Players must change to stay on top
Cornerback Asante Samuel, then of the New England Patriots, celebrates after breaking-up a pass thrown to wide receiver Plaxico Burress, then of the New York Giants, in the third quarter during Super Bowl XLII. (Feb. 3, 2008) Credit: Getty Images
INDIANAPOLIS
It may seem like yesterday that the Giants beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. The images are so vivid, the memories come rushing back, and the rematch in this year's Super Bowl has done nothing but make that game four years ago feel as if it were played four weeks ago.
But four years is an eternity in the NFL. In a league in which the average career lasts about three seasons and teams deal with financial pressures from drafts and free agency annually, it's surprising that 23 of the 106 men who were on their teams' rosters for Super Bowl XLII are on them for Super Bowl XLVI.
It is surprising that there are so many or surprising that there are so few? Depends on whom you ask. Most fans would be shocked to learn that the Patriots have just one defensive starter -- Vince Wilfork - remaining from the team that nearly completed a perfect season. Those in the league know, however, that change is inevitable.
"I think what it represents is on the part of these two franchises, the continuous search to improve, be better, find new players and better players as the game goes on," Tom Coughlin said this past week.
Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross noted that when the Giants won in February 2008, they had what was considered to be an older secondary and a veteran offensive line.
"Four years is a long time," Ross said. "That's four drafts and trying to turn over players."
To find one of the big reasons the Giants and Patriots have been able to get back to this point with more than three-quarters of their combined rosters no longer around is to look at the 21.7 percent that remains. More specifically, the 1.8 percent that remains -- Eli Manning and Tom Brady.
Both teams are lucky enough to have a franchise quarterback, which is the ultimate key to success in the NFL. This will be only the third rematch between starting quarterbacks in a Super Bowl, but it will be the longest span between those meetings. Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach met three years apart, in Super Bowls X and XIII. Troy Aikman and Jim Kelly met back-to-back years in Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII.
What both teams also are willing to do is say goodbye to other talented players.
"Everyone's always trying to upgrade their team," said Giants tight ends coach Michael Pope, who has been coaching in the NFL since 1983. "You can't keep all of your good players anymore. Some teams seem to be more willing to do that than others, but they have to mortgage out into the future when they do that, so someday there's going to be a reckoning."
The Giants, he noted, never have been a team that borrows from the future to pay for the present.
"Because of that, we're always going to have some player movement," Pope said.
It gets harder and harder to keep those premier players. The salary cap has remained relatively steady in the last few years and the salaries of players at the top of their position -- wide receiver, running back, linebacker and defensive end -- have grown more quickly. It means that teams need to find value in players and it puts the squeeze on the "middle class" of players, who wind up bouncing around the league on short-term, low-money contracts.
Having a franchise quarterback may be a luxury, but it also blows up any analytics that a team uses to figure out where to spend its money. Instead of paying the top player $8 million to $10 million, a star quarterback can earn twice as much. If you're investing that kind of money in one player, you'll want to protect him (which means more money on the offensive line) and make him productive (more high-level receivers). Judgments can be clouded. It can be easy to go on a shopping spree.
Sometimes the money gets put in the wrong player. The Bills locked up quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick this season for $59 million over six seasons. The more money, the more right a team needs to be.
Both the Giants and the Patriots have managed to do just that. Spend the money smartly and know when to keep the checkbook closed. That's why, four years later, the same two franchises are back in the Super Bowl . . . even if the same two teams aren't.
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