Giants vs. Patriots: Best 1-on-1 Matchups to Look for in Super Bowl XLVI

When Super Bowl XLVI kicks off between the New England Patriots and New York Giants, most—if not all—eyes will be on Tom Brady and Eli Manning.

And rightfully so, as both are the leaders of their respective teams. That being said, there's a lot of other players to watch and, in this case, some intriguing one-on-one matchups. Here are the best of the bunch...

Bill Belichick vs. Tom Coughlin

The most obvious matchup on this list, here we have two of the NFL's best head coaches of this era on opposite sides of the ball.

Of course, Bill Belichick is defensive-minded and Tom Coughlin is offensive-minded. That being said, anyone who knows the game of football like these guys, you can bet they'll have a major input for the game plan on the opposite side of the ball.

Hence, Belichick also influencing the offense and vice versa for Coughlin and the defense.

Still, the most interesting part about the two will be when the Giants offense is facing the Patriots defense. That's each coach with his respective forte and they'll be clashing head on.

Ironically, both also coached together with the New York Giants from 1988-1990, winning Super Bowl XXV under Bill Parcells.

Jason Pierre-Paul vs. Matt Light

The sack-master versus the blindside protector, New York's Jason Pierre-Paul against New England's Matt Light.

Last week, Light had to face Baltimore's Terrell Suggs for most of the AFC Championship and needless to say, Suggs was held to just one QB hit and five tackles.

So, Light (who's one of the few players left from the 2001 team a decade ago) is definitely feeling confident against the Giants' best defensive lineman.

As for Pierre-Paul, he's only recorded 0.5 sacks this postseason but has 16 tackles, three run stuffs and two defended passes.

It's clear opposing offenses have geared blocking schemes toward him, however, if Matt Light can take on Terrell Suggs one-on-one with the occasional chip block, the Patriots must act accordingly against Pierre-Paul as the rest of New York's front seven is just as good, if not better, than that of the Ravens.

Mark Anderson vs. David Diehl

Here we have the seasoned veteran in New York's David Diehl who's one of the most dynamic offensive linemen in the NFL.

Diehl can play both guard and tackle, as well as either side of the formation because he's just that good.

Now, in the Super Bowl he gets Patriots young pass rusher Mark Anderson who recorded 10 sacks in the regular season despite only starting two games, and also forced two fumbles.

Anderson started both playoff games for New England and has recorded one sack along with six tackles to helps the Patriots defense step their game up.

In the Super Bowl, this is one of the more underrated matchups as Diehl's experience will test Anderson's youth.

So, anticipate Belichick giving Anderson the luxury of less responsibilities and solely with the challenge of besting Diehl. After all, getting as much pressure on Eli Manning as possible will be needed for the Pats to get the win.

Justin Tuck vs. Nate Solder

Another matchup favoring the Giants, here we have another sack-master in Justin Tuck versus Patriots rookie right tackle Nate Solder.

With Pierre-Paul on Matt Light, Tuck will be responsible for dominating the New England rookie despite not being Tom Brady's blindside. This matchup, of all listed here, could arguably be the most determining factor of Super Bowl XLVI.

We know Brady isn't that mobile and with Light expected to hold his ground against Pierre-Paul, odds are Tuck proves unblockable against the rookie tackle.

This difference of this matchup is straight up experience.

Whether it's postseason, Super Bowl or just plain experience of playing pro football, Justin Tuck has a big advantage. And with the rest of the Giants front seven also being stout, expect New England to leave Solder one-on-one with Tuck.

Now, much like Light, Solder will be assisted with a chip-blocking tight end and/or running back, however, any straight up one-on-one play will truly test the rookie's raw talent.

Worst case-scenario, expect Brady to take a lot of three-step drops early on.

Henry Hynoski vs. Jerod Mayo

One matchup that will be very telling when the Patriots defense is on the field.

Linebacker Jerod Mayo led Belchick's unit with 95 tackles in 2011 and has added 17 in two playoff games. For his career, Mayo has been Belichick's main man in the middle by recording 128 tackles as a rookie in 2008, 103 in 2009 and then 175 in 2010.

Mayo is clearly the run-stopping force in New England's front seven, so he'll also be responsible for making plays in the trenches along with defensive tackle Vince Wilfork.

In turn, that makes New York fullback Henry Hynoski a pivotal role player to the Giants success in the ground game.

Hynoski will be responsible for picking up any blitz up the middle (most likely from Mayo) as well as hitting the hole before Mayo to seal a block.

Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw are a solid two-back tandem with a great offensive line, however, the fullback is what can lead to a dominating performance on the ground.

So, Mayo will have to step up and make plays just like against Denver and Baltimore, whereas Hynoski will need to limit that production as he did well enough against Patrick Willis of San Francisco.

John Rozum on Twitter.