The long-awaited Super Bowl post
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Feb 01, 2008 
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I picked the Giants to beat the Cowboys and I was one of the few who picked them to beat the Packers. But now they’re facing the varsity, a team playing for its place in sports history. Here’s a breakdown:
Coaches: Bill Belichick may well be some sort of insane genius. Tom Coughlin is mean to his players. In football, insane always wins.
Last meeting: The Giants have been playing with tremendous confidence since losing 38-35 to the Patriots on Dec. 29. But while the score was close, it was deceiving. The Giants scored a meaningless touchdown with 68 seconds left. They also scored on a kickoff return by Domenik Hixon in the second quarter. The return came after the Patriots were penalized 15 yards for excessive celebration after a touchdown. It was a fluke score. The Patriots also played the game without the entire right side of their offensive line yet Tom Brady was sacked only once.
The quarterbacks: Tom Brady is the Joe Montana of his day. Says the right thing, does the right thing on the field. Never panics. The idea that the Giants can rattle Brady is ridiculous. Eli Manning was Carl Pavano earlier this season, everybody wanted him out. Now he’s Mr. Wonderful. But remember this: After the Giants went up 28-16 against the Patriots back in December, Manning was 4 for 7 in the next three series with an interception. He also fumbled and was sacked. By the time he got going again, the Giants were down 38-28. He is better, but he can still be had.
Key matchup: Patriots C Dan Koppen vs. Giants DT Justin Tuck. Brady likes to step up in the pocket to escape pressure. The versatile Tuck figures to line up over Koppen to try and collapse the pocket. He’s probably more of a concern to the Patriots than Michael Strahan or Osi Umenyiora.
How the Patriots can lose: The Giants control the ball with their backs, Laurence Maroney fumbles in a key spot and they miss the winning field goal because Adam Vinatieri is watching on television.
Intangibles: The Giants have handled the lead up to the game like high school kids. They predicted scores, they all dressed in black for some silly reason and they did every television show possible. The Patriots are professional hit men. Cool, calculating, ruthless. Given the salary cap, weighted scheduling and free agency of the NFL, going 19-0 would be one of the greatest accomplishments in sports history. You can’t screw that up.
Final score: This Super Bowl reminds me of the 2000 World Series. The Patriots are the Yankees. They’re a powerful, seemingly flawless team facing a scrappy bunch of underdogs. This is the game to cement their dynasty. Like the Mets, the Giants have done well to get as far as they did. Patriots 42, Giants 21.
Pete, you’re a great sportswriter and a better man…but your Patriots fandom is glaringly obvious
42.
Too much, Pete.
Giants also will add a FG or 2.
Closer than you think/hope !
May it be a good game; may the commercials also be good !!!
Enjoy the evening everyone !
Then — the real sport !
Don’t forget that the Patriots cheat
Yes, I am a Patriots fan. I didn’t get the memo that covering the Yankees means you have to root for the Giants. I actually like the Giants. But my family has season tickets in Foxboro.
Besides, Brady is a Yankees fan. Belichick is a Yankees fan. He even went to Tampa for spring training last season. Mike Vrabel was at a game a few years ago in a Yankees cap. The Yankees are the semi-official team of the Pats.
I hate to say it but I think Pete is right. Gonna be an uncompetitive, boring game followed by more obnoxious blabbering coming from the Boston area.
mm: Were you listening to WFAN today? Steve Sabol from NFL Films told a great story. Back in the day, teams used to exchange game film for scouting purposes. George Halas used to have two cameras film the game, one that was purposely out of focus. He would send that film to the other team.
When Brian Billick was on HBO this week, he basically said that every team uses cameras against the rules. So did Jimmy Johnson. The Pats got caught and they were wrong. But the idea that they’re the only team that “cheats” is silly.
I wrote this article about the game for my school newspaper if anyone is interested…
dont mind the error about moss’s jersey #, the editor screwed a few things up
http://media.www.georgestreetobserver.com/media/
storage/paper908/news/2008/01/31/Opinion/The-Real.Football.Giants-3181002.shtml
Oh and speaking of Boston fans… heres an article i wrote about Boston being the best sports city. it was so hard to remove my Yankees bias. had to write that part over 5 times.
http://media.www.georgestreetobserver.com/media/
storage/paper908/news/2008/01/31/Opinion/The-Real.Football.Giants-3181002.shtml
Er, the 2000 World Series is a terrible analogy, because the 2000 Yankees were the worst team of the Joe Torre era, but they stumbled into the playoffs due to the rest of the AL East sucking even worse, and then they got hot in the playoffs. But this wasn’t the 1998 or 1999 powerhouses, this was Paul O’Neill and Scott Brosius falling off the shelf, David Cone being constantly used despite being way past his sell-by date, and second base being shared by *shudder* Luis Vizcaino and Luis Sojo. Oh, and Chuck Knoblauch was playing left field.
A better analogy would be, actually, the 2007 World Series: steamroller Red Sox versus scrappy underdog Rockies.
Pete, I like your thinking. I had every prediction right until Green Bay. They’re on the cusp of history. If it doesn’t happen it’s because a bunch of drunks from the Boston Globe jinxed them by writing a freaking book about a perfect season before the end of the perfect season.
Keith- It’s Jose Vizcaino & the point Pete was making had to do with the premise of cementing the Yankees dynasty not comparing this years Patriots team to the Yankees team of 2000.
Pete—
Just wondering, did you grow up a Red Sox fan in MA?
Oh please. Talk about a homer post. No credibility with this one.
The only good thing about the Giants beating the Packers: Now I can root for the Patriots having a perfect season
HUGE homer post. What about Ahmad Bradshaw not playing Week 17 vs the Pats? And if he was only sacked once, what does it matter if half their line was out? It only works one way or the other…
Patriots will probably win but the reasoning you supplied was pretty ridiculous.
Go Giants.
David: How am I a homer? I live in New York. I’m picking the Pats to win the game. I picked the Giants over the Packers. Was I a homer then, too?
Mel: The book thing is funny. Yes, you can pre-order a book on Amazon on the Pats winning the game. And you can also pre-order one on the Giants pulling the upset.
Dr. J: I started working for a newspaper when I was 16, so I always have rooted more for individuals more than teams. But we had Pats season tickets and I went to every home game starting when I was 10 or 11. So they’re really my team. Them and North Carolina basketball because I liked the 4 corners offense and their tradition.
Pete: No hard feelings, man, was just making a funny.
Well, trying to make one, anyway
(What? I finished the first section of my thesis. I’ve had one of the greatest weeks of my life. It’s late and I’m on a sugar high.)
You are a homer because you are a Patriots fan and picking the Patriots to win by an absurd amount. That makes it a homer pick. And that entire varsity thing is complete bs. The last two teams the Giants beat are the better than the last two teams the Patriots beat.
Man. I just saw what Pete wrote to Rebecca. Talk about hyper sensitivity.
I love that basically anything goes on this blog on a daily basis and today Pete makes his picks and is sticking by to defend it!
that a boy pete – lets go Jets!! lol (obviously rooting for the G-men)
Keith-Dockery was out as well and Madison got hurt the play before the Pats took the lead. O’Hara also missed most of the second half. That had a huge effect on the game. But yeah. Only the Pats had injuries. Please.
David: If you think the NFC was better than the AFC, you’re the only person who does. The Cowboys were on a downward trend when the Giants got them. Brett Favre than played an atrocious game in the NFC title game. That pick in OT was awful. Tampa Bay? Give me a break. Jacksonville was a damn good team and Brady picked them apart. The Chargers were banged up but still had their defense intact.
The line is 12 or 13 and I picked them to win by 21. Is that really so crazy?
