E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

LET'S GET THIS OUT OF THE WAY BEFORE THE FOOLISHNESS STARTS
GIANTS WILL WIN SUPER BOWL 46

By Dave Klein
You won't read this anywhere in the New England Patriots fans base area, but the truth is the truth (especially in this cradle of Democracy in these United States that gave birth to Paul Revere) and the following must be said:

"The Patriots aren't that good."

There, it's out. This is a team with a porous defense, a team with one really outstanding receiver, a team with an inferior running game and a team with two outstanding tight ends, one of whom has sometimes been used as a running back, a slot receiver and an H-back.

Oh, right, the quarterback.

Hey, you know, there are half a dozen outstanding quarterbacks whose seasons have just been concluded - guys like Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers. But Tom Brady is still playing, and so is Eli Manning, and they are the last two remaining in the NFL playoffs.

That's the pairing in Super Bowl 46 a week from Sunday, the Giants and the Patriots. There are strong and probably accurate reports that Brady is in the "elite" category as Manning.

Golly, PatriotNation is not going to like this very much, you think? But the truth is the truth. The Giants are a better team than the Patriots; the Giants are a hotter team than the Patriots; the Giants hold some sort of whammy over the Patriots and, when it's all done, the Giants will have beaten the Patriots in a second Super Bowl in the last four years.

This might be construed by some as the bleatings of a guy who runs a newsletter for Giant fans, and while that last part is absolutely true, the rest is not. In true reporter's guise, one looks at the facts and how things match up and where the advantages are and then reaches a decision.

The Giants are going to win next Sunday.

(Oh, and if they don't, please be gentle.)

It was apparent all season that the NFC was the stronger conference. The Packers, the Saints, the 49ers, of course. But the lower tier collection of teams - Philadelphia, Dallas, Detroit and Atlanta seemed to be better and more well-constructed than the second tier in the AFC - Pittsburgh, Cincinnati Houston, Oakland and Denver.

Not to mention the New York Jets, whose presence and lack of fight proved to propel and inspire the Giants into their current hot streak.

And it was the Giants who emerged, even when the playoffs were down to four teams in each conference, as the strongest - the team on a roll, the team with a frightening offense and a stifling defense. That was proven. They are not atop the NFC, playing a flawed team that wins sometimes by memory. And that's not a bad thing, of course, but on the field, against a team at least equal if not superior, memory is going to take a decided back seat.

The Patriots' hopes live with quarterback Tom Brady, an undersized receiver named Wes Welker and an incredibly effective tight end named Rob Gronkowski. The offensive line is okay, no better and no worse than the one the Giants will put on the field to protect Eli Manning. The New England defense isn't as good as the Giants' unit, and that might be the most evident factor of all.

How are the Patriots' offensive linemen going to contain Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Dave Tollefson, Chris Canty, Linval Joseph and strongside linebacker (often defensive end-pass rusher) Mathias Kiwanuka?

The answer is: With great difficulty, and that doesn't auger well for head coach Bill Belichick. Brady is exceptional, probably in the same elite class as Manning, but he needs time to operate. The Patriots' offense is built on timing - Brady drops back, the clock starts running in his head and his receivers, mostly Welker and Gronkowski, execute precise patterns and then turn to look for the ball.

But the Giants' pass rushers, who probably won't have to worry for long about such running backs as Ben-Jarvis Green-Ellis (yeah, that's one guy) and former Jet Danny Woodhead and a few others, will not give Brady the time he needs. Those assassins will defeat the offensive linemen and swarm over Brady with stunning speed and unexpected power.

Eli will need the same protection, of course, but every time the Patriots' pass rush neglects to plant him in the ground, he'll have the luxury of receivers flying downfield, guys like Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham. If the Giants' defense makes a mistake, it might be a 12-yard mistake. If the Patriots fail, that might turn into a 50-yard mistake.

We are about to enter a week of unending hype and boasting, predicting and postulating, breakdowns of each team by the so-called experts in the field, millions of words being spoken (and unfortunately heard) by the television and radio geniuses. In the end, it will come down to the quarterbacks, and they get paid enough so that should always be true.

Brady is good because he has the skills and a reasonable collection of parts and pieces to put around him. Manning is better than good because he has the same skills and better co-workers.

And now, as they say in the nearby Brickyards, "gentlemen, start your engines."

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

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