Safety First, Trophy Lost

This year's Super Bowl could've been sugarcoated by saying that Eli Manning and the New York Giants were the better team. It could be said that the New England Patriots were outplayed on both the offensive and defensive ends of the game. I could go on about how Rob Gronkowski's high ankle sprain limited his effectiveness and prevented him from helping the Patriots eke out an avenging victory against the Giants.

But the simple fact of the matter is that the Patriots psyched themselves out of this game.

Gronkowski certainly was not a major force in the Patriots' 21-17 Super Bowl loss to the Giants; he caught three passes for 26 yards.

Giants QB Eli Manning was great, throwing 30 of 40 passes for 296 yards and 1 TD. However, neither Manning's strong presence nor Gronkowski's limited presence are the reasons why the Patriots left the Super Bowl without a ring for the fourth time in as many tries.

No, it was the combination of the unsure feeling coming off of their nail-bitting win over the Baltimore Ravens and the inability to face their 2007 demons that did the Patriots in. It showed with quarterback Tom Brady on the Pats' first offensive play of the game after a short Giants punt put the ball on the Pats' 2-yard line.

Brady, looking to clear the air early, threw a long incomplete pass from his end zone that ended up far and away from any of his receivers. It drew an intentional grounding penalty and an ensuing safety, netting the Giants two immediate points, the ball, and the momentum to start out the game.

Let that sink in for a moment: Brady, a veteran of 11 NFL seasons usually thrives in hostile environments such as Indianapolis and starts out strong, steady and efficient in high-pressure games; gave up a safety on his team's first play. The last time a safety occured as the first score in a Super Bowl game was 37 years ago during Super Bowl IX between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings.

The Pats' defense, as we've seen in previous postseason starts, waxed and waned throughout the game. While giving up 396 total yards, 282 passing, 114 rushing, they made crucial stops against the Giants' offensive charge, sacking Manning a total of three times and forcing field goals or short punts to halt the New York offensive drive.

Their shortcomings, however, were just as substantial. While they forced two fumbles, Brandon Spikes' recovery of one for the Pats in the first quarter was negated on a defensive 12-men-on-the-field penalty.

This produced a fresh set of downs for the Giants on the Patriots' 11-yard line and ultimately resulted in a touchdown and the Giants jumping out to an early 9-0 lead. Some players on the receiving end of New England's pass rush showed issues as well. Danny Woodhead and Aaron Hernandez were crucial on the short pass, receiving touchdown passes from Brady going into and coming out of halftime respectively, putting the Pats ahead 17-9 over the Giants.

However, just like the 2007 game the Pats built up a decent lead against the Giants, but couldn't put on the finishing touch. The Giants kicked field goals in their last two possessions, narrowing the Patriots' lead at the time to 17-15. Wes Welker, normally sure-handed with only a few drops in the 2011 regular season, dropped a crucial 23-yard pass from Brady late in the fourth quarter that would have put the Patriots offense deep in the Giants' red zone, presenting an opportunity to cement their lead and the win.

And just as they did in 2007, the Giants capitalized on the Pats' inability to secure a victory by marching down the field thanks to a 38-yard sideline pass from Manning to wide receiver Mario Manningham and scoring on a 6-yard TD run by Ahmad Bradshaw, allowed by the Patriots' defense. This give Brady one last shot with 57 seconds in the game, but it wasn't meant to be.

The long ball turned out to haunt Brady all night, as he went 0-for-5 on 20+ yard passing attempts, starting with the safety on the first play for the Pats' offense, and compounded by his Hail Mary pass at the end of the game that was tipped around and fell just out of the reach of Gronkowski's fingertips, which was a sad,

but sure symbol of the Patriots coming so close, yet ending up so far away in avenging their 2007 loss to the Giants.