Patriots vs. Giants: Tom Brady Will Get His Revenge in New England Victory

From what I've studied of these teams thus far, I'm inclined to think the New York Giants look better on paper, namely because they play better defense and generate pressure on the quarterback with four rushers.

Their road to the Super Bowl has mostly been on the road, with impressive victories over the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers in their buildings.

They've won five straight games, all of which were essentially playoff games. During that stretch, Eli Manning has looked like the best player in football.

And the Giants won the regular season matchup between the two teams, 24-20.

So why, exactly, do I believe Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are going to beat them and get their Super Bowl revenge?

It certainly isn't because beating the Denver Broncos and perhaps getting lucky to squeak by the Baltimore Ravens at home was as impressive as the Giants' playoff performances.

It isn't.

And it isn't because Brady looked good against the Ravens.

He didn't, and he'll face even more pressure from New York.

But despite all of that, the Patriots have won 10 straight games this season. And the reason I think they'll win an 11th is due to one of the fascinating things I've heard in the postgame analysis from the AFC Championship.

On ESPN, Trent Dilfer went to the tape to show how the Patriots used the mismatches created by players like Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez to put defenders in difficult matchups. He showed how they attacked linebackers with their tight ends in the passing game when they utilized a big, two-tight end set.

He showed how they took advantage of safeties like Ed Reed when the Patriots' formation made Reed play closer to the line of scrimmage and react like a linebacker, a role he wasn't accustomed to.

The point Dilfer was making? That the Patriots are simply smarter than most other teams in developing a game plan.

Generally, Brady executes that game plan more cleanly than he did against the Ravens. And I think the Patriots will take a long look at what the Giants did against them defensively the first game, paying extra attention to the fourth quarter, when the Patriots stepped up their game and scored 17 points.

The Giants are vulnerable in their secondary, and they showed they can be torched against talented tight ends last week, as Vernon Davis burned them for 112 yards and two touchdowns on only three receptions.

And Davis is really the only receiver the Giants needed to be worried about. The Patriots present a unique challenge with two elite tight ends in Gronkowski and Hernandez, the quick Wes Welker and even a player like Danny Woodhead, who is capable of doing damage in the passing game out of the backfield.

The Patriots truly have a unique attack, and with two weeks to scheme for the Giants defense, I expect they'll find every favorable matchup and weakness to exploit.

In a fitting and final shootout to this offensively charged season, I expect Brady and Bill Belichick will walk away with ring No. 4.

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