Silver and Black Report

Super Bowl XLVI will feature two very deserving teams, with two passers looking to cement their legacies and one club in particular, searching for revenge after having their perfect season wiped away in this final game a few years back.

SBReport.net will take a look at what both the New York Giants and the New England Patriots have to accomplish to win this game and what would occur if either team gets to hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy on Sunday evening.

THE CASE FOR THE NEW YORK GIANTS (NFC CHAMPIONS)

Unlike the Patriots, the Giants can wing it with Eli Manning, not worry about a ground game and still come away victorious. That talented unit of wide receivers, which features Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham, could provide enough troubles for a highly questionable Pats’ secondary and enable Manning to put up better stats than his counterpart at the end of this final game of the 2011 season.

The Giants moved the ball very well against a tough, solid tackling and fiery defense on the road to get to the Super Bowl. Their efforts in San Francisco were impressive. And this Bill Belichick defense is nowhere near the talent level of the 49ers’ unit.

Brandon Jacobs nor Ahmad Bradshaw, do not need big games. But a few draws, some Bradshaw pitches to the edge and Jacobs’ downhill style could help set a tone and keep New England off-balance.

Manning will need a 40-plus pass attempt effort to win this game.

On defense, it’s quite simple, keep the Patriots one-dimensional. Yes, that may lead to big numbers for Tom Brady, but the Giants have to shutdown Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis and hope that fierce pass rush can get to the quarterback enough to make life miserable for him.

That formula was used to win in 2007 – so if Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora cannot get heat on Brady, the Giants will be in a shoot-out all afternoon and hoping that Brady doesn’t have the ball in his hands late in the contest either up with a chance to seal the deal, or with the team’s fate in his hands.

The Giants secondary isn’t very good either, but they have playmakers in Antrel Rolle and Kenny Phillips. And if their pass rush is wreaking havoc, they have enough talent on the linebacker unit and back end of the defensive backfield to contain New England’s deadly  tight ends.

A WIN FOR MANNING WILL…

Wouldn’t it be sweet for Eli to raise the trophy in the ‘House that Peyton built”?

A second victory against Brady in a Super Bowl will put the younger Manning among the elite in New York sports history. He’ll easily surpass Phil Simms as the greatest signal caller in Giants’ history and place himself in the pantheon of the Big Apple’s greats.

I would put him ahead of Mark Messier, who delivered the Rangers their first Stanley Cup in 54-years back in the 1993-94 campaign. Manning will surpass Walt Frazier (Knicks), will cast a shadow over Joe Namath (Jets) and by career’s end, which could sound crazy, may even have a chance to take the crown as the greatest Giant ever, taking the mantle away from Lawrence Taylor, who revolutionized the linebacker position in the NFL.

Manning could easily place himself in the Mt. Rushmore of NY sports; along with Derek Jeter, Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth – all who played for the Yankees.

THE CASE FOR THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (AFC CHAMPIONS)

On defense, Vince Wilfork will have to play the game of his life. Brandon Spikes will have to be a tackling machine and someone from that secondary – anyone – will need a key interception to slow Manning and that potent aerial attack.

A vital aspect of this contest is the week off. Belichick is a mastermind when given time to game plan, and with the Giants in such a roll, the bye actually is a major advantage for the Patriots – especially with Rob Gronkowski’s injured left ankle.

That two tight end set that New England deploys could give the Giants massive headaches. New York had breakdowns in coverage versus Vernon Davis and a 49er team that offered very little in terms of other targets in the NFC Championship game.

If Gronkowski can play and perform effectively, it will give the Patriots a chance to match him either against a slower linebacker or smaller safety, and others such as Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker and Deion Branch could have huge games working the middle of the field.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Brady started the game in a no-huddle and uses it plenty throughout the evening in hopes of tiring the Giants pass rush, causing confusion in the secondary and prevent New York to make substitutions to their active front-seven.

Green-Ellis must be productive. They may not need well over 100-yards out of him, but it’s essential they can move the chains on short yardage with the run and offer more than what San Francisco did in terms of balance and versatility against an aggressive Giants defense.

Running right at the pass rushers and draw plays off of shotgun formations, quick snaps and other creative ways to get chunks of yards on the ground will be needed to keep Manning on the sideline as well. The one unit that took a beating when the Giants beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, in the game and via the media afterwards, was the offensive line of New England. This time around, they’ll have a chip on their shoulder and major incentive to play well against a New York team that has been chatty and boisterous along the defense the last few days.

ANOTHER RING FOR BRADY…

Brady has done it all. He’s a hall of famer to be and recognized as one of the elite sporting figures of this generation.

