Super Sunday

Sadly, football season is nearing an end. We'll now have a February-August of coaching changes, draft, free agency, trades, and speculation regarding all of the above. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Owners and NFLPA will likely draw some attention this offseason, with current speculation that the owners may opt-out. As important as some of the offseason news is, it can't really fill the void that will now exist on Sundays.


As for this Sunday, I'm hoping we have a good game on hand. In recent years, there haven't been many blowouts in the Super Bowl. In 2001, The Ravens slaughtered the Giants, and in 2003, the Bucs crushed the Raiders. Aside from that, the games have been highly competitive this decade. I like the Giants and the points (currently +12) for this one on the virtue that since the week 17 game, the Giants have improved while New England seemingly has declined.

The Giants seem like a longshot to win it, but they've been a longshot every weekend since the Wildcard round. Their game plan has to be sustaining drives that lead to TDs, not FGs (just ask the Chargers what happens if you don't get TDs), and maintaining a good mix of defensive schemes in an effort to contain the Pats, just as San Diego did. If they can do that, they'll have a chance, but they will need to play virtually perfect football.

On the other side, you have to wonder if the Patriots are saving their best for last. They enjoyed destroying opponents and breaking records this year, so I wonder if we'll see them pull out all of the stops and try to get every Super Bowl record they can - points, passing TDs, margin of victory, etc. The two weeks off certainly benefited them a lot more than the Giants as they had extra time to get their veteran defense rested up and an extra week to game plan. Nonetheless, I feel like the performances we've seen from them since week 17 are a trend, and they are not playing on the same level they were when the season began.

Regardless of the outcome, history will be made this weekend. Either the Patriots will be 19-0, the best single season performance of any team in the history of the NFL, or the Giants will thwart them and become a footnote in the history books for doing so. This is the most historically significant Super Bowl since the 1990 game, when Joe Montana and the Niners won their 4th. That should make it a treat to watch regardless of who you're rooting for.

The pick for this game is made mostly off the basis of playoff momentum and watching both teams play the past few weeks. I don't really feel the need to break into much statistical analysis as it seems sort of moot. On the basis of statistics, the Giants have no business being in the Super Bowl, yet here they are. However, Eli has played great in the post-season, and I think they can give the Patriots a run for their money just like they did in week 17.


The Pick: Giants +12


Happy Super Bowl. If you don't like football, then enjoy the food and excuse to throw a party. Nothing like having a barbeque and deep fryer on hand to cook up some glorious game-day food. I've got Wings, Sausages, and home-made Chimichangas (with BBQ'd carne asada) on the menu for Sunday, so if the game isn't good, I'll just focus on eating.