GIANTS VS. PATRIOTS Super Bowl XLVI Preview
Four years ago, the New York Giants pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in Super Bowl history, defeating the unbeaten and heavily favored New England Patriots.
Come Sunday night, the teams will be at it again for the NFL championship, but this time the Giants won't be sneaking up on another outstanding Patriots team that will be looking for revenge.
Eli Manning leads upstart New York into Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium to face Tom Brady and New England in Super Bowl XLVI, with the Giants quarterback playing for the title on the home field of brother Peyton.
Eli Manning and Brady also headlined the title matchup between the teams after the 2007 season, like this one played in a domed facility at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The Patriots were trying to become the only modern-era NFL team other than the 1972 Miami Dolphins to go undefeated and the first to go 19-0.
Behind a Brady-powered offense that easily led the league with 36.8 points and 411.3 yards per game, New England seemed more than likely to make history and claim its fourth Super Bowl title. New York, though, had other ideas.
The Giants hammered Brady with their powerful defensive line, racking up five sacks and hitting him nine times, and Manning orchestrated a winning fourth-quarter drive that's remembered for David Tyree's miraculous helmet-pinning catch and Plaxico Burress' 13-yard touchdown reception, which gave New York a 17-14 victory.
"Hopefully, we will have the same result," said defensive end Osi Umenyiora, one of the Giants who harassed Brady four years ago. "We still have one more game to go, but this is truly unbelievable."
While that run to the Giants' third Lombardi Trophy was largely unexpected, this one may have been even more so. New York's up-and-down season hit a low point Dec. 18 in a lifeless 23-10 home loss to Washington, which left the club at 7-7 and needing to win its last two games to make the playoffs.
Helped the following week by the intensity of a rivalry game with the Jets, the Giants (12-7) responded by taking that contest 29-14 and defeating Dallas 31-14 in Week 17 to capture the NFC East.
The victory over the Jets coincided with players such as defensive end Justin Tuck and linebacker Michael Boley getting healthy enough to play up to their usual high standards. Umenyiora returned against the Cowboys following an ankle injury that kept him out four games.
"We came together against the Jets and we started playing very well as a defense," Umenyiora said, "but definitely health had something to do with that. Obviously, we had a lot of guys who are key components who missed a lot of games. The minute we were able to get everyone together, we all took off."
As in January 2008, coach Tom Coughlin's team has powered through the playoffs behind a ferocious defense, beating Atlanta in the first round before knocking off top-seeded and defending champion Green Bay 37-20 the next week, then No. 2 seed San Francisco 20-17 in overtime in the NFC title game.
The Giants have allowed 39 points in the postseason, and they've given up 67 while producing 20 sacks during their five-game winning streak, with no opponent throwing for more than 251 yards in that span.
"They have great quickness (on the defensive line) as well as power," New England coach Bill Belichick said. "Those inside guys can really knock the line of scrimmage back."
While the defense has played a major role in the Giants' surge, the constant this season has been Manning. The QB took a leap into the ranks of the NFL's elite in his eighth year, passing for a career-best 4,933 yards -- fourth in the league -- with 29 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
Despite being the MVP of Super Bowl XLII, Manning has spent part of this week answering questions about his superstar brother. Peyton Manning didn't play this season following neck surgery that has put his future in doubt, but his presence has loomed large with this game taking place at the Colts' stadium.
"Oh you meant Eli? I got it now," Patriots linebacker Gary Guyton said when asked about coming to Indianapolis with Manning in the headlines.
Peyton cheered on Eli from their family's luxury suite during Super Bowl XLII, and he seems likely to be on hand to do so again. Peyton Manning led Indianapolis past the Patriots in the AFC title game after the 2006 season en route to his only Super Bowl championship.
Incredibly, the attention on the Mannings and the Giants' improbable run has somewhat overshadowed the fact that perhaps the NFL's best quarterback will be playing Sunday after guiding the AFC's top-seeded team on a 10-game winning streak.
As great as Brady was in 2007, when he threw for 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions, the two-time league MVP was nearly as good this season. He posted a career-best 5,235 passing yards -- the second-highest total in history -- with 39 TDs, 12 INTs and a 105.6 passer rating.
