Super Bowl Predictions 2012: Stat Projections for Eli Manning and Tom Brady

Four years ago, everyone assumed that Tom Brady was going to outperform Eli Manning and that the New England Patriots were going to destroy the New York Giants.

Instead, the exact opposite happened. Manning outperformed Brady and the Giants upset the Patriots. It was amazing to watch.

This time around, relatively few people are giving Brady the benefit of the doubt. We found out four years ago that he's not invincible, and we've been finding out throughout the course of the season just how good Manning is.

But how will they fare in the Super Bowl?

I'd like to hazard a few guesses, starting with Brady.

Tom Brady

In the postseason, we've seen both the good Brady and the bad Brady. The good Brady destroyed the Denver Broncos single-handedly. The bad Brady was barely able to overcome the Baltimore Ravens.

Against the Giants, Brady will be somewhere between good and bad. We saw this Giants team get to him in a big way in Super Bowl XLII, and they got to him again in Week 9 of the regular season. The formula for the Giants was the same in both games: create constant pressure and hold the line up the field.

We're going to see the Giants do the same thing in this game, but Brady should still be able to move the Patriots' offense. New England's offense consists of a lot of dinks and a lot of dunks, and the Pats have the perfect guys for the job.

Brady has two outstanding tight ends to throw to in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, as well as one of the best possession receivers in the game in Wes Welker. Even in the face of the Giants pass rush, Brady will be able to get the ball out quickly and he'll be able to complete passes.

Brady had a much harder time doing this in Super Bowl XLII, mainly because the offense he was running looked to go down the field a lot more. Plays were slow to develop and Brady was eaten alive.

Brady will feel the heat in this game, but it won't be as bad. As a result, he'll at least manage to be okay.

Projection: 29-of-47 for 285 yards, two touchdowns and one INT. 

Eli Manning

There are a couple of reasons why Eli Manning is playing better than he has in his entire career.

More than anything, you have to give Manning credit for the personal improvements he's made. He rarely panics or throws it up for grabs into coverage anymore. He's cut down on his stupid throws quite a bit. He's much smarter than he used to be.

It helps that Manning has a couple of outstanding receivers to throw to in Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks. They are both dangerous play makers, and both of them are perfectly in tune with what Manning wants to do in a given moment.

New England's defense is going to be at a significant disadvantage in the Super Bowl. The Patriots don't have a good secondary, so Cruz and Nicks shouldn't have any trouble whatsoever getting open. The pressure is going to be on New England's pass rush to even the score.

In the NFC Championship Game, the San Francisco 49ers proved it is far from impossible to get to Manning. The 49ers defense was in his face the entire game.

But Manning stood tall in the pocket and kept completing passes anyway. It won't be remembered as one of his best games, but it was an impressive performance considering the circumstances.

Because of this ability to perform under pressure, Manning should be able to have a fine performance in the Super Bowl, even if the Patriots are able to mount a decent pass rush.

Projection: 27-of-42 for 325 yards, three touchdowns and one INT.