Super Bowl 2012: How the Giants Defense Slows Down Tom Brady and the Patriots

It's expected to be a high-scoring affair between the New England Patriots and New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, however, each defense is better than given credit for.

That said, here's a quick breakdown of The Big Blue Wrecking Crew and how it can slow down Tom Brady and the Pats offense.

Giants Rush Defense

This is arguably the more important aspect of the two. Here, New York's front seven must be able to shutdown New England's ground game without having to run-blitz.

The front four must control the gaps enough to allow the linebackers to roam free and make plays both in and outside of the box. To do so, don't expect any fancy defensive line stunts because simple blocking schemes can force a defense to take itself out of position.

So, just anticipate the Giants coming out and playing physical. New England does have a better running game than advertised and Tom Brady has an array of running backs to utilize.

The Giants can't get all caught up in deciphering why a specific running back is in the game, they just need to execute the gap-control and prevent the offensive line from chip-blocking to the linebackers. In turn, that will force the back to either bounce the play outside or cut back inside.

Regardless, it's all about the front four redirecting the play elsewhere and the linebackers filling where needed. The Pats rush offense is most effective when the back simply hits the hole for three or four yards.

Although they're not a run-first offense, that kind of production can easily setup the pass later on.

Giants Pass Defense

This is where the anomaly begins and ends.

Yes, the Giants have quite the pass rushing unit with Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, Chris Canty and Osi Umenyiora. Unfortunately, they're still supremely vulnerable at defending the pass.

New York finished with the No. 29 ranked pass defense but have significantly improved in the postseason. However, a big implication of that is courtesy of the pass rush that's now healthier than it's been all season.

And with the Giants being healthy, New England has to expect constant physical play from New York. It's the best way to wear an opponent down and really takes the game to an even more mental level.

Get inside your opponent's head and it's over. Here, the Giants front four will be expected to do exactly that while the secondary plays a lot of single man-press coverage. As for taking care of Rob Gronkowski, it simply comes down to jamming him at the line with a defensive lineman first.

Thereafter, the outside linebacker must remain physical and prevent Gronk from getting to the inside. Also, a rolling down safety would work as he'll have the built up speed and momentum to really give Gronkowski a solid press coverage once immediately off the line.

In short, it's all about keeping Brady's targets at the line of scrimmage, as that allows time for the pass rush to get to him. If not, Tom will pick the Giants a part all game long. 

John Rozum on Twitter.