Super Bowl 2012: Report Cards for the Best/Worst Starters of Giants vs. Patriots

With Super Bowl XLVI in the books and the New York Giants your new NFL world champions, let's take a look back to hand our grades for the best and worst at the biggest sporting event in America:

Best of the Best

Jason Pierre-Paul, Giants (A): The man is simply unblockable no matter where the Giants line him up. He beat offensive tackles around the edge and blew back guards inside. When it was all said and done, JPP had four pressures, two quarterback hits, two batted balls and two tackles for losses. There's few players in the NFL today as dynamic defensively as Jason Pierre-Paul, and he showed it on the biggest stage. 

Eli Manning, Giants (A): Clutch. Cool. Calm. Collected. Pick your word, Manning is it, especially when it matters most. In the fourth quarter, he cemented his status among the NFL's elite Sunday night with another memorable drive to win Super Bowl XVLI for the Giants. The numbers were far from gaudy, but his Super Bowl MVP was well-earned.  

David Baas, Giants (A): Vince Wilfork was a non-factor on Sunday. The reason: center David Baas, who allowed just one pressure on 45 passing plays.

Henry Hynoski, Giants (A-): Fullbacks rarely make an impact these days, but Hynoski made the most of his opportunities on the biggest stage. He blew up holes on a handful of running plays and caught two passes that resulted in first downs. 

Hakeem Nicks, Giants (A-): What more could you ask for from Nicks? He caught 10 passes for 110 yards and consistently moved the sticks. Few big plays down the field, but Manning went to him time and time again. 

Mario Manningham, Giants (B+): Manningham could have landed in the next category had he not came alive on the final drive. His catch along the sidelines that set up the game-winning touchdown was Super Bowl gold. 

Corey Webster, Giants (B+): The Patriots threw the football 35 times, but only three went at Webster, and only one was completed. He rarely found himself matched with Wes Welker, but Webster consistently shut down his side of the field. 

Kenny Phillips, Giants (B+): Phillips was thrown at three times, but the Patriots failed to complete a throw on the Giants safety. He was a big part of the game plan that helped limit Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. 

Danny Woodhead, Patriots (B+): The Patriots pint-sized running back caught four passes for 42 yards and the touchdown that sent New England into the locker room with a halftime lead.  

Rob Ninkovich, Patriots (B): Ninkovich routinely got the best of right tackle Kareem McKenzie, and his one offsides penalty was questionable. He totaled one sack, two quarterback hits and two pressures. 

Gerrard Warren/Shaun Ellis, Patriots (B): Warren and Ellis failed to register a sack, but were responsible for collapsing the pocket on several occasions. The duo had 10 combined quarterback hits and pressures.  

Aaron Hernandez, Patriots (B): New England needed Hernandez to step up with Gronkowski hurting, and he did for the most part. Lining up all over the field, Hernandez was still a handful for the Giants linebackers. 

Worst of the Worst

Tom Brady, Patriots (C-): A Super Bowl record 16 straight completions during the mid-portion of the game saved his grade. But outside that stretch, Brady was wildly inaccurate, timid in the pocket and surprisingly unaware. His intentional grounding in the end zone was an inexcusable error for a player of his stature, and there's probably five to seven off-target throws I bet Brady wishes he had back. Not sure you can say his interception to Chase Blackburn was a good decision, either.

And when it comes down to it, you expect a guy that some call the best ever to deliver when it mattered most. Brady did not.  

Ahmad Bradshaw, Giants (C-): Bradshaw did some good things early on and finished with 72 yards rushing. But he danced more and more as the game wore on; his late fumble could have been a disaster, and the smart play would have been to fall at the one-yard-line instead of scoring the touchdown in the fourth quarter. It ended up being the game-winner, but Bradshaw set himself up to be the goat had the Patriots went down and scored.

Michael Boley, Giants (D+): The Patriots found several ways to get the matchups they wanted against Boley and then took advantage. Targeted nine times, Boley allowed seven catches for 71 yards and a score in pass coverage.

Vince Wilfork, Patriots (D): Wilfork devoured the AFC playoffs at the line of scrimmage. In the Super Bowl, however, Wilfork was a 360-pound ghost. In 69 snaps, Wilfork did very little.

Kyle Love, Patriots (D-): You could tell from the get-go that the Giants were going to run right at Love. Props to Tom Coughlin, Kevin Gilbride and the Giants staff, because Love was routinely swallowed hole at the line of scrimmage.

Logan Mankins, Patriots (D-): Another forgettable Super Bowl performance for Mankins against the Giants front four. He started well containing inside pressure, but the Giants were running him over by the third and fourth quarters.  

Sebastian Vollmer/Nate Solder (F): Vollmer and Solder played a combined 70 snaps at right tackle, and the duo allowed 10 pressures, one quarterback and one sack. For most of the night, the Giants pass rushers had their way on the right side. 

Rob Gronkowski, Patriots (Inc.): I couldn't find it in me to give Gronkowski a bad grade. Had this been any game but the Super Bowl, Gronkowski would still be in a walking boot watching from the sidelines. He didn't have much of an impact, but it was clear how badly his ankle was limiting him.