Look at the last game. Had the Patriots scored at the end (which they easily could have), they would have won by 10. The Giants also got a fluke TB when Hixon scored on the return. You can argue that the Pats were three scores better than night. Now the game is on a neutral field and under optimal conditions.
And comparing Eli to Carl Pavano is utter crap. Eli has started 55 straight games, including games with a slight separation of his shoulder. He’s a young QB who got better at the end of his 4th year. I’m sure that’s never happened before. The only fans that wanted him out don’t understand the game of football. You want to compare him to a baseball player. Bernie Williams would be a far better comparison. But you’d rather go for the cheap shot.
“I didn’t get the memo that covering the Yankees means you have to root for the Giants.”
Come on Pete, dont act shocked you’re getting this reaction. You cater to a group of people that wish Boston would fall off of the map.
Special teams are not fluke scores. That is a key component of football. And its a component the Giants have excelled at regardless of the opponent.
The Chargers were three best players were injured. Their inability to score is why they couldn’t win. The NFC faired quite well in interconference games. The Chargers won 6 games during the season. Favre didn’t play well because of the Giants defense. You are a complete homer with your pick. That’s fine because you are a Patriots fan. But don’t try to make it sound like you giving a balanced view of the game because you aren’t.
Ryan-Rebecca’s comment was completely innocuous. There was no reason for Pete’s response. All she said was that his fandom was obvious and with a smiley no less. She didn’t rip him for being a Pats fan.
Hey, I respect your opinion, but there is obvious favortism here, which is fine because you’re not covering these teams. I agree that the giants chances aren’t great, but you took an awful lot of unwarranted shots at them. They earned their way to this game by playing 3 road games and deserve more respect than you’re giving them.
The Chargers won six games during the season? Really? Amazing they made the playoffs.
It was a fluke score because the Pats were penalized 15 yards and kicked off deep.
I wasn’t responding to Rebecca. I was writing that as she posted. I was trying (fruitlessly) to head off the silly “you don’t respect the Giants” posts. I respect the Giants just fine. I picked them to win the Green Bay game. I just think the Pats are 3 scores better.
I compared Eli to Pavano based on the media and fan reaction to him, not his durability. People were killing him after that Washington game. Killing him.
Favre didn’t play well because of the Giants defense? Of course. Brady played the Giants defense and was 32 of 42 in a howling wind at night. It’s the QB’s job to play well against the defense and Favre was brutal.
Go ahead, give me a breakdown on how the Giants win. You have all the space you want here. I just don’t see how they keep it close.
Whopp-dee-doo… A Pats fan picks the Pats to win… ::yawn::
I don’t know how the Giants are going to win; I just know I want them to.
And with that, I am outtie for the night.
HAPPY FEBRUARY!
lol….
David, what are you talking about? I was responding what Peter said.
On another note, the Boston elitism is overflowing tonight.
Peter,
It’s your blog, you can post what you want, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
We know you’re a Pats fan, fine. No one sensible cares that you think your team’s going to win. The cheap shots, however, are objectionable, i.e. the varsity and the Pavano cracks.
But what I really find objectionable is your consistent attitute towards your readers who disagree with you. You wrote a post you knew was going to spur disageement, and then you want to troll-bait the people who disagree.
If that makes you happy, then good for you. However, you have the most popular Yankee blog around. Why the knee-jerk hostility to anyone who questions you? Especially when you deliberately provoke it?
And, credit where credit is due, you’ve recently mentioned ARod several times in a row without any nasty comments. I really appreciate that.
“Peter,
It’s your blog, you can post what you want, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
We know you’re a Pats fan, fine. No one sensible cares that you think your team’s going to win. The cheap shots, however, are objectionable, i.e. the varsity and the Pavano cracks.
But what I really find objectionable is your consistent attitute towards your readers who disagree with you. You wrote a post you knew was going to spur disageement, and then you want to troll-bait the people who disagree.
If that makes you happy, then good for you. However, you have the most popular Yankee blog around. Why the knee-jerk hostility to anyone who questions you? Especially when you deliberately provoke it? ”
Quoted for truth
Try and toughen up a little bit. I made no direct cracks on the Giants. I compared the treatment of Eli Manning to Pavano. I didn’t say he was a dog. I like Eli, he works hard. He can be had, that’s all. Just like a lot of young QBs.
The Pats are the varsity. The AFC was much, much better than the NFC. They’re 18-0 and scored the most points in history with the greatest differential. If they’re not the varsity, who the hell is? John Mara — John Mara! — said today that the Giants have a monumental task and would have to play a perfect game to win.
It’s sports talk. I’m not writing about orphans and old ladies here. Stop taking it so personally. Crack on the Patriots, I can take it. It’ss funny how offended some people get.
Pete, any chance Moss actually stays? He can talk all he wants about loving the environment, but 3.5 million a year isn’t even close to keeping him around.
Pete
The Patriots might be the 2000 Yankees but they also might be the 2003 Yankees. Sometimes David can beat Goliath.
Giants have a huge task at hand this weekend. Will take a perfect game and a little luck to pull it off. But, I root for the Giants the same way I root for the Yankees. Still love them win or lose. I’ve never stopped rooting for Eli, same way I’ve never stopped rooting for A-Rod.
Interesting twist on the NY/Boston dynamic. Giants acted more like the Sox this season with the laid back and fun approach and the Pats acted butttoned down like the Yanks.
Within 7 at the half, one way or another would be nice just to keep it interesting.
ok I’ll go w/ 34 – 20 Giants
Pete that Moss touchdown was caused by a mistake, Ross came for the blitz and slipped, that’s why Butler was torched but eversince that game we have paid attention to detail and learned to limit our mistakes, Brandon Jacobs is going to hurt Bruschi, and be prepared for Osi, Strahan and Tuck they know the spotlight is on & Pierce has let every defender know the Pats have already planned the parade on Tues. not a smart thing if you ask me.
or do people need a reminder ? Jacobs
Hard to believe Moss won’t do what’s best for Moss. He always has. Jacksonville would wans him. Pats will have to pay him. Brady will insist. But if they win, who knows? Belichick and Pioli value the 53-man roster and they’ve proved that works.
Coaches: Tom Coughlin’s changed attitude has been all the talk this season. Bill Belichick plays juvenile games with the NFL injury report and has yet to prove he could have gone undefeated without the benefit of breaking the rules. However, the referees will have his back as always.
Last meeting: The Giants were up by 12 points on the vaunted Patrios in the 4th quarter. Yes, they scored a touchdown on special teams. Should we just discount special teams? Is that not a part of the game? This would be like saying that defense doesn’t count in baseball. It’s a part of the game. The Giants were rolling until Sean O’Hara got hurt, then two muffed snaps and poor blocking caused the offense to shut down. One could easily make the case that if O’Hara remains healthy, the Giants score another touchdown.
The quarterbacks: Tom Brady is great in his execution. There is no denying that. Part of it has to do with the system, of course, but Brady’s got the record for TDs in a season. Of course the game has changed greatly since the Montana days.. back then 35 TDs was considered a great year. Eli Manning was Alex Rodriguez earlier in the season. The media liked to put all of the blame for anything that went wrong with the Giants on him, and he hadn’t won in the postseason. He became the easy target, and back page whipping boy. He was “too robotic” and “didn’t show enough emotion.” Manning’s numbers suffered in the end of the Patriots game once backup guard Gary Ruegamer was forced into duty.
Key matchup: Giants C Sean O’Hara vs. Patriots NT Vince Wilfork. If O’Hara can handle Wilfork without having to constantly double-team him (and avoid getting his eyes gouged) it will free up guards Chris Snee and Rich Seubert to handle the Pats linebackers Junior Seau and Tedy Bruschi. Both Bruschi and Seau are “downhill” linebackers who love to dart in and attempt to stuff the run. Freeing up the guards will open up more lanes in the soft middle of the Patriots defense for Manning to hit receivers like Kevin Boss and Steve Smith on crossing patterns, as well as open up holes for running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. All of this centers around O’Hara’s ability to contain Wilfork.
