Giants vs. Patriots: How Tom Coughlin Can Outsmart Bill Belichick

The 2012 Super Bowl will provide the professional pigskin viewing public with another opportunity to witness the latest installment in the war of coaching strategy between Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin.

This coaching matchup sustains its intrigue not because of the distinctly disparate tactical approaches of the sideline front men but rather through some of the characteristic similarities, in addition to the coaching lineage that directly links these two Bill Parcells proteges.

However, if a certain degree of discipline and rigidity in game plan management represents the common hook that both men hang their hats on, there still remains an underlying sentiment that it will be Tom Coughlin taking on the underdog role of trying to out-coach his former stablemate.

Thus, a look at five suggestions as to how Corporal Coughlin might approach such an aspiration.

Get in Touch with Your Less Anal Retentive Side

Both Coughlin and Belichick are renowned for the intensity that guides them in pregame preparation, and no stage requires this characteristic with more urgency than the biggest game on the biggest stage—the Super Bowl.

This being said, despite the benefits of preparation and attention to detail, the window for separation could come down to which coach is willing to deviate tactically and allow for spontaneity in play-calling.

If big games are decided by big plays—which is what has been drilled into the collective conscious of football fans everywhere since the dawn of time—then Coughlin and the Giants' ability to initiate such opportunities without hesitancy could create just the right amount of unbalance that might be needed in a potentially tight game.

This also requires timing, as such creative attempts in play-calling that are left for hopes of payoff in late-game heroics are increasingly inhibited by the increase in marginal error. But going large early or showing well-placed and allusive schemes to the expectations of the Patriots and Belichick could provide enough of an opening for success in key situations that arise further into the bullet-sweating moments of the game.

Allow the Defense to Embrace Tom Brady as Their Personal Pinata

Praise of the prowess and pretty boy passing of Tom Brady has become the cliche by which any game he resides in is ultimately magnetically pulled toward.

As such, it is imperative that, despite the familiarity between the coaches and the teams, Coughlin allows defensive coordinator Perry Fewell's boys the freedom to engage in an assault on Brady with unhindered physical intent.

The infinite nature of Brady's skill set as a passer takes on its most pure and ideal form in a pocket free of pressure, mainly because of his cyborg ability to visualize opportunity where there appears to be none. And although he has shown an ability to be a proficient pocket pressure passer, Brady's abilities undergo just enough shrinkage for the increasing possibilities in exposure to his limited imperfections.

As the saying goes, the message has to come from the top; prior to the game, Coughlin has to make it clear in the dialogue between himself and his defensive side (mainly Fewell) that he trusts and has confidence in their ability to construct and execute a "seek and destroy order" on Brady.

For a coach who shows a predisposition toward maintaining and retaining control, this might result in a degree of internal uneasiness, but could ultimately provide separation in the sideline chess match.  

Don't Try to Outsmart Bill Belichick

There is no doubt that mutual admiration exists between Belichick and Coughlin, but the consensus remains that the man who has unabashedly perfected the half-sleeve hoodie on the Pats sideline is a bit more autistic in his football "coaching genius."

Despite coaching his Giants to a victory in the previous meeting in Super Bowl XLII in 2008 and defeating the Pats 24-20 on Nov. 6 at Gillette Stadium this season, Coughlin and the Giants remain three-point underdogs. While this is not as significant of a pregame deficit as the 12 points that they were favored to lose by in their previous Super Bowl meeting, it still reveals the public perception of discrepancy between the teams and the coaches.

So in a game that, by default, comes with so much inborn pressure and necessity for near-perfect execution in tactics, Coughlin should not allow himself to be finessed into a battle of whose cerebellum is bigger; rather, he should focus on the tactical tenets that resulted in road playoff victories over the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers consecutively.

Sometimes the best form of engagement is to prevent one's self from single-minded focus toward the engagement in the first place.    

The More the Same the More The...Same?

As much as there is a need for Coughlin to allow for moments of spontaneity in his game plan and play-calling, there is nothing wrong with retaining a hold on the recipe that has produced recent success against Belichick and the Patriots.

Because of the immensity of the game, the pretense tends to promote the idea that a coach must play the cards in his hand that are infrequently placed on the table, and it is safe to say that both sides may have a reasonable expectation for the unexpected.

The difference here is the success that Coughlin's team has had against the Patriots in recent encounters, which can only mean that, at least where this coaching matchup is concerned, Coughlin has been able to get the best of his former coaching cohort. Thus, he should have enough confidence based on these recent results to not feel insecure in emulating some of the practiced methods that contributed to these outcomes.    

If All Else Fails, Throw a Creative Curve in Your Game Attire

That's right—if the burden of pressure of trying to outsmart Bill Belichick proves to be far too overwhelming, simply out-wardrobe him!

Perhaps raising the stakes and going with the completely sleeveless hoodie as opposed to the half-sleeve that Belichick has grown so fond of would be so unexpected that it would provide enough of an intimidating edge to influence the final score in favor of Coughlin and the Giants!