by Cris Benson The Fantasy Football Informer

Superbowl XLII was the undefeated Patriots vs. the underdog Giants who with help of David Tyree’s helmet had one of the most incredible catches in NFL history.  While the helmet catch was incredible it gained Eli Manning no credibility of being a great NFL quarterback.  Yet it was Manning not Brady that produced a game winning drive with a final throw for a thirteen yard touchdown pass to receiver Plaxico Burress. 

Superbowl XLVI shares some similarities with Superbowl XLII but while most of the main characters have returned like a typical movie sequel the story is different.  No sequel would be complete without a bad storyline about revenge where the antagonist is back to claim their rightful victory over the protagonist. 

Superbowl XLII must haunt Tom Brady as the game he never finished.  It was almost like another quarterback took the field in the reaming seconds left to play.  To add further angst the New England Patriots played the Giants in week nine of the NFL regular season and lost 24-20 with similarities in play and tone of Superbowl XLII.  Well now Brady can cast some of those demons for good.

See Superbowl XLVI isn’t about the coaches, the defense, the run game, the changes in roster, and any of those subplots of this Hollywood sequel.  This game is about Eli Manning proving he’s an elite quarterback and Tom Brady proving he is the greatest quarterback in NFL history.

This game will most likely be decided by one of these quarterbacks making a game winning drive.  While Manning may have a slight edge in the head to head matchup I cannot go against a future hall of fame quarterback Tom Brady.  Brady has proven when necessary that he can carry the Patriots.

Week one Brady tears up the Dolphins for 517 yards passing and 4 TD’s.

Week six Brady makes a 10 play drive against the Cowboys throwing a game wining TD pass to Hernandez with 22 seconds to spare on the clock.

Week 10 Brady throws for 329 yards and 3 TD’s against the Jets.

Week 12 Brady throws for 361 yards and 3 TD’s against the Eagles.

Week 14 Brady throws for 357 yards and 3 TD’s against the Redskins.

Divisional Playoffs Brady throws a playoff record 5 TD’s in the first half.

Now while Brady himself even admitted that he “sucked” in the AFC championship game against the Ravens his teammates picked up the slack and the Patriots won the game.

With that bad game out of Brady’s system I expect to see Tom Brady to return to the form of having ice in his veins.

Tom Brady and the Patriots are on a ten game win streak and the Giants have lost five of the last eleven games played. 

The Giants faced an underprepared Packer team and be honest Aaron Rodgers was not playing his best football of the season.  The 49ers were very good against the Giants however mistakes cost the Niners the game so that leaves me to believe the bounces are going the Giants way.

However unlike Superbowl XLII the Giants will not have David Tyree’s helmet to bail them out this time.

If you think Bill Belichick hasn’t figured out how to slowdown the Giants run game which isn’t all that great to begin with or stop Eli Manning from finding open targets with minutes remaining then I am sure you’re a Giants fan and won’t care what I say.

The difference in this game will be turnovers and that will determine who can win this game.  While big passes will make great TV highlights the game will be won with ball control and minimizing mistakes. 

If this game is on the quarterback’s shoulders then Eli Manning will make mistakes while Tom Brady is capable of delivering minimum mistakes.

Patriots 31 Giants 24 

(Source: nfl.com)