How the Patriots can lose: They score less points than the Giants by the end of regulation.
Intangibles: The Patriots have been making “fake funny news stories” for their resident cheerleaders in Bristol all week. Brady’s been to New York to visit his famous girlfriend (no word if they got margaritas) and despite what the Patriots will say, has a hurt ankle. Should the Giants hit him early and often, they can take away his plant foot and force the Patriots to become a run-only one-dimensional offense.
Final score: This Super Bowl reminds me of the 2001 World Series. The Patriots are the Yankees. They’re a powerful, seemingly flawless team facing a scrappy bunch of underdogs. This is the game to cement their dynasty, as they’ve recently won three world championships. Like the Diamondbacks, the Giants have done well to get as far as they did. When it all comes down to one game, anything can happen. Giants 28, Patriots 24.
Peter I love your blog but dislike your football choices..
Eli and Pavano are not very much alike, the fans who booed him ealry are fools. QB’s take a while to develop unless you are named Brady or Roethlisberger(not really but had a great running attack). The odds are the pats will win but stranger things have happened. In some ways this is the Yanks in 2000, they were getting old and near the end and so are the Pats, there D is very old and theywill lose Samuel this yr. and possibly Moss.
I think the Giants will play them tough, and for the Giants to win they will have to play there best game.. I read people talking about the 1st game it means very little; the pats played without 2 or 3 O lineman, the giants played without bradshaw, O’hara, Madison when they got burned etc..
The Giants are better then athe chargers with a diminished qb, rb, and TE… I hope the Giants shock those cocky, smug ,new englanders….
Pete the Giants haven’t been cocky at all, in fact all I can say is Plax was the only one. Even with him it wasn’t even a guarantee but more of an assurance that he knows they can win. Do you expect the Giants to sit there and just give lip service to Brady & Co. and all the records they have broken this year? If you’re even remotely close to a Giants fan I hope not. Either way Pete it’ll be a lot closer than you think because all the pressure is on the Pats to win and complete the perfect season. Better on paper only goes so far and as a Yankee beat reporter with our recent postseason performance you should know that.
see? now mr. faded glory knows how to play.
The score of the last meeting was deceptive? The Giants were winning in the fourth quarter!
And you talk about Patriots injuries. Sure the have the right side of their O-Line now, but now their D is going against Bradshaw and a much healthier Burress. I think that at least evens things out.
3 touchdowns? Crazy. When was the last time they won by that much?
This game will be competitive.
Pete I agree you should choose the football team you like the most, but I have to disagree with your Super Bowl prediction. Keep up the magnificent work on the Yankees and this blog!
Pete the Hixon return was a TD period. Why should we not count that because Moss cant hand the ball to the ref. Its part of the game.
That Nixon TD was hilarious because it was right after a Moss TD and it interrupted a discussion he was having with Big Coach B shot catching. Coach B literally trailed off to Moss as Nixon crossed the goal lline! Classic.
Not shot but the word is supposed to be about. Predictive text on iPod Touches aren’t perfect.
Abreu is in Taiwan for a personal visit..
See the photo when he is at the Airport….
http://l.yimg.com/tw.image.new.....689188.jpg
http://udn.com/NEWS/MEDIA/4205656-1787791.JPG
http://udn.com/NEWS/MEDIA/4205656-1787792.JPG
first off it’s Hixon
H I X O N
and anyone that says he has nothing to do w/ it or special teams has no impact..excuse me ? it’s field positon, he breaks one plus 30 yards Pats D has to play w/ a short field vs Jacobs and Bradshaw, very tough to stop them btw.
Whoops Hixon, my apologies. I’ve had a few Yuenglings.
Favre was brutal.
So was Brady in the AFC title game. If he plays like that against the Jints and New York can shut down Maroney they’ll win. I even think that Plax’ pick will be pretty close to the final score.
I thought the Pats late in the year were kinda bogged down, burdened to have to win for their perfect season yet really just waiting for the playoffs so they could win their championship. I thought the supposed weaknesses they were showing would disappear in January and beat downs would commence, yet it hasn’t. On top of which Tom Brady is limping on a bad ankle. The fact that Brady will be slowed has been laughed off by the Nimrods at Espn. Here is the truth. The Giants have the best/fastest pass rush in football and the Pats Linebackers look old and slow which has also exposed their secondary. The Giants will win this game. A little tip from a Jet fan. Bet the Mortgage.
I think Peter is going to get another NFL Prediction correct. The Giants are going to get mauled. I’m a Giants fan, but it’s just not going to happen. Eli is not suddenly as great as everyone thinks he is. And more importantly, the Patriots might just be the best team of all-time.
The Patriots offensive line is awesome. If they play like usual, the game will be a blowout, since the Giants secondary will get eaten alive by Brady if he has decent time in the pocket. Even if Brady gets rushed consistently, chances are he’ll still make a couple big plays to Moss and the Pats will still win by at least a TD.
Face it, the Giants need the Patriots to turn the ball over. The Patriots score at will, pretty much. Look at that Week 17 game. So the Giants will need to score TDs, not FGs, and will need help from the unlikely fumble or INT.
The only thing I disagree with Peter on is comparing the Superbowl to the 2000 World Series. That Yankees team had the worst regular season record of the 8 postseason teams in baseball that year, including both wild cards. They only won 87 games, and were lucky that the AL East division was pretty weak that year. These Pats are more like the ’98 Yankees: Kicking the crap out of everyone in their path in an unprecedented manner. And the Giants compare very well to the ’98 Padres. The Padres had to pull off upsets against two different 100+ win monsters in the Astros and Braves that year to even make it to the WS, just like the Giants did this year against the powerhouse NFC teams of Dallas and Green Bay. And they are both huge underdogs in the championship round as well. So I would say it is more like the ’98 World Series. If the Giants pull off the upset, it will be one of the most memorable Super Bowls of all-time.
I don’t know, a Giants fan saying his team won’t win? Somehow I question this.
Umm, ok you can question it. Knock yourself out.
I mean it’s one thing to say your team has no chance and another if you think the Pats will edge them. I’m a Giants fan and I never thought they were out of any game. I know I’m biased, but that’s kind of the point.
Well of course the Giants CAN win the game. And I will be rooting like hell for them to win. I hope Brady gets knocked out of the game in the first quarter and that Eli throws it all night long to Plaxico and Amani for TDs galore.
But if you are looking at this game objectively, considering the entire body of work for both teams since Week One, there is no way any reasonable person should expect the Giants to win. That is a huge compliment to how good New England has been this year. They are an all-time great team.
I do agree with you, and I think I took what you said a bit out of context. Anyways I do disagree with you about the “no way any reasonable person” should expect us to win, I don’t think many Giants fans are at this stage right now. Why should they? If the Giants lose, that is expected. All the weight is on the Pats’ shoulder to finish the historic season, the Giants are seen as merely fruit flies to the 19-0 season. That’s a very dangerous mindset for any fan (or team, but I don’t think Coach B would let that happen) to have, to overlook your opponent. I don’t discredit what they’ve done, I’m just not crowning them at all because they haven’t won anything yet.
I know plenty of rabid Giants fans who actually do expect the Giants to win the game. A few people I know even have relatively large wagers on the game with Pats fans about who will win the game, ignoring the spread. It seems to me that with the Giants wins over Green bay and Dallas, a lot of Giants fans are now hailing Eli as a Top 5 QB and think the Giants have the best defense in the NFL. These friends of mine actually seem to believe this stuff.
