nfl weekly predictions: super bowl xlii

ny giants vs new england

analysis : if when the patriots win the super bowl, their perfect season will be as tainted as if the penguins had won the stanley cup in the movie sudden death. for example, in the first game of the year, the patriots cheated by illegally videotaping their opponents. similarly in sudden death, the penguins unknowingly played a non-roster player in van damme as goalie for a sequence in the third period¹ of game 7 of stanley cup finals. both teams did not play by the rules. but anyway, as far as the actual game is concerned [and not the overwhelming amount of useless super bowl hype], the patriots should continue their offensive dominance against a team that nobody expects to win. with that being said, here's what the giants need to do to win: be able to sustain long offensive possessions, win 3rd downs on both sides of the ball, score points or provide exceptional field position via special teams, win the turnover battle by at least two and pressure tom brady on a consistent basis. call it a hunch, but that might be too tall an order for the giants. and although it looks like the tom coughlin-eli manning combination may not be as bad as i thought it was, it still pales in comparison to that of bill belichick and tom brady. also, it's still funny that in the 2008 nfc championship game, tom coughlin looked like he had overslept in a tanning bed. in the end, the patriots will be too much for the giants and cause don shula and mercury morris and the rest of the '72 miami dolphins to seek depression counseling now that their sole reason to live will have been taken away [though i do like that the '72 miami dolphins can't do their dumb champagne celebration after the final unbeaten team loses, it's just too bad that it had to because of this patriots team].

the pick : new england

¹ in the song 'nothing better' by the postal service, there is a lyric that goes 'like a goalie tending the net in the third quarter.' i've always had a problem with this line because i can't think of a sport with a goalie that divides a game in quarters. hockey [which i'm assuming is what ben gibbard was referencing] has three periods, rendering quarters an impossibility, and soccer has halves.