He turned in a stellar performance in New England's playoff opener Jan. 14, throwing for an NFL postseason record-tying six touchdowns in a 45-10 rout of Denver, but he struggled in a 23-20 victory over Baltimore in the AFC title game.
Brady posted a season-low 57.5 passer rating, threw two interceptions and saw his streak of 35 games with at least one touchdown pass end. He threw for just 239 yards.
It was enough for New England (15-3) to keep its win streak alive -- one that began the week after the Patriots and Giants renewed hostilities Nov. 6 in Foxborough in their first meeting that counted since the Super Bowl.
Brady threw for 342 yards and two scores, but New York intercepted him twice and Manning orchestrated a drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jake Ballard with 15 seconds left, giving the Giants a 24-20 victory.
There's no doubt Brady will be highly motivated to come out on top against the Giants this time.
"All the games you lose, there are plays that you want back," he said at Tuesday's media day when asked about the teams' first Super Bowl meeting. "Certainly, every time you lose, you think there is more that you could have done to help the team win. But when you win, you don't think about any of those things. You think about what you do well."
Fully aware of how dangerous Brady is, New York seems unlikely to change much about its game plan on defense from Super Bowl XLII. With Umenyiora, Tuck -- who recorded two sacks in that Super Bowl -- breakout star Jason Pierre-Paul (16 1/2 sacks) and Mathias Kiwanuka, the Giants will try to put heavy pressure on New England's QB again.
"I think it starts with hitting him, even when you don't actually get sacks, just keeping people around him so he can't step up," Tuck said. "I think he gets a little frustrated when he has to go to his second or third receivers. You can kind of confuse him sometimes with our coverage. I think there are a lot of things that can get him rattled, but it just seems like not too many people are able to do that."
Not too many people have been able to slow down New England's tight ends. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez have formed a devastating duo and brought a new dimension to the Patriots' second-ranked offense, with Gronkowski racking up 1,327 yards receiving with 17 scores -- records for his position -- and Hernandez totaling 910 yards and seven TDs.
Gronkowski's uncertain health, however, could play a major role in the outcome of this game. He's suffering from a high left ankle sprain and had a walking boot removed Tuesday.
Gronkowski has given little in the way of definitive information on his status, at one point saying his ankle could be from 100 percent to "2 percent" for the Super Bowl.
"I'm improving every day," he said. "The only reason it's getting so blown up is because it's the Super Bowl. It's just like any other injury during any other week."
Even if New York succeeds in limiting the two athletic tight ends, there's the matter of stopping Wes Welker, who topped the NFL with 122 catches and was second with 1,569 yards receiving.
New England's resurgent defense seems likely to receive a stiff test as well.
The Patriots' biggest challenge on that side of the ball figures to be trying to stop the Giants' dynamic receivers. Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and Victor Cruz -- who came out of nowhere with 1,536 yards -- give Manning three big-play threats who have helped carry New York through the playoffs.
Another championship matchup between these teams indoors may only enhance the effectiveness of all the skill players on offense.
"I'm excited about it," said Nicks, who has 335 yards and four TDs this postseason. "It should be pretty fast out there, and I look forward to playing out there and so do our teammates."
The Patriots allowed 411.1 yards per game in the regular season -- 31st in the league -- but they've given up just 325.0 in the postseason.
They've been more effective defensively since safety Patrick Chung and linebacker Brandon Spikes returned from lengthy absences, with Spikes snagging a key interception against the Ravens. Stalwart defensive tackle Vince Wilfork was outstanding in that game with three tackles for loss.
"We haven't had the same group of guys on the field on the defensive side of the ball for three consecutive weeks all year," linebacker and defensive captain Jerod Mayo said. "I think this might be the first time, so the communication is picking up. The guys are really coming through."
While many players on both teams are new, they are coached by the same former Giants assistants who worked together under former coach Bill Parcells. The 65-year-old Coughlin, whose job may have been in jeopardy before the Super Bowl run, and the 59-year-old Belichick will form the oldest head coaching matchup in Super Bowl history -- and one between old friends who know each other well.
"He's an exceptional football coach, and I've said that before," Coughlin told his team's official website about Belichick. "The style and the preparation ... Bill is going to work very hard, as we are, at showing you something and it really isn't what you think it is."
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