Patriots vs. Giants: 5 Biggest Factors for Each Team in Super Bowl XLVI

Tom Brady. Eli Manning. Wes Welker. Hakeem Nicks. Rob Gronkowski. Osi Umenyiora.

When it comes to the New England Patriots and New York Giants' Super Bowl rematch, these are the names you've already heard. They are the names of those that have made the biggest impact all season long.

Lest we forget, there are 46 players on each active game day roster. To focus on 10-20 percent of those players doesn't do justice to the magnitude of the game, and how every single person needs to do their job to ensure a win for their team.

Oftentimes, it's the littlest names that make the biggest impact. Just ask David Tyree. Or perhaps, after the game, you could ask one of these fellows.

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

Patriots: Deion Branch

With Aaron Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker likely drawing a majority of the attention, it will be up to some of the bit part players to step up. Enter Deion Branch, who has only 51 receptions for 705 yards and five touchdowns this season, but has great rapport with Tom Brady.

Branch may be getting older, but he has enough veteran savvy if he's covered by someone like rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara. According to stats & analytics site Pro Football Focus, Amukamara gave up 68 percent completions on passes in his direction. Aaron Ross hasn't been much better, allowing quarterbacks to earn a 96.9 passer rating off his plate.

If the Giants are able to take away Brady's best threats, it may be up to Branch to rework some of that Super Bowl 39 magic.

Giants: Deon Grant

Rob Gronkowski wasn't wearing his walking boot during media day. On behalf of the New York Giants defense, "uh-oh."

The Giants were able to limit Gronkowski and Hernandez for the majority of the game (until the final quarter) from a 4-2-5 defense—that's four down linemen, two linebackers and five defensive backs. Of those five defensive backs, three of them were safeties and one of them was Deon Grant, who was almost always in coverage on one of the tight ends, and usually did pretty well.

As it appears Gronkowski is almost at full health and will be ready to go for the Super Bowl, Grant will have to repeat—and may even to exceed his performance from Week 9.

Patriots: Stevan Ridley

After being a healthy scratch in the AFC Championship Game, rookie running back Stevan Ridley revealed he'll be active for the Super Bowl according to CSNNE.com. On the surface, it looked as though he was benched for a couple of fumbles, including one in the Patriots' 45-10 trouncing of the Broncos in the divisional round.

He also expressed confidence in his ability to bounce back from mistakes, according to Gresh and Zo of 98.5 The Sports Hub.

How well will he bounce back? How much will he contribute? Will he contribute at all? These are all great questions, and all make Ridley an x-factor in this game.

Giants: Steve Weatherford

The Patriots had a hard time scoring against the Giants in Week 9, but they weren't exactly getting a lot of help from Giants punter Steve Weatherford. Five times in the first half of that game, Weatherford pinned the Patriots inside their own 20 to start, and their average starting field position was on their own 11-yard line in the first half.

If the Giants aren't able to score, they will need another big game from Weatherford in the Super Bowl. He's played well in the playoffs so far, with 46.4 average yards per punt and a net of 40.6.

Weatherford has really helped put opponents in bad positions to start their drives. 

Patriots: Devin McCourty

Will he line up at cornerback or safety? That was the big question headed into the playoffs, the AFC Championship and now the Super Bowl. He has split time at the two positions, and will likely do so against the Giants once again.

As much as McCourty was a ball-hawking cornerback in his first season, that ability quickly disappeared in 2011 and had everyone searching for answers on just what happened to Devin.

He's looked a bit more comfortable at safety, though, and the Patriots would likely love to have one of their best ball-hawking defensive backs on the field at all times.

Giants: Mario Manningham

While Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz have grabbed much of the national attention, Mario Manningham has flown under the radar.

Manningham has caught a touchdown pass in each of New York's playoff games and had a big-time touchdown catch in the fourth quarter against the 49ers to help send that game to overtime.

As New England will likely have much of their defensive resources invested in stopping (or at least slowing down) Nicks and Cruz, Manningham could have some opportunities against the Patriots defense, which has been good in spots but has given up a lot of big plays in the passing game.

Patriots: Sebastian Vollmer

New England's second-round offensive linemen from the 2008 draft wasn't a part of the team in Super Bowl XLII, but did play against the Giants in Week 9 and played very well at that.

That being said, he hasn't played since Week 12 against the Philadelphia Eagles, but according to Dante Scarnecchia via ESPN Boston, the big German will be ready to go on Sunday.

How effective can he be with such a long layover from one game to the next? Only time will tell, but the Patriots need him at 100 percent. If not, the pressure will fall to rookie tackle Nate Solder, who has played well in his first year but has been up-and-down throughout.

Giants: David Baas

Eli Manning's outstanding 2011 season came in spite of some shady protection from his offensive line. He continued to stand in the pocket and take hits while making big throws. It's up to David Baas to make Eli's job as easy as possible starting at 6:20pm ET on Sunday night.

Aside from the fact that Baas hasn't played particularly well, he'll be going up against Vince Wilfork, who is coming off one of the best games of his career against the Baltimore Ravens. If Baas is off and Wilfork is on, it could be a long day for Manning, as he might have trouble stepping up in the pocket and into his throws.

The chain effect on the offensive line often starts in the middle, and if the interior of the line is consistently getting blown up by Wilfork, that could flush Manning out of the pocket and into the waiting arms of Mark Anderson or Rob Ninkovich.

Patriots: Julian Edelman

Perhaps no player will have more opportunities to impact the game than Julian Edelman, who has taken snaps as a kick returner, punt returner, wide receiver, running back, cornerback and safety this season.

He has been solid but unspectacular in every role he's played this season, even if Giants receiver Victor Cruz has expressed pleasure at the thought of lining up against him on Sunday, according to WEEI.com.

Edelman will likely play a role in the Super Bowl one way or another, for better or for worse, in any one of the three phases of the game. 

Giants: Brandon Jacobs

Perhaps the most inconsistent player on the Giants roster, in that he's hot and cold, Jacobs' impact could be huge for Super Bowl XLVI. On the one hand, if the Giants are able to get the ball moving on the ground and are able to wear down New England's defense with a heavy-hitting attack, they'll be much better off. On the other hand, if they bottle him up, that puts the pressure square on the shoulders of Eli Manning.

He's stepped up all season long without a running game, but I'm sure he'd love to have one in in the biggest game of the season.

Jacobs has had fewer than three yards per carry in the past couple of games, and the Giants will need to get their big back going to slow down the Patriots aerial assault.