Super Bowl 2012: What the 2011 Season Taught Us About the Giants' Chances to Win

The NFC East was one of the most hotly-contested divisions in 2011, simply because the four teams in it were wildly inconsistent on an almost weekly basis.

It was clear that the winner of the division would come down to the Week 17 meeting between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys as early as Weeks 11 or 12, with the Cowboys surging and the Giants embroiled in their signature second-half slump.

The Giants weren't obvious favorites to defeat Dallas, but managed to do so in a convincing matter, dispatching their rivals 31-14 after notching another big win the week prior, besting the New York Jets, 29-14.

This portended the hot streak that the Giants had in the postseason, first holding the Atlanta Falcons to zero offensive points in their 24-2 wild-card round victory, beating the Green Bay Packers at their own game in Lambeau the following week and then winning the NFC Championship Game in a defensive standoff against the San Francisco 49ers that had an astounding 22 total punts.

But what happened with the Giants that saw them being a mediocre-at-best team as the season slowly reached its end to the playoff powerhouse they were in the postseason? What is it that came together for the Giants that has them just three-point underdogs to the dynasty that is the New England Patriots?

One major factor is that a number of injured players on defense returned to the active roster at the right time. Their secondary has been struggling all season long, but has slowly become more effective with players returning and the team increasingly more successful at adapting.

Adaptation has been one of the Giants' biggest strengths this season. Few teams could suffer the number of injuries they have and end their year in the Super Bowl. But they also have a great deal of depth at many positions, which is invaluable to any team looking to make a run at the playoffs

Thankfully, no injuries befell the Giants' most important player, quarterback Eli Manning. His performance this season more than made up for the team's shortcomings in other areas, with the eighth-year passer throwing for 4,933 yards, with 29 passing touchdowns and just 16 interceptions.

He's been even better in the postseason, with 923 passing yards in three games, and throwing eight touchdown passes to just a lone interception.

Manning hasn't done it alone, of course. He's had help from one of the best three-headed receiver attacks in the league, with Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham each putting up big games throughout the course of the year.

Though it's not solely what the Giants did right in the regular season that saw them reach the playoffs, it's clearly more than just the missteps of their postseason opponents that has gotten the team to their second Super Bowl in four years.

They're great at forcing teams to make mistakes and capitalizing upon them, as well as overcoming their own weaknesses in such a way that has made them one of the more unpredictable and thus dangerous teams in 2011.

On a game to game basis, it's been hard to define which Giants team would be taking the field. While that seems like it damages their chances to defeat the Patriots on Sunday, it instead provides them with a type of ammunition the Patriots cannot best.

It's not very often that a team's greatest weakness can evolve into their greatest strength, but the Giants have done just that. Though they haven't been as dominant all season long as the Patriots have been, the Giants know how to win games despite the odds being against them.

That resiliency is a major weapon for the team in this year's Super Bowl and serves as yet another reason why the Giants have more than just a chance to defeat the Patriots yet again.