Giants, Patriots Defy Laws, Logic

With the Super Bowl next Sunday also comes the two weeks of intensive media coverage and huge anticipation. The Super Bowl is the ultimate decider of which team has had a successful season. It does not matter how many wins or how many records a team has achieved in a season. All that matters is the Big Game.

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And both Super Bowl contenders know this unsettling fact. Both the New York Giants and New England Patriots know that their seasons mean nothing without a Super Bowl win. This knowledge weighs more heavily on the Patriots, who just finished a stellar 16-0 season with numerous records, accolades, and praises.

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This is a historic Super Bowl. Will the Patriots be the second undefeated team ever to win one? Will the Giants pull off a monumental upset and undo all the accomplishments of Tom Brady and Co.?

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This is a Super Bowl of the defiant. Both teams defied what was thought to be possible. The Giants this season broke records for wins as an away team. New York also made three huge upsets in the postseason, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Green Bay Packers. The Giants proved that they are more than underdogs and should not be underestimated. The Giants also defied common sense. Instead of resting their starting players like any other team would in their last game of the season against the Patriots, New York used all of their starters. These defiant Giants have proved to be more dangerous than sports analysts originally anticipated.

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And then there's the Patriots. New England defied all reason and modesty by achieving a perfect regular season with numerous touchdown records to boot. Not many people thought that Peyton Manning's old record would be broken by Tom Brady any time soon. New England defied many people's expectations that "Finally, this is the game they're gonna lose".

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With such two defiant teams playing next week, it is impossible and unwise to bet on who will be victorious. New York might defy reason and expectations once again and spoil a perfectly questionable perfect season.

A Giant Miracle?

Tonight, history will be made. The undefeated New England Patriots will go against the New York Giants in their quest for a perfect season. The Giants, who have already siezed the wildcard for the playoffs, will most likely rest their starters in preparation for the playoffs. The Patriots, on the other hand, have set their sights on making history. By winning tonight, they will be 16-0, an amazing accomplishment even considering the easiness of their schedule and division. Not only this, but numerous records are threatened by the Patriots. Quarterback Tom Brady is within reach of the touchdown record, currently held by Peyton Manning. Randy Moss and Wes Welker are also close to breaking records. Not only are individual player's records at stake, but the Patriots are close to breaking the record for the most points scored by a team in a season. With all this at stake, it is likely that the Patriots will not rest their starters tonight for the playoff battles ahead. Instead, the Patriots will probably play the hardest that they ever have this season.

Should we expect a blowout then tonight? With the Patriots using all their key starters and the Giants giving theirs a rest, it seems as if New England's perfect season is inevitable. Certainly, the odds are in the Patriots' favor. However, there are some elements for tonight's game that could give the Giants the boost they need to make some history of their own: beating a 15-0 team aspiring for perfection in the last game of the season.

The Giants' advantages in tonight's game are small, but together they may prove to be enough to beat New England. Their first advantage is that this historic game will be played at Giants Stadium. As the hometeam, the Giants will have a slight edge over the Patriots. Of course, being a visiting team hasn't stopped the Patriots yet, but this is still an advantage held by New York. The second advantage held by the Giants is the possibility of bad weather. If it rains tonight in New York, Brady will not be effective in passing. He will not be able to make the huge, groundbreaking bombs to his receivers. This will limit Brady to shorter passes thereby giving the Giants the opportunity of containing him. Of course, bad weather affects the Giants' offense as well. However, New York's primary concern in tonight's game should be Brady. Anything that limits Brady will be a huge asset for the Giants, even if it harms their team as well. The third advantage possessed by the Giants is that they have nothing to lose, but the Patriots have so much to lose. The Giants are already in the playoffs. Tonight's game is not a concern for them. They are preparing for their matchup with Tampa Bay. The Patriots are playing for perfection. They are playing for the perfect season as well as the shattering of numerous records. Since the Patriots have so much more to lose than the Giants, there is alot more pressure on them to win. This added pressure could lead to them making some mistakes on the field. One mistake like a dropped pass or an interception has the potential of altering the entire course of the game.

These advantages, although small by themselves, might prove to give New York the edge they need to beat New England. And just imagine what would happen if the Giants do prevail against the Patriots. They will have enormous confidence going into their game with Tampa Bay. They beat the unbeatable Patriots. This confidence boost could be what New York needs to scoot past the playoffs and into the Super Bowl. And also imagine the effect tonight's game would have on New England if they lose. Their confidence would be broken. This could have negative implications for them during the playoffs. Tonight's game, then, has more than just the potential for record-breaking and history-making. It has the potential for determining who will make it to play in the Super Bowl.

Patriots - Colts Matchup

Not only do the Patriots win games, but they punish teams. No other team would go for 4th and 1 when you're already up by 5 touchdowns, but the cocky, arrogant Patriots don't care. They have the tools, the cameras, the signals, the non-trustworthy faces, and any other means to win. However, if there is one team (and only 1 team) that can and has been proven to beat the Patriots, that is the Colts.

If the Colts should lose this weekend, I wouldn't be surprised. After all, the Patriots were so angry from losing to the Colts last year that they went out and got some of the best players. The Patriots need to put up 40 points a game to prove to America they are the best. The Colts don't have to prove anything to America because America already knows they are the best because they won the Super Bowl.

Offensively, both teams can score at will. There is no difference in the passing game. A Brady bomb to Moss or Welker is the same as a Manning bomb to Wayne or Harrison. However, their running games are very different. The Patriots have no running game, making them one-dimensional. The Colts, on the other hand, have the little guy Addai who can squeak through any defense and thus enable the Colts to control the clock. In addition, the Colts defense has improved greatly over the year and it can match up to the Patriots defense which actually lost players.

In the end it will be a great game and I will grant this to both teams: Whichever team wins this game will most likely go undefeated for the rest of the season