Giants Won't Stop Explosive Pats
Tom Brady, Offense Will Keep New England's Date With 19-0, Destiny
Cinderella New York faces uphill climb in knocking off New England in Super Bowl XLII. Experienced Patriots have firepower to win fourth championship in seven years.
New England ripped the New York Giants for 390 yards and 38 points during a three-point victory to become the first NFL team to finish the regular season 16-0. The explosive Patriots will try to do the same Sunday and finish off a historic 19-0 season.
Everything starts with Pats quarterback and league Most Valuable Player Tom Brady, who completed 68.9 percent of his passes and finished with 50 touchdown tosses against only eight interceptions for a 117.2 rating.
So, some were wondering what went wrong as he threw three picks in AFC playoff victories against Jacksonville and San Diego. Absolutely nothing: He’s also thrown five scoring passes, completing almost 79 percent of his attempts for a 105.7 rating, which would still place him second in the league behind his lofty benchmark.
Instead of the big-play fireworks that spoiled fans got used to during much of the Patriots’ record-setting march, he’s displayed patience and settled for the short game that’s featured slot receiver Wes Welker and running back Kevin Faulk.
Welker has caught 16 balls for 110 yards and two scores, while Faulk, the most valuable player in the victory over the Chargers, has hauled in 13 for 118 yards. And tight end Ben Watson has only three catches for 20 yards in the postseason, but two have gone for TDs.
Randy Moss has only two catches, one in each contest, for 32 yards. Donte Stallworth has a 53-yard catch but has mustered only 26 yards on his other four receptions. Jabar Gaffney has four catches for 38 yards.
Look for the Giants to bracket or double-team Moss most of the time and take their chances against New England’s other weapons. But that means New York’s front four, namely ends Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, must cause havoc for Brady. Yet, the Pats have moved the ball when they’ve had to and came up with crucial plays in the passing game.
New England has overcome any shortcomings because of the re-emergence of its running attack, especially second-year man Laurence Maroney. The University of Minnesota product has carried 47 times for 244 yards (5.2 average), which accounts for 83 percent of the Pats’ output.
New York finished with the seventh-best defense overall and was No. 8 against the run during the regular season. The Giants allowed Marion Barber of Dallas to gain 129 yards but only 28 in the second half and have shut down Tampa Bay and Green Bay on a combined 36 carries for 97 yards, a paltry 2.7 per try.
Look for the Pats to spread the Giants out as much as possible to exploit their suspect secondary while opening up running lanes for Maroney. Brady is usually a master at picking out the right target and getting the ball out quickly, so the Giants front four and coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s zone blitz packages must confuse Brady enough the keep New England’s receivers from running circles around New York’s secondary.
However, the weather-controlled environment in Phoenix should allow New England to unleash every facet of its high-powered arsenal, and that spells misery for the Giants.
