Quoting Uvah, reply 1I remember the last time I saw these two teams clash. I had picked New England and as luck would have it the Giants steamrolled 'em. It was as if the Giants loosed the 'Giants', bringing out the heavies and trouncing the Pats big time. This time around I'm going with the giants because I think they'll try the same thing again.What planet do you live on? 17-14 is hardly a "trouncing" or being "steamrolled". The Giants won that game on pure luck, Tyree's helmet catch was only one of four lucky occurrences in the Giants last drive alone, any one of which would have changed the result of the game if it had gone the other way. If they replayed that game 10 times the Patriots win 9 of them.
If a meteor had crashed into Phoenix, it may not have mattered. If a dragon had eaten both teams, it wouldn't have mattered either. If and maybe are irrelevant. What happened happened.
So the Patriots awful, statistically worst in the NFL, defense is suddenly not mediocre? They put the breaks on... the Broncos and the Ravens. Two vaunted offenses that have stricken the hearts of opposing defenses all year....
As opposed to the Giants, who trounced two of the best offenses in the NFL, and then won a defensive struggle with the best overall defense in the NFL.
If I were a Patriots fan I'd be a bit concerned about Brady's mediocre playoff performances since Spygate. He has been an undeniably different big game quarterback since then. It may be coincidence, but it may not. I'd also be concerned about playing a team we'd already lost to once this year that is significantly healthier and playing better than they were the last time they beat us.
Speaking of Spygate, it's not just success that breeds contempt. So does cheating, whether Patriots fans like to admit it or not.
Also, the 45 minute practice break is a gimmick.
I'm a Giants fan, so I'm biased too. I don't have a pick and am very concerned that the Giants will under perform and make themselves look foolish. But let's not glaze over all the details.