Super Bowl Ref Mike Carey on Manning to Tyree: 'I Thought He Was Going Down'

NFL referees don't give many interviews, but everyone seems to be praising the work of Super Bowl ref Mike Carey, and as a result, the league is letting him make the media rounds. Here he is on this morning's ESPN First Take:

Carey insists, like the players do, that he approaches the Super Bowl just like any other game. He also noted the "great sportsmanship" of the players on both teams.

And as for the great Manning to Tyree play, Carey said he started the play thinking that, since it was third-and-5, Giants quarterback Eli Manning would try to draw the Patriots offside. When that didn't happen, "Almost immediately the whole pocket collapsed," Carey said. "I couldn't see anything. I just saw a number of people starting to grab him, so I started to the left side and found an open window where I got a good look at it, and at that point I thought he was going down, but all of a sudden he just squirted out and actually came back right towards me, so I started backpedaling, and he launched it, and I guess the rest is history."

Carey says he gives the officials who worked the game with him "an A-plus."

Previously on FanHouse:
Super Bowl Ref Mike Carey on Eli Manning to David Tyree Pass: 'I Anticipated a Sack'
Eli Manning to David Tyree: Ref Mike Carey in Perfect Position
Super Bowl Hero: Referee Mike Carey