David Tyree

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David Tyree

David Tyree at the Giants' Super Bowl XLII Champions Celebration in NYC.
New York Giants — No. 85
Wide receiver
Date of birth: January 3, 1980 (1980-01-03) (age 28)
Place of birth: Livingston, New Jersey
Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Weight: 206 lb (93 kg)
National Football League debut
2003 for the New York Giants
Career history
College: Syracuse
NFL Draft: 2003 / Round: 6 / Pick: 211
Teams: New York Giants (2003-present)
Career highlights and awards
1x Pro Bowl selection (2005) 1x All-Pro selection (2005) Super Bowl champion (XLII)
Stats at NFL.com

David Mikel Tyree^[1] (born January 3, 1980 in Livingston, New Jersey) is an American football special teams/wide receiver who plays for the New York Giants in the National Football League. He was a sixth round draft pick by the Giants in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse University.

Tyree played high school football and was a 3 year varsity letterman at Montclair High School in Montclair, New Jersey, where he was selected as a Blue Chip Illustrated All-American. ^[2]

Tyree was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2005 for special teams excellence. He is the first Giant to be selected as a special teams player since Reyna Thompson in 1990. Tyree was named one of the 50 most charitable players in the NFL according to ESPN The Magazine. David Tyree is most famous for his catch on the Giants' final drive of Super Bowl XLII that helped propel his team to a 17-14 win over the Patriots.

[edit] College career

Over Tyree's career at Syracuse, he ranked 13th on the career receiving record list with 1,214 yards, including 229 yards against Virginia Tech in 2002. He also developed a reputation for being an excellent special teams player, amassing six blocked punts.^[3]

[edit] Super Bowl XLII

Manning to Tyree is now considered one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

Tyree made two key plays in Super Bowl XLII, putatively earning an MVP award in the eyes of some fans, that went, just as justifiably, to Quarterback Eli Manning. First he caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Eli Manning, Tyree's first of the season, that gave the Giants a 10-7 lead late in the game.^[9] Later, on a 3rd-and-5 with 1:15 remaining and trailing 14-10, Manning eluded an almost-certain sack and threw 32 yards downfield towards towards Tyree. However, in Manning's words, the ball "floated" high.^[10]

Tyree managed to leap just high enough to barely grasp it high above the ground, fully extended, bringing the ball down against his helmet with his right hand on the front third of the ball, while the defender, New England Patriots' Rodney Harrison, pulled violently downward on that arm, simultaneously wrenching Tyree arching backwards towards the turf. Tyree, who managed to get a second hand on the ball during the descent, seemingly kept the ball only a single inch from turf contact (and a possible trap call by the referee), thereafter struggling successfully for possession while Harrison tried to steal the ^[9][11] ball away from him on the ground. "He's a gamer. I tried to tell you," Eli commented to his brother, Peyton, regarding Tyree, after the game. ^[12] Tyree had made 4 catches during the regular season. This catch was possibly the most dramatic play in Super Bowl history [ESPN Sports Center designated it the greatest play in Super Bowl history the next day], setting up the Giants to defy all odds and defeat the "perfect team," the 18-0 New England Patriots, considered a team of destiny. [The Patriots may have been overconfident for the game, their quarterback, Tom Brady, brushing off Eli Manning's greeting just before the game.] The Patriots had already printed "19-0" season memorabilia. The pass, to the 23 yard line, set up the Giants for a final assault on the end zone with 59 seconds left; four plays and 36 seconds later, Eli Manning lobbed a perfect pass from eight yards to Plaxico Burress, who made a deft double-cut maneuver in the left side of the end zone, for the winning touchdown. The final score of Super Bowl XLII was Giants 17, Patriots 14.^[13] Tyree dedicated this catch to his mother, Thelma, who died of a heart attack that year. Ironically, Manning had been criticized early in the season by Tiki Barber for a lack of intensity.

[edit] Personal

Tyree is married to Leilah, and they have four children: two sons - Teyon and Josiah, and twin daughters - Sophia and Hannah, whom reside in Wayne, NJ.^[14]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Super Bowl XLII
• History of the New York Giants (1994-present)
• Eli Manning Pass To David Tyree

[edit] External links

• The Official Website Of David Tyree
• New York Giants: David Tyree
• http://www.northjersey.com/sports/giants/Tyree_has_an_angel_looking_over_him.html

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