Tag Archives: patriots

Patriots vs. Giants: Wide Receivers

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Only four more days… damn the anticipation is killing me. Today we will take a lot at the Wide Receivers for both the Giants and the Patriots.

The Giants wide receivers have come alive this year in a way not to many expected. Victor Cruz, a Umass Amherst Alumni was one of the top receivers in the league this year and his stats certainly illustrate that. Having him next to Hakeem Nicks, and Mario Manningham is quite the trio. Some receivers in the NFL only produce when paired up with a top-tier quarterback. This isn’t the case with these Giants receivers. These guys possess pure talent. Cruz is a deep touchdown waiting to happen and Hakeem Nicks is a matchup nightmare with his size and speed combination. Eli is a great quarterback, but it doesn’t hurt when you have the options he has. It is going to be quite the assignment for the Patriots secondary to even slow down this receiver core.

Overall Grade: A20120202-111508.jpg–

The Patriots receivers are certainly above average, but I feel as though they fall into the category noted above: Top tier quarterbacks can craft an average receiver to fall into the elite category. Wes Welker is obviously a stud in this offense, but is he as valuable talent wise in another offense? We all saw what Deion Branch did without Brady. As far as Ochocinco goes… well I have nothing to say about that. Yes the Patriots have an elite passing attack and that is undeniable, but a lot of their offense goes through their dominant tight ends and not as much through the receivers like most teams. The Patriots receivers get the job done, but talent wise they do not match up with the Giants.

Overall Grade: B

Edge: Giants

 

“Fan First” Environment

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Indy is all about the “Fan First” mentality this year while they are hosting the Super Bowl.  Last year, when Dallas hosted, there were over 1200 seats that were said to be “unsafe” causing many Steelers and Packers fans to stand to watch the game.  Obviously, many fans wanted reimbursement from both the Cowboys and the NFL in general. This year, they are trying to avoid that. Indianapolis is primarily a pretty friendly place, as I am told.

Not to mention it snowed, and since they weren’t ready for it, it made it very difficult to travel to and from events around the Texas area. At least in Indy, if it does snow most bars, hotels, and events are within walking distance.  So far, Indy is doing everything the right way.  They even brought in people that work for Disney cruise lines and events to show the workers at Lucas Oil Stadium how to maximize the visitors’ experience. So, assuming that the Pats can hold on and crush the Giants, it should be a pretty great weekend for all of those who attend.

Today is a Good Day in Gronk Nation

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Patriots Tight End Rob Gronkowski showed up for media day at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis today minus one thing he’s had all week: His Walking Boot.

20120131-112735.jpgThis is great news for Patriots nation, as easily their most explosive talent on the offensive side of the ball seems to be ahead of schedule rehabbing from his high ankle sprain suffered during last weeks 23-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, and is more than likely on track to play in this Sundays Super Bowl showdown. Gronk lists himself as “day-to-day”. Tom Brady added, “He’s making progress. He’s out of his boot, which makes me feel a lot better. Damn right this makes Brady feel a lot better.”

He knows having Gronk out there gives them a much better chance to win Sunday. The guy is an absolute freak. He possesses the combination of size, speed and just pure talent that hasn’t been seen from the Tight End position since Tony Gonzalez back in the early 2000’s. The Pat’s will more than likely hold Gronk out of practice for the rest of the week until the team walk-through Saturday. Whatever needs to be done to get this monster on the field Sunday will be done. Maybe Belichick should call up Bibi Jones to have her help heal Gronk.

 

Patriots vs. Giants: Offensive Line

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It’s getting closer and closer, five days til’ the big day. Today we will take a look at what will likely win or lose the game for either team: Offensive Line

The Giants offensive line is very solid. They don’t possess too much of a running game and I’m sure that’s not the main focus of the Patriots defense. The Giants only allowed 28 sacks against this season. If the Giants O-Line can give Eli enough time to find his open receivers against the Patriots shaky secondary then they should be able to put some points on the board. Eli has great pocket presence and does well escaping the would-be tacklers in the backfield. (Note 2007 Tyree Catch). God I hate talking about that but when you think Eli escaping a tackle it instantly comes to mind. The Giants are solid in the middle with David Diehl and Chris Snee at the guard positions. If the tackles for the Giants O-Line can keep Anderson and Ninovich out of the backfield Eli should be all right.

