Super Bowl XLVI

          It all comes down to this. In just over a week the Patriots will take on the Giants in a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. Let's think back to the end of the regular season, the Giants were in a win-and-get-in game against the Cowboys and Fox analyst Jimmy Johnson had stuck the fork in the Giants. They were finished! with a lowly 8-7 record, the Giants beat the Cowboys to improve to 9-7 and sneak into the playoffs. Anyone who predicted that they would knock off the Packers and 49ers in consecutive weeks probably also thought Steven Tyler was a great choice to sing the national anthem. On the other hand the New England Patriots were likely a popular pick to come out of the AFC, even though most wouldn't have predicted that Joe Flacco would outplay Tom Brady.

          First of all let's have a moment of silence for Billy Cundiff and Kyle Williams. They both "lost" the game for their respective teams by making a bonehead move when it was crunch time and have been receiveing endless criticism ever since the games ended. On a serious note, no football game is ever important enough that someone should receive death threats because he cost his team the game, which is exactly what happened to Kyle Williams on Twitter. Calm down football fans, it's just a game.



"I don't know what happened..."



Just another shot at Tebow

         That being said, the next game is the one that matters most. The Super Bowl, every players dream game. The game that everyone imagined when they were throwing the football around in the backyard with their dad. So let's take a look at how each team won last weekend. The Patriots played very average to me. Correction, Tom Brady played very average to me. He turned the ball over and didn't throw a single TD. However their defense cranked it up a notch. One name for you, Vince Wilfork. My goodness Wilfork was unblockable for most of the game. I'd take it a step further and say he was their most valuable player on Sunday. Former quarterbacks always say that the pressure that comes from the outside is managable, but it's the pressure from the middle that they don't like. What I think they need to worry about is Edelman playing defensive back. He's doing his best, but on the final drive that could have led to the game-tying field goal, Flacco went after him almost every play and marched right down the field. Then of course Billy Cundiff proceeded to kick a 32 yard field goal very wide left with 11 seconds remaining.

          The Giants played well despite the weather. They continued to throw the ball effectively and Eli dominated on third down which ultimately was the difference in the game. Despite getting hit a whopping TWENTY times, Eli still put the team on his back and made a big play on a third and fifteen when he found Mario Manningham in the endzone for a TD. Big Blue's defense played well also, holding Alex Smith to only one completion to a wide receiver all game. Then of course Kyle Williams muffed one punt and fumble one in overtime, which lead to the easy field goal from Lawrence Tynes (take note Cundiff). Also let's pause and talk about how awesome Victor Cruz is, he caught ten passes in the rain on Sunday, that's pretty impressive.

          After looking back, now we shall take a look forward at the matchup for the Super Bowl. Tom Brady vs. Eli Manning part two. A few fun facts before we get started. First, in the "Tom Brady Era" the Patriots have only lost three straight games to two different teams, the Giants will try to become the third team with a win in the Super Bowl. Secondly, this will be the ninth time that the Super Bowl will be a rematch of a regular season matchup, with the losing team in the first game winning seven out of the eight Super Bowls. When these two team played in the regular season, the Giants came out on top. No doubt the Patriots will be looking for revenge.
          The Giants 4 defensive end scheme on defense wreaks havoc every Sunday, Eli Manning is fantastic on third down, they have a balanced running attack with Bradshaw and Jacobs, and their receiving corps is very talented with Cruz, Manningham, and the former Tarheel Hakeem Nicks. The Patriots have the two-headed monster with Gronkowski and Hernandez at tight end, Wes Welker to catch every other pass, Benjarvus "The Law Firm" Green-Ellis coming out of the backfield, and some guy named Tom Brady at quarterback. They also have a monster on defense named Vince Wilfork who eats running backs for breakfast. When these teams match up on Super Bowl Sunday there will undoubtedly be some hard hits and some big plays, but the question isn't always who makes more big plays but who will make fewer mistakes. My guess is that this time around Bill Belichick and the infamous hoodie will have his team ready to go to war, Tom Brady will play like his normal self and the Patriots will methodically work their way down the field making fewer mistakes than the Giants. I do believe this matchup will be a higher scoring affair than the last time they met in the Super Bowl, so I'll take Patriots 27 Giants 23.
          Now anyone who knows me realizes how hard it was to pick the Patriots. I don't like them. I haven't liked them since they beat the Panthers in the Super Bowl in 2003. And honestly the Giants were and still are the hottest team in football coming into the playoffs, so they certainly have a very good chance. But when I put aside my feelings I simply believe Tom Brady will win the game for his team. Who are you picking?


