Any football fans out there?

[Peter Lombardo]

He sucks just as bad when he's covering baseball...

sorry Peter, but I gotta go with the 49ers this weekend, been a niners fan since the John Brodie days

should be an exiting game

c'ya

Curt, I completely agree with you, it will be a great game.....but you never know, the Giants are a very strange team. They come out one week and look like the Junior Varsity, then come out the next and look like world beaters. I never thought in a million years that they could have beaten the "up to then" unbeaten Patriots in 2007, but they did.

Who knows, but one thing I do know for sure, the game is on FOX, so we will hear how great the 49'ers are and how the Giants really don't belong on the same field with them. There will be the throw backs to all the great plays the 49'ers made in big games...we will hear all about the legacy of Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Steve Young and barely will we hear about LT, Harry Carson, Phil Simms and Mark Bavarro.

It will be fun, either way. (I have always liked the 49'ers, so I really don't care)....I will have to watch the game with the TV sound off, and the radio on. No biggy.

[Peter Lombardo]

I know just the thing for you, Peter!

Nice to know I am not alone with my dislike of this little "Napoleon Complex" a$$. He just can't call a game straight up without some kind of bias. Very amateurish and unprofessional. If it wasn't for his father, this guy wouldn't even be a weatherman on some Podunk station in the back woods.

[Harry P.]

I don't get the "Joe Buck is biased" argument.

I've heard him call a lot of football and baseball over the years and he's never struck me as being biased. What am I missing?

[MikeMc]

.

Even after the Giants beat the Packers pretty handlely, it is being said that the Packers lost it, Rogers had a bad game or the receivers dropped the ball. Guys, it was pretty clear to me that the Giants beat the Packers. The Giants deserve the credit. They played one heck of a game......give credit where credit is due, and maybe it is time think of Manning, yes the "little" Manning as the elite quarterback that he has become.

As many have said in sports, all team sports, "you need to peak at the right time".....the Giants are peaking in the playoffs....I would say that is the right time.

I am not a huge football fan by any stretch of the imagination, but the Giants are the "home" team for me, and they won last night and I do not see anyone giving them the respect they earned.

You didn't watch the same game as I did....Yep the Giants won.....and they played great ball. That said....the Packers dropped more and gave more away yesterday than the whole season. You wanna talk bias...GB never got respect till Farve and Reggie got it back, that said as an owner of the ONLY team not owned by millionaires....I still back the Pack

And the Niners should Whup up on the g men........

[Monty]

As a Raiders fan who has had to learn to deal with disappointment for over a decade, my "wait till next year" chant may finally mean something now that Reggie McKenzie is taking charge as General Manager & cleaning house. Reggie's been learning his trade under Ron Wolfe up in Green bay, so I'm very optimistic. It'll be nice to watch the draft without hearing hoots of derisive laughter from half the planet.

To me, Tim Tebow is a refreshing attitudinal change from the borderline NBA-ballah behavior we're seeing more and more of in the NFL. I think his faith is genuine and is what drives his desire to help the less fortunate. (Anybody else see Mike Tirico's report last Sunday on this?) That said, as long as he's wearing a Broncos uniform, I'll wish him nothing but years of exciting losses.

I think the Pats will win the AFC, but I really thought the Saints or Packers would represent the NFC. Good thing I don't gamble.

Super Bowl pick: Giants beat Patriots based on strength of defense.

