Superbowl weekend is finally upon us. It’s amazing how quickly this season seemed to pass. Yet, the anticipation for this game made the last two weeks feel like an eternity. I don’t imagine you can find too many who had the Giants as their NFC Champ when the season began. I don’t think many had them winning the division given the changes they’d made in Dallas and Philadelphia. If the G-Men get the win on Sunday they will be the first Superbowl championship team with 7 losses, as well as the first winner with a -6 point differential from the regular season. But, that’s just it…the regular season. The Giants didn’t start playing their best football until their backs were to the wall and one loss would have ended their season. The defense got healthier and the front-four got pressure. If those front four continue to create pressure this Sunday, allowing the Giants to drop 7 into coverage, the Patriots could be in for a long evening.
I have spent the last two weeks listening to nearly every sports-radio talking head and prognosticator discussing how poor the New England defense is and how New York is “simply, the better team”. Have they all forgotten that the Patriots won 13 games and average over 30 points per? New England’s defense has played much better in the playoffs and has been “good enough” all season. I don’t expect it to be any different on Sunday. And, more to that point…has everyone forgotten about Week 12 when the Saints embarrassed New York to the tune of 49 points. The Patriots passing attack is quite similar to that of New Orleans. I would not be surprised if this game gets away for either of these teams.
When all is said and done, and the ticket tape falls from the roof of Lucas Oil Stadium, my heart say the Giants are holding the Lombardi trophy…but my head tells me the Patriots. Both teams are familiar with field turf, so their will be no competitive advantage with the “grass”. New York played in 3 dome games this year (averaging 30.6 pts), which may help them with the noise of the game. New England did not play in a single dome all season, but they have played in Lucas Oil in the playoffs before (2006). This game is going to resemble a different Patriots Superbowl victory. Superbowl 38 when the Pats defeated the Carolina Panthers. The first half consisting of defensive battles and a second half of electricity and last-minute drama. The Patriots won 32-29 back in 2003. A very similar score to Superbowl 46…Patriots win 30-27 due to a late interception by Eli Manning while driving the Giants down the field. It pains me to say, but New England gets their revenge…
The line is NE -2.5 and the O/U is 54. Im taking the Giants +3 and the over.
Comments