You may love them. You may hate them. No matter what you think of them, one thing's for certain: They are pretty darn good.
The 2007 New England Patriots will march into University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday and finish their season with a bang. They will enshrine themselves forever in NFL lore. Their accomplishment will trump that of the 1972 Miami Dolphins (and finally silence Don Shula). They will defeat the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
Why?
Well I could fill this whole section with reasons, but we have other sports to cover so I'll summarize.
Let's begin with coaching. While I have great respect and admiration for Tom Coughlin, as everyone on this campus should, he is overmatched. That is by no means an insult; he is simply going up against the best coach in the game right now, maybe the best coach to ever live.
Bill Belichick will have his team ready to play. He has all year. And what is great about the Super Bowl is that once Sunday rolls around he will have had two weeks to get ready. Remember what happened back in Week 11? After a bye week the Patriots defeated the Bills 56-10. Now I realize the Giants are a better football team than the Bills, but you get the picture. They will be ready.
Belichick is also a master of eliminating distractions. A week after "Spygate" his team routed the Chargers 38-14. Also, he made sure that Randy Moss's legal issues would not affect his team's performance in the AFC championship. Clearly he will make sure that no New England player is distracted, in any way, by all the hype that Super Bowl week brings.
As for the quarterback match-up, the Patriots clearly have the upper hand. Eli Manning has played well recently. He has not yet thrown an interception in the playoffs, but he has also only thrown four touchdown passes. Furthermore, he has little playoff experience and has never been to the Super Bowl.
Tom Brady, on the other hand, has three Super Bowl rings. Although he was not sharp in the AFC championship game, he was almost perfect against Jacksonville the week before, completing all but two passes (both of which hit the receivers' hands). He is also protected by an extremely powerful offensive line that will allow him plenty of time to find his targets.
As far as the New England receiving corps goes … Moss, Stallworth, Welker. Need I say more?
Moss has lacked production on the stat sheet, but only because opponents have chosen to shut him down at the expense of leaving other players open. If they want to shut down Moss that's fine: Brady will throw to Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, or Ben Watson. Also, don't forget Kevin Faulk, the backup running back, who has served as a key target for Brady out of the backfield.
Complementing these receivers is Laurence Maroney, who has rushed for over 100 yards in the Patriots' two playoff games.
Sure, the Giants have Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, but without Jeremy Shockey they will have a tough time dealing with the Patriots' secondary.
Speaking of the secondary, Asante Samuel and his counterparts will be ready to break Manning's interception-free streak. And the Giants better brace themselves for impact when hard-hitting Rodney Harrison is on the field.
As far as linebackers go, the Patriots clearly have the advantage. The New England linebackers are nothing short of amazing. Tedy Bruschi, Adalius Thomas, Junior Seau, and Mike Vrabel are nearly unstoppable.
Without Mathias Kiwanuka (another Boston College connection to the enemy), the Giants may struggle at this position, although one cannot overlook Antonio Pierce.
The defensive lines for both teams are exceptional. The Patriots have Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, and Vince Wilfork, who together have been a force to be reckoned with all season long.
New York's line is led by Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, who have combined for 22 sacks this season. The most intriguing part of the game will be the match-up between this defensive line and the Patriots' powerful offensive line. If the Giants have any shot at winning this football game they must dominate in this area. That is a lot easier said than done, however, because Matt Light and Logan Mankins are not easy to push around.
It will be fun. All Super Bowls are. But it will not be close. Champagne will flow in the New England locker room in Glendale, Ariz. and Tuesday's presidential primaries will be overshadowed by one of those rolling rallies Bostonians have gladly become so familiar with.
Final Score: Patriots 31, Giants 14
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