Overall Grade: B

20120131-103502.jpgThe Patriots have one of the most talented offensive lines in all of football. Although Brady was sacked 4 more times than Eli I still have the utmost confidence in this O-Line. Obviously this is a brutal matchup for them but if they can play up to task I don’t see the Giants pulling this one out. Both Guards made the Pro-Bowl; Matt Light isn’t to bad either. If Sebastian Vollmer is healthy enough to play I expect him to get more time out their than Rookie Nate Solder. Similar to the Giants, the Patriots run-game isn’t exactly something to be to scared about, but I think it is key that the Patriots use the run game to keep the QB hungry Giants D-Line on their toes. Like I’ve said before; this game will be won or lost in the trenches. I’m not saying the Patriots will be able to protect Brady as much as the Giants can protect Eli but that’s because of the immense talent on the Giants D-Line. Strictly talent wise; the Pat’s have the edge.

Overall Grade: B+

Edge: Patriots

 

Patriots vs. Giants: Kickers

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Today we will focus on which team has the edge in the kicking game. One of the things that gave me the idea to do a daily article evaluating each team in the super bowl was NFL.com, last week they came out with an evaluation article of each teams main positions. They gave Cundiff the edge over Gostkowski. They were definitely spot on with that one huh?

Lawrence Tynes is an average kicker at best. His field goal percentage isn’t all that bad at slightly over 79%, but if you look at the stats you notice he isn’t trusted to much to kick the ball over 40 yards, and it looks likes its all in good reason. Tynes only attempted eight kicks over 40 this season, and only converted four of them. 50% isn’t what you are looking for in a Super Bowl game. What are the Giants going to do on 4th and 3 from the 28-yard line in a tie game with a couple minutes left? My bet is they’re going for it.

Overall Grade: C

Stephen Gostkowski may be one of the most underrated kickers in the league today. His average is just under 85% and he makes clutch kicks when called upon. The difference here is when asked to kick a field goal over forty; Gostkowski frequently comes through. He is 76% from over 40; converting on ten of thirteen field goals. The Patriots have trust in their kicker and that’s huge in a game like this when its expected to come down to as little as a field goal. Could this be an Adam Vinatieri like finish? I’d take it.

Overall Grade: B+

Edge: Patriots

Patriots vs. Giants: Defensive Line

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Today we will take a look at the defensive lines of the Giants and the Patriots, I know this might be the best part of the Patriots defense (not saying much), but I think you all know where this one is going.

20120126-115805.jpgThe Giants have arguably the best pass rush in the whole NFL. There isn’t a team that can pressure the quarterback without blitzing the way the Giants can. I hate bringing it up as much as the next guy; but when the Patriots matched up against the Giants last time in the Super Bowl their offensive line got exposed by the rush of the Giants. On many passing downs the Giants will switch off D-Tackle Linval Joseph and they will go with a four man front of Umenyiora, Tuck, Pierre-Paul, and Kiwanuka. The fact that the Giants pass defense is as bad as it is when they often times have no need to blitz and can keep many players back in coverage really shows how inept their secondary is. A combination like that possesses more speed up front than any D-Line in the NFL. The bright spot of their defensive line has to be Jason Pierre-Paul. He leads the team with 16.5 sacks so far this season. Osi Umenyiora isn’t to bad himself; he’s only played in nine games this year and has still recorded 9 sacks. Expect Brady to make many changes at the line of scrimmage based on the personnel the Giants send out there. This game is going to come down to the success both sides have in the trenches.

Overall Grade: A

The Patriots defensive line is very solid. They have a big presence in the middle with Big Vince clogging up all the running holes, and he even showed last week he could get after the quarterback as well. The loss of Andre Carter certainly didn’t help the pass rush, but veteran Mark Anderson has stepped right in and recorded 10 sacks this season. Like many positions on this team, the Patriots have a constant rotation on the D-Line. Kyle Love, Brandon Deadrick, Shaun Ellis and Gerard Warren always move in and out of the game. You have to be confident the Patriots run defense shouldn’t be the main issue against a team that often times forgets they have a running back. Overall the Patriots defensive line looks solid and should be able to get some pressure on Eli.

Overall Grade: B+

Edge: Giants

Patriots vs. Giants: Linebackers

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Today we will take a look at the linebacker comparison between the Giants and the Patriots.

The Giants linebacker presence often times goes unnoticed. This isn’t because they aren’t good, or they don’t get their job done. It’s because of their QB hungry defensive line. Giants linebackers aren’t on the field to be pass rushers like many other teams use their linebackers. The linebacking crew consists of Michael Boley, Mathias Kiwanuka, Jacquian Williams, Greg Jones, and Chase Blackburn. Boley and Kiwanuka are both above average linebackers, with great speed. The others are mere average defenders.  Often times you will see Kiwanuka line up at the end position when they are in passing downs. Overall the linebacking group is average at best, and Perry Fewell does a great job making sure they don’t get exposed.

