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Bonginator11
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Name: Charles
Birthday: 11/18/1984
Gender: Male
Interests: Sports, Devils hockey, Simpsons, Pixar movies
Expertise: Russell Peters imitations
Occupation: Student
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Member Since:
1/9/2003
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| WOW...what a win for the Giants. Perfect season no more for New England. Truly an amazing end to an amazing season. A season where we saw the forgotten Manning rise up and claim a piece of glory in football history.
From my last entry, the key was for the Giants to control the line of scrimmage defensively and they did exactly that. They harassed Tom Brady all night long and kept the New England offense off their rhythm. The Giants were an inspired group that fulfilled their destiny...in the end, they wanted it more. A perfect example of this was David Tyree's 3rd down catch against Rodney Harrison. That was a catch of pure will and it showed even before the throw with Eli Manning somehow squirming his way out of trouble. That play alone showed who wanted it more.
New England simply didn't show up. They executed poorly. Took too many holding penalties. They didn't go for a FG when it was makable, which turned out to be the winning margin of the game. Clearly they felt like they already had the perfect season in the bag, and POOF, how quickly that went down the tubes. Too bad all those books and memorabilia that Amazon was preparing for will not sell anymore...oh well too bad for them.
So congrats to the Giants on a magical season of their own. Where everyone counted them out. I'm just hoping next football season that my 49ers decide to show up and maybe pull of a run like this of their own. We'll see. It was a fun season and i'll say till next time cuz no one cares about the Pro Bowl anyways. | | |
| Wow I haven't written in this thing in a long time, but I will use this again to predict the Superbowl this year.
Quarterbacks: Brady vs. Manning
Brady is in an elite class with the other Manning, so this one is a no brainer. However, I have been very surprised to see the way Eli has been managing the game and limiting his mistakes (0 interceptions in the playoffs). If Manning can keep up his high level of play, the Giants might have a shot.
Edge: Patriots
Running backs: Maroney/Faulk vs. Jacobs/Bradshaw
With the Patriots amazing air attack, there hasn't been much to run for in this historic Patriots offense. However, in the playoffs, San Diego has made Brady look very normal, so Maroney and Faulk were more integrated into the role of the offense. If the Giants can get some pressure on Brady, look for bigger roles from these running backs as Faulk showed against SD, being the best player on the field that game.
The Giants have reconstructed the Thunder and Lightning approach without Tiki. Jacobs is an upgrade over Dayne and while Bradshaw is no Tiki, he possesses a huge burst of speed. The Pats have been vulnerable against the run so look for the Giants to exploit this part of the defense a little.
Edge: Even
Wide Receivers:
The Pats receivers have a good knowledge of their roles in this offense. Moss is the big threat while Welker is the check down, get open when Brady is in trouble receiver. Stallworth is great after the catch and Gaffney is starting to find his game.
The Giants have their own big play maker (literally big in 6'5'') Plaxico Burress. However, 2nd year Steve Smith and Amani Toomer have stepped up their games as well. The Pats secondary is quick, so these receivers must make sure they hold onto the football in order to keep drives alive.
Edge: Slight edge to Patriots
Tight End: Watson vs. Boss
Watson is an athletic TE who can go up for the ball. Boss is a slightly heavier, slightly slower version of Shockey, but he still possesses good hands and a knack for getting open.
Edge: Patriots
Kicker: Gostkowski vs. Tynes
Gostkowski and Tynes both are not the most reliable kickers in the world. Tynes is coming off a great pressure filled kick in Green Bay, but I'd say I'd rather have someone else booting the ball through the uprights come gametime.
Edge: Even
I'll stop here...but the key matchup of this game is whether the Giants can apply some sort of consistent pressure on Brady. They didn't their first meeting on Dec 29 and they got hammered for it. San Diego showed that with some pressure, Brady can get rattled and make some mistakes (he threw 3 picks that game). If the Giants can create some turnovers and Manning doesn't pull regular season mistakes, the Giants can prevent the perfect season. In the end, I see Brady being Brady and the Pats having too many weapons to prevent them from losing. I don't really care who wins...all I want is a good game.
Prediction: Patriots 31, Giants 27.
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