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1-31-2008 By ERIC AHLQVIST Editor Did anyone outside of hard core football fans, and gamblers, really care about Pittsburgh-Seattle two years ago or Indianapolis-Chicago last year? Not likely. But the storylines for this Sunday's game, which will air on Fox at 6:30 p.m. and feature the undefeated New England Patriots against the wild card New York Giants, are almost too good to be true. ? Can the Patriots become the first team to finish a season undefeated since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and the first since the regular season schedule increased from 14 to 16 games? ? Every little brother who has ever lived in the shadow of his older, more successful sibling will have to root for Giants quarterback Eli Manning, the younger brother of the Colts' Peyton Manning, a future Hall of Famer and winner of last year's Super Bowl. With every interception or incompletion he has thrown, Eli has had to have heard the whispers, "He's no Peyton." ? Then there's the Boston- New York rivalry. The big rivalry is between baseball's New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, and to a lesser extent the NBA's New York Knicks and Boston Celtics, but there is no love lost between the cities regarding any sporting event. But the big story, and the reason this may be the most viewed Super Bowl in history, is Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Not only are the Patriots looking to make history with an undefeated season, but are in search of their fourth Super Bowl win in the past seven seasons, which would put them in a class with the Steelers of the 1970s and the 49ers of the 1980s. Conversely, the Giants started the season 0-2 but caught fire at the end of the year, nearly beating the Patriots in the season finale, then winning three playoff games, all on the road. To me, it seems as if New England peaked early in the season, and is feeling the pressure of the undefeated season. They have taking every team's best shot all season and seem like a heavyweight champion entering the 15th round. They did not look at all dominating in beating Jacksonville and San Diego in the playoffs, and Brady is nursing a sore ankle. Yet the Vegas oddsmakers have the Patriots as a 12-point favorite for Sunday's game. Three words for anyone interested in this sort of thing: Take the points. I think the game will be won or lost by the Giants in direct correlation to how much pressure they are able to put on Brady. The Giants led the NFL in sacks, while the Patriots yield very few sacks and Brady is second to none at avoiding the rush. Whichever team wins this battle will very likely win the game. I look for the Patriots to come up with just enough trick plays on offense and just enough big plays on defense to squeak out a 24-20 victory. Let's see what a couple of other "experts" think: Cooperstown football coach Steve Pugliese: If the Giants are going to have any chance they need to play the field position game and control time of possession. They can't get in a shootout, and they need to get an early lead. If the Patriots dominate early, it will be a long day. My heart is with the Giants, but my heads say the Patriots. Final score: 34-17. Cooperstown assistant football coach Jay Baldo: The Giants are my favorite team, so I'm not going to jinx them by picking them to win. Eli has been great in the playoffs, and he can't afford to throw any bad interceptions like he's been prone to do during the season. If they can hang close for the first half, I think they'll be in good shape because they've been a second half-team all year. |
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