I’m ready for the Super Bowl. My new HDTV was delivered last Thursday and the picture is spectacular. I’ve been wanting to go High Def for some time, and it seriously is turning out to be everything I’ve been hoping for. I’m actually having a difficult time making progress on this column because it’s distracting me. Have you ever seen a hockey game in high def? You should check it out. Just in time for the Super Bowl. Let’s just hope I pick this one right against the spread so I can salvage a breakeven postseason!
It’s a busy time of year in the office for me, so I actually haven’t had much time to monitor all the talking heads and Super Bowl coverage. Who’s playing again? Just kidding. I was able to read ESPN’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback (my favorite columnist whom I highly recommend). While he did provide some good insights into the Super Bowl matchup, the topic that was most intriguing to me was his discussion of the bipartisan Economic Stimulus plan (after all, he never sticks to just football). His argument against supporting the Plan is that it will be funded entirely through additional deficit spending, and on this point I completely agree with him. While a check in the coming months may be nice, when will the younger generations (talking ‘bout my generation!) start holding politicians to an agenda driven by fiscal responsibility? We’re all happy about getting our money, but someone is going to have to foot this bill sometime, right? Is it going to be your parents? I doubt it.
Enough non-sports related banter. Let’s get on to this week’s pick.
Giants (+11.5) over Patriots
I actually believe this game should be close. I’m hoping for this game to be close. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, at +11.5, I’m backing the G-Men. I jumped off the Eli bandwagon two weeks ago, and I paid dearly as the Giants rolled on to victory (even if it was an ugly victory). Why not back the hot hand? The near-victory against the Pats in Week 17 of the regular season did something to these Giants. They really think they can win and truthfully, anything can happen. Now I’m not expecting an upset, but I do think this game will be closer than people seem to think.
I’m definitely excited to watch the Giants D-line try to get to Brady. If they can make their presence felt (the way they have in other games this postseason), they’re going to keep this game well within the spread.
Football is a game of resource allocation. People who study it, and I mean really study it, describe coaching as moving players around on the field like chess pieces on a board. If you keep your running back in the backfield to block, you lose a check down receiver for your quarterback. If you come out in a nickel defense on first down to protect yourself against a team’s passing game, you’ve made yourself susceptible to the run. How Tom Coughlin allocates his resources on defense will determine the outcome of this game. Now I think he’ll do everything to stop the pass. He’ll try to make the Patriots beat him on the ground. I think Maroney will have a great game, but a run-based game that Belichick is sure to employ against a defense designed to stop the pass will move the ball slower, lessening New England’s margin of victory.
Final Score: New England 24, New York 17
