Photo: whatifsports.com
- Adam Parker
Super Bowl Sunday. A phrase that's synonymous with dreams coming true and being crushed simultaneously.
The New England Patriots and New York Giants will be competing in a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, where the underdog Giants defeated the undefeated Patriots 17-14.
Before we go into my prediction for the Big Game, let's recap how the Pats' and G-Men reached the peak.
The AFC Championship game between the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots was not the high-scoring affair Tom Brady and the Pats' would have liked. In fact, I'd say the Patriots probably won 23-20 in spite of Brady.
Sure, he throw for over 200 yards while Gronkowski and the other offensive skill players made their share of plays, but let's be honest - the Ravens, or specifically Lee Evans when he dropped that touchdown pass, lost the game - the Patriots didn't win it. That being said, you know with this much preparation that Bill Belichick is going to have his guys ready to play, and Brady is far too talented to not play up to par in the biggest game of the year.
The NFC Championship game ended with a similar three point victory for the visiting Giants over the host 49ers team. This wasn't quite the game of spectacular offense versus gritty defense that everyone expected the AFC Championship to be.
Not that it mattered, this game proved once and for all that two talented defensive squads matching up doesn't necessarily mean a snooze fest. In fact, the last eight minutes of that game were arguably the most entertaining football I've ever watched.
Fast forward to now and they are re-igniting their rivalry from Super Bowl XLII. The last time the Patriots lost in the regular season was Week 9 against these same (9-7) Giants, and whether Brady and BB will openly admit it or not, they'll both be coming into this game with a gargantuan chip on their respective shoulders after the G-Men ended their quest for perfection and eternal football immortality one game short.
However, don't count the Giants out just yet. Eli Manning has been one of the best quarterbacks in the second half of the season and playoffs, and maybe more importantly, is the fact that he and the Giants haven't turned the ball over.
Unlike Baltimore in the AFC Championship, these New York Football Giants definitely are not going to beat themselves. It's no secret that the Patriots seem to have unlimited weapons on offense, but if the Giants can continue to run the football effectively with Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs, Brady will be stuck watching helplessly from the sidelines.
But Adam, what if the Giants' running game regresses to when it was ranked last in the league during the regular season? What if Brady, Welker, and the boys see plenty of time on the field?
Well, there's a simple answer to that. The Blue Crush has to repeat what they did to the Pats' in Week 9. Put pressure on Brady and hit the Golden Boy in the mouth (or rather, the "mid-region"... sorry Roger [Goodell].)
Veteran left tackle Matt Light is in place to protect Brady's blind side, but the right tackle position is where the Pats need to worry. Rookie Nate Solder had serious trouble against the Ravens' pass rush in the AFC title game, so they could go with Sebastian "SeaBass" Vollmer in his place.
The only problem with that is Vollmer hasn't seen snaps in live game action for a while, and the first action he'll potentially see is against the best pass rush in the NFL in the Super Bowl? Maybe it's just me, but that doesn't seem like a recipe for success.
Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to make my prediction for the game.
I'll take the New York Giants to defeat the New England Patriots, 27-24.
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