Sports Investors Network - 7/4/2008

SUPER BOWL XLII

 

The Patriots are 1 game away from the first 19-0 season in NFL history, with the Giants being the final hurdle in Super Bowl XLII on Sunday. The teams met just five weeks ago in the final game of the regular season where New York almost spoiled New England ’s plans for a perfect season. The Giants had a double-digit second-half lead before falling, 38-35, but easily covering the double-digit pointspread. The Patriots have a chance to make their mark in history with a victory here. After winning Super Bowls following the 2001, 2003, and 2004 season, they can become just the second team in NFL history to win four titles in a seven-year span. The Steelers and 49ers are currently the only franchises to win four Super Bowl titles in a single decade, another exclusive club New England could join with a victory. While the game is viewed by some as being the final and inevitable step toward New England 's coronation, a red-hot Giants team figures to have something to say about the matter. New York is in the Super Bowl for the first time in seven years thanks to consecutive playoff road wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Packers, and the Giants' 10 straight wins away from home this season are an NFL record. New York QB Eli Manning has undergone a playoff revelation marked by sound decision- making and a minimal number of mistakes. Manning has completed 62% of his throws and not committed a turnover in New York 's three postseason games. Manning's outstanding run actually began with a strong outing against New England in Week 17, when he went 22-of-32 for 251 yards and tossed FOUR TD passes.

The Patriots were TD favorites against the Panthers and Eagles, and won by just a FG each time. In fact, New England has won all 3 of their Super Bowls by 3 points. They are a tremendous football team and have been for several seasons now, but they simply do not blow out their opponents in the Super Bowl, even when playing the weaker NFC. Not even a bye week has been a big boost for New England in the playoffs. Under Belichik, the Pats are 0-4 ATS when favored in the playoffs off a week of rest. New England started the season by steamrolling everything in their path, but it’s been many weeks now since they dominated a game, yet here they are favored by about a dozen points. Teams that are favored despite continually failing to cover the spread in victories, tend to continue disappointing their backers. Likewise, teams that continually win and/or cover as an underdog, tend to continue doing so as an underdog. Here, it’s quite likely that both trends will continue. A close game is one thing, but could the “unthinkable” happen? Could the Patriots actually lose this game after going 18-0 this season to get here? We think it’s a strong possibility. New England was underwhelming in their 2 home playoff wins, barely able to put away a Chargers team with its 3 best offensive players severely hobbled. Speaking of hobbled, based upon what we’ve seen and heard in Arizona, it appears that Brady’s ankle is worse than he or the team is letting on. A sitting duck in the pocket will only make it a little bit easier for the Giants defensive line and blitzers to hit their mark. Meanwhile, New York is peaking right now and they will come in full of confidence. Knowing how close they came to beating New England 5 weeks ago and how they’ve continued to play since then, they can’t wait to take the field against the Patriots. We expect another very close game. The Patriots made several miracle escapes this season to keep their perfect record alive and it may take another miracle to pull this one out. The Giants should give them everything they can handle and we won’t be surprised to see the G-men pull off the upset PROJECTED FINAL SCORE: NEW YORK GIANTS 30 NEW ENGLAND 28

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