Giants vs. Patriots: 4 Super Bowl XLVI Positional Matchups to Watch

Let's take a quick look at four important positional matchups that will play out when the New York Giants and New England Patriots face off in Super Bowl XLVI next Sunday.

Patriots' tight ends or Giants' receivers?

On the offensive side, these two groups are clearly the most impressive. The Patriots have a pair of seemingly uncoverable tight ends in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, each of which present problems for a defense.

The Giants counter with three receivers—Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manning—that have run circles around secondaries in the postseason.

If I had to pick one or the other, I'd lean towards New England's tight ends. Gronkowski and Hernandez are bigger problems in the red zone than the Giants' trio.

Jason Pierre-Paul or Vince Wilfork?

They're two completely different players who still have huge impacts on their respective defenses. Pierre-Paul uses freakish athleticism to run both through and around offensive tackles. Wilfork is a massive nose tackle who surprisingly makes a bunch of plays in the backfield.

In the end, Wilfork is infinitely more valuable to his team, as the Patriots depend on him greatly to stop the run and make plays collapsing the pocket. The Giants could get by with both Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora at the ends. Not an easy pick, but give me Wilfork.  

Ahmad Bradshaw or BenJarvus Green-Ellis?

The passing games of each team get a lot of attention, and rightfully so. But you can't sleep on either team's running game despite their season rankings. Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride wants to stay balanced, and I can't see that changing. He'll pound both Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs at that Patriots defense.

New England found their own success last Sunday on the ground, and Green-Ellis provided some much-needed production when Tom Brady and the passing game sputtered. Neither has a decided advantage here, but I'll take Bradshaw and Jacobs over Green-Ellis and whoever else the Patriots line up at running back.  

Eli Manning or Tom Brady?

99 percent of non-Giants fans would take Brady in a second under most circumstances. But in this context, it's a worthy debate. Manning has head-to-head wins both four years ago on the Super Bowl stage and this season in Foxborough. He's also been red-hot during the Giants' five-game winning streak. You never want to bet against Brady, but it's getting hard to bet against Manning, too.