We’ve finally made it to the University of Phoenix Stadium
this has been. There was so much
controversy (spygate) and drama (the Pats going 16-0) that this season was
probably one of the most interesting seasons football fans have seen in a long
time.
This Sunday, the mighty 16-0 Empire led by a “new” emperor, and his young Sith, will square off against the most unlikely of Rebel
Forces. The winner doesn’t get the control of the
galaxy; instead they receive something more precious than the stars in the
sky. The winner gets their hands on the
Trophy and the right to call
themselves The Champions my friends.
With this week’s
preview being the last “meaningful” preview for the remainder of the season. I
decided to give you guys and added bonus.
Here is my pick for the 2008 Pro-Bowl:
February 10, 2008
2008 NFL Pro-Bowl
FOX
vs. AFC
Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI
This game has two very good teams. This will make for a very interesting game and somebody will win
in the end.
My Pick: Who cares. It’s the Pro-Bowl. Tell
me who wins when it’s over. I’ll be too
busy watching paint dry.
Now that we go that
out of the way, let’s pick our 2008 Super Bowl Champs.
Super Bowl XLII
February 03, 2008
6:30 pm, FOX
Game of the Week
NY Giants (10-6) vs.
New England Patriots (16-0)Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
3 hours and 15 minutes south of Glendale is Tombstone,
AZ. It’s the home of Wyatt Earp and the
infamous Gunfight at the
O.K. Corral
. We’ve heard the stories, read the books, andseen the movies about Mr.Earp, his brothers and Doc Holiday and how they took
out the McLaury/Clanton clan in the gunfight.
Now back then, that was considered a Super Bowl. It was definetly about the “team” concept in
that situation and it’s the same for this Sunday’s big game.
Both the Giants
and the Pats have had their fair share of “issues” this season. For the Pats, it was “spygate”. For the Giants, it was starting their season
0-2 and their annual second half of the season “brain farts” that have haunt them
for the past three seasons. Through it
all, both teams pulled through to get to this point. It’s going to take the team with the biggest understanding of the
“team” concept to win this game.
Let’s look at
the underdogs first:
The Giants are a
team who look and feel like a team who’s riding on destiny. Their run to the Super Bowl is somewhat
similar to the Pats when they won their first championship in 2000. Throughout their whole run, the Pats were
said to be “playing with house money” and were “a team of destiny”. Well, with the way the Giants have been
playing football for the past month, the same can be said about them.
Some people may
say that the Giants have been playing “conservative” football. That’s not the case. They have been playing “smart”
football. They have been putting
numbers on the board with evey chance that comes their way and have found ways
to stay in a game no matter the situation.
The Giants like to play a close game and keep their opponents thinking
their still in the game. What’s so
great about that is it allows their opponents to let their guard down and opens
up a opportunity to attack when they least expect it.
What’s been
impressive throughout their run to the Super Bowl, is the play of Eli Manning. Manning,
who’s been know to get as rattled as Charlton Heston getting interviewed by Micahel
Moore, has been the steady hand of this Giants team. Manning
has completed 62% of his passes with 4 TDs and no interceptions in the
playoffs. He has learned that he can’t
carry the team by hinself and has utilized all of his options when the offense
is on the field. That’s what you call
“smart’ football.
The Gianst
offense has to continue to play that kind of football if they want to compete
against a very solid Patriots defense. The have to have a balanced offense. The
Giants have to continue to use their two man rushing attack of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw to wear
down the Pats D-line and use a number
of “dump and d###” passes on the field.
Using short
passes to move the the ball up the field will allow the Giants to tire the Pats
defense and it helps to open up the offense to mix-it up. The “dump and d###” passes and controled
running game will also help the Giants control the clock and keep the ball
offense. That will help in keeping the
Pats’ offense off of the field.
The Giants’
defense likes to rush the passer. In
doing so, they like to look for the sack.
That’s all well in good, but if the Giants’ defense can’t get the sack
in rushing the passer, it’s fine. As
long as they disrupt the flow of the offense by getting to Tom
Brady, the Giants will be able to drop the hammer on the Pats
offense. Look for a number of pass
rushes from the outside and up the middle with Micahel Strahan or Osi Umenyiora on the end and Kawika Mitchell or Antonio Pierce up the middle.
Now, let’s
look at the favorites:
It’s has been a
task all season long to find a flaw in the Patriots. Their offense and defense has been on point since the first snap
of the season and it shows with an 16-0 record in the regular season. But with games against the Eagles, the
and the Giants;
a few flaws have been brought to light.
The Pats realize
that they can’t always got to Randy Moss
for every play, so they have to continue to use all of their options on
offense. Wes
Welker
, DonteStallworth, and Laurence
Maroney will have to be the key to the Pats
offense. These players will have to be
the guys Brady will have to look for when plays start to collapse on offense.
Also, the Pats’ O-line has to protect Brady at any cost. One slip up and Brady will be on his butt or
eating grass for the whole game. The
Pats’ offense is flowing through one vein; Brady is the heart that
runs the flow through that vein.
The Pats’ defense has
somewhat of a difficult job at hand.
They have to try to stop a Giants’ offense that’s running on
momentum. The Giants offense is on
another level right now and with momentum on their side, they feel they’re
unstoppable. The Pats’ defense has to
make Eli Manning “beat” them.
Like Brady, Eli is
the heart of the Giants’ offense for the playoffs. If the pats defense can get to Eli and rattle him in Sunday’s
game, it’s going to him to over-think his role on the offense and force him to
do too much. That will lead to big
mistakes on offense and big turnovers.
They Pats’ D-line also has to stop the run game in the backfield and not
allow themselves to get tired out with the Giants’ rushing attack. The Pats defense is older, yet
experienced. That experience will help
guide the Pats defense if or when the game gets close.
Bill
Belichick and the Patriots have
been running through the NFL with a Hannibal type train of
thought. With a season of perfection
and a Super Bowl titled added to their campaign for the 2007-08 season, this
team could be considered the best team in the history of the NFL. That’s if they win on Sunday, and they will.
Once again, I have
reached a crossroad where I am forced to think with my head and not my
heart. As glad as I am to see the
Giants in the Super Bowl because I’m a New Yorker, I also have to look at all
of the facts. And the facts state that
the Pats will win this game. They have
the better numbers and better personnel to win this game and the
championship. But…this will be a close
game, similar to the game that was played back in Week 17, and don’t be
surprised if this game goes into OT.
All in all, we are
witnessing one of the greatest, if not the greatest, single season
performances by any team. The 1972
Miami Dolphins may have been the first team to go undefeated in the regular
season, but the 2007-08 New England Patriots did it better.
My Pick: New York Giants 23, New England Patriots 26You can always check out new posts and past write ups on The Rowdy One’s blog at: http://outofbounds-therowdyone.blogspot.com/
