The New England Patriots have just one final step to make on their way to setting NFL history. With a victory in Super Bowl XLII, the Pats will become the first team to complete a season 19-0. Most people think that all New England has to do is show up to get the job done. However, the New York Giants are playing their best football of the year, and an average game from New England may not cut it this time. Here's 10 things the Patriots need to accomplish on Sunday to avoid one of the worst choke jobs that we've ever seen in sports:
1) Get Out In Front Early
If New England can put their feet on the throats of the Giants early by getting out to a 10- or 14-point lead, then that will force New York to switch to more of a passing offense to try to catch up. Additionally, building a lead on the G-men will quickly diminish any hopes they have of competing in this game. Otherwise, the longer New York stays in the game, the more they believe they can win.
2) Protect Brady
The offensive line for New England is great. However, they better be really good on Sunday, because I think the Giants know that the best chance they have at winning this game is creating pressure up front with their outstanding front four. If the Patriots' offensive line can hold up like it usually does, then Brady will have as much time as he needs to once again pick apart the Giants' secondary.
3) Stop The Run
New England has to know that New York wants to run the football. If the Patriots can limit the Giants to only two to three yards on first and second down, then they're going to be placing extra pressure on New York quarterback Eli Manning to make plays on third and long. As good as Eli's played lately, I'm sure even the Giants' coaches don't want to add any more pressure on him than needed.
4) Get After Eli Manning Early
The Patriots need to get into the head of Manning early by shaking him up a little bit. Manning was far too comfortable in the pocket during the first meeting between these teams. However, during the course of the past few seasons, Manning has had a number of games where he simply looked lost out there. Even if it takes a semi-late hit to get to Manning, I think he needs to be dealt with early. Eli is a confidence guy, so if New England lets it build throughout the game, they could find themselves playing against Peyton Manning by the end.
5) Don't Let Burress Beat You
Manning is borderline obsessed with throwing the ball to Burress. The last time these two teams got together, Burress had four catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Granted, one touchdown was scored at the end of the game when the outcome was already certain. However, the Patriots simply cannot let Burress catch 11 passes like he did against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game. If New England is able to take Burress away, then I think we're going to see a struggling Eli come Sunday.
6) Make Eli Beat You
Again, Eli has been playing great lately. However, if you were New England, would you feel more comfortable saying that we lost because we couldn't stop Brandon Jacobs, or that we lost because we couldn't stop Eli Manning? There have been very few teams that have ever said that they lost because they couldn't stop Eli. The first thing New England needs to do is stop the run, and then make Eli throw to someone other than Plaxico Burress. If the Patriots can do this, then I don't see any way possible that they can lose unless they give up two returns for touchdowns. The punt return for a touchdown by the Giants last time simply cannot happen again. Make the Giants' offense beat you instead of giving up points on special teams.
7) Don't Change What's Been Working
I don't expect this to happen, but if New England tries to get cute in this game, it could come back to bite them. Stick to what's got you to this point because it's worked 18 times already. If you want to throw in a couple more new looks, that's fine, but nobody could stop the old ones.
8) No turnovers
This aspect is obviously more important for the Giants because they basically need to be perfect to beat a perfect team in this game. However, turnovers simply cannot be overlooked in any game. If New England gives the Giants two to three extra possessions because of turnovers, then they can win this game very easily. Protect the football and execute just as you've done all season long.
9) Be Alert For Potential Surprises
This is the most dangerous Super Bowl for New England that they have ever played in. The reason it's so dangerous is that the Giants have nothing to lose, given that no one expects them to win. The New York Giants' head coach Tom Coughlin has free reign to do whatever he wants to do, and we can't really question him, can we? Nothing else has worked consistently against the Patriots, but just maybe the Giants can find something that can work for this game. New York will do whatever it takes to win this game. Doing whatever it takes could mean trick plays, fake punt/kicks, and maybe even an onside kick after a score to try to gain an extra possession.
10) Don't Rely on Stephen Gostkowski
New England needs to do whatever they can to not place a win or a loss solely on second-year kicker Stephen Gostkowski. Gostkowski has been great this season, considering that he's missed only three out of 24 field-goal attempts. However, in the AFC Championship game last week, we saw him push a very makeable 35-yard attempt wide right. Think about it like this: You're a second-year kicker of the only 18-0 undefeated team in NFL history, and your team is down two with three seconds to play. If you think Gostkowski had some nervousness in his first AFC Championship game, then how nervous is this guy going to be if NFL history rests on his shoulders?
