FanHouse

Examining Manning to Tyree, the play that changed the Super Bowl.

For an instant before Eli Manning unleashed his 32-yard pass to David Tyree in Super Bowl XLII, it appeared that the play was over. The Patriots' defensive line had Manning bottled up, and referee Mike Carey ran toward the play.

Never is a referee's job more difficult than when a quarterback is feeling pressure. The league office constantly harps to the refs on the importance of protecting the quarterback, so the refs constantly have to be mindful of preventing quarterbacks from taking unnecessary punishment. The offensive coaches wills scream at the referee any time the quarterback takes a shot. The defensive coaches will scream at the referee any time he does something to protect the quarterback.

And fans, talk radio and sports writers are brutal toward referees any time they make a mistake in either direction.

So what did Carey do? He called the play to perfection. First, he lined up at his customary position about 10 yards behind the quarterback and off to the right side, since Manning is right handed. At the snap, Carey took a step back to get out of the way when it looked like Adalius Thomas might sack Manning for a big loss.

Then Carey took several steps forward when Manning scrambled forward so he would have a good view of the play, ready to blow his whistle if Manning's progress was stopped.

And then, with a mass of humanity in front of him, Carey did exactly the right thing: He let the football players play football. Maybe some referees would have ruled that Manning had been stopped and blown the play dead, but that would have been a mistake, and it was a mistake Carey avoided. He backpedaled, never took his eyes off the ball, and watched Manning make the play.

Previous: Eli Pulls Away
Next: Vrabel Can't Get There