But I still believe that no reasonable person should actually expect the Giants to win this game. Maybe it’s just easier for me to try to remain unbiased than some other Giant fans, I don’t know.
And you’re totally right about how the Pats shouldn’t be crowned yet. But all evidence points to the high likelihood that they will be crowned after Sunday’s game, and that’s all that I am saying. I don’t see how anybody can analyze this game and actually say that they expect the Giants to win.
Beeleave: I agree with what you’re saying, I’m not fooled I know the Pats are crazy good. A good deal of my friends are trying to place bets with me over the game. I’m already in a pool but my pocket can’t stomach 5+ personal bets!
I don’t think Eli is a top 5 NFL QB (yet), but it doesn’t take a top QB to win the big game if they can play the game smart. I think the game should be closer than what Pete’s saying.
It’s gonna get reallllllly ugly in here Sunday lol.
GO GIANTS!
Is any one on the blog going to attend Superbowl?
I was lucky enough to get two tickets and I am going tomorrow to Phoenix with my son.
I am an ardent Giants fan, just like Yankees. Patriots are the prohibitive favorites, but Giants are going to upset them.
One way or the other, it is going to be the most historic Superbowl. If Pats win, they make history and go down as the best team ever. If Giants win, it will be treated as the greatest upset and they will be mentioned for ever the team that beat Pats and stopped them from being perfect.
Either way I am going to enjoy the game.
My two cents:
Everyone here knows that Pete is a Patriots fan. The Patriots are having a phenomenal season. Why anyone should be upset that Pete is picking the Patriots big is beyond me!
I hope the Giants win. If they don’t, I hope they at least put up a good fight. Mostly, I would love to see a Superbowl that isn’t over in the first quarter. But the Patriots have been able to pull off a lot of late victories, and unless Brady is really hurting, I don’t see that changing. So, I’m a Giants fan (not fanatic) who is rooting for the Giants to put the cherry on top of a very surprising season, but one who realistically (after watching quite a few Patriots games) can’t see the Patriots giving in.
I think it’s going to be closer than that. I think the Giants could win, but it will be hard to do so. I still don’t think it’s a 20 point differential though.
I think the game will be close for the first quarter and a half..
But the Patriots will go up by a score, then force a turnover, and score again just before the end of the half.. That’ll be it for the Giants.
the Patriots are playing for immortality so obviously they are going to want to jump out early. If the Giants can keep the score close, conservatively between a FG and TD, through the first quarter and avoid any stupid big plays down the field early, i think we’ll have a great game on our hands.
but if the Pats get a couple scores early, and the Giants secondary looks toasted, its over johnny.
the key is the Giants defensive front 4… they get pressure on Brady, you dont have to worry about Moss down the field bc Brady wont have the time to drop back and let the play develop (kind of what they did against Romo and the Cowboys the 2nd half of that game). Pressure on Brady, and double cover Wes Welker going across the middle. I’ll let Lawrence Moroney and Kevin Faulk run all day if they want to.
The Pats give up pts, so i feel comfortable with Eli and the offense the way its been producing to get 24-28 pts on the board.
I’m rooting fo the GMen, so ill admit my pick is a little optimistic, but i think they can pull this off… I’m going 28-24 Giants.
Is Halberstam’s book on Belichick worth reading, for a casual football fan who enjoys good sportswriting? I’ve heard mixed things about it. When he was on his game, Halberstam was great, but he was not above cranking mediocre prose on occasion.
It has to be noted that the Patriots played in an ultra weak AFC-East division so they were virtually spotted 6 wins before the season started and could have easily lost 3-4 games. They’ve played 2 games since last seeing the Giants. They’ll need to be clicking on all cylinders or forever listen to the word “except”.
The Giants didn’t go to Phoenix for a change in climate.
G-Men, 27-23
The Giants will be close in this game because they will score on the Patriots. The Pats linebackers and safeties are slow. The Giants will attack them in the middle of the field with Smith and Toomer. Then they attack with the run on the edges. They’ll hit some big plays when Harrison cheats and Plax is left one on one with Hobbs, who just isn’t very good. Bradshaw will hit some big runs and make some plays in the short passing game. The Pats defense just isn’t as good as it used to be. The Giants will score. I see as 31-27 type of game. The Pats are the favorites. But it won’t be a three TD game. As far as for the Pats point differential. We haven’t seen them blow anyone out in about 6 weeks.
Blue Bleeding – The Pats also played the NFC East and were 4 – 0. They beat San Diego twice, They beat Indy in Indy. They beat Cleveland (10-6). They beat Jacksonville. They beat Pittsburgh.
Re: “easily losing 3-4 games.” They could have indeed lost to Baltimore. But those other “close” games? They were taking a knee with a two score lead against Jacksonville and San Diego in the playoffs. They were taking a knee against the Giants in the Meadowlands. They were taking a knee against Philly. Those are your “close” games.
It’s the AFC’s best against an NFC survivor …. something like the AL vs. the NL. Props to the Giants, but it ends on Sunday.
Not sure if anyone saw this or heard it. Pretty interesting.
I am so tired of hearing how the Yankees and the Patriots are so alike. Its a completely different sport. Completely different make up of the team members, and quite frankly I can’t remember the Yankees talking and acting like some of the Patriot players have.
Anything can happen during a game that makes it swing one way or the other. A key player gets hurt and taken out. A turnover. A key block. A player stepping up and playing like never before. These things happen. It is also still only 1 game, not a series.
If this game is kept close it could go either way. Just like the Giants/ Packers game. It all depends on who is playing well that day. One thing for certain though, if the Patriots win, it was expected. If they lose it tarnishes their whole season, and they will be called chokers.
As a die hard Jets fan this is the worst possible Super Bowl match-up. I’d like to see both teams loose! However, I do think that the Patriots are the better team and will win the game.
Pete:
I have a Vegas ticket, purchased in May, on the Giants winning the Super Bowl. 28-1 odds (thought at the time that they should have been longer) $700 if the G-men win. Oh, and I’m in 16th place in the NY Times playoff contest, which is very cool.
I also had a $25 ticket on the Cardinals, D’oh. Watch out for them next year.
Old goat, how right you are! They aren’t the Yankees and aren’t like the Yankees!!
I also can’t stand when I keep hearing there should be a salary cap.
There is one in football, and it doesn’t work!!
Jennifer – When people compare the Yankees to the Pats, I believe that it’s meant as a compliment. I know a LOT of professional sports teams that would like to be compared to the Patriots.
brian, you have it backwards, I think the Pats should take it as a compliment.
Jennifer, if you look at the teams that make it to the World Series, you see its spread around fairly well. That is proof that the salary caps aren’t needed.
There are many ways to build a team, heck, the Marlins seem to rebuild and retool every couple of years, and they can contend. If they can and others can’t speaks more to management than salaries paid.
God forbid that the Patriots win because New England and Boston fans in particular still don’t know how to accept being champions without acting like gloating fools.
Every city that wins gets a little giddy but they take it to the extreme with silliness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu43lbTrvOQ
Jennifer – It depends on how much you value the “what have you done for me lately?” mentality. The Roman Empire had a great run, but it’s not in the conversation re: Modern Powers. Ask Joe Torre about the value placed on past success.
I guess my point is, look at football they have a cap it doesn’t work!
Out of the 8 playoff teams this year 6 were in the playoffs last year. Everyone points to the nfl saying that it works, oh really? The Pats are going for their 4th trophy since 2002.
Brian, Joe was stale, it was time for him to go.
No way this game is 42-21. Im a diehard and I have picked against the Giants the past 2 weeks, but this week I really do think they will lose.
37-31 sounds more like it
Jennifer – I agree with you on that (Joe being stale), but pumping him up was a self-serving attempt to bolster my argument. I was hoping the Yankees would keep him.
