Super Bowl Breakdown

Keys To The Game:

Patriots: All year the strength of the Pats team has been their explosive passing game and they'll need that in this game. But with Gronk hurt and most likely going to be going half speed I think the Pats need to try and run the ball more than usual and they need to be effective doing it. The Pats chances of winning this game go way down if they become 1 dimensional and only rely on dropping back Brady to carry the entire offensive load. I say that because the Giants have the best pass rushing D-Line in the NFL and similar to the way they did in the 2007 superbowl their going to most likely wreak havoc on the Pats O-Line and be in Brady's face. So the Patriots need to run the ball and run it effectively because when you run the ball effectively it slows the pass rush down and it keeps the defense off balance which can set up play action pass opportunities which also slows down the rush setting Brady up in a clean pocket with time to throw against a off balanced defense which we all know he can take advantage of. Defensively the Patriots absolutely have to be better than they played most of the regular season especially better than they were against the Giants in the regular season because I can guarantee the Giants D will come to play. The Giants have 3 dangerous weapons at WR and the Pats secondary is suspect so I expect to see alot of zone from NE because they can't match up man to man. The Pats need to show different looks and disguise their different zone coverages and mix in some blitzes to try and keep Eli and the Giants offense guessing and out of a comfort zone.  

Giants: The Giants are playing really well on both sides of the ball coming into this game and they really just need to keep doing what they've been doing. My one concern about this team on offense is in the running game. We know their going to try and run it but how successful will they be. The Pats might be a avg defense but that's mostly because of their pass D as their actually a pretty good run D. They shut down to pretty good running teams in Den and Bal in their 2 playoff games. Brandon Jacobs needs to run like he's capable of at 6'4 260+ pounds and also the Giants have to convert on short yardage situations running the ball which they have struggled to do all season. The passing game is fine and because of all their weapons it won't be easy for the Pats to key on any individual WR. Also I know Eli has been playing really well right now but still even this year at times he's made that pass or 2 that has you shaking your head and if he does in this game against an opponent that rarely ever turns the ball over it could be disaster. Eli needs to make plays but at the same time be in control and manage the game as well. 

Prediction: I think ultimately the Giants will win this game. Their simply the better team. The Pats haven't been that impressive to me this year and I can argue that their one of the worst super bowl teams in recent memory. They didn't beat a single team all year with a winning record until last week and they only won that game because of a missed FG and a dropped TD catch. The Giants are just the better overall team right now. With Gronk hurt and supposedly needing surgery after the game there is no way he's gonna be able to be himself. The Giants D-Line is going to control this game and make Brady uncomfortable which as we've seen in the past is the way to get him off his game and the key to beating the Patriots. But I will say this if Tom Brady wins a super bowl with this team and is THE MAIN REASON they win you have to seriously consider him as the greatest QB to ever play.