The Giants began turning up the pressure in the second quarter with seven-yard sacks on consecutive plays by linebacker Kawika Mitchell and Tuck, who led the team with 2.0.
What does Umenyiora recall most prominently about the assault?
“Just the number of times we got to Brady,” he said. “Watching Justin Tuck get those sacks. And I was right there about to grab him. So, if Tuck wouldn’t have gotten him, I would’ve gotten him. If I didn’t get him, Stray would’ve got him. It was just the way the game unfolded. From beginning to end, we felt like we were in control of the game. We felt like we were going to win the game, oddly enough, even though we were severe underdogs. So, incredible time. Incredible game. I’m really happy to have experienced that.”
That Giants-Patriots game was the first Super Bowl that matched the teams with the NFL’s two highest sack totals; the 2007 Giants had 53, New England 47. The game tomorrow is the second such Super Bowl; Philadelphia led the NFL with 70 sacks, while Kansas City was second with 55.
Umenyiora sees similarities between those Giants and the current Super Bowl teams.
“More with Philadelphia,” he said. “Kansas City has some outstanding players. They have (defensive end) Frank Clark, (defensive tackle) Chris Jones, two great players. But when you look at the Philadelphia Eagles and their defensive line as a collective, they have four players on that line (Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Haason Reddick and Javon Hargrave) with over 10 sacks, which is very similar to what we did with myself, Justin and Strahan in ’07 (13.0, 10.0 and 9.0, respectively). So, I would say you can look at them more as having a collective of pass rushers more so than Kansas City.”
Those fabled Giants defensive linemen – Strahan is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and all three are in the franchise’s Ring of Honor – remain as close now as they were when they played.
“We speak on a daily basis,” Umenyiora said. “We’ve got a group chat. Somebody’s putting something in that group chat every single day, so we’re in constant communication with each other.”
In his current job, Umenyiora is particularly focused on finding NFL players in Africa. He lived in Nigeria for seven years as a youngster. In 2021, Umenyiora was one of the founders of NFL Africa, which is part of the league’s International Player Pathway program (IPP). Through that program, the Giants signed tackle Roy Mbaeteka, who spent part of the 2022 season on their practice squad.
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