The New York Giants enter Super Bowl XLII with the opportunity of a lifetime. The opportunity for the G-men is not only becoming champions of the NFL this season, but also to possibly beat the greatest team ever on the biggest stage. The expectations are obviously minimal as New York comes into this game at about a two touchdown underdog. To complicate things even more, the Patriots just beat the Giants 38-35 in New York about a month ago. One could argue that the score of their previous meeting wasn't as close as it appeared though. In that game, the Giants ran back a kickoff and scored a late touchdown in garbage time to cut it to three. My guess is the Patriots will do a much better job on special teams come Sunday. Unfortunately, these are the type of big plays that the Giants will need if they want to walk away with the win. Here's 10 additional tasks that New York must execute perfectly on Sunday to knock off the Patriots for the first time all season.
1) Run the Ball
Eli Manning has been playing great lately, but please, for the viewers sake don't put this game in this hands early. Manning has shown great strides and he has the ability to beat teams through the air. However, if the Giants come out gunning early they will only be playing into the hands of the Patriots. New York needs Brandon Jacobs fully heathly because they've got to establish the run and force the New England defense to stay on the field as long as possible during their drives. Forcing the New England defense to remain on the field not only tires the defense out quicker, but it also keeps the offense off the field.
2) Limit the Number of Possessions
If the Giants can run the ball successfully, then everything else could fall into place. Utilizing the running game will allow the Giants to control the time of possession. Executing long scoring drives will limit the number of possessions for both teams during the game. If you can prevent the Patriots from getting the ball one or two less times than they usually would throughout a game, then you could potentially be shaving 14 points off the board. Furthermore, if you're able to score on those long time-consuming drives it will place more pressure on the Pats to score each time they touch the ball as well.
3) Manage the Game
This is another aspect that the Giants must do perfectly with this being Manning's first time in the Super Bowl. Don't force Eli to win this game for you New York. Instead, do everything you can to consistently get the Giants' offense into managable third down situations. If the Giants are forced to face consistent 3rd and long scenarios they're playing with fire because the Patriots will find a way to make the play.
4) Limit the Big Play
Preventing the quick scoring strike has got to be high on New York's list on Sunday. The Patriots only caught three passes over twenty yards the last time these two played, but one of those three was a 65-yard TD pass to Randy Moss that gave New England the lead for good. The Giants need to force the Patriots to work underneath to give their defense as many chances as possible to make a play. Also, keeping the Patriot receivers shallow allows the clock to continue to run. If New England can't be stopped on offense, then the least the Giants can do is try to look for a fumble, a tipped pass INT, or even just hope for errant throws or dropped passes.
5) Don't Settle For Three
This is an obvious one, but the Giants have to have this mindset every time they enter New England territory. In the AFC Championship game, The San Diego Chargers scored four times and the New England Patriots only scored three times. Final score: Pats 21-12. Execute in the red zone and keep pressure on New England to score seven points on every drive.
6) Get Out in Front
The Gants jumped out in front of the Patriots the last time they played, but fell behind quickly in the second quarter. However, getting a lead early is a necessity for New York in this game because it allows them to stay within their offensive gameplan. Otherwise, if New England jumps out in front the Giants will be forced to try to play catch up by passing on every down. If the Patriots already know that you're passing, then odds are they're going to force you into making a mistake.
7) Get to Brady
The Giants are lucky because they are one of a few teams that actually do have the luxury of rushing four players and are still able to get pressure on the quarterback. This means that New York can consistently drop seven defenders into coverage to help blanket the field better. However, if the front four aren't generating pressure, then they've got to find another way to at least shake Brady up a little bit in the pocket. The most important thing New York has to remember is don't give up the big play. If they want to send an extra player after Brady that's fine. However, just make sure that there's coverage deep because I don't want to see this get out of hand too quickly.
8) No Turnovers
Again another obvious topic, but it simply can't be overlooked. New England didn't turn the ball over the last time these two played and New York did once. Now it probably wasn't the difference in the game, but teams simply cannot afford to give the Patriots extra possessions when they're already starting the game at a disadvantage.
9) Create Unconventional Scoring Chances
Unfortunately the Giants already ran back a kickoff the first time these two met, but that's not to say that it can't happen again. No matter how it gets done, the Giants have to find a way to create good field position either with turnovers or special teams.
10) Take Chances
4th and 2 on New England's 40? Go for it! 4th and 1 on the 50? Go for it! 4th and inches on your own 40? Go for it! Early in the game, late in the game, all game long go for it! The Giants have nothing to lose and coach Tom Coughlin can't possibly be looked down upon for taking risks similar to these. Leave everything on the table New York and give us something exciting to watch throughout the entire game.
