By now reality is setting in that if your team has been eliminated from the playoffs or failed to qualify for post-season play, that we are not going to get the sexy match-up of Brett Favre attempting to ruin what many feel is the greatest season of all-time by Tom Brady and his Patriots like most people wanted. However, “chowder heads”, New Yorkers, anyone rooting against the Patriots, and probably the 1972 Miami Dolphins have a lot to look forward to on Superbowl Sunday.
It is no secret that the Patriots are one win away from being 19-0 and finally getting to enjoy a week without more pressure being added to every player’s shoulders attempting to continue to be perfect. The most interesting part of this Superbowl story is that Manning will play in it, just not the Manning most of us would have expected. Many people were shocked to see the Giants win in the first round after almost knocking themselves out of the playoffs altogether late in the season, much less to beat Brett Favre at Lambeau Field to make it into the Superbowl. If watching Terrell Owens do his best Chris Crocker (the leave Britney alone guy on youtube) impression in defense of Tony Romo three weeks ago after a career filled with ripping his quarterbacks wasn’t enough for you to believe the end of the world was near, finding out that Eli would be the Manning playing in the Superbowl instead of older brother Peyton, should pretty much do it for you.
Experts can say what they like, many figuring that the Patriots are a safe pick to make the Superbowl every year, in contrast no one had the G-men playing in the Superbowl this year. Personally, I had the Cowboys winning the division and the Redskins taking one of the wild cards, while watching the Eagles and Giants struggle to win six games each, much less even making the playoffs. I guess I was half-right when it comes to the NFC East, but you really have to give this team credit. Every year the Giants have one of the most talented teams on paper but find a way to blow it, which I attribute to the team being poorly coached by Tom Coughlin. Coughlin has quarreled with many of his players since taking over in New York in 2004, many saying they were overworked in practice and under prepared on Sundays. In fact, his team quit on him late in the season last year, losing five straight going into the playoffs and being upset in the first round by a Philadelphia team Jeff Garcia put on his back but otherwise didn’t have much else going for them at the time. So, who could have seen this coming?
Giants quarterback, Eli Manning, has been criticized since joining the league, mostly because he will forever be compared to his older brother who is already one of the greats, he refused to play for the San Diego Chargers and forced a trade on draft day, and he plays in New York where athletes are constantly scrutinized by the media. All year many have speculated that Manning may be on his last chance with the Giants, many saying that he is just too inconsistent to play quarterback in the NFL. Since giving the Patriots a run for their money during the last game of the season, Manning has yet to throw an interception in the playoffs and has thrown the ball pretty well all things considered, this paired along with his defense playing very well has gotten them to the Superbowl. In all fairness to the younger Manning, let’s not forget the same questions of inconsistency and poor decision making surrounded his older brother Peyton for his first four seasons in the league especially every time he threw a pic, and I think things turned out okay for him. Let’s be honest, the younger Manning will most likely never be as good as the older one, but the guy has an arm and he’ll figure things out as he gets older like many quarterbacks do. The last few weeks may be the early signs of him turning it around, all fans know athletes earn their stripes in the playoffs, so we may be experiencing his growth right now.
On Superbowl Sunday, Manning will have to continue his newfound streak of consistency against a Patriots team that is more than capable of constantly turning the ball over for his team to have a chance. Manning will almost certainly be held well under 300 yards, so it is imperative that he holds on to the ball. The Patriots know Manning has trouble against the rush, so they will continue to sneak people up, including secondary members at times, to try to get him to throw some bad ones or cough it up. A possible Giants victory hinges upon Manning being careful with the ball and the defense continuing to set the tone and keep the game close. While the Giants ran the ball effectively against a very good defense in Green Bay, there is no way they will run it nearly as effectively against the Patriots. The Patriots 3-4 defense ranked third in the NFL against the run during the regular season giving up 80 yards a game on average. If the Giants are within seven at the half, they will have a chance to win the game. If their down by more than that, I see Manning trying to air it out, resulting in Asante Samuel having a big day in the secondary and the Patriots cruising by the fourth quarter.
While I would love to be bold enough to pick the Giants to upset the Patriots, I just cannot see that happening. Tom Brady has been here before, he did not look very good last week, this team is tired of hearing about how they play “dirty” or how they have cheated somebody, and they almost got upset by the Giants during the final game of the regular season, Coach Belichick will use these things to motivate his team as he always does and they will hold the Lombardi Trophy for the fourth time in seven years at the end. The Patriots may come out more slowly in this game than a lot of people think, they did struggle to a degree against San Diego’s defense, but Brady will be exploiting the depleted Giants secondary by the end of the first quarter. The defense will continue to stop the run, rush Manning which will result in turnovers, and Brady will be who he always is this time of year, a quarterback who is relaxed in the pocket, is patient with receivers, and takes the game over. While it will be the younger Manning playing in the biggest game of the year this time, Brady will come out on top just like he has for the most part over the older Manning brother so many times before in the past.
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