Super Bowl 2012: Giants vs. Patriots, Who Has the Edge?

If there's anything we've learned from Super Bowl XLII and their regular season matchup in 2011, it's that the New England Patriots and New York Giants are going to be in a nail-biter of a Super Bowl.

That being said, each team has been gradually improving throughout the postseason and are on some levels, exact replicas of one another. With explosive offenses and vulnerable defenses, but solid pass rushers, Super Bowl XLVI will come down to the wire.

So who has the edge?

Well, let's break it down to find out.

Patriots Offense vs. Giants Defense

Obviously the key component here is what happens in the trenches.

The Giants must get to Tom Brady and his offensive line must protect well. Here, New England really needs to establish a running game.

It's the best way to keep an aggressive pass rush at bay and then attacking the vulnerable pass defense later on. Also, when New England takes the field early, expect most passes to be quick and short to setup deep thereafter.

For New York, if the pass rush gets limited, the defense will struggle. So, a lot of weight falls on the shoulders of the linebackers. There, with the front four taking on blocks and being restricted, guys like Michael Boley and Will Blackmon need to make all the plays in the trenches.

As we saw against Baltimore, New England is capable of running the rock when needed. So, the trick is proving to stop the run while always being aware of Rob Gronkowski.

Which gives the Patriots a distinct advantage.

Edge: Patriots Offense

Giants Offense vs. Patriots Defense

Basically the same kind of situation when the Pats offense is on the field, the Giants offense can be just as explosive.

With a vast array of receiving weapons, Eli Manning has the luxury of spreading the ball around all day against an even worse pass defense in New England. The downside however, is that Manning has been interception prone before and the Patriots are quite opportunistic.

In addition, New England has a much better pass rush than indicated and has proven the ability to shutdown the running game. Therefore, expect the Giants to attack via pass early and often.

The Patriots may have a solid pass rush but it still doesn't compare to that of the 49ers or Giants. And since the Pats are better at defending the run, throwing will simply set that up later on.

Eli Manning will be asked arguably more of him than in any other game in his career, mainly because outscoring Tom Brady will be needed. It's not going to be a high-scoring game, however, the Giants need Manning to be flawless at throwing, deceiving (carrying out fakes) and clock management.

At it's core, New York must methodically move the ball while controlling the game tempo, which is something the offense has been able to do all season.

Edge: Giants Offense

Special Teams

Here we have two clutch kickers in Lawrence Tynes and Stephen Gostowski. In each of their respective conference championship games, both combined for five field goals and were perfect at the same time.

So, if the game comes down to a final kick, don't expect either guy to miss it.

As for the punting game, New York's Steve Weatherford and New England's Zolton Mesko (one of the best name's ever) each averaged over 46 yards in the conference championship games. The only difference however, was that Weatherford punted 12 times to Mesko's two.

Still, each have proven the ability to significantly change the field position and help the defense.

The ultimate decider on special team is the punt and kick returners. Here, turnovers simply cannot happen.

In the NFC title game the Giants essentially recovered two fumbles and in the AFC title game, the Pats lost a turnover on a kickoff. Fortunately the defense stepped up and held the Ravens to a field goal.

New York doesn't have an impressive return game, so barring a Kyle Williams-esque performance from Julian Edelman, special teams is dead even.

Edge: Neither Team

Coaching

And so we get to the core of each team, the head coaches.

Super Bowl XLVI will be Bill Belichick's eighth appearance in the game and fifth as a head coach. He previously won two as an assistant under Bill Parcells with the Giants and then lost another as the Pats assistant in 1996.

Tom Coughlin on the other hand, is making his third Super Bowl appearance, second as a head coach. His first was as an assistant with Belichick under Parcells with the Giants in 1990. Needless to say, Big Blue has been good to Coughlin and vice versa.

As for Super Bowl XLVI, Belichick is clearly the more experienced and accomplished coach but, Coughlin won the one that mattered in Super Bowl XLII. In addition, both are opposite-minded in football as Belichick is defensive and Coughlin is offensive.

So when Eli Manning and Co. take the field, it's when Coughlin and Belichick go head-to-head. And as evidenced by their previous Super Bowl and the 2011 regular season meeting, right now Big Blue has "The Patriot Way's" number.

Edge: Tom Coughlin

Now, this does not mean the Giants will win however, it gives them an overall edge heading into the game by the slimmest of all possible margins.

John Rozum on Twitter.