Well we have a Joe, but he is young and firey (sp). He won’t sit on the bench, sleep and pick his nose when his players are being used for target practice.
A couple other factors here, I think the two weeks off kills the Giants, a team that’s struggled with inconsistency under Coughlin, losing its momentum.
Also, I think people underestimate the Patriots defense, a team that was 4th in pts allowed, everyone mentions the slow LBs, slow safeties, well obviously despite that (if its even all that true) they’re getting the job done. Obviously the Giants have a chance, but when you talk about the Giants winning, you’re mentioning a lot of things that have to go right. Negative Patriot Plays. Big Special Teams Play. Flawless game from Eli.
Even in the week 17 game, the Giants got almost all 3 of those, and still lost at home, in less than ideal conditions for the Patriots.
Personally, I think Pete’s right. I have this one at 38-20.
Brian,
I’m a Yankees/Pats fan and I think you’ve got it backwards.
The Yankees were the Yankees before these Patriots were the Patriots.
The current corporate culture of the Patriots can be attributed mainly to their coach, John Winthrop. Oops. I meant Bill Belichick. I’m not saying the Patriots are modeled after the Yankees. But I’m sure they were somewhat influenced by the button-down, business first attitude of the Yankees.
Hixon’s return was a fluke score? What, did all 11 Patriots on the kickoff team get cramps at the same time?
When the Giants win do you think the Boston Globe is still going to publish their book?
Oh, yah, Pete. Thanks for telling me about the upset book, it doesn’t quite cancel the jinx but I feel better. lol.
No more likely than these getting produced if the Patriots win.
http://www.amazon.com/Road-Cha.....038;sr=8-5
http://www.amazon.com/New-York.....38;sr=8-13
Sorry people, Pete is right, this game has New England all over it. Its the JV team versus the Varsity team. Those guys are just too much. I would hate another Boston W but I guess it will take the Yankees to bring those egos down. New England wins this game and will cement their dominance. Because, they will not only win but they’ll win by ALOT. This is the men versus the boys.
Stick to baseball Pete, you obviously are out there when it comes to football.
Your recap of the last meeting was silly. I was at the game and that was a great football game. Not a deceiving score.
Go to Boston and enjoy the Pats with other dirty chowderheads!!! Might as well start blogging for the Red Sox after that post!!!!
Man, that was disappointing…….
Wow, looks like I missed all the fun last night. Why is everyone getting on Pete? He made a prediction and I think he is right (and I am a Giants fan by the way.)
Coaches: Tom Coughlin is overmatched here. Remember the first two games of the year when the Giants looked like they could be beaten by LSU? A lot of people were ready for him to be fired. Bill Belichick may have “cheated” by I don’t think any team in the NFL plays a 100% honest game. If you believe they do, you are dreaming. It is the same thing in baseball with stealing signs and having coaches on your bench whose job it is to watch the other dugout and try to pick up clues. Belichick is a great coach and fantastic game planner. Coughlin is a mediocre coach who is lucky his team caught fire at the right time to save his job.
Last meeting: I still really believe the Giants should have won this game. They came out and played well in a game the Boston media expected them to roll over in. The main thing is the Giants got a spark in that game that has carried them through the playoffs and hopefully that game gives them a little confidence that they can indeed beat the Patriots.
The quarterbacks: Tom Brady is awesome. I don’t like him or his corny Stetson ads, but he is the real deal at QB. I don’t think he is a “system quarterback” although I think the Patriots’ system is perfectly tailored to his strengths. Brady won in previous years with a lot less offensive weapons. Eli Manning is still not great and still makes me nervous but he is getting better. Until he puts up a full, consistent season I don’t think he will silence all his critics, but I think he has the potential to play a great game and keep the Giants in the hunt. He just needs to do the obvious… take care of the ball and avoid turnovers.
Key matchup: Giants Running Backs v. Patriots Defense. The Giants have to be able to run the ball, control the ball without turning it over, take some of the pressure off of Eli and keep Tom Brady sitting on the sidelines with a baseball cap on. Plus, the Patriots defense centers around their linebackers but their linebackers are old. Keeping Bruschi, Seau, and Vrabel out on the field and wearing them down can only help the G-Men. In multiple Patriots games I have watched this year, the Pats defense seems to get weaker the more they are out there.
How the Patriots can lose: Giants don’t turn it over, Brady is less than perfect.
Intangibles: To me, the Patriots “we let our play do the talking” stance is fine, but I have enjoyed that the Giants seem to be having fun with this Super Bowl. They have to play loose and aggressive to win and it looks like they are preparing to do it.
Final score: The Patriots are on the verge of history and I find it hard to believe they will be denied. I like the Giants but I just don’t think they will be able to stop the Patriots offense. I disagree with Pete though, I think it will be close. The Patriots win regularly but it has been awhile since they have blown anyone out, and I don’t see it happening now. Patriots 35, Giants 28. (For those of you who enjoy the occassional friendly wager, that’s the Giants with the over.)
That being said, I will be rooting hard for the Giants to pull off the upset of the millenium.
I’m a lifelong Steelers fan (since before the Steel Curtain won their first super bowl) but I’ll be rooting for the Giants this weekend. I get to root for the local team, the underdog, and the team playing against the favorite football team of my friends who like the Red Sox.
I wouldn’t be foolish enough to bet cash against the Pats this year but it should still be fun super bowl party even if my team’s already out of it.
Giants win by 8
G-Men 34 OT
PATS 31
pete, dismissing the hixon TD is wishfull thinking. The G-Men’s return team has made big plays in every playoff game and he wouldnt have scored w/o the penalty.
Is there a football game Sunday? What time is it on? Why hasn’t there been any publicity for it?
sorry he *would have scored* withouth the penalty.
I wouldn’t call Hixon’s return a fluke, I would call it a fortunate play that is in no way indicative of either team’s special teams ability. Could it happen again? Sure. Will it happen? Probably not. Is it something the Giants need to make this game competitive? Almost Definitely.
Again, I think what you saw in week 17 is that the Patriots have an extra gear that the Giants don’t have (or anyone else, with the exception of maybe a healthy Colts team.) The Giants were up 12 in the 2nd half, and all of a sudden, they were down 10. And its not even as though the Giants were playing terribly during that time frame. With 2 weeks to prepare (and rest), and favorable weather, I think you’ll see that gear almost all game.
Giants are on a roll. Patriots perhaps peaked early – still playing excellent, but not steamrolling. Sports is often a matter of being hot at the right time. Totallly biased prediction:
Giants 31, Patriots 27
Would anyone really be that surprised if Pete were a closet Red Sox fan? Not that it would matter all that much because this is a great blog but just saying…
even if the patriots win, they are still not a great team. in this age of parity, all the teams are so bad that the team that wins isn’t that great.
besides brady and moss who’s going to the hall of fame? without parity, the super bowl team would have a lot more hall of fame caliber players. who cares who is the best of mediocre. that’s all that the patriots are.
give me baseball any day where there is still a chance to create truly great teams.
one more reason why baseball is a superior sport.
if you made it this far without going ballistic, i’m sort of just kidding, but you have to admit that the point of the nfl is not to create the best team possible. if it was, it would allow more great players to gravitate to individual teams and the winning super bowl team would be much stronger than this years super bowl team whether it’s the patriots or giants.
“but you have to admit that the point of the nfl is not to create the best team possible.”
No, it’s to create the best league of football teams.
And, also, a whole can be more than the sum of its parts. The Patriots ARE a great team. They may not be the greatest collection of individual talents, but they are a phenomenal team.
hope you wont mind if i drop a baseball note in here. there is a good piece on cashman by tyler kepner in todays times. Kepner says that Cash has expressed remorse for what he said last week about bernie and damon (although kepner never even mentioned the torre slam.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02.....ref=sports
about the unbalanced schedule. I think the realignment to 4 divisions almost wiped that out. teams play 2x div opponents and they play one full other division in each conference so that’s 14 games that are not contingent on last year’s finish. It is still unbalanced, but not nearly as much as it was before.