Overall Grade: C

Like the Giants, the Patriots have a seamlessly never ending linebacker rotation. Brandon Spikes coming back from injury was huge for their run defense, and it showed last week when the Pats basically shut down the most explosive part of the Ravens offense. Jerod Mayo is a top tier middle linebacker, and Rob Ninkovich has been improving all year and is showing he can be solid NFL talent and consistently put pressure on the opponent’s quarterback. Overall the Patriots linebacking crew is very solid when healthy, and that’s how it is right now.

Overall Grade: B

Edge: Patriots

Patriots vs. Giants: The Secondary

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Okay so from today until next Friday before the Super Bowl I will analyze the Patriots vs Giants matchup position by position. Today I am going to begin with the Secondary.

We’ll start with the Giants. Their secondary has been one of the worst in all of football, and the fact that it has been that bad with the pass rush they have is pretty pathetic. Opponents’ quarterbacks are always under pressure and they still allowed 28 TD passes and over 4000 yards. If the Giants were up 20 points in most games this year and opposing QB’s were forced into situations where they had to throw the ball this stat would be somewhat inflated. That’s not the case. The lone bright spot of their secondary is that they ranked 6th in the league with 20 interceptions. If the Patriots O-Line are able to keep Brady on his feet, expect some serious numbers to be put up on this defense.

Overall grade: D+

20120124-105302.jpgThe Patriots’ secondary has been in shambles all season. The move to switch McCourty to safety was a great one in my opinion. The Patriots’ secondary allowed over 4700 passing yards this season and allowed 26 touchdowns against, both ranking amongst the worst in the NFL. Like the Giants; the Pats also ranked amongst the best in the NFL with 23 interceptions. The Patriots secondary has been slowly improving and the pieces seem to be falling into place. They are going to be tested early and often against this confident Giant offense, and their performance may be the deciding factor in this game.

Overall grade: D

Edge: Giants

 

Weekend Recap

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I think it’s safe to say this was one of the better weekends Boston has seen in a long while. We’ll start out with the obvious. Patriots are in the Super Bowl once again!! Now, there’s a sentence that never gets old. Although I figured it’d be in a more decisive manner, the Pats came out victorious yesterday, edging the Ravens 23-20 in the AFC Championship. With 27 seconds left I think everyone in the world thought this game was heading for overtime and who knows what could have happened. But the stars were aligned in Foxboro last night as Raven’s kicker Billy Cundiff botched a 32 yard routine field goal to tie the game at 23. Shanks for coming! Has a suicide watch been put on Cundiff yet? I sure hope so. In case anyone was wondering, the Bruins and Celtics both played yesterday too. With the Pats game overshadowing pretty much every other sports game in Boston, the two other teams were victorious on Sunday as well. The Bruins pulled past the Flyers 6-5 with Seguin netting the decisive goal in the shootout. Pierce stepped up his game and showed Boston why he is a Celtic as the team got a much needed win against Wizards 100-94. Both the Bruins and the Celts lost a game as well over the weekend, with the Celts falling to the Suns 79-71 in an ugly showing Friday night while the B’s suffered a very disappointing loss to the Rangers Saturday with just seconds left in overtime. Overall I’d say it was a great weekend in the City of Champions, with the Patriots continuing to prove their domination as they head to their 5th Super Bowl in 12 years. This is going to be a long two weeks…Happy Monday!

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Weekend Recap

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With the Pat’s bringing an abrupt end to Tebowmania, it’s hard to say we had a tough weekend in Boston sports, despite watching the Celts and Bruins fall to their respective opponents. Nobody’s worrying about the Bruins. They’ve established their dominance and continue to hold sole possession of first place in the Northeast Division, one point ahead of a red hot Ottawa team. The Celtics, on the other hand, are a bit more concerning. It’s hard to watch, because at times they show signs of brilliance. It’s there, somewhere, but not nearly as much as it needs to be. Many say that’s the aging factor coming through. Regardless, their defense hasn’t even been that bad. There’s just no way a team can win games in the NBA when you’re averaging under 90 points a game. On the bright side, the final stop on the road to the Super Bowl will go through Foxboro this Sunday as the Pats are set to face the Baltimore Ravens. The Pats will roll into Sunday’s game with plenty of momentum from this weekend’s victory against the Broncos. It’s been better but then again it’s also been worse for us in Boston. Hard to complain when your football team continues to build onto its second decade of dominance.

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