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All-time New York Giants Super Bowl Lineup: Which Players from Giants' Five Super Bowls Made the Cut?
Feb 3, 2008; Glendale, AZ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree (85) pulls down a pass over New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison (37) in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLII at the University of Phoenix Stadium. New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots with a final of 17-14. John David Mercer-Imagn Images

The New York Giants' recent woes have made it somewhat difficult for many to remember just how fantastic the franchise did to win four Super Bowl rings in five trips, starting with the 1986 edition that hammered the Denver Broncos (XXI) to grab its first Vince Lombardi Trophy.

So this was as good a time as any, to jar the memory banks of those five title games and identify the players at each position who performed the best under the spotlight. And some of those decisions were quite a challenge!

Do you take Phil Simms, who had the most efficient Super Bowl game in history, or two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning?

To nobody's surprise, this was the most difficult choice because the three-member panel had to decide on just one quarterback.

Big Blue Breakdown podcast host Paul Dottino, a veteran of 42 years on the New York Giants beat, corralled multi-year Pro Football Hall of Fame media finalist Vinny DiTrani (covered the Giants for 34 years) and Patricia Traina, author of The Big 50: New York Giants (and on the beat for 30+ years), to join him in creating this All-Time Giants Super Bowl lineup.

To deal with the multiple schemes played in each of the Super Bowls, more than the standard 11 on offense and 11 on defense needed to be selected. There were 14 selections on each side of the ball plus three on special teams. 

On offense, there was one at each position, plus three receivers, two tight ends, and two running backs. On defense, two defensive ends and two defensive tackles, two outside linebackers and two inside linebackers, three cornerbacks, and three safeties.

The aforementioned quarterback debate resulted in a unanimous nod to Simms after DiTrani insisted that he was nearly left in disbelief after the passer's performance against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI: 22-of-25 for 268 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. 

It remains the most surgical passing outing in the game's history. Traina was already on board, but Dottino waffled a bit, pointing to Manning's two game-winning drives and incredible throws in the final minutes of Super Bowls XLII (to David Tyree) and XVLI (to Mario Manningham).

Wide receiver proved to be another tug-of-war, and left guard was the only tie in the selection process, forcing the panel to send that vote to the viewers.

It wasn't hard to put Tyree in the first receiver spot, but who to pick for the second and third? Mark Ingram and Stephen Baker were key figures in beating the Buffalo Bills (SB XXV) while Plaxico Burress caught the winning touchdown pass, and Steve Smith had a critical grab to beat the unbeaten New England Patriots in SB XLII. 

Yet Hakeem Nicks (10 catches for 109 yards in SB XLVI) had the best-ever stat line for any of the team's Super Bowl receivers. After several volleys, Ingram and Manningham won in split decisions.

Left guards Kevin Boothe (Traina), William Roberts (DiTrani) and Rich Seubert (Dottino) each got a vote, resulting in a stalemate. Traina was impressed at how Boothe, a versatile backup, moved into the starting lineup (first at center and then at left guard) in the second half of the 2011 season. 

DiTrani cited the offensive line's pounding ball-control attack vs. the Bills and Dottino explained that Seubert gutted out SB XLII with a sprained knee that would have sidelined out a lesser man. Seubert entered the spot after the viewers were asked to break the tie.

On the flip side, several of the unanimous selections were rather easy. Among those picks were defensive end Michael Strahan and defensive tackle Justin Tuck; linebackers Carl Banks and Lawrence Taylor; cornerbacks Mark Collins, Everson Walls, and Corey Webster; running back Ottis Anderson; tight end Mark Bavaro; right guard Chris Snee; and fullback Maurice Carthon.

What's that you say? Who is going to coach this all-time Giants Super Bowl greats team? Well, that was one debate the trio agreed NOT to entertain, with each agreeing they had no interest in trying to separate two-time Super Bowl winners Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin.


This article first appeared on New York Giants on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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