Breaking Down the Tape: The Giants-Patriots Regular Season Matchup (Part Two)

Without Hakeem Nicks and Ahmad Bradshaw, the Giants were limited to tight formations and two wide receiver sets against the Patriots.

Yesterday, I reviewed what the Patriots offense and Giants defense did in their game three months ago in Foxborough.  Today, I'll analyze what happened when the Giants had the ball.

Giants Offense vs. Patriots Defense

While the Giants defense has been riddled with injuries all season, it was New York's offense that entered this game without some key pieces. The absence of Ahmad Bradshaw, Hakeem Nicks, center David Baas, and fullback Henry Hynoski all affected how this matchup played out.

Breaking Down the Tape: The Giants-Patriots Regular Season Matchup (Part One)

Against the Patriots in their regular season matchup, the Giants defense kept one safety back and flooded the middle of the field.

I'm posting a lot of content this week as we approach the rematch of the greatest Super Bowl in NFL history (sorry Santonio Holmes), including photos and observations when I head out to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl this Friday.  Check back often this week, as the site will be updated daily.

Back on November 6th, the Giants visited the Patriots for a game that gave us all 42 deja vu. To get a better sense of what New York and New England will try to do in this Sunday's Super Bowl, I looked back at the tape of that Week Nine matchup.  Today, I'll break down how the Patriots offense attacked the Giants defense.

Super Bowl XLII: The Game That Shall Not Be Named

The Patriot players aren't the only ones who want revenge for Super Bowl XLII.

A few days before Super Bowl XLII, I left Boston and went down to New York to watch the game. It wasn’t a hard decision. If the Giants won, I wanted to celebrate with Giants fans. And if the Giants lost, I definitely didn't want to watch the Patriots fans celebrate. After Tom Brady's final desperation heave to Randy Moss fell harmlessly to the ground, I hugged my father and caught a cab into the city to join my friends at a bar.  As ESPN played the highlights on a loop, the crowd reacted to the replays of David Tyree’s catch and Plaxico Burress’ touchdown as if they were happening live. The victory parade on Tuesday was pure euphoria. The city was jumping with joy.

I returned to Boston the next day to an unsurprisingly somber atmosphere. I expected some jeers from my coworkers about the game, but instead received a few muttered congratulations and a few more glares that warned "don't you dare mention what happened on Sunday." Thanks to a bet he made with me, my boss purchased an Eli Manning Fathead and put it on the back of his office door, where it was supposed to stay until the start of the next NFL season.  Twenty minutes later, we pulled it down because our CEO, a Patriots season ticket holder, deemed it “unprofessional.”

One Year of Eternal Sunshine, and My Conference Championship Picks

This is only the second time in NFL history that two quarterbacks drafted first overall will face off in the playoffs.

Dear Readers,

Exactly one year ago yesterday, a video of Patrick Chung's disastrous fake punt attempt in the Patriots' playoff loss to the Jets reminded me of a play that I saw in a 1990 Giants highlight film.  For some reason, I thought this connection was something I needed to broadcast to an audience bigger than my fantasy football league's email chain.  Thus, Eternal Sunshine For The Football Mind was born.  (I explain the impetus for the name here.)

After 140 posts and thousands of tweets (with at least 12 of them worth reading), I feel like I've gotten a much better sense for my writing style and the topics that you find most interesting.  However, I still have a long way to go, and I can't get there without you.  With that in mind, please give me your suggestions for what you want to see from me in the next year.  What do you like about the blog?  What is it missing?  What football topic would you like me to write about?  This site is only as good as those who read it, so I am open to all ideas.  You can submit your thoughts via email, Twitter, or the comments section below.

Thanks for reading, whether you're a new visitor or regular follower.  Year one has been great.  On to year two.

Best,

Pete

Last week: 3-1; 4-0 Against The Spread (ATS)

Playoffs: 7-1; 7-1 ATS

Ravens at Patriots

When trying to pick this game, one number keeps running through my head: 34.  That's the number of yards Joe Flacco passed for in the Ravens' 2009 playoff win at Foxboro.  Flacco also had an interception in that game to complete a total passer rating of 10.0.  Even after a respectable performance last week, Flacco has six touchdowns and seven interceptions in eight career playoff games.  He has regressed in every meaningful passing statistic this season.  If the Patriots put up their usual 30+ points, I don't see how Flacco can keep up with them.

Resting Starters: Does Momentum Trump Health in the NFL Playoffs?

Should Aaron Rodgers have risked his health to play the Lions in Week 17? Common sense says no, but history says differently.

At 15-1, the Green Bay Packers were the class of the 2011 NFL season.  Yet in their loss to the Giants on Sunday, fans couldn't help but think that Green Bay looked flat.  While recapping New York's victory with my friend Ike, he dropped the "M" word.  Momentum.  Did the bye, meant to reward the best teams in the league, instead hurt the Packers by knocking them off their groove?  Aaron Rodgers quickly dismissed questions that he was rusty after not attempting a pass since Christmas night, but he sure missed some throws against the Giants that he usually makes.  Are coaches foolish to rest their starters at the end of the season?  Does momentum matter so much that they should risk injury in a meaningless game to keep their team sharp?

The Coldest Day of My Life, And My NFL Divisional Round Picks

Spending nine hours in negative-24 weather is worth it after a victory.

Four years ago, a cab driver woke me up from a bench outside a Palm Beach hotel.  It was 5:00am on a Sunday morning, and I had just drifted off to sleep after partying all night for a friend's wedding.  When I threw my bags into the taxi, the thermometer read 85 degrees.  It read two degrees when my friends Omer, Cheryl, and Donnie picked me up from O'Hare airport five hours later.  As we drove three hours to Lambeau Field, we knew this would be the coldest day of our lives.

Three Big Playoff Questions, and My NFL Wild Card Weekend Picks

Do you really expect Tebow Time to fade quietly into the night?

As we enter the playoffs, there are three questions on my mind that the next 11 games will answer:

1)  In a year with record passing numbers, does defense still win championships?  The Steelers, Texans, Ravens, 49ers and Bengals are among the top 10 teams in yards allowed, but the Packers, Patriots, Giants, Saints and Lions are in the bottom 10.  In a copycat league, a Pittsburgh-San Francisco Super Bowl would lead GMs to reinvest in their defense this offseason.  If the Packers and Patriots make it to Indianapolis, the league will shift even further towards the passing game.

Can't Win The Big One - The Risk of Firing Reid

It took the 49ers a whole decade to get back to the playoffs after they fired Steve Mariucci.

In my picks for Week 17, I said "To those who are calling for Andy Reid's head, I ask, what coaching candidate do you think would do a better job than Reid has done?"  In response, my friend Nick commented that the question is irrelevant because many coaching hires that were once unknown coordinators or failures at a previous team have gone on to win a Super Bowl somewhere else.  Therefore, who's to say that a new hire like Rob Chudzinski or Jeff Fisher can't succeed where Reid has failed?

(Note: I put Fisher's coaching career in perspective when the Titans fired him last January.  Too many analysts blindly equate his longevity to greatness, and it disturbs me that he's become the hottest name on the coaching market this week.  I pity the team that gives him a big contract.)