Gary Reasons Lends Advice Based on Experience to Both Super Bowl Teams Playing Today

 

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Gary Reasons was a member of the New York Giants back when I was a really huge fan of the team. I’m talking back in the eighties and early nineties, when Bill Parcells was the head coach, and the Giants were a force to be reckoned with in the league. Reasons was a starting linebacker on the team which, arguably, had the most talented group of linebackers of any team in NFL history. Some of the guys who played around him? Lawrence Taylor. Carl Banks. Harry Carson. Pepper Johnson.

Those are some impressive names. Damn impressive. And Reasons stood on his own, remaining a starter and enjoying some huge success. Remember when he stuffed Broncos running back Bobby Humphrey to preserve a goal line stand in snowy Denver? That likely won the game for the G-Men. And who could possibly forget the fake punt in the NFC Championship Game in San Francisco on January of 1991? Instead of punting, the ball went to Reasons, who raced down the field against an unsuspecting 49ers team that was clearly not expecting the trick call, and thus not prepared. The Giants got a key first down, and earned a field goal just minutes later to close to within a point of the 49ers. That memorable key play kept the drive alive, which was instrumental in keeping the Giants in that game and, ultimately, in winning the game to reach their second Super Bowl in four years.

So Reasons was a tremendous player in his own right. Perhaps it is not surprising that the Giants defense of that era ranks among the great defenses of all times. And as mentioned, the Giants reached not one, but two Super Bowls. And they won both of them. Reasons also was a three-time Division I-AA All-American at Northwestern State, and a 1996 College Football Hall of Fame inductee. 

It is fair to say that Reasons knows quite a bit about winning football, even in the Super Bowl. And in a recent article from a publication down in Louisiana, Reasons gave some advice to the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams for the upcoming Super Bowl. Reasons reflected on his own experiences in the biggest game:

“We treated both of those games like they were a business trip,” he said. “We did our job and got on the right end of things.”  

He added some more, as well:

According to Reasons, it’s almost a survival test just to get there. “For NFL players, the Super Bowl is the promised land,” he said. “Every player goes into the season with the same thoughts and goals. Just getting there is quite an accomplishment. You have to weather the storm of 17 games and get through the playoffs unscathed just to get there. That’s no easy feat. Those that get there and take care of business make them extra special.”  

But the atmosphere at the Super Bowl isn’t quite what you might expect. “The actual game is a little anti-climactic,” Reasons said. “The conference championship games are when all the excitement and hollering comes from, because you know you’ve done it. Then comes the Super Bowl and you really get down to business.”  

He feels that the 1986 team was particularly special:

“That was our year; it really was. We had built the team up from 1984. In ’86, we pretty much steamrolled everybody and had a great season. A strong defense and an offense that was built on not making mistakes and just plugging along.”

But the second title for the Big Blue Wrecking Crew was also very special, even if the Buffalo Bills presented a vastly different challenge than did the Denver Broncos in the first Super Bowl:

“As a defense, we were trying to keep a very powerful offense from moving down the field,” said Reasons, who was the game’s top tackler with six stops. “We accomplished that to a degree on that last drive and they had to set up shop for a 47-yard field goal that was probably at the top end of his range. Good for us it sailed to the right and we’ve got the ring to prove it.”  

So what would Reasons advice be to the Bengals and Rams, who will be playing in this Super Bowl later on today?  

“Try to absorb as much as you can,” he said. “Don’t leave any stone unturned and be as prepared as possible. Those that are the best prepared are usually those who are going to win. Those that aren’t prepared are going to wish they had done things differently. If you have the talent, the skill and the game plan to make it happen, you can. Don’t get caught up in the hype. Make it a business trip.”

The quotes used above, as well as some of the information, was taken from this article from the Shreveport Bossier Journal:

Gary Reasons’ preparation paid off in Super Bowl successes NPJ, February 11, 2022:

https://shreveportbossierjournal.com/2022/02/11/gary-reasons-preparation-paid-off-in-super-bowl-successes/?amp=1&fbclid=IwAR29G13iIPhMl4IvQzGvlwOz3i9aHFhzDJv2YnOimY77ETQc8sycarnwMwI