Jan. 23, 2012

Super Bowl Central

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Former East Carolina Pirate and current New York Giant Linval Joseph will be heading to Super Bowl XLVI. The Giants' 20-17 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers Sunday night gave New York the NFC Championship and the right to play for the league title versus the New England Patriots Feb. 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

Joseph makes it consecutive years a former Pirate has suited up for the NFL championship tilt as C.J. Wilson and Jay Ross won last year's Super Bowl as members of the Green Bay Packers with a 31-25 triumph against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Overall, Joseph becomes the 16th East Carolina letterman to make it to the Super Bowl.

The Gainesville, Fla., native, is in his second year with the organization after being selected in the second round of the 2010 draft. Joseph played in all 16 regular season games and started 15. He booked 49 tackles, 34 solo, and a pair of sacks prior to the playoffs. He tallied a career-best nine stops, all solo hits, in a 38-35 loss to the Packers. Against the Seahawks, Joseph batted down a season-high two passes and a week later versus the Dolphins registered his first career sack.

In the postseason, Joseph has added nine more tackles, three in each game, while starting all three contests. During Sunday's NFC Championship, he recorded one hit for lost yardage and broke up a pass.

Kickoff for Super Bowl XLVI is set for 6:30 p.m. with national television coverage provided by NBC.

Super Bowl Participants

Name (Pos)	Team	Super Bowl	Year
Jeff Blake (QB)	Philadelphia Eagles	Super Bowl XXXIX	2005
Reggie Branch (RB)	Washington Redskins	Super Bowl XXII	1988
Earnest Byner (RB)	Washington Redskins	Super Bowl XXVI	1992
DeVone Claybrooks (DT)	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Super Bowl XXXVII	2003
Tony Collins (RB)	New England Patriots	Super Bowl XX	1986
Steve Hamilton (DE)	Washington Redskins	Super Bowl XXII	1988
John Jett (P)	Dallas Cowboys	Super Bowl XXVIII, XXX	1994, 96
Robert Jones (LB)	Dallas Cowboys	Super Bowl XXVII, XXVIII, XXX	1993, 94, 96
Linval Joseph (DL)	New York Giants	Super Bowl XLVI	2012
George Koonce (LB)	Green Bay Packers	Super Bowl XXXI, XXXII	1997*, 98
Emmanuel McDaniel	New York Giants	Super Bowl XXXV	2001
Jay Ross (DL)^	Green Bay Packers	Super Bowl XLV	2011
Vinson Smith (LB)	Dallas Cowboys	Super Bowl XXVII	1993
Zack Valentine (LB)	Pittsburgh Steelers	Super Bowl XIV	1980
C.J. Wilson (DL)	Green Bay Packers	Super Bowl XLV	2011
Guy Whimper (OL)	New York Giants	Super Bowl XLII	2008

* - On injured reserve for Super Bowl; ^ - On practice squad for Super Bowl

Super Bowl Winners

Name (Pos)	Super Bowl Year(s)
Reggie Branch (RB)	1988
Earnest Byner (RB)	1992
DeVone Claybrooks (DT)	2003
Steve Hamilton (DE)	1988
John Jett (P)	1994, 96
Robert Jones (LB)	1993, 94, 96
George Koonce (LB)	1997*
Jay Ross (DL)^	2011
Vinson Smith (LB)	1993
Zack Valentine (LB)	1980
Guy Whimper (OL)	2008
C.J. Wilson (DL)	2011

* - On injured reserve for Super Bowl; ^ - On practice squad for Super Bowl

Printer-friendly format	Email this article