Giants vs. Patriots: Who's Got the Edge at Each Position in the 2012 Super Bowl?

How are you gearing up for the Super Bowl?

What better way to get your NFL game day started than with a full breakdown of each roster?

The New England Patriots have Tom Brady, but the New York Giants have Eli Manning. Who will have a bigger impact—Wes Welker or Victor Cruz? The well-matched counterparts for each team give this game extra storylines to follow.

Read along as we go deep to break down which team has the edge at each key position.

Quarterbacks: Tom Brady vs. Eli Manning

Eli Manning has been very good in 2011, turning in the best season of his career and showing the type of leadership the team expected when it traded Philip Rivers to San Diego on draft day in 2004.

As good as Manning has been, though, he's no Tom Brady. 

Brady has now led New England to a ridiculous five Super Bowls in 11 seasons.

Joe Montana never did that. Neither did Terry Bradshaw. Peyton Manning has been to two, losing one.

The pantheon of all-time great NFL quarterbacks starts with Brady—and base that on any criteria you want.

Super Bowl wins, Super Bowl appearances, regular-season production, postseason production—whatever you need to use to grade the success of a quarterback, for me, Brady sits at the top.

Advantage: New England

Running Backs: New England's Backfield vs. New York's Backfield

Neither backfield has been exceptionally good this season, with the Giants (Ahmad Bradshaw, Brandon Jacobs and Henry Hynoski) ranking dead-last in rushing yards per game and the Patriots (BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead and Kevin Faulk) coming in at No. 20 overall. A grind-it-out attack this will not be.

The edge does favor New York, though. The Giants are more likely to depend on the run and have, when healthy, the best back of the two rosters in Bradshaw.

It does appear Bradshaw will be able to play today after suiting up earlier in the season on a broken foot, which is great news for fans of the G-Men.

The Patriots use their backs well, but in their Week 9 loss to the Giants, no Patriot runner had more than 52 yards on the ground.

Advantage: New York Giants

Wide Receivers: Wes Welker and Co. vs. Victor Cruz and Co.

There aren't many writers who are bigger Wes Welker fans, but even taking into account the damage Welker can do against a defense, this matchup isn't close.

The Giants are loaded from top to bottom at wide receiver. Their three-man set of Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and Victor Cruz is the perfect alignment of deep threats plus an underneath receiver who can torch defenses after the catch. There's not a definable weakness in this group.

Advantage: New York Giants

Tight Ends: Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez vs. Jake Ballard

In case you missed it in (or live under a very large rock), Rob Gronkowski will play today. Brady's go-to target and the single-season touchdown king at tight end will find himself in a protective cleat, but he'll be on the field nonetheless.

The combination of Gronkowski and Hernandez is damn near impossible to stop, especially when facing a New York secondary that has a poor record against tight ends (see: Davis, Vernon).

Trying to stop not just one but two top threats at the position will cause major headaches for the Giants' defense.

New York has an underrated playmaker in Jake Ballard, and coaches expect him to have a big impact against a weak New England safety corps, but Ballard is a chain-mover—not a game-changer.

Advantage: New England Patriots

Offensive Line: New England's Big Names vs. New York's Pass-Blocking Woes

A quick scan of the names Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Dan Connolly, Brian Waters and Nate Solder, and you should have a pretty good feel for which team has the clear advantage tonight.

The New England Patriots feature a lineup of consistent players and some stars, such as Mankins. The Giants, on the other hand, have the worst pass-blocking offensive line in football. This makes the matchup of the offensive and defensive lines in this game all the more intriguing.

The New York Giants are known for their pass rush, but they'll face an offensive line that stonewalled defensive linemen all season. With Light back at left tackle, the Patriots will be confident in their ability to shut down the Giants' pass rush.

Advantage: New England Patriots

Defensive Line: Vince Wilfork and Co. vs. New York's Fearsome Front Four

Super Bowl XLVI will be won and lost on the play of each defensive line. Bank on it.

The Giants are built on a staggering front four that generates pressure without having to blitz like no other team in the league. The Patriots will ask a group of largely unknown players to attack Eli Manning and force him into mistakes.

Whoever does the task better will win.

When the Giants beat the Patriots in Week 9, they did so by generating pressure up the middle and making Tom Brady move laterally. They sacked him just twice, but both sacks came from the interior of the defense.

Expect to see plenty of movement from Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Tuck to generate the best matchups. The Patriots have seen great play from Vince Wilfork this season, per usual, and he should run wild against an overmatched New York offensive line.

Advantage: New York Giants

Linebackers: Ninkovich/Mayo/Spikes vs. Kiwanuka/Blackburn/Boley

The linebacker play for both teams has been hot and cold this season. When facing the opposing offense, neither team can afford to have a bad day at the office.

The Giants will struggle to match up their outside linebackers against the slot presence of the Patriots' offense.

At any given time, New England can feature Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez and/or Rob Gronkowski in the slot—no team is equipped to cover all three with linebackers and safeties alone. The Giants' linebackers will face tremendous pressure this week.

On the Patriots' side, Bill Belichick will move his linebackers around and alter the alignment based on the down, distance and even the personnel packages.

Expect to see Brandon Spikes and Jerod Mayo dropping into coverage if the team can get pressure on Manning without bringing extra heat off the edge. Both Spikes and Mayo have made big plays against slot-driven teams when stepping into coverage.

Advantage: New England Patriots

Defensive Backs: New England's Weakness vs. New York's Weakness

In a game sure to feature plenty of passing, both secondaries stand out as weaknesses on both defenses. The team that generates the best pass rush is likely to win, only because they can then hide their poor play in the defensive backfield.

The Patriots have less talent in the backfield, but tend to get better production from their players than the Giants, who have the big-name roster. Corey Webster is the best cover man for New York, but it's unlikely he will be asked to cover the Patriots' best wide receiver, Wes Welker.

The key matchups to watch will be who the teams use to cover Welker, Victor Cruz and the big New England tight ends. If the Giants try to cover Gronkowski and Hernandez with linebackers and safeties alone, they'll find themselves in a dangerous hole. 

Advantage: Push

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