Giants vs. Patriots: Breaking Down Matchup Problems of New England's Tight Ends

If the NFC championship game is any indication, the New England Patriots should rely on tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski in the Super Bowl as much as they have all season long, if not even more.

San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis did his share of damage against the New York Giants. It only took him three receptions to break out for 112 yards and two scores. Of course, holding him to three receptions in over 60 minutes is good, but he averaged just over four receptions per game anyway.

The Patriots tight ends, on the other hand, average 4.9 (Hernandez) and 5.6 (Gronkowski) receptions per game. With a combined 10.5 receptions per game between the two, there's little hope for the Giants to completely contain them (and to think all of these numbers could have been higher for Hernandez had he not missed two games).

It's no secret that the two are favorite weapons of Tom Brady. But they could be key weapons in this game particularly.

As pointed out by NFL Films guru Greg Cosell, there were some matchup problems exploited by the 49ers in that game that New England should look to expose in the Super Bowl.

"Davis 73 yd TD came out of '22' personnel versus Giants 4-3 'big nickel'," writes Cosell. "[Giants cornerback Corey] Webster was the only corner on the field; Davis from minus split ran a wheel route right by [safety Antrel] Rolle, who does not run very well—Excellent throw by Smith" 

From the look of it, the Giants linebackers read run on the play, and who could blame them with the personnel grouping? 

The Patriots don't typically come out of the 22 personnel, but as we all know, the 12 personnel grouping has been one of their favorites—one running back, two tight ends and two wide receivers. That grouping gives them their best chance to create matchup problems and allows them to put their four best athletes on the field.

More to the point, the Patriots did a great job at exploiting those matchups in their regular-season meeting with the Giants back in Week 9. Targeting Hernandez and Gronkowski, quarterback Tom Brady went 12-of-19 passing for 136 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

The good matchups aren't that hard to find for Brady. And when he knows where they are, he'll kill you.

"First, [Brady]'s going to see the safety wide—right here, Kenny Phillips," said NFL Hall of Fame quarterback and FOX color commentator Troy Aikman after Gronkowski's potential game-winning touchdown catch. "So what [Brady] knows is he's going to have Gronkowski one-on-one on linebacker [Michael] Boley. ... As soon as Brady saw where Kenny Phillips was lined up, he never looked anywhere other than Gronkowski and waited until he came out of that break in the end zone."

Aside from the fact that the two tight ends were favorite targets for Brady all year, the Patriots clearly saw something they liked about their tight ends against the Giants back seven.

This is especially true of Michael Boley, who gave up nine receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown against New England. He was targeted 13 times, more than any other player on the field that day according to Pro Football Focus.

The Patriots know they have two tight ends that cause big matchup problems for an opposing defense and they know how to take advantage. But moreover, the Patriots know how to create the matchups they want.

Patriots offensive formation 

The Patriots come out in their 12 personnel grouping, with Aaron Hernandez lined up in the backfield in the fullback position in front of Danny Woodhead. The formation, in and of itself, gives the look of run.

Giants defensive formation

The Giants are in a 4-3 base package with safety Antrel Rolle in the box. An eight-man front from the Giants gives the impression that they are looking to stop the run here on first down.

The Patriots have a mismatch here right out of the gate, with Gronkowski lined up on Rolle and Boley. 

Brady sets up play action on the fake handoff to Danny Woodhead, which freezes the linebackers. That opens up a hole in the middle of the field.

Rolle doesn't follow Gronkowski out of his break, thinking Boley will roll into underneath coverage. That doesn't happen and Gronkowski is left wide open over the middle.

Whether the play is a result of a mismatch or confusion on the part of the Giants, it's no secret the Patriots should be looking to take advantage of the linebackers and Rolle in coverage.

Patriots offensive formation

The Patriots line up in the 12 personnel with tight ends Hernandez and Gronkowski on the same side of the formation. A third lineman and extra tight end, Nate Solder, lines up on the right side next to the tackle. BenJarvus Green-Ellis starts out behind Brady, but motions out to the left.

Giants defensive formation

The Giants are in a 4-2-5 package in a 4-3 Over alignment with safety Deon Grant lined up in the box.

The routes are designed to create space in the middle of the field, specifically the area where Hernandez catches the ball. 

An interesting side note to this is Solder running a seam route. He played tight end before moving to tackle at Colorado. Here, he draws safety Deon Grant in coverage, which takes him out of the picture as Solder runs up the seam.

With no one in the vicinity of where Hernandez is catching the ball, this is an easy decision to make. In fact, it's a decision Brady makes before Hernandez even makes his break (we'll go ahead and guess it has some thing to do with Boley in coverage on him).

It's a good thing, because Brady has a whole lot of Chris Canty and Osi Umenyiora right in his face.

The Patriots will continue to try to get Hernandez in space, exposing his quickness against the Giants linebackers as they were able to do in the regular season. 

It's no surprise, with that in mind, that the very next play was Aaron Hernandez's touchdown catch, on another play in which the Patriots got the tight end into open space and he made two defenders miss on his way to six points.

Of course, Gronkowski's health plays a big role in how effective he'll be in the passing game, but Hernandez presents a huge matchup problem either way. How the Giants respond, if they're able to at all, could go a long way in determining not just whether the Patriots offense is able to get in rhythm and stay in rhythm, but ultimately even the outcome of the game.

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