After waiting two weeks, the game of all games is finally upon us. After all the drama including the now infamous "Bootgate" ordeal, its finally time to play some football. And this one is for all the marbles. Question is, who will come out victorious Sunday night? While the answer should be obvious simply based on the seasons both teams had, the week 17 matchup between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots puts a little bit of doubt into the Patriots finishing up a perfect season. The way both teams played in the playoffs also brings about some cause for questioning whether or not the Giants can keep history from happening.
The Giants come into the Super Bowl having won three games in the playoffs, all on the road. On their way to reaching the game's biggest stage they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, their arch-rival, the Dallas Cowboys, and the team most everybody hoped would make it to the big dance, the Green Bay Packers. Additionally the Giants have won 10 straight games on the road, an NFL record. Eli Manning has become a totally different quarterback in the playoffs. He's gone from throwing 20 interceptions in the regular season to not turning the ball over at all in the playoffs. He has a prime target in Plaxico Burress that has the ability to make some big plays. Manning also has another good option to throw to in Amani Toomer. On top of a good passing attack, the Giants have a nice ground-and-pound attack with running back Brandon Jacobs. If he can get things going and open up the passing game for Manning, we could see the scoreboard light up a lot this weekend.
Unlike the Giants, the Patriots reached this championship game by beating, well, everyone. They come into the game 18-0. The Patriots are looking to make history by finishing the season undefeated and win their fourth title in seven years. The team has been through a lot this year including the "Spygate" scandal earlier in the year and almost seeing their perfect season come to an end three different times against the Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and against the team they'll play this Sunday, the Giants. They've persevered through it all and and are now in the driver's seat to making history. Tom Brady is one of the greatest QBs of all time, and can solidify that statement this weekend with a win. He would have four Super Bowl rings and he's only 30 years of age. The past three championships for the Patriots came mainly because of their defense. This time around a win will come because of their offense. Brady has a great cast of characters surrounding him that has taken him from a great player in the game to an elite player at his position. With wideouts Donte' Stallworth, Wes Welker and Randy Moss at Brady's disposal, any one pass could turn into a score pretty quickly. Brady and Moss set records this year by hooking up throughout the year, but in the playoffs Moss only has two catches. The Giants will surely try to throw a net over Moss and keep him in check, but they can't ignore Welker or Stallworth or they will get burned.
While the Patriots have a very dangerous passing attack, the key to winning a championship will most likely come down to the running game. Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk will be the key to the Patriots offense this weekend. These two guys are the classic change-of-pace type backs. Maroney is the power guy while Faulk is the finesse player. Faulk is the guy that Brady can throw to out of the backfield while Maroney pounds the ball and wears down the defense. If the Patriots can work their running game the way they have so far in the playoffs, there's a very good chance that they will come away with a ring for Brady's pinkie.
The difference in the game will be how each team's defense plays. The Giants have played well on defense throughout the playoffs and their front four has been very good. Their secondary is beat up pretty good and with a passing attack like that of the Patriots, exploiting that deficiency is very much in play. The Patriots defense hasn't been as strong as it was earlier in the year but they have the ability to make plays and create turnovers in key situations. The Giants defense needs to get to Brady and put him on his backside if they're going to have any chance of slowing down the Patriots offense. Their front four have the skills to do it, but Brady doesn't get rattled easily so its going to take a lot to get in his head. It's more likely that Manning will be the one that will get rattled with all the schemes the Patriots defense will throw at him. If they get inside Manning's head, look for him to start trying to force things or try to make plays that aren't there, resulting in turnovers.
The odds of this game playing out the same way it did in the regular season are highly unlikely. The Patriots came away from that game winning 38-35, keeping their perfect season alive, but barely. When its all said and done, once Paula Abdul has performed her new single (for whatever that's worth) and Tom Petty has "rolled another joint," and the smoke has settled (pun intended), the Patriots will beat the Giants 35-27. They will complete their historic, undefeated season and become the first team to ever go 19-0 and they will finally shut up those players left from the last team to go undefeated, the 1972 Miami Dolphins.
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