Super Bowl 2012: 4 Most Enticing Matchups to Watch

There's a lot of intrigue in this year's Super Bowl. A big reason is because both of these teams met earlier in the year but under much different circumstances.

Hakeem Nicks didn't play and Victor Cruz was still waiting to emerge as the threat he now known for. Rob Gronkowski's status is up in the air, and the game is at a neutral field. 

With two weeks to prepare, how will these teams play each other, and which matchups are the most important?

Here are the most enticing matchups to watch in this year's Super Bowl.

Giants Defensive Line vs. Patriots Offensive Line

Of course, there are a lot of comparisons between this defensive line and the Giants line in 2007 and rightly so. The re-emergence of Justin Tuck and the addition of Jason Pierre Paul make this line the core of the Giants defense. 

Just like in Super Bowl 42, a lot of the game will hinge on whether or not they can impose their will once again on the Patriots offensive line and knock Tom Brady off his game. 

It will be quite a difficult task, as the Patriots line is one of the best in all of football. They have neutralized some terrific pass-rushing units, and Brady has had comfortable pockets to throw from. 

Patriots Defensive Line vs. Giants Offensive Line

This has been one of the more overlooked aspects of the game, but in my opinion, the Giants are going to have a tough time dealing with Wilfork and co. up front. 

The Patriots are going to want to make the Giants as one-dimensional as possible, which will make it a bit easier to match up with the Giants weapons.

But if Wilfork has the day anywhere close to his performance in the AFC Championship Game, it's going to be a long day for Eli Manning and the Giant offense. 

Corey Webster vs. Wes Welker

We don't know yet how the Giants are going to line up against the Patriots' weapons, which will hinge a lot of the status of stud tight end Rob Gronkowski. 

But if Webster is assigned to cover Wes Welker, he could be in for a long day.

Welker's attributes as a quick-twitch slot receiver is the antidote for a quality corner like Webster, who likes to use his length and the sideline to shut down receivers. 

If the Giants decide to dial in on the Patriots tight ends and leave Webster alone with Welker, the winner of that matchup could be the difference in the game. 

Patriots' Secondary vs. Giants' Wide Receviers

This is clearly the biggest mismatch of the game, but the Pats may get enough help from other places to have a chance of slowing down all of these weapons. 

Belichick has a reputation of always taking away your best weapon, which in my opinion, is Hakeem Nicks. This leaves what they will do in terms of handling Victor Cruz a huge aspect of this game. 

Whether they double him or use bracket concepts to contain him, they must not let Cruz have another one of his big catch-and-runs for a long touchdown.

If they can keep the game in front of them and tighten up in the red zone, it will bode very well for the Patriots' chance.