Who's the Man-ning?

New England sports fans went to bed somber last night, and woke up in disbelief over the Patriots defeat at the hands of the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI. Despite the noted weaknesses of the Patriots defense, and despite the majority of TV and radio analysts picking the Giants to win, Patriots fans believed they would prevail riding the right arm of their star quarterback, Tom Brady. What is interesting to me as I reflect on last night's game is not that the Patriots lost - I was rooting for them and if pressed picking them to win, but my confidence in that pick was low - but how.

Yes, the Patriots were out-muscled last night - the Giants are the more physical team so that's not surprising - but New England's offensive line and defense played up to the challenge. Brady had ample time to throw and the defense stopped the Giants often enough and limited them to 19 points. However, the Patriots made uncharacteristic mistakes, and Brady offered another mediocre performance in a big game. There was a costly 12-men-on-the-field penalty, several devastating dropped passes, and a quarterback who looked tentative and was just off the mark with throws he usually completes effortlessly.

Maybe none of this should be surprising. Including the Patriots loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, they have lost four of six postseason games and Brady has been outplayed by the opposing quarterback four out of six times. The Patriots have amassed staggering offensive statistics and posted an unreal winning percentage since 2007. But they've faltered in the postseason, and Tom Brady, one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL and often considered one of the most clutch performers in professional sports, has appeared overwhelmed and out-of-sync in five of six postseason games.

The New England Patriots of 2011-12 are not the New England Patriots of 2003-4. They are no longer a gritty team that grinds out games with timely playmaking, tough defense, impeccable special teams and superior coaching. Today's Patriots boast a prolific passing offense with a good-enough defense and above average special teams. They proved this season that, combined with mental toughness, that would be enough to win a championship. But when it mattered most, this Patriots team, and especially its star player, were anything but mentally tough.

To the chagrin of Patriots fans across New England, over the course of five seasons their team has become the Indianapolis Colts, and Tom Brady has become Peyton Manning, when the they need him to be Eli.