Eli Manning



Tom Brady



         

         

Championship Weekend

          Alright ladies and gentlemen, our championship weekend has been set. The Patriots dismantled the Denver Tebows and cruised into championship weekend in dominant fashion. The Ravens... well the Ravens made it. I'd have to say that of the final four teams the Ravens were the least impressive, and honestly minus the Texans costly turnovers they shouldn't have won the game. For the NFC we have the 49ers and the Giants. The 49ers have to be damn proud of themselves after the game they played against the Saints. In what will certainly go down as one of the best Playoff games in NFL history, the 49ers held off Drew Brees and the vaunted offense of the Saints to advance in a wild finish with multiple late lead changes. Then you have the Giants, who only beat the 15-1 Packers in Lambeau Field in very convincing fashion. Blame it on the extra time off, blame it on the dropped passes, blame it on whatever you want, but the Packers were not ready to play yesterday. However, the Giants were very ready, and it showed.
          Now I'm going to make a few predictions on how championship week will play out. The Patriots will win, that should be an easy choice to make. Tom Brady played like a man possessed against the Broncos. Five TD passes in the first half (new playoff record) and six TD passes overall (tied playoff record) showed that the golden boy has arisen from his playoff slump and is back to strike fear into the hearts of his foes. His counterpart for next Sunday, Joe Flacco, is not prepared in any way to keep up with the high-scoring offense in New England. What I find interesting is that analysts were saying the same thing about San Francisco last week. "Alex Smith can't make enough plays to keep up with Brees, and their defense can't stop him enough times to win." I guess those guys were wrong, but this week I think picking the strong offense of the Pats is much safer than it was last week. Plus, even when the Ravens should have had the game in hand, Flacco couldn't make enough plays to put them away. Ray Rice is great, an absolute beast running and catching the ball. I just don't think he can do it by himself. The Ravens defense will slow the Brady Bunch down more than Denver did, but in the end Gronkowski, Hernandez and Welker will be too much for Ed Reed and Ray Lewis to handle. Patriots 31 Ravens 17
          On to the NFC. Even as I write these words I haven't made my pick. The Giants look ready to take on anyone right now. Their D-line is strong and fast and if they can slow Frank Gore down early and force 3rd and 7+, Alex Smith had better watch out. Jason Pierre-Paul is one of the premier young D-lineman in the game, and Umenyiora and Tuck can still make plays with the best of them. However, if Frank Gore can get going early and pick up enough yards to get into 3rd and 4 or less, that will force the Giants D-line to be more patient instead of flying up the field at Alex Smith like a pack of hungry dogs. On the other side of the ball, the 49ers are tough, really tough. Running the ball against them is very difficult, I believe they only allowed one rushing TD all season. Aldon Smith is another fine young defensive linemen, and Patrick Willis is one of the best linebackers in the league. Here's the wild card that no one has really payed attention to all year. Eli Manning. You might say, "Eli Manning isn't a wild card, he's the quarterback, EVERYONE knows about him," but not so fast. Did you know that Eli Manning was only 67 yards away from 5,000 this year? And that Eli Manning threw for an average of 308 yards per game? His numbers are better during this postseason than they were in 2007, when they beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl. I don't have the exact statistics, but against the Packers yesterday Eli Manning was converting 3rd downs like it was nobody's business. 3rd and 7, 3rd and 8, 3rd and 11, no problem. He was playing like an elite quarterback, and there is the wild card. Can the 49ers defense get the Giants off the field on 3rd down. And now I've convinced myself of who I'm picking. I'm taking the Giants. Eli is playing like Peyton, he's got Hakeem Nicks playing incredibly well, he has Victor Cruz and he has a pretty good running game with Bradshaw and Jacobs. Giants 24 49ers 20.

          Should my picks hold true, there would be a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. The undefeated Patriots vs the Giants. Eli Manning escaped from several Patriots defenders and threw up a prayer to David Tyree who caught it against his helmet, then he hit Plaxico Burress in the endzone on a slant-and-go and all of New England fell silent. The Patriots had all the records, Brady had 50 TD passes, Moss had 23 TD catches, their offense had many other ridiculous numbers that I won't bother to list here. But Eli got the win. And if this rematch occurs, it will be Tom Brady, Peyton Manning's nemesis, pitted against Eli Manning, Peyton's little brother, in Lucas Oil Stadium, which just so happens to be Peyton Manning's homefield. I though that was an interesting tidbit. I won't bother to pick a winner of that game because it doesn't exist yet, and with my luck I'll be wrong about at least one of these picks anyway. Next week I'll have an analysis of Championship weekend and a Super Bowl pick!

These are for anyone who doesn't remember...