When looking at the two teams scheduled to participate in Super Bowl XLII, it’s obvious they took completely different routes in getting to the NFL championship. The New England Patriots, of course, ran the table through the regular season before knocking off both the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Diego Chargers in the playoffs for a combined 18-0 record. Things weren’t quite as easy for the New York Giants, who suffered through some inconsistencies early in the year before righting the ship late in the season to secure a wild-card playoff berth. Viewed going in as perhaps the playoff team most unlikely to ruin New England’s perfect season, the Giants ripped off three consecutive road victories to advance to the big game.
Despite the Giants’ lowly status as the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs and the fact that they were pretty much an afterthought as far as legitimate contenders heading into the post-season, they do have the components to pull off the ultimate upset. But for the unlikely to happen, they are going to have to play flawlessly Sunday.
The Giants actually had New England on the ropes during week 17 as the Patriots attempted to cap off the first perfect regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, but Tom Brady and crew pulled victory from the jaws of defeat late in the game. Despite coming up on the short end of the score, New York proved they could play with the big boys, and gained the confidence they needed to make a big playoff run.
During their successful stretch run, it’s no coincidence that quarterback Eli Manning appears to be coming into his own. Granted, he hasn’t put up Brady-esque passing numbers, but he has avoided the big mistakes that have plagued him throughout his career and made the big plays when he has needed to. It helps tremendously as well that his favorite target, Plaxico Burress, appears to be as healthy as he has been since early in the season despite playing on a bum ankle.
Speaking of ankle injuries, Brady has been hobbled by what has been labeled a high ankle sprain, but is expected to play. Obviously, if the injury hinder’s his mobility, it works to the advantage of the Giants, who are fantastic at pressuring opposing quarterbacks with just their front four.
And that’s the key, in my opinion, to beating this unbeaten Patriots squad. You have to get in Brady’s face and make him uncomfortable, which is easier said than done considering the job his offensive line does in blocking for him. Rushing just three defenders and dropping eight into coverage, as Jacksonville did on many occasions in their playoff loss, just doesn’t work. Sooner or later, one of his many talented receivers will find a hole in the coverage and nine times out of ten Brady will find him. To win this game the Giants have got to pressure Brady with their front four, and keep him off balance with occasional blitzes from different areas of the field.
New York also matches up well with their run game against a Patriots defense that has had problems with the power ground game at times. Starting running back Brandon Jacobs is a bruising back, weighing in at a whopping 265 pounds. The Giants will try to use him to wear out the Patriots linebackers, who are among the smartest in the league, but are getting up there in age. Facing a big, powerful guy like Jacobs following a grueling 16-game schedule, along with two playoff games, could be a stiff test for the Pats. And they can’t forget about Ahmad Bradshaw, who offers a nice change of pace with a bit more speed and shiftiness. He’s a deceptively powerful runner in his own right.
And that’s the key, in my opinion, to beating this unbeaten Patriots squad. You have to get in Brady’s face and make him uncomfortable, which is easier said than done considering the job his offensive line does in blocking for him. Rushing just three defenders and dropping eight into coverage, as Jacksonville did on many occasions in their playoff loss, just doesn’t work. Sooner or later, one of his many talented receivers will find a hole in the coverage and nine times out of ten Brady will find him. To win this game the Giants have got to pressure Brady with their front four, and keep him off balance with occasional blitzes from different areas of the field.
New York also matches up well with their run game against a Patriots defense that has had problems with the power ground game at times. Starting running back Brandon Jacobs is a bruising back, weighing in at a whopping 265 pounds. The Giants will try to use him to wear out the Patriots linebackers, who are among the smartest in the league, but are getting up there in age. Facing a big, powerful guy like Jacobs following a grueling 16-game schedule, along with two playoff games, could be a stiff test for the Pats. And they can’t forget about Ahmad Bradshaw, who offers a nice change of pace with a bit more speed and shiftiness. He’s a deceptively powerful runner in his own right.
The Patriots ground game has picked up recently as well despite a slow start. The lack of a running game early on, however, can probably be blamed more on the fact that the Patriots simply had so much success throwing the ball that they didn’t need to run it much. As the weather has turned colder and the conditions haven’t been quite so conducive to throwing the ball 80% of the time, New England has turned more and more to RB Laurence Maroney, who should be relatively fresh after having carried the ball less than 200 times during the regular season.
For the Patriots, though, everything offensively traces back to Tom Brady. Somehow the Giants have got to get him out of his game and force him to make a couple mistakes. And if they happen to get New England against the ropes again, they can’t let them off the hook. You can win the battle against Brady & Co. all day long, but if you give them one chance to beat you at the end, they will.
The fact that the Giants played the Patriots so well gave them the confidence they needed to get through the NFC playoffs, but I’m not sure it works to their advantage in a rematch. Bill Belichick is perhaps the best coaching mind in the NFL, and there’s no doubt he will have something in store to counter the success New York had the last time around. That, along with Bellichick’s motivational skills, gives this game the potential for a blowout this time around, in my view.
I don’t know that this game will turn into another classic Super Bowl blowout, but I do think the Patriots will pull away to a double-digit win in the end.
Prediction New England 31, New York 13
Prediction New England 31, New York 13
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