Super Bowl 2012: Are the New York Giants Overconfident?

When did the New York Giants become the 1985 Chicago Bears?

This team went 9-7 during the course of the regular season. They lost four games to teams that finished .500 or worse, including a sweep by the 5-11 Washington Redskins.

Suddenly, though, this is the team with all of the supposed momentum going into Super Bowl XLVI.

Sure, the New England Patriots are listed as favorites in the big game, but 65 percent of gamblers in Las Vegas have taken the Giants.

Add this to the way that some of the players are talking, and you would think this is a sure thing.

Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has spent the week telling the media that Tom Brady is "not God" and that the quarterback makes mistakes from the fear of being rushed by the defensive line.

Teammate Chris Canty has already told fans in New York to "get ready for a parade on Tuesday."

This does not seem like the same team that used to have the mantra "talk is cheap, play the game." Before winning Super Bowl XLII, the Giants wore t-shirts that had this expression on it. This focus helped the team pull off one of the biggest upset in history, defeating the then-undefeated Patriots.

Prior to that game, New England was doing all the talking while the Giants were concentrating on the task at hand. According to Plaxico Burress on the Scott Van Pelt Show, Donte Stallworth texted him before the game and invited him to the Patriots' postgame party.

Now it seems that the Giants are the ones that have already made their celebration plans.

The current Patriots have done very little talking, despite being on a 10-game winning streak. Still, we have heard throughout the week that the Giants have the momentum and are the superior team.

Are people simply forgetting about Tom Brady and Bill Belichick? This duo has already won three Super Bowls and will be playing on the biggest stage in sports for the fifth time.

In 2008, the Patriots were caught up in the possibility of being the first team ever to go 19-0 and lost focus. That will not happen again.

The roles are completely reversed from that game, although this version of the New York Giants is no better than the one that shocked the world four years ago.

Confidence is a good thing, but they should not allow this type of cockiness to get out of hand.

The Giants have turned themselves into a good team over the last month, and that should be enough to do the talking for them. Between the great pass-rushers, Eli Manning's throwing ability and the knack for receivers Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nick to make big plays, they are an incredibly tough team to beat.

However, do not forget that New York is more than capable of beating themselves. Manning has two three-interception games during the season that led to losses to inferior teams. Against the New Orleans Saints, the defense gave up 49 points and almost 600 total yards.

They are certainly not invincible.

The championship will be decided on the field. After the opening kickoff, the week of talk will not matter as much as the week of preparation.

The Giants better hope they were listening in practice instead of dreaming of ticker tape.