Why Indianapolis' Turf Gives New York a Monster Advantage in Super Bowl XLVI

Lucas Oil Stadium, home of Super Bowl XLVI, has an artificial turf known as FieldTurf. It's an artificial turf that is also found in seven other NFL stadiums.

Both the New York Giants and New England Patriots play their home games on FieldTurf. The reason that the Giants have a monster advantage in this matchup when both teams are used to this type of field is because what happened on this artificial turf during the regular season.

At first glance, the Patriots 8-1 record on FieldTurf is much better than the Giants record of 6-4. It doesn't take a math major to know that eight is more than six and that one is less than four.

However, if you dig a little deeper, you'll find that the lone loss that New England suffered on FieldTurf took place against the Giants in their Week 9 matchup. While the Patriots had more wins during the season and playoffs on this type of turf, New York won the game that really matters in this debate.

They won that game because of their speed. They recorded two sacks against Tom Brady, forced two interceptions because of their pressure and caused two fumbles. While their offense wasn't especially dominant, their defense took over that game.

Artificial turf usually favors teams with better speed, and there is really no doubt that the Giants have better speed on the defensive side of the football. Heck, they have better speed on both sides of the football.

With players like Victor Cruz and Jason Pierre-Paul, New York is able to use their speed to beat defenses and to also get consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

On offense, they're able to get big plays down the field because of their elite speed. We all know the talent that Cruz has, but Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham can also use their speed to get away from defenders.

If you thought that New York looked fast against the San Francisco 49ers, they'll be even faster in Indianapolis during Super Bowl XLVI.

The fact that the Giants won the regular season matchup on the same turf that Super Bowl XLVI is being played on, and that they have better speed, gives New York a monster advantage in Super Bowl XLVI.