Breakdown of Offenses
By Staff
It would be a joke for me to sit here and try to somehow find a way to say the Giants have the better special teams in this game, so I am not. Everyone knows the Patriots have the best offense in the game, but the Giants can play with them, and I believe that.
The last time the two met, a 38-35 score. Expect much of the same today with the perfect temperatures inside the covered stadium in Glendale. It will be chaotic pass rushes that will cause Elite Manning and Tom Brady to make mistakes and ruin the game for either team and nothing else.
The Patriots don’t need a running game and didn’t all season until the playoffs. But Lawrence Maroney will be getting the ball again and that advantage goes to the Giants. They stopped Marion Barber and they stopped Ryan Grant and they will stop Maroney in XLII, you can be certain of that.
Tom Brady doesn’t need to run to throw. He just needs his O-Line and they will be there, better than ever. The key for the Patriots is once again is Dante Stallworth and Wes Welker to make plays with Randy Moss double covered. But if the G-Men let Moss loose once, the result will be a 60+ yard TD.
New England is going to put up points and there is no denying that. Expect a minimum of 21, their fewest all season against San Diego two weeks ago. It is up to the Giants to go toe to toe with them for 60 minutes, something they didn’t do in Week 17.
Elite needs a mistake-free game or the Giants lose. I can’t recall the last time the Giants played a game in which they didnt make mental errors and many of them. This isn’t the Cowboys or Packers, this is the Patriots, the best team in history and if you mess up, they will make up pay. This kind of reminds me of when young teams play the Yankees. You can be beating them all game, but as soon as you walk the leadoff hitter in an inning, game over.
It is time Tom Coughlin calls upon Amante Bradshaw consistently and leaves goal-line plays to Brandon Jacobs. Jacobs needs holes to run, while Bradshaw makes his own, and can pick up big plays with breakaway speed instantly.
Plaxico will play and he will be fine for gametime, regardless of the reports all week. He has played all season and is not going to sit out the biggest game of the season with a swelled knee. You can be certain of that. He will be covered like Moss and will need Amani Toomer and Steve Smith to get open for first downs and beyond. The Giants will have openings in the Patriots defense, but they need to capitalize on their opportunities.
The Patriots certainly have the edge here, but the Giants hopefully will keep up. I would love to ramble on more about the offenses, but I will leave that for the predicition.