Cashman told Accorsi, “I feel the responsibility of millions of Yankee fans on my shoulders, fans who take this very seriously and for which every game is very important. I think of that every day.â€
Interesting, do you see Bill Smith saying that? Wow.
Very interesting article. I didn’t realize minor leaguers were paid so litte. I thought it was around 50 grand.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02.....f=baseball
Let’s get to the juicy part! The Congress has tainted baseball and all the records set over the past 10+ years.
It is time to forever taint the NFL and the Patriots dynasty! The Senate is questioning Goodell’s decision to destroy the evidence of Belichick’s inappropriate videotaping (aka, “cheating”). The Senate will likely call Goodell to testify.
NYTimes quotes a former employee of the Pat’s Video Department, Matt Walsh:
“If someone wanted me to talk and tell them things, I would craft an agreement where they would agree from now until the end of my existence to pay for any legal fees that came up in regards to this, whether I’m sued by the Patriots, the N.F.L., anybody else,†he said. He also said he would want an indemnification agreement, with the news media company paying any fines or damages found against him in court. (It is against the policy of The New York Times to be part of such an agreement.) Mr. Walsh said he sought the legal advice after receiving telephone calls from the news media soon after the taping incident. He said he did so to protect himself and his family.
“If I ever got brought in for a deposition or something, then I would just face the whole gauntlet of questions,†he said. “There would be things I’d be forced to answer that some people haven’t taken responsibility for.â€
AND MY PREDICTION:
Giants: 37
Pats: 34
(I have the 7-4 box in my pool)
now that i think about it, baseball’s present attempt at parity taking 25% of the yankees revenue away, has resulted in the red sox finally winning a couple of world series after almost a century of futility. boston is truly the one city that benefits from parity. hey if that’s what it takes for them to win, i guess i can’t blame them for liking restricted football and baseball.
…but there should be an asterisk for both the red sox and patriots, pointing out that the yankees , giants, and jets were forced to not be the best team they could be which allowed the red sox and patriots to “win” a championship or two.
boston can’t compete with new york without “help”.
Talk is cheap, play the game!
“The Pats got caught and they were wrong. But the idea that they’re the only team that “cheats†is silly.”
by this logic, Richard Nixon was a great president…
The majority of minor leaguers make very little in salary. The better players get huge signing bonuses though that offset it.
jennifer-
thanks for that link. now that’s creative thinking .
it’s true how hard it is for the average minor league player to make ends meet. in effect they are buying a lottery ticket with the investment of 5-10 years of their lives for a possible big payoff later, and that’s why the payoff has to be so big.
Great analogy randy l. Most minor leaguers (aside from the ‘bonus babies’) do play for peanuts and can have tough times making ends meet.
Is 8 grand for 5 months across the board? That salary is below the poverty line! I would guess they get per diem, but it couldn’t be that much.
I think an article on the avg minor leaguer would be interesting, I think it would open a lot of eyes.
i find it ironic that all the giant fans are jumping down pete’s throat for picking the pats…and yet they are picking the giants…at least pete is right, the pats are going to win, and no one should be surprised if it’s a blowout…he is also right about eli…lets see how he does next year before we all cement him as a pro bowl qb…
…although he does seem to come through in the clutch at times…even so…the pats are obviously the team to beat, and winning by 17 points or so isnt out of the question.
…back off giant fans, realize what this game is.
Are we forgetting the struggles that it took for the 2000 Yankees to even make the playoffs? Comparing that team to the 2007 Patriots really isn’t accurate at all. I’d compare it more to the 1998 World Series, if you feel the need to compare football to baseball.
In my humble opinion, I would stick to baseball if I were you, Pete.
Looks like Santana wants an AAV of $22.5M for 6 years on top of his 2008 $
Minor leaguers now are in a similiar place major leaguers were years ago.
MLB’ers used to work off season jobs because their salaries weren’t enough to cover their expenses for a whole year. Yogi has told the story many times that he used to work in a clothing store with Phil Rizzuto in the off season.
Guys then also had a financial incentive to win the WS because the check meant a little breathing room in the checkbook.
*what the* 2008 $13.25M.
So a total of $148.5M for Johan, wow!
That article got me curious.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What.....ers_salary
If you make it to AAA you would get $10,750 for 5 months!! For class A (regular season) it is $5,250!!! Wow
I do believe that minor leaguers get meal money for road trips in addition to their salaries. I’m not sure what the exact number is (maybe $100 per stop), but it does take away some expenses.
Don’t all players get a signing bonus? Teams probably provide food in the clubhouse and pay their rent. Still, though, you can understand why players use PEDs. Naulty feels like he’d still be in A ball if he didn’t use steroids.
I read $20 a day in meal money.
mel You are right, you can understand why they use Roids, or ped.
I had a friend who was a minor leaguer and he was paid on years of service and what level he was at. A first year player at single A makes less than a 5 year player at AAA.
He only got perdiem when they were on the road and it wasn’t enough to cover dinner at a nice restaurant. He used to kid that most guys always looked for a Taco Bell in every city they played in. His rent was not paid by the team and was lucky that he had a relative in a nearby town that he lived with.
His family and then his wife supported him for the 4 or 5 years it took him to realize that his skills weren’t going to translate to a MLB contract.
Peter:
A few details you left out on your Giants-Pats breakdown:
Ahmad Bradshaw DID NOT play in the last Giants-Pats contest.
The aging, mostly average Linebacking corps of the Patriots is going to experience a much more diversified running attack than last time. If Vince Wilfork is neutralized, the Giants will run all day and play “keep away” from Brady.
Brady’s ankle injury is of more concern than the Patriots may admit. Watch the game tape of Brady vs San Diego, several throws off target as a result of not following through on the right ankle, 3 intercptions and his worse game of the Season. One well placed hit by Osi, Strahan or Tuck will do “wonders” for that ankle. Their OL is good but not great, so Brady WILL get hit.
You fail to mention that the most pressure to win is definitely on the Patriots, not the Giants. “Big Blue” isn’t even supposed to be there, so nothing to lose. New England, despite being 18-0, will HAVE TO WIN or most Fans (and Sportswriters) will consider the Season a failure. (Not unlike Yankee Fan’s expectations)
Pressure can effect professional player’s performances, too!
“The idea that the Giants can rattle Brady is ridiculous” REALLY? What is he? a comic book character with no feelings? Look at him in the Baltimore Ravens game and the Philadelphia Eagles game. Brady is a great QB, but he certainly CAN get rattled.
The Patriots are a great NFL Franchise, especially in today’s “Parity-driven” NFL. But its one Game.
What’s that saying that begins with “On any given Sunday…..”
Are you also a boxing fan, Peter? Who did you pick in the Tyson vas Buster Douglas Match in Japan??
GO BIG BLUE!
*yawns* G’morning all. Happy Friday.
So I know there’s a big discrepancy between the minors and the majors in terms of payroll, but I didn’t realize it was quite like that.
LETS GO GIANTS!!!!!
enough of all you pats fans with your expert analysis telling me my team has no chance! you all sound pretty worried to me! If Brady has the kind of game he had last game, the Giants will win going away!
G-Men are gonna roll in there, make some things happen and walk away with a win!
G-MEN!
Yeah Rebecca like I said I thought they earned like 50 grand. Kinda makes you look at things a little different. Just a little though.
I thought it was low, but I didn’t expect it to be that low.
I really can’t blame players for PED use at the minor league level now.
