Giants vs. Patriots: 5 Thursday Thoughts Around New England and Super Bowl XLVI

1. Enough with 'Scoreboardgate' and Billy Cundiff's missed field goal in the AFC Championship Game

The Baltimore Ravens and their fans have been searching for answers in the wake of kicker Billy Cundiff's missed field goal.

In that time, we have learned two things:

1. The scoreboard in Gillette Stadium read first down when it was actually second down, second down when it was actually third down, and was fixed on third down to read fourth down.
2. Cundiff, who originally said he simply missed the field goal, has since edited his sentiments and has pointed out that he was a bit rushed and wasn't aware of what down it was leading up to the kick.
3. There's such a thing as a "kicking consultant" on a football team.

The first two are directly interlinked, or so says kicking consultant Randy Brown, who said he "wouldn't rule out" the Patriots using a little mind game to screw with Cundiff leading up to the kick.

Uh-oh. Someone call Bono.

One thing that the Patriots practice and they preach is situational football. The difference between 1st-and-10 and 2nd-and-1 is pretty great if you're any team, much less the Patriots, who base everything on what gives them the best chance to make a stop in any situation.

Wouldn't the Patriots, then, be just as vulnerable to that type of error were they not aware of what the down-and-distance actually was? Might they have been confused, also? But they weren't. 

As always, the Patriots will be penned as the villain in this scenario simply because of their history with the videotaping scandal in 2007. But as usual with the Patriots, the criticism is more about the perception than the reality.

2. When it comes to his worst postseason games, Tom Brady often bounces back

Brady "sucked" by his own admission on Sunday against the Ravens, and though he may be a bit harsh on himself considering the Ravens ranked No. 1 in defensive passer rating, it wasn't a very good statistical night for Tom Terrific.

• Sunday's AFC Championship marked just his third career postseason game without a touchdown in his 21-game postseason career.
• His 57.5 passer rating is the second-lowest of his postseason career, ahead of only his last game against the Ravens (49.1).

From a leadership perspective, it was a legendary night for Brady. Things weren't always going according to plan, but he kept the team fighting. And in the end, he took the game and put it on his shoulders. At 33 years old, he showed the spry youth of a rookie as he leaped over the pile on a gut-check 4th-and-goal at the 1-yard line. 

Again, though, statistically, not so legendary.

It would be easy to assume that Brady will have a lights-out performance in Super Bowl 46; how likely is Brady to have two poor games in a row? His history in bounce-back games is pretty solid.

He has had nine career postseason games below an 80 passer rating, and in six of them, he's gone on to post a passer rating of above 80 in his next postseason game. In fact, three times he's gone on to have a passer rating of above 100 (Super Bowl XXXVIII vs. Panthers, '06 Divisional Round vs. Jets, '07 Divisional Round vs. Jaguars).

To say that Brady's chances of having another bad game are somehow significantly reduced is something of a gambler's fallacy. That being said, Brady looks more motivated than ever before this year, and even had former defensive tackle Trevor Pryce telling Jim Rome that Brady looks like he'd "eat his children" for another Super Bowl ring.

Stats are for losers, but having a guy who wants to win as badly as Brady does is invaluable by any measure. With the stakes as high as they are, the grit and resolve are way more important than the final stat line.

3. Super Bowl rematches, in a historical context, show ill-fated pattern for Patriots

In the 45-year history of the Super Bowl, there have been two rematches pitting teams and quarterbacks that met in the big game once before. Super Bowl 46 will mark the third such occasion.

In Super Bowl 10, the Cowboys' high-powered pass attack, behind quarterback Roger Staubach, faced off against the Steel Curtain defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which ranked second in the league in points and fourth against the pass. Staubach didn't have his best game, posting just a 77.4 passer rating behind two touchdowns and three interceptions as the Cowboys went on to lose 21-17.

Three years later, he would have his chance at retribution. He exacted some measure of revenge, improving to a 100.4 passer rating behind three touchdowns against the league's best defense that year. Not to be outdone, Terry Bradshaw threw four touchdown passes and led the Steelers to another four-point victory, 35-31.

Of course, the younger crowd (myself included) will remember Super Bowls 27 and 28 more clearly. Those marked the back-to-back championships of the Cowboys, who triumphed twice over the Buffalo Bills.

Bills quarterback Jim Kelly had a real rough day the first time around, going 4-for-7 passing with two picks before being injured and replaced by Frank Reich. He had a shot at revenge the next year, and it appeared he might do so with a 13-6 lead going into halftime. The Cowboys came out with a 24-point scoring barrage, though, and won 30-13.

Tom Brady becomes the third quarterback in NFL history to get another crack at a team that beat him in the Super Bowl, and if the Patriots win on February 5, he'll become the first quarterback who was actually able to do so.

4. Measuring real defensive efficiency in the passing game, Patriots not much worse than Giants

Raise your hand if you've heard this one before: the New England Patriots had one of the worst pass defenses in NFL history. OK, put your hands down.

Now, raise them again if you've heard this: the Giants, statistically, were almost just as bad.

Anyone? 

With a little fact-checking, it's true, or at least to an extent. 

The Patriots and Giants had nearly identical defensive passer ratings, as pointed out by Kerry Byrne of Cold, Hard Football Facts website. Byrne also points out that whether the Giants or the Patriots win the Super Bowl, they will have fielded the worst defense in defensive passer rating of any Super Bowl champion in NFL history.

We have entered a new generation of passing in the NFL, where 300 yards and three touchdowns is the new 200 yards and two touchdowns.

The NFL is at a point where defenses must find a way to respond to these high-powered offenses. The only problem is, the NFL has almost taken away all their right to do so. But, as Tim Layden points out in his book, Blood, Sweat and Chalk, it's often out of "weakness and pure desperation" that a new type of offense or defense is created. 

Until defenses find a way to respond, quarterbacks will continue to have huge days and numbers will continue to grow as we've never seen before.

5. Two words: Gronk's ankle

You know something has gained national attention when there's a Twitter account for it. 

Well, there have finally been some reports on the condition of the ankle.

Several reports, including Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald, have said the tight end has a sprained ankle but is expected to play in the Super Bowl. In a video posted to ESPN Boston, Dr. Michael Kaplan said, "He might be somewhat limited, but I think he's going to play and it shouldn't be too much of a big deal."

What percentage will he be for the game? That's another story, and no one has gone so far as to say just yet.

There is some cause for concern, as the reports indicate there could be ligament damage around Gronkowski's ankle. If that's the case, the Patriots may not be able to execute their game plan exactly as originally thought, but that remains to be seen. For now, this is a major nuisance for a team as they get prepared to play the biggest game of their lives.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter.