Super Bowl Predictions 2012: Tom Brady Will Face Childhood Team in Indianapolis

Super Bowl XLVI will not be a rematch of a previous big game, nor will it be a battle of the Harbaughs.  

No, Super Bowl XLVI will feature a future Hall of Famer in Tom Brady getting a chance to beat his childhood team and match his boyhood idol's four Super Bowl titles. That has all of the drama you will ever need for the two weeks of Super Bowl hype. 

In addition to that, it will be the perfect clash of contrasting styles.

The Patriots were third in the NFL in scoring offense, while the 49ers were second in scoring defense. That is as classic a matchup as the NFL could ever offer. 

The Patriots will get there because they have too many weapons for the Ravens to stop. Baltimore's offense is not potent enough to keep up with the Patriots.

Unlike two years ago when the Ravens beat the Patriots in the playoffs, New England will have the services of Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski, and Aaron Hernandez. That gives Brady too many options. Worse, none of those are classic deep ball threats, meaning Baltimore's defense will not have time to get to Brady. The passes will come too quick. 

The proof there is that the Patriots attempted the third most passes in the NFL during the regular season, but were 11th-best in terms of allowing sacks. 

That will be too much for the Ravens to overcome. They won't do a good enough job keeping up with that group of talent. It won't be a blowout, but New England's offense will be the overwhelming factor in deciding the AFC champions. 

The NFC game will be won in the trenches, which favors the 49ers in a big way. They were 15 yards per game better than any run defense in the NFL, and allowed only three rushing touchdowns all season. 

The Giants, on the other hand, were dead last in rushing offense. That means that the 49ers will be able to drop defenders back to defend the pass, which will keep Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham from taking the game over. 

The Giants' best asset is their pass rush, but that's not going to be a real problem for the 49ers. As long as Alex Smith protects the ball, sacks are not a concern. The game will be too low scoring for that to matter.

San Francisco will force the turnovers needed to win the field position battle. That will set the offense up to get the ball into the end zone, which will take the 49ers to Indianapolis. 

That will set up a perfect clash of contrasting teams, with the backdrop of Brady going against his former favorite team in the Super Bowl. With that, we won't need the drama of a Super Bowl rematch, or a Brother vs. Brother feud. The best matchup on and off of the field involves neither.

Championship Week Predictions:

AFC Championship Game: Patriots 27, Ravens 16

NFC Championship Game: 49ers 24, Giants 20

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