he score the Giants' first touchdown, he came up with the biggest catch of the evening, a fourth-quarter reception that Giants coach Tom Coughlin said "might be one of the greatest plays of all-time in the Super Bowl."

With the Giants trailing by four and facing a critical third-and-5 at their 44-yard line with 1:15 left, Manning somehow managed to avoid getting sacked and unleashed a pass down the middle of the field intended for Tyree.

The ball was high and Tyree was covered well by safety Rodney Harrison, yet somehow the Giants' wide receiver acrobatically leapt, got his hands on it and didn't let go. It was a 32-yard pass that will forever be viewed as the trademark play of the Giants' stunning upset.

"That's really what it comes down to - making the play," Tyree said. "Eli did an unbelievable job. I honestly don't know how he got out of that. And when the ball is in the air, you just have to go get it."

Plaxico Burress, a receiver who knows about making tough catches, said, "David Tyree went up ... and made a hell of a play. Nobody knows how he came down with it. We call him 'Lead Hands Incorporated' because when he gets his hands on the ball, he clamps down and holds it in."

But that was something Tyree didn't show too much this season, easily his worst of his five-year career. A 2003 sixth-round pick of the Giants, Tyree played in just 12 games and recorded only 35 yards on four catches.

But in his mind, his season will undoubtedly forever be overshadowed by the loss of his mother, Thelma, who died suddenly of a heart attack on Dec. 15.

Before Tyree's game-saving catch on the Giants' final drive, he already made his presence felt. He caught a five-yard TD pass earlier in the fourth quarter to give the Giants a 10-7 lead.