The worst part about reading all of these posts is that these are the same fans that root for the Yankees. Apparently you don’t have to be a very good team to go 18-0 in the NFL. Just think, the Dolphins ALMOST beat the Giants this year. So did the Bears. So did the Lions. The Vikings DID. So on top of the 6 losses that were “against good teams,” there are 3 others. The Patriots “almost” lost a few times. Guess there is no difference between 16-0 and 10-6 after all. Good to know.
Just remember, the Yankees ALMOST beat the Red Sox in 2004.
I love the Yankees, but some of the stuff I’m reading is just hilarious. You really think Tom Brady is going to sit there and throw screens for the first half of the game this week? I am almost so sick of Boston fans that I want Giants to win, but this is almost as bad.
What if Pete is a Sox fan (he isn’t)? That makes him even more credible since he writes EVERY DAY about the Yankees and it’s hardly biased. Obviously his Super Bowl pick IS biased, but he’s not that off. I don’ think it will be a 3 score game, but if you put Brady within 1 score with 2 minutes left in the game, it doesn’t matter. He’s football’s Mo. For the Giants sake, hopefully they’re the 2001 DBacks.
I think your final prediction is probably about right, but since you asked, here is how the Giants win the game
1- Put Aaron Ross right on Moss 1-on-1 from the get go and have him hit the hell out of him every play at the line. That should take care of Moss. Recognize that Welker is going to catch about 15 balls and get a ton of yards, nothing you can do about that
2- Blitz and when you don’t hope that Osi, Strahan and Tuck can get some pressure on their own.
3- Start Bradshaw at RB and run some sweeps, screens and short passes to get the linebackers chasing him. Wear them down and then turn things over the to the big guy and pound, pound, pound
4- Throw some jump balls to Plaxico and Toomer since they have big height advantages over the Pats’ corners
5- don’t make any mistakes
6- pray
I think a better comparison is the 2002 Super Bowl. The Pats are now the Rams (Greatest Show On Turf) and the Giants are the scrappy underdog (think about how the Pats won the snow game and the Giants won Ice Bowl 2, Giants beat Dallas in Dallas, Pats Pittsburgh in Pitt.) That was an amazing upset and this would be too.
If you guy haven’t seen it yet, you have to watch this video of Chris Berman freaking out. http://slidingintohome.blogspo.....s-out.html
My prediction Giants 35, Patriots 31. Hear me now, believe me later.
“Is any one on the blog going to attend Superbowl?”
I had a chance to go and it’s only a short drive, but there’s no way I was going to spend $5,000 on one ticket.
The Pats are obviously the easy choice, no matter who you cheer for. But I think the Giants will surprise a lot of people. Even if they don’t win, I don’t think the Pats will cover the spread.
I’m still sticking with my original prediction though.
Giants 27 – Patriots 24. Tynes is going to kick a 52 yd FG with 02 seconds left to win it for the G-Men.
(if you’re going to make a prediction, you might as well go all out and make it specific)
Maybe a more apt baseball comparison to the Patriots should be the 2001 Seattle Mariners, who also set a record for most wins in a regular season. We all know how that ended up.
The four corner offense was boring, but at least you could do stuff between baskets.
Giants 17-6 or 24-20, depending upon if the Pats can score some TD’s late in the 4th quarter
pat,
thanks for the info.
“Brian (Red Sox Fan)
But those other “close†games? They were taking a knee with a two score lead against Jacksonville and San Diego in the playoffs. They were taking a knee against the Giants in the Meadowlands. They were taking a knee against Philly. Those are your “close†games. ”
teams take a knee with 1 point leads. this post means absolutely nothing. use your head.
Go Giants!
To those saying that the Pats had it easy by playing in the AFC East, here’s a list of teams that the Pats and Giants defeated in the regular season that finished the year with a winning record:
The Pats defeated the Colts, Chargers, Browns, Cowboys, Redskins, Steelers, and Giants.
The Giants defeated the Redskins once.
That’s it.
And to those complaining about how the Pats got to play 6 games against Mia/Buf/NYJ, do you realize that 3 of the Giants wins came against those same teams?
1 of the Giants wins came against a team with a winning record. Here are the 9 teams that the Giants beat in the regular season:
Dolphins: 1-15
Falcons: 4-12
Jets: 4-12
49ers: 5-11
Bears: 7-9
Lions: 7-9
Bills: 7-9
Eagles: 8-8 (Giants won both games)
Redskins: 9-7
Hardly impressive. Meanwhile, the Pats defeated 5 teams that finished the year with 10+ wins. The Pats also defeated the Eagles and Redskins, which were the 2 teams that accounted for the Giants highest profile victories, judging by opponents final record.
The Giants got the job done against Dallas and Green Bay in January. But make no mistake about it, the Giants were 10-6 because they won most of the easy games on their schedule and lost most of the tougher games. The Pats had a monster schedule and didn’t stumble even once. The Pats are going to destroy them.
i had a typo in there. The Pats actually defeated 6 teams that ended the year with 10 or more wins.
giants 27
pats 17
I will hate the patriots until the get screwed the way Oakland were in 02 IIRC which caused a big mistake in sports books as a team who lost the AFC Game ended Super Bowl champs.
I should say, the 2000 Yankees were pretty clearly the worst of the dynasty teams, and not just because of their 87-win regular season; DAVID CONE was a regular starter and was 4-14 (I believe) with a 5+ ERA! That’d be like if Igawa started all year last year.
That being said, I don’t think the Giants have a chance. Everyone talks about the 38-35 game, but you gotta remember the Giants had absolutely no pressure on them; they could take chances, play loose, etc. Now that the pressure cooker’s on, we’ll see how the Giants can play against a team that’s been under the microscope for 19 weeks.
Patriots 41, Giants 21
I just read through this blog. The Pats are like the Yankees??? Are you kidding? Never compare a “Boston” team with the Yankees!! That is just nonsense.
Sara,
I don’t think Boston fans appreciate the comparison either.
Kevin,
The only team with pressure on them to win this game are the Pats. If the Giants lose well then hey, they played with house money, no one expected they would be here..and if the Giants win, well there will be more attention on how the Pats couldnt’ get it done than how the Giants could. All the pressure is on the Pats, just like it is on the Yankees every year. You HAVE to win…You can’t CHOKE…that is certainly going to factor into this game.
Virgin Islands,
They should be honored to be comapred to the team with the most championships in all of sports
I think the house money argument for the Giants is not really valid. I agree had they lost to Dallas or GB then they did better than anyone anticipated. However, the higher the stakes the harder the loss hurts.
Heck most Giant fans wanted the Giants to play well in the 12/29 game vs. NE because it was going to be “the Giants Superbowl”, ie there was no way they would pass both GB and Dallas.
Anyway, now that they are so close to being World Champions that they can taste it, we are no longer talking about house money. I for one will be bitterly disappointed if they lose another super bowl. The higher the stakes the harder the loss hurts.
I agree Jeff in that now that they are here it will hurt just as much if they lose. But if the Giants win the headlines all around sports will be about the Pats losing more than the Giants winning. Obviously not here in NY but the rest of the country will be reading more about how the Pats blew destiny than how the Giants created their own. It will be a bigger loss for the Patriots than for the Giants..there is more at stake.
NO COMPARISONS BETWEEN YANKEES AND PATS…PLEASE…THE YANKEES ARE THE MOST RECOGNIZED AND WINNINGEST SPORTS TEAM IN THE WHOLE WORLD…NOBODY KNOWS WHO THE PATS ARE OUTSIDE THE U.S.
AND THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION
This game is going to be ugly.
Manning, Jacobs, and the NY secondary are going to look like rookies in the Super Bowl.