But a fourth Super Bowl title would be epic.

Brady could situate himself among the league’s immortals with a win. Not only will the Patriots need a big game from their star passer, but a larger-than-life stat line with a win could be the single greatest feat of his already stellar career.

New England enters this game with their most vital offensive component nowhere near 100% percent, per many reports. The defense they are heading into the game with may be the worst defensive unit ever in Super Bowl lore. Add  that he doesn’t posses a great rusher, nor an offensive line you could recognize immediately, and you’re talking about all the makings of a historic evening for Brady – especially since he’s still disturbed by his performance two weeks ago versus the Ravens and a few years back when his perfect season evaporated and a title slipped through his fingers, in a game which he played valiantly in and was in line to win another MVP.

Brady with a win, will stand-alone with Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas. From there, you can argue all you want about who’s the greatest. Then, you can add him to the list of greatest players to don shoulder pads, not just that played under center.

PREDICTION

Will Brady have a great game? Yes. Will Welker and the rest of the offense find a way to keep it tight through three quarters with the G-men? Absolutely. But I find it hard to believe, as much as I trust Belichick and his game-planning genius, that Raider cast-off Sterling Moore and that questionable secondary can stand toe-to-toe versus Manning and that passing game.

The New York pass rush will be relentless. And even if they face a no-huddle attack, they’ll find a way to make plays, get Brady moving in the pocket and force some throws down the field. With Gronkowski on a tender ankle, it really hinders what New England can do in their passing game.

What I find surprising is the line before the game? The Patriots have remained a 2 ½ to 3 point favorite all week. I know their regular season record and playoff seeding was taken into consideration, but the Giants are the hottest team coming into the game. The Pats are on a current 10-game winning streak, but they’ve faced Mark Sanchez, Tyler Palko, Vince Young, Dan Orlovsky, Rex Grossman, Tim Tebow (twice), Matt Moore, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Joe Flacco since their last defeat on November 6.

Oh, by the way, their last loss was against? Yes, Manning and the Giants.

COTTO’S FINAL SCORE: Giants 33 – Patriots 27    MVP: Eli Manning

SB REPORT STAFF PICKS

Chris McClain – click here to reach him on twitter.

This year’s Giants remind me of last season’s Green Bay Packers. Like the Packers last year, New York had to win their final two games of the season to win the NFC East and make the playoffs. The Giants run will end with the Lombard Trophy, just like last year’s Packers.

Both teams will make adjustments at the halftime, causing the bulk of the scoring to occur in the second half. The Giants will get their running game going to assist Manning and the receivers, along with keeping Brady off of the field as much as possible. Brady and the Patriots will have a chance to win the game late, but much like in 2007, the Giants defense will hold strong and secure the New York’s fourth Super Bowl victory.

MCCLAIN’S FINAL SCORE: Giants 28 – Patriots 24    MVP: Eli Manning

BOB CARR’S PREDICTION: Giants 38 – Patriots 24    MVP:  Eli Manning

ERIC STRAUSS’ PREDICTION: Giants 27 – Patriots 17   MVP: Eli Manning

Follow @cottovic

Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha talked to the press after yesterday’s 44-7 loss against the New York Giants. Here are highlights of his media session after the game.

On the New York Giants:

They were a good team. They are a pretty good team. You watch them on film and you know they are good, but you, its different when they come out and are hitting everything like that.

A good team, balanced on offense and they are going to blitz you on defense and it worked out.

When a reporter asked, how do you not let losses like this discourage you?

You got to look at the loss. You can’t move past it. You have to look at it. You have to study it. You have to get better from it. Right now, we are not playing very good football.

A reporter asked about what signs of change are foreseeable?

It would take a win in one of these games for us to kind of shake off all of the negative energy. But right now, we are underachieving as a football team. We’ve got so much talent. The other guys after the game, every team comes up to us, ‘Man, you guys are probably the most talented we’ve played against’, but you just can’t keep on underachieving at a high level. There’s times where we should just really be dominating and its completely the other way around.

About the Giants avoiding him:

Well, Eli [Manning] said after the game that that was the plan. And you hear that no matter what team that you are playing against.

About the team’s play:

It’s not lack of effort, so you can say it’s the physical part of it is fine. Is the mental part that needs to take a step up and that’s how you dispel all the talk of underachieving. It’s about knowing where you are supposed to be on the field, helping the team out, playing smarter, and that’s where we need to take a step up. Physically we are fine. We draft all the speed in the world and all the size in the world, so you know we are going to have some talent. Mentally, we just have to play better.

Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report.net Columnist

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – On the first play of the second quarter, Eli Manning connected with Mario Manningham for a 30-yard score to cap a 5-play 94-yard drive. The Giants led 21-0 at that point and dominated the box score with 249-total yards of offense as oppose to the Raiders 18-total yards.

Oakland fell deeper into a black hole on their next drive when Terrell Thomas blitzed, sacking JaMarcus Russell and forcing a fumble that was recovered by Justin Tuck at the Raiders 13-yard line. Three plays later, Manning hit Hakeem Nicks on a 9-yard toss to give the Giants a dominating 28-0 lead. Manning at that point was 8-of-10 for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Raiders were three and out again on their next drive. Russell scrambled on 3^rd and 3 but fell inched short of the 1^st down marker.

Oakland stopped the Giants from hitting paydirt on the ensuing drive. Brandon Jacobs bulldozed for 12-yards on the first play of the drive but was shutdown after that forcing the first punt of the game by Jeff Feagles.

Oakland then mounted their best drive when Russell hit Zach Miller for 21-yards to start. A few plays later, Michael Bush runs for 8-yards. On 3^rd and 2, Bush ran for no yards, Samson Satele was called for a hold, but the Giants opted to decline and force a 4^th down. The Raiders then went for it and converted the 4^th and 2 on a Russell 3-yard scamper. The drive ended near midfield when Russell was blindsided by Michael Johnson for a 6-yard sack on 3^rd and 6.

The Raiders were fortunate when Sinorice Moss muffed the ensuing punt and Jonathan Holland recovered the loose ball at the Giants 15-yard line. After a 9-yard pass interference penalty on CC Brown gave the ball near the goal line, Bush rumbled into the end zone from 5-yards out to put Oakland on the board, down 28-7.

Manning departed on the Giants next drive, giving away to back-up David Carr with a huge-lead and unscathed after a week where there was doubt whether or not he would play due to a foot injury.

Carr completed his first pass to Manningham for 6-yards. Ahmad Bradshaw then ripped a 19-yard run before Carr connected with Steve Smith for 19-yards. They would eventually punt after getting to midfield.

The Raiders started their possession with 0:43 left in the half. Russell and Luke Lawton connected for 14-yards, but on the next play, Justin Tuck sacked Oakland’s passer and Osi Umenyiora recovered at the 25-yard line.

Carr then hit Darcy Johnson for 10-yards and with 0:06 remianing, Lawrence Tynes hit a 25-yard field goal to extend the Giants lead to 31-7.

SCORE: Giants 31 – Raiders 7

First Half Stats:

First Downs: NY 18 – OAK 5

Total Yards: NY 340 – OAK 68

Passing Yards: NY 211 – OAK 25

Rushing Yards: NY 129 – OAK 43

Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report.net Columnist

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The New York Giants took the game’s opening drive down the field and scored on the Oakland Raiders, with Eli Manning leading a 14 play drive that ate up 77-yards. On the possession, Manning opened the game with a 9-yard completion to Darcy Johnson for 9-yards. Facing a 3rd and 7, Gerard Warren jumped offsides and gave New York a manageable 3^rd and 2. On that play, Manning found a streaking Steve Smith for 8-yards with Stanford Routt trailing on the play. A few plays later, on 3^rd and 8, the Raiders were penalized again, this time Routt for pass interference in trying to cover Smith. The 11-yard penalty set-up the Giants deep in Raiders territory and a few plays later on 4^th and goal from the 1, Ahmad Bradshaw gave the Giants a 7-0 lead.

Oakland’s opening drive stalled after Michael Bush ran for 7 yards on the first play. Erik Pears was flagged for a false start and the Raiders were not able to recover after that.  On 3^rd and 6, JaMarcus Russell avoided a sack and was able to find a wide-open Todd Watkins near midfield, but the receiver was not able to hold on to the pass, which would have extended the Raiders’ drive.

The Giants quickly bolted down the field on their next drive. Manning connected with Smith for 43-yards on a perfect sideline toss with Chris Johnson and Hiram Eugene in coverage. Then, Bradshaw ripped a 17-yard gain before darting to the end zone from 19-yards out to give the Giants a 14-0 lead.

Manning at that point was 5-of-6 for 79 yards, this after being held out of practice most of the week with a foot injury.

Oakland had an uneventful second drive that ended with a Zach Miller reception for 5-yards on 3^rd and 6.

New York again attacked on their next possession, with Bradshaw ripping the Raider defense for a 23-yard gain and then closing the quarter with a 55-yard catch and run on 3^rd and 23.

SCORE: Giants 14 – Raiders 0

Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report.net Columnist