Pregame:
The pursuit for perfection continues for the 18-0 New England Patriots who are looking to add a page in the history book and become the first team to reach 19-0. The New York Giants, the opposing team in the Super Bowl XLII, will be looking for revenge from their first loss to the Patriots during the regular season. They are also looking for redemption for their inconsistent regular season play. The stage is set for a heavyweight brawl in Arizona with two teams hungry for a win.
The Giants finished their regular season with a measly record of 10-6 to the Patriots’ record of 16-0, making Super Bowl XLII look, on paper, like it will be a blowout. But with gained confidence from three playoff wins already, Giant quarterback Eli Manning is without a doubt playing the best football of his life. During the regular season he was one of the main reasons for some of the Giants’ regular season losses. Eli threw interception after interception and collapsed under all the pressure of being a quarterback in New York. No one knows exactly where this new found confidence came from, but Eli has been making smart decisions and has thrown no interceptions throughout the playoffs. Wide receiver Plaxico Burress has helped Eli Manning greatly through the playoffs, catching the most passes on the team and making some unbelievable catches. Though he has been plagued with injuries throughout the season and even the week before the super bowl, Plaxico has performed very well and should be good to go for the big game. In fact, a Giant victory nearly depends on his being healthy. The Giants running back, Brandon Jacobs, also will play a big role in the super bowl. He is a scrappy, muscular workhorse who will do anything for an extra yard. On the other side of the ball, and a great aspect of the Giant team, is their defensive line. They had a total of 53 sacks during the regular season in just 16 games. With Osi Umenyiora and Micheal Strahan leading the line, the Giants’ defensive lineman will be giving Tom Brady a tough time. A weaker link in the Giants team has always been their cornerbacks and safeties, who unfortunately will be playing the best offense in the league. If they can’t find a way to cover the Patriots’ skillful line of wide receivers, the Giants will lose the game regardless of anything else that happens. They had some trouble in the first game covering the Patriots when they lost 35-38. Though that seems like a lot, the Patriots had always found a way of scoring thirty or more points every game. Tom Coughlin, the Giants head coach, has done a brilliant job coaching in the playoffs with three straight road wins and now, with the toughest game of the season coming up, he will have a chance to prove his greatness. But going against a team who has won three of the last five superbowls, the Patriots are experienced and will be ready for anything that the Giants throw at them.
The Patriots will be disputed as the best team of all time if they win this game, and rightfully so. They have dominated the NFL this year, punishing every team that has stood in their way. The Pats were caught filming the New York Jets coaches calling plays in week 1, and coach Belichik was fined $500,000. Additionally the team was fined $250,000 and the loss of a first round draft pick. The team received heavy criticism from not only fans, but even players and other coaches. After that, the Patriots have had the mentality of “us against the world.” Some may call the Patriots a dynasty, others deny their achievements because of spygate, the coach filming incident. Regardless of what people think about the Patriots’ extracurricular activities, it is undeniable that the Pats have some great talent, especially on offense. The team is led by Tom Brady, the quarterback, who plays even better when the pressure of a game gets higher. Their running back, Laurence Maroney, has not been needed much this season because the Patriots have passed the ball so much more than they have ran it. However when Laurence is needed, he performs very well. The Pats have five talented receivers, including Randy Moss, Jabar Gaffney, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, and Ben Watson. Having so many threats when passing the ball, it is understandable why the Pats don’t run very much.
So the stage is set; one team looking for perfection and dynasty, the other after revenge and redemption. The game will come down to three essential things: how well the Giants can cover the Patriot wide receivers, if the Giants defensive linemen can put nonstop pressure on Tom Brady, and how well Eli Manning will perform. If the Giants can do these three things well, they will win the game.
Analysis:
David stunned Goliath, denying New England’s chance for perfection in a massive superbowl upset. The Patriots, who were favored by 12 points, didn’t seem to be putting their full effort on offense. Tom Brady threw a sloppy 29 passes in 48 attempts, and as usual the Patriots didn’t use their rushing game even though their running back got the Pats’ only touchdown of the night. The Giants, on the other hand, got the job done on offense when they needed to. One of the key ingredients to a win for the Giants was Eli Manning performing well, and he had a great night. Eli continued to make smart decisions throughout the game, and eventually threw two touchdown passes to lock up a win for New York. Despite being down four points late in the fourth quarter, Eli remained calm and led his team down the field, eventually throwing to Plaxico Burress for the go-ahead touchdown with 35 seconds left. This stunning drive all but closed the game out for the Patriots, who were now down 17-14. After returning the kick, the Pats attempted four hail mary’s, the majority to Randy Moss, but in vain. An ecstatic Giants team ran onto the field to show their enthusiasm for their victory that shocked millions. Another essential thing that the Giants needed to do was put pressure on Tom Brady, and they executed that as well. The defensive line sacked him five times, and forced him into making 19 incompletions. Normally Tom Brady has as much time as he needs to throw in the pocket, but tonight he was impacted all 60 minutes by the menacing defensive line. All in all, both defenses did a great job of stopping the opponent, but it was the Giants’ offense that gave them the edge over the Patriots.
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