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Arguably, the Patriots are one step away from becoming the NFL’s greatest team of all time. In their way are the New York Giants. The Giants are an amazing Cinderella story having upset Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay as road underdogs.
On paper, this game looks to be a classic matchup. The Giants want a defensive struggle and the opportunity to feature their running game. On the flip side, the Patriots will look to jump out to an early lead exposing the Giants secondary, airing it out deep and forcing the Giants offense into mistakes.
The last time these team met, back in Week #17, the Giants suffered their last lost, as New York hosted the Patriots in New Jersey’s Meadowlands.
This time around, the Giants need their defense to bend but not break. The problem is their secondary is especially vulnerable to the long ball and
Randy Moss remains the best deep threat in the NFL.
To help slow the Pats, the Giants will look to run early and often with Brandon Jacobs and
Ahmad Bradshaw. While Bradshaw could break a huge gainer at any time, New England’s 3-4 defensive schemes will force Jacobs to be NY’s go-to guy.
To help neutralize the Giants ruining game, New England will bring hard-hitting safety
Rodney Harrison up to the box and force Eli Manning to beat them with short passes.
When Manning goes to play-action, Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer will need to step up. If the Pats go to a man-to-man scheme,
Plaxico Burress will become the hot read. If New England goes zone, the Giants will need to lean on
Amani Toomer. Keep in mind, Burress is at his best against man coverage and Toomer excels against zone coverage.
On the plus side for New York, Manning is playing this best ball since turning pro and he continues to be the ultimate care-taker having not thrown an interception in the playoffs.
When New England has the ball, the Giants need to pressure Tom Brady. The good news for the Giants is they have an outstanding pair of defense ends in
Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan. If anyone can get pressure on Brady, it’s the Giants. To take the Giants DE’s out of the game, the Patriots can always feature
Wes Welker on quick short routes; one of Brady’s bread-n-butter throws. If Umenyiora and Strahan can’t get to Brady, it should be easy pickings for
Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Ben Watson and Jabar Gaffney. On paper, the Giants cornerbacks
Aaron Ross and Corey Webster just don’t match up well. In addition,
Gibril Wilson and James Butler remain inconsistent against deep routes. Look for Moss to get open several times on his patented deep fades in the end zone.
WHO WINS?
If the Giants fall behind early and are forced to abandon their 1-2 running game with
Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, Eli Manning is going to be doomed into mistakes.
While NY hopes their stud DE’s can get to Brady, the Giants secondary remains vulnerable.
When you add it all up, New England has a huge edge at coaching, quarterback, wide receiver and defensive secondary. Logic dictates New England will win this Sunday and walk off with a perfect 19-0 season.
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