The Greatest Team Ever 44
giants 20
“NO COMPARISONS BETWEEN YANKEES AND PATS…PLEASE…THE YANKEES ARE THE MOST RECOGNIZED AND WINNINGEST SPORTS TEAM IN THE WHOLE WORLD”
– You forgot the fact that the Pats have won 3 championships this century, the yank$ have won ZERO.
NYPD 113TH
YEAH YOU ARE CORRRECT….STILL NOBODY KNOWS THE PATRIOTS OUTSIDE OF THE STATES.
AND HOW MANY CHAMPIONSHIPS IN HISTORY? JAJA
“When people compare the Yankees to the Pats, I believe that it’s meant as a compliment. I know a LOT of professional sports teams that would like to be compared to the Patriots.”
Bryan-
That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. The Yankees have been around for over 100 years and have collected the most championships in ALL OF SPORTS. I think it is safe to say that every franchise would take it as a compliment to be compared to the Yankees, including your precious Patriots and Red Sox. Pay attention, your Boston bias only goes so far.
“NYPD 113TH
YEAH YOU ARE CORRRECT….STILL NOBODY KNOWS THE PATRIOTS OUTSIDE OF THE STATES.
AND HOW MANY CHAMPIONSHIPS IN HISTORY? JAJA”
– First, I don’t care what people outside the USA think. Most think that soccer is a great sport.
Second, I said this century, I could care less about championships won when my grandfather was a kid.
This century:
Boston 5(6 after Sunday)
NY 0
NYPD 113th-
I love this “Yankees haven’t won any championships this century” argument. The century is barely 8 years old! Last century the Red Sox won 5 titles before the Yankees even picked up 1 in 1923. Now who was more successful by the time 2000 came around? You know the answer. In the end none of this matters because only time will tell.
“In the end none of this matters because only time will tell.”
– OK, then you have no problem with my question, except for answering it I notice.
All we can go by is what’s happened thusfar, and Boston as a whole has enjoy much more success than NY of late.
NYPD 113TH
I LOVE THIS NY/BOS RIVALRY,DONT WE ALL?
NY FANS,TEAMS,PEOPLE,PERSONALITY,ETC,ETC,ETC ARE THE BEST.
boston IS JUST A LITTLE TOWN….
“boston IS JUST A LITTLE TOWN….”
- A nice small city without the savages and animals that NYC has.
NYC is a shythole dump.
Nypd 113th
NO NEED TO GET ANGRY AND NASTY JUST BECAUSE NY IS THE WORLDs CAPITAL AND MOST IMPORTANT CITY.
Boston and chelsea and the hoods are very secure too,jaje
“Nypd 113th
NO NEED TO GET ANGRY AND NASTY JUST BECAUSE NY IS THE WORLDs CAPITAL AND MOST IMPORTANT CITY.
Boston and chelsea and the hoods are very secure too,jaje”
– Again, the savage element is live and well in NYC, while for the most part, it’s not tolerated in Boston.
That’s what makes Boston, as much as the things it HAS, it’s the things it DOEN’T have that also makes it great.
Oh, and 6 championships this century, while NY has 0.
Pete,
The 2000 Yankees were not flawless. They were by far the weakest of the Yankees championship teams. For Gods sake, they won only 87 games!
Anybody hear how the Patriots trademarked the phrase, 19-0 Perfect Season?
My prediction is 38-16 Patriots, but I will be pulling big time for the Giants. Hopefully, this Patriots thing will end soon. I’m getting sick of Pete shoving this in our face all the time.
The arrogance of the Pats fans on this thread is astounding. They haven’t blown anyone out since November. Every game they’ve played has been a tight game. And all the pressure is on them, not the Giants. The Giants may not win this game, but it will be a close one most of the way.
Hi Peter,
I’m a Connecticut resident for over 50 years. I live just outside of Hartford, so we have a mix of Yankee and Red Sox fans along with Giants and Patriot fans. I’m a Yankee and Giant fan and consider myself as a extremely knowledgeable fan. Its nice to read your stories and news about the Yankees but your support of the Patriots seems to fall in place of the typical New England fan that didn’t support the team until 2001. We have a lot of Patriot fans who are just as biased as you are about their team. The Giants have better, smarter and much more dedicated fans that have stood by the team in good times and bad times.
My son and I were at the 38-35 Patriot win at the Meadowlands on Dec. 29. The score was close but your idea that it was deceiving sounds like the typical WEEI radio homer take on the game. The Giants more than held their own that night. Don’t cry about the right tackle and right guard missing the game because they had good backups at those positions. I didn’t read anything from you about Jeremy Shockey missing the game and the Giants playing with a rookie, Boss, who had very little experience at all. That was just as much of a loss as the Pats offensive linemen were. You have to admit, no matter how biased you are, that the Patriots benefited from a number of poor calls through out the game. Even Patriot fans in attendance couldn’t believe some of those big calls that went against the Giants. It seems like New England has the right to continually cheap shot and late hit to an extreme and rarely get called for it. Rodney Harrison, obviously is the worst. Always hitting and spearing 2 or 3 seconds after the play is over. Wilfork and Seymour, are 2 more good players constantly getting away with cheap shots. Tom Brady was sacked only once but was pressured hard quite a bit. Have you ever paid attention to the phantom calls that always seem to happen to the other team playing the Pats? Its almost a joke.
Tom Brady is a great quarterback like you said. No argument there. I’m not sure why you say the Giants rattling Brady is ridiculous. It can be done. Don’t underestimate the Giants offensive line. Its certainly one of the best in football. It doesn’t get the publicity that it should but that will happen soon. Your cocky attitude about the Pats is really typical of a lot of Pats fans. They aren’t smart fans in general, more bandwagon fans who don’t know the game. You’re sounding more and more like Glen Ordway. Don’t be a cheerleader, be a reporter without a chip on your shoulder about the Pats.
The Pats can most definitely lose the game if the officials make the correct calls and not get intimidated by Belichick. Its funny how the Patriots always need bulletin board material to motivate. If Plaxicos 23-17 score fires up New England that is pretty lame. Being in the game is all the motivation you really need. As far as the Giants handling the lead up to the game like high school kids, they are the 2nd youngest team in the NFL. What you are witnessing is the building of an excellent football team for years to come. They are loaded with young players making key contributions. On the other hand the aging Pats are getting too old at too many spots. With their mediocre to poor drafts the last few years, they face a rebuilding job to try to keep up with the Giants. They dressed in black for unity. No big deal. To point that out as for some silly reason is typical Patriot bias. Seems like the Patriot fan forgets about how big of an underdog they were when they played the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl in 2002. Not many gave the Pats any chance. The Giants are clearly playing better than the Pats are. Our time has come. I can’t wait.
Peter, stick to the Yankees. That is where you know what you’re talking about.
Jim
Jim,
You maintain that the Giants are clearly playing better than the Pats and in the same breath call Pete a homer. It is generally acknowledged that the AFC is much stronger than the NFC. Kind of reminds me of the American League and the National League in baseball the last few years. The Colorado Rockies played very well against Boston in the regular season and were considered the hottest team in baseball during the playoffs. And so just like the Rockies went on to win it all against Boston, the Giants will do the same…….oh wait!!!
Giants 28 Pats 24
The funny thing was how they keep bringing up Plaxico’s score prediction and how much “discrespect” it showed them.
Never mind that Plax alread admitted he put no thought into it and just said his pro/college numbers which was the first thing that came to his mind.
ray,
you said “And so just like the Rockies went on to win it all against Boston, the Giants will do the same…….oh wait!!!”
I’m not so sure you would stay with your same prediction again now would you? By the way, the NFC had a better record in games against the AFC this year. If you’re talking strength at the top of the AFC, then you would have a good arguement. I’ll say it once more. The Giants were clearly playing better the past month than the Pats were.
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