Super Bowl XLII Pregame: New York Giants vs. New England Patriots
Game Time: 6:00 Location: University of Phoenix Stadium Channel: FOX
The Giants are coming into Super Bowl XLII against the Patriots after winning 10 road games in a row. The Giants were able to take revenge on the Cowboys and the Packers by pulling off a huge upsets against the #1 seed and the #2 seed in the NFC. Now, the Jints have an opportunity to pull off the biggest upset of all by beating the 18-0 Patriots who are trying to end their season with a perfect 19-0 record. It’s a David and Goliath story. How does that sound? Are you ready for this Die Hard Giants Fans?
The 1 Seed, AFC East Division Champions, New England Patriots (16-0) will be hosting the 5 Seed New York Giants (10-6) on nuetral territory at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The Patriots are favored by 12.
The Tom Coughlin led Giants got their hands full but could win the game. The biggest reason that the Giants can win this game is because they’ve developed confidence along the way. They have the mojo, the moxie, the swagger, or whatever else you want to call it. Every aspect of the team has it. The Giants are winning as a team as opposed to star players carrying the team. The Patriots are led by the greatest Coach and Quarterback in the NFL right now who already have won three Super Bowls and can tie other Head Coach/Quarterback tandems that have four Super Bowl victories which is an NFL record. The Giants have won 10 straight on the road which is an NFL record. The last time they lost on the road was in Week 1 at Dallas. The Giants won three straight road Playoff games in various climates.
The Giants are such an underdog in this game that it isn’t relevant to break down all of the matchups. I will point out a few, but it isn’t relevant. We know that the Patriots have the best offense in NFL history. So then we know that the Giants need to use the game plan of Super Bowl XXV where they held onto the ball for a Super Bowl record 40:33 minutes. I believe that the Giants are going to try their best to fulfill that game plan. On top of that, I’ve heard players on both teams state how poorly their defense played in Week 17 when the final score was 38-35. So I really believe that both defenses are going to play better and keep the score lower. It’s the Super Bowl so both teams are going to go all out. In Week 17, the Giants went after Tom Brady for three quarters before it seemed like they ran out of gas. Today, the game is too big to run out of gas so it shouldn’t happen. So knowing all of this, what are the Giants going to do? They will try to run primarily, and then Eli Manning will have to complete the passes to move the chains and get first downs when called upon to do so. Look for the Giants to march down the field slowly like they did against the Buccaneers when they ran almost a quarter off the clock and put it in the end zone. The Patriots are primarily going to try to shut down Plaxico Burress because he had one of the best games a wide receiver could have in the Playoffs against the Packers and because of his prediction. Burress had the ankle injury all season long and he has played great on it, but he injured his knee this week which might affect him. The reason it might affect him is because the injury is fresh which leads to swelling unlike the ankle injury which has been there since August. So that is what the Giants game plan should be.
But what happens if the Patriots do open up the offense and rack up points quickly? It gets even tougher for the Giants. The Giants were able to put up 35 points in Week 17. The offense put up 28 points and special teams put up 7 points. The Giants showed success putting up points, but they will need to put up enough points to win. They still could do it though.
The Bill Belichick led Patriots are seeking perfection, but they are in the way of the Giants winning their 3rd Super Bowl tonight.
GIANTS QUARTERBACK - Eli Manning is coming into this game with two great and two pretty good performances in the past four games. Manning was the only quarterback to not have any turnovers in the Playoffs and he needs to make that happen one more time. Eli plays his best games in good weather, and the game is in Arizona. The media already reported that the roof will be closed. Manning has to make completions and be efficient. Eli does need to be aware of Patriots Cornerback Assante Samuel because Eli threw an interception to him in Week 17. Also, Samuel has had a ton of success historically reading Peyton Manning in the Postseason. So Eli really needs to be extra cautious throwing downfield. Eli will need to put up over 25 points today to come out of Arizona with a victory. The Giants defense will need to keep the Patriots under 25 points.
GIANTS OFFENSIVE LINE - The O-Line doesn’t have many superstars, but they had a great year as a unit. They diminished the false start penalties that they were known for. The O-Line is going to have to keep Manning untouched today so he can continue to have success against the Patriots defense. Also, the O-Line needs to dominate the line of scrimmage to open up holes for the running game which is going to be a big part of today’s game. The O-Line will go up against a pretty good D-Line. The O-Line did a great job against the Patriots in Week 17 so expect it to happen again.
GIANTS TIGHT ENDS - Kevin Boss has stepped up bigtime so far in the Playoffs. He’s made some clutch catches that led to scoring drives for the Giants.
GIANTS BACKS - The Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw tandem has been a difficult task for opposing defenses the past few weeks. Expect Jacobs to get the start to wear down the defense. Bradshaw has been used early on certain downs, and in the second half to sustain the lead and run out the clock. Reuben Droughns is healthy if they need him, but the G-MEN haven’t gave him any touches in four games. Bradshaw did not play against the Patriots in Week 17 so he’s the secret weapon. Bradshaw has made enough noise to catch the Patriots attention, but they haven’t seen him.
GIANTS WIDE RECEIVERS - The regular wide outs will get the start today. Plaxico Burress will continue to hobble around the field and make some big plays. All season, Amani Toomer looked a step slow. For three straight Playoff games, he’s looked young again. Steve Smith is the third wide out. He didn’t impress me at all during the season, but he has looked pretty good the past few weeks. He is fast, but he hasn’t really had a big play yet. Manning has thrown deep to him, but Smith has dropped the passes. However, Smith has been pretty solid in short to medium routes the last three or four games. Smith isn’t going to draw the attention that Burress and Toomer will, so he needs to catch the ball when it’s thrown his way.
GIANTS DEFENSIVE LINE - In today’s game, this is the most important matchup of the day. Knowing that the Giants secondary isn’t that great when they are healthy (and the secondary is banged up), the D-Line has to pressure Brady to force him to hurry up his passes. Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has to devise a game plan that will allow the D-Line to win the war throughout the game. If the Giants can sack, hit, and hurry Brady then the Giants will have a lot of success tonight. Osi Umenenyiora and Michael Strahan will have their hands full because they match up against some pretty good Tackles. The Giants bookends didn’t have much success in Week 17, but Justin Tuck was able to go straight up the middle successfully. The Giants D-Line is too good for the Patriots to block them all.
GIANTS LINEBACKERS - The Antonio Pierce led defense is going to have their hands full today because they need to be aggresive with the Patriots receivers, and they need to tackle well.
GIANTS SECONDARY - The secondary has played outstanding in the Postseason so far. Each week, they go up against a better receiving unit then the week before. The Patriots have an arsenal of receivers, and the Giants cannot get burned by the big play today. It’s that simple.
SPECIAL TEAMS - Jeff Feagles has continued to pin opponents deep in their own territory all season. After 20 years in the NFL, he’ll be fine. I’m concerned about the Field Goal Kicker, Lawrence Tynes, who has been really good this season. We know that Tynes hit the game winner in the NFC Championship game, but it was after missing two 4th Quarter field goals. How he will handle himself in the Super Bowl is yet to be determined. Ahmad Bradshaw and Dominek Hixon have done a great job in the return game which has helped out big time in the field position game.
History
The Giants are tied with the Patriots during the regular season with a 4-4 record. No Postseason statistics were provided.
Halftime Show
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Who’s Out?
Giants: None.
Patriots: None.
This is how I’m calling it. My Prediction is: Giants 27 - Patriots 24.
