Some of you may have heard, but there's a big football game going on tomorrow night in Indiana. The New England Patriots and New York Giants will square off in a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. I'll be pulling for the Pats, and here are three reasons why I think they will win it all.
Bill Belichick/Tom Brady
Belichick proved once again why he's a superb head coach in 2011 by adapting his game plan to the changing league around him; ditching his emphasis on defense and focusing that energy on creating one of the most devastating air attacks since Desert Storm. He may not have a soul or a sense of style, but there's no denying that he's one of the smartest football coaches around. As for his golden boy quarterback (who wasn't at his best against Baltimore) the dude is a two-time Super Bowl MVP and should be in top form tomorrow night. No one is more reliable than Brady when the lights shine the brightest, and I expect him to notch his usual 300+ yards and two or three touchdowns even if the most dangerous weapon at his disposal, the incomparable Rob Gronkowski, isn't 100 percent healthy. The defending NFL MVP won't be intimidated by the hostile crowd (almost entirely Colts and Giants fans) and will rise to the occasion as he always does, unless he forgets his cleats at home and has to play the game in man-uggs.
The Giants aren't this good
They were 9-7, people, and they got this far because they caught all the breaks and got hot at the right time. The two week layoff should have cooled off some of their momentum (if you believe in such things), and I feel like Peyton Manning's little brother has really overachieved this season. I expect he and his team to come crashing back to Earth a little bit. Granted, the Patriots didn't beat a team over .500 last season so they haven't been challenged much, but throughout the year they were among the elite NFL teams and found themselves on everyone's short list of likely Super Bowl contenders. I don't think you could say the same things about New York, who have the look of a team that's in over its head (smilar to this year's Denver Broncos team, but replace Tim Tebow with a top QB). Giants fans could be due for a reality check.
Payback
Eli Manning and his boys murdered New England's perfect season four years ago, and they've been talking a lot of smack over the past two weeks. They're a cocky bunch due for a big slice of humble pie. The time has come for the Pats to get their revenge.
Predicted score; New England 24, New York 17
Funny you bring up the Giants catching all the breaks at the right times, this includes beating the number one offense in football, and the number 2 defense in football, 2 weeks straight. The Patriots defense was ranked 31st overall this year and the offense hasn't managed to put up more than 23 points against any decent defense in the NFL period(PITTSBURG, RAVENS, GIANTS), and with the GMEN'S D jelling the way it has this last couple of games you are in for a rude awakening, unlike the first Giants win this season. The Patties are going to fall short and most likely look bad in this game considering they are playing a better balanced team who has something to prove being the UNDERDOG in a stadium that might as well be their own for this game. Last but not least, Eli, who is such an overachiever, is going to slice up the horrible Pats secondary like a frog in 6th grade science class.... GMEN 30 Pats 20 FINAL ANSWER
ReplyDeleteThe Giants are 32-25 in their last 57 games. The Patriots secondary is not why the Giants won this game - the Patriots O-line once again failed to win the battles at the line of scrimmage they need to win - even on the successful TD drives the Patriots O-line never outright took over the LOS; the pocket over and over kept getting pushed in; on the Gronk INT Brady nearly got sacked.
ReplyDeleteThe other problem is the same one that showed up against the Jets last playoffs - trading Randy Moss was a mistake and the Patriots don't have enough receivers or a true deep threat. Branch doesn't have the legs anymore; Welker is a slot guy; the two tights are who they are; Chad Johnson is useless. Throwing to Danny Woodhead shouldn't be that vital to moving the chains.
Anonymous - when were the Giants the underdogs?
Well that prediction was wrong. Just sayin'
ReplyDeleteI had a feeling that I would jinx the Pats with this post...
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