Super Bowl Prediction

Posted by Jerry M. Gutlon Feb 1, 2008

As the media frenzy surrounding Sunday's Super Bowl came close to a crescendo during both the New England Patriots' and New York Giants' final press briefings on Friday, most prognosticators continued to pick the Pats as the ultimate Super Bowl winner.

This reporter won't deviate from that general consensus, either.

New England simply has too much firepower to lose to the Giants, thus they'll put the kibosh on New York's Cinderella-like playoff run. Although defensively the teams are about even up, defensive mastermind Bill Belichick of the Patriots must have gotten with his defensive coordinator over the last two weeks and come up with some diabolical defensive mixes designed to confuse Giants' quarterback Eli Manning, and negate a potent New York rushing game.

Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady has been here before, three times. He's in the prime of his career, and is coming off an untypical poor performance against the Chargers in the AFC title game. Sure, he tweaked his ankle a bit in that contest, but Brady would take the field Feb. 3 if he had no legs at all. The man is a passing machine, and his receiving corps is awesome.

New England's rushing game is woefully underrated, and expect Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk and Heath Evans to play well, and effectively. The Pats' may very well run the ball more than expected simply to keep the Giants honest and try to keep New York's solid pass rushers away from Tom Terrific. And wide receiver Randy Moss has been a non-factor thus far in the playoffs, so you can expect him to come through with some key receptions.

Best Bet: New England 35, New York 20