GLENDALE, Ariz. - David Tyree will confess that he's not wild about kickoff returns. "That's the one thing I completely hate to do," the Giants' special teams artiste said. "You've got guys running down the field 1,000 miles an hour and hitting me."
The rest of his jobs, he relishes. Tyree was drafted out of Syracuse five years ago because he was gifted at all of the thankless tasks that draw little attention but help win football games, like downing balls inside the 5-yard line.
Last night he drew a lot of attention - and a lifetime of thanks from Giants fans - by pulling off an acrobatic catch that preserved New York's winning drive.
He had already made a huge contribution as a receiver, catching a 5-yard scoring pass over the middle from Eli Manning early in the fourth quarter to give the Giants a 10-7 lead. But it was his bending over backward for a 32-yard completion with about a minute left in the game that set up the Giants' 17-14 victory in Super Bowl XLII.
The Giants were trailing by 4 with 1:15 left when they faced third and 5 from their 44. Manning magically eluded the Patriots' rush, rolled right, and unloaded over the middle in Tyree's direction. Tyree leaped to catch the ball while defensive back Rodney Harrison jumped on his back and tried to separate him from the ball.
On their way down, Tyree was forced into a bridge position similar to one seen in gymnastics - feet on the ground, hands high above him, his shoulders heading backward and down. Despite al this and Harrison, too, Tyree hung on, the ball at one point pinned against his helmet.
"I just wouldn't let go," Tyree said. "They were trying to say they had the ball. They snatched it," he said.
Tyree was taken in the sixth round in 2003, the 211th player chosen. Had he been simply a receiver, he would have been training camp filler. But his kamikaze talents got him a jersey and as much headlong work as he could handle. "They made it very clear that I was a special teams player," Tyree said yesterday. "Even when I don't have the best of days as a receiver, that's what kept me here."
His bigger challenge, initially, was his personal life and the troubling trifecta of alcohol, marijuana, and women that marred his rookie season after carrying over from college. "That's where it began to be destructive," Tyree recalled. "There was pretty much nothing to do. Guys got cut up when they went into the city and I was really fearful about going off campus. So we kept to ourselves and we drank a lot. I began to start blacking out."
When he turned pro and had the cash to indulge his vices, things got worse, and Tyree was separated from his wife for eight months.
"That was a rough time," he said.
Finding religion helped Tyree straighten himself out and his career quickly blossomed.
It was the "gunner" role that got Tyree to the NFL and has kept him there and what earned him a ticket to the Pro Bowl two years ago. On special teams, he's one of the league's most respected "gunners," the guys who take off down the sidelines at the snap and are expected to arrive at the same time as the ball.
"I had the advantage of playing special teams since my redshirt freshman year," Tyree said before the game.
He was a decent-enough college receiver and made a splash when he finally saw action, catching a 48-yard pass against the Eagles as part of a 106-yard day Nov. 16, 2003.
Though he has modest size (6 feet, 203 pounds), he's physical enough to hold his own in larger company and quick enough to elude opponents trying to thwart him. His receiving skills undeniably help there.
"Being able to set guys up and change direction," Tyree said. "I'm not the super-duper fastest guy, but I understand body position and I'm able to make guys miss."
Last night was Tyree's marquee moment, beginning with the opening kickoff, and extending to his TD, then to his drive-saving snag, and finally the Giants' victory celebration.
Hours earlier, if was far more than he could have been imagined.
"If nothing else positive happens for me in my career, I couldn't complain," Tyree said. "None of this is something I expected, none of this is something I've dreamed of. It's all icing on the cake, with cherries and ice cream on top."
John Powers can be reached at jpowers@globe.com.
