Super Bowl 42 Preview

Alright, Alright I'll use the old "sleep on it" tactic. Let's take an honest look at the SB match-up of New England Patriots v. New York Giants. The search for 19-0 v. Proving everyone wrong. Brady v. Manning(no...not that one). Evil Genious Belichick v. Lost in the Woods look Coughlin. You could match-up all the big names, but does NY have answers for Faulk, Watson and Gaffney. Can the New England secondary keep Burress, Smith and Toomer in check? Tons of questions that will be answered when the bell is rung on Feb 3rd. You hope the game lives up to the blah-blah-blah over the next few weeks.

New England
Coach Belichick will have his team prepared. There will be no surprises on the field. Every play and formation will be burned into each players brain. The execution will be the difference. So far Randy Moss has been quieted by two playoff opponents. Laurence Maroney has stepped it up with consecutive 122 yard efforts behind the always impressive O-line. These following names will be the keys to the Super Bowl: Dan Koppen, Matt Light, Nick Kaczur, Logan Mankins and Russ Hochstein. If these gentlemen delivery the solid performance in protection and run blocking that has led to an 18-0 season they will hoist the Lombardi trophy. Tom Brady had 3 picks against San Diego, but he is still the best in the business. He will be ready. The receiving core of Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth and Moss will be busy. The banged up NY secondary will be playing catch up. Kevin Faulk will be the X-Factor as he was this week(and pretty much his whole career). His knack for big 4th quarter runs and catches is just as much a part of the Patriot Dynasty as a certain 6th round pick. On the Defensive side of the ball a bend don't break approach will do them just fine. Giving up yards outside the Red Zone is fine as long as you stoenwall Brandon Jacobs near the goal line. Look for a ton of pressure to rattle Brother Eli since I am convinced that Belichick is not ready to hold him in the same light as his brother. Although I was definitely perplexed as to why there wasn't a hail of blitzes on the obviously immobile Philip Rivers??? Junior Seau will make himself a factor. His veteran wisdom and hunger for a championship will propel him over the "age factor" that has been labeled on he and Tedy Bruschi. Asante Samuel will shut down Plastic-Ho Burress and Rodney Harrison will give up his body for the chance at immortality.

New York
It all starts on defense for the Giants. Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck will need to be in Brady's grill all afternoon or else it could be a long day. Sam Madison and co. will have a tough time keeping up with the complex schemes and personnel that NE throws at 'em. If they can keep the Patriots from quick strike scoring and scoring 30 points they may have a chance. Of course they will have to put points on the board. Brother Eli will have to keep from turning the ball over. Plaxico Burress and Steve Smith will have to stretch the field. Chewing up the clock with Brandon Jacobs is another key to victory. The longer they keep the NE offense off the field the more of a chance they have to keeping up with them. By no means will Lawrence Tynes be as big a factor on this game. If he ends up lining up for 4 or 5 field goals means the Giants offense hasn't been able to crack the vault. The NE defense hasn't allowed a TD in 6 quarters. Those are playoff quarters by the way. Jeremy Shockey's replacement Kevin Boss will need to step up and become that surprise weapon the Giants need to throw the Patriots off balance.

Overall you can see that I have no answer for how the New York Giants are going to stop the Patriots. Brother Eli will not be the one to dethrone Tom Brady from the top of the mountain. Tom Coughlin doesn't have the plan to defeat Bill Belichick. I will entertain any argument to these statements over the next few weeks. If I hear any that are plausible they will make it to this blog.