How the New York Giants Can Win Super Bowl XXLII

How many of you outside New York or Giants fandom believe the Gmen can pull off the improbable upset this Sunday, Feb. 4? I would say that those people are in a distinct minority. If the Giants do so, not only would they be the Super Bowl champs, but they would be the only team to beat the New England Patriots in over a year.

Not since the Pats blew a 21-3 lead in Indianapolis last January has Bill Belichick left the field with a frown. Okay, Belichick leaves the field with a frown almost every week during the NFL season, win or lose. Let's rephrase that to the New England Patriots have not been on the short end of the scoreboard since then.

But it would be a mistake to completely write off the New York Giants chances. Any team that has won 10 straight games on the road in an NFL season cannot be taken lightly. Whether it's due to Eli Manning feeling less pressure on the road or what, is unknown. But this game is away from the Meadowlands and the Patriots have loooked almost human lately. Here are some keys to a possible New York victory.

Ride Brandon Jacobs, early and often, just as the 1990-91 edition of the Giants did Ottis Anderson. The Patriots sometimes score with their offense on the sidelines, but not nearly as often. The New England "D" will never be confused with the 85 Chicago Bears. Also, the more Jacobs runs the ball, the less Eli Manning has to throw it.

Even though Manning has played error free football in the last 3-4 games, more than one Super Bowl Quarterback has had a meltdown in the glare of sports' greatest spotlight after a stellar playoffs up to that point. Does anyone remember the names Tony Eason or Neil O'Donnell? Rich Gannon of the Raiders was the league's MVP in 2002 and threw 5 interceptions in the Big Game. All of these guys had more experience and better regular seasons than Eli in 2007.

The Giants won down the stretch of the season in spite of a patchwork secondary. One of the ways they did that was stuffing opponents running games better the last few games. Even though Marion Barber of Dallas had a big first half, the Giants held him in check in the second half. Ryan Grant of the Green Bay Packers was held to only 29 yards rushing on 13 carries after ripping through Seattle a week before with over 200 yards.

The problem with defending New England is if a defense plays extra DBs or overplays the pass, the Pats are patient enough to hand the ball to Laurence Maroney or throw short passes to Maroney or Kevin Faulk out of the backfield. Or throw to the tight end Benjamin Watson.

Without a doubt, the Gaints' greatest weakness is the defensive backfield. The Patriots greatest strength is Tom Brady throwing to a wide array of receivers. Cover Randy Moss? Fine, the Pats throw to Wes Welker, who had 112 catches on the season, Donte Stallworth, Jabar Gaffney, or one of the aforementioned running backs.

In the last Giant Super Bowl win, the N.Y. "D" played 5 and 6 defensive backs against the explosive Buffalo Bills and forced the Bills to throw short across the middle. Then the defense would punish Andre Reed and the Bills receivers. Dropped passes by Buffalo were more of a factor in the game than Scott Norwood's missed field goal. The game should not have come down to that kick.

It was a great game plan. The only problem is that it was devised by the Giants' then defensive coordinator... Bill Belichick. Unfortunately for the New York Giants, Belichick will be on the opposite sideline this time around.

In my opinion, the Giants will keep the score respectable, but it will not be enough. For the Giants to be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy next Sunday evening, they better hope that there are an abundance of those Bridget Moynihan masks for Tom Brady to look at. The Jessica Simpson look-alike worked in Dallas, so the Giants best chance is for Tom Brady to become rattled at the sight of his ex-girlfriend and the Mother of his child, born last year. Good luck with that.