John Berger
Reporter
I must admit, I’m a little upset about this Super Bowl. I was rooting hard for the Ravens and 49ers, because, anything would’ve been better than another Giants-Patriots Super Bowl. It’s not that I have anything against either of the teams, they’re both very good franchises who have good teams. I don’t think they are the two best teams this year, but that’s besides the point. It’s just that unless it’s my favorite team, the Packers, I’m generally adverse to teams winning two or more Super Bowls in a short time period.
With all that said, these two teams are pretty evenly matched, which means that this should be a well played game and an entertaining one. For anyone who is a neutral fan, that’s all you can really ask for.
Now onto the preview and the prediction:
Let me start by saying that both teams are good. They both have great quarterbacks, very good head coaches, and defenses that are playing well. Still, both teams are not without their own flaws. The Patriots had the second worst defense in NFL history in terms of yards allowed. Their pass defense has been porous all year long, and a 3-4 defense often doesn’t get a lot of pressure on the quarterback. Meanwhile, the Giants have a defense that is slightly better than the Patriots overall, yet it’s out on the field a lot. Giants fans dislike the team’s offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, and with good reason: his playcalling is inconsistent and somehow predictable at the same time. In the regular season, the two teams combined beat one team with a winning record, and that was when the Giants beat the Patriots.
But these teams are in the Super Bowl, which means they do some things very well. The Patriots have a lethal passing attack, led by Tom Brady. Simply put, if you give Brady time to throw in the pocket, it will be a long day for the defense. In the first two games of the season, Patriots’ opponents were only able to muster one sack. Pressuring Brady is imperative if you’re going to beat New England. The Pats have a bevy of playmakers to team up with Brady, led by tight ends Rob Gronkowski (A.K.A Gronk) and Aaron Hernandez. Gronkowski scored 17 touchdowns during the regular season, and averaged nearly 15 yards per catch.
For the Giants, they have a very good passing game as well, and a defense that is hot right now. In the playoffs, quarterback Eli Manning is completing nearly 62% of his passes, with an 8:1 touchdown to interception ratio. In addition, he has averaged over 300 yards per game passing. The Giants ‘D’ features a fearsome front four, led by Jason Pierre-Paul, better known as “JPP”. In three games in the playoffs, the Giants have forced 9 sacks.
The biggest key to the game will be the play of the linemen. It sounds cliche, but the game will be won there. In the matchup between the Giants defensive line and the Pats offensive line, something will have to give. If the G-Men can get pressure on Brady, they have a very good shot at winning the game. But if Brady has time to throw, the Patriots will win the game. In the last two losses for the Patriots in the playoffs, Brady was hit early and often. That will be the key for the Giants defense. On the other side of the ball, it will be interesting to see how Coach Bill Belichek tries to defend the Giants’ passing attack. Like I said before, the Patriots pass defense has been downright awful this season, although they have played a bit better on the playoffs. The key to the Pats defense stopping the Giants offense will be how Belichek decides to schematically defend Manning. This Super Bowl will be a classic chess match between two great coaches.
Prediction: 34-31 Giants
The Giants are hot right now. And if recent history is any indication, the hottest team in the playoffs usually ends up winning. Both teams have certain deficiencies that won’t be fixed by Super Bowl Sunday. But I think the Giants have fewer deficiencies, and they’ll end up winning Super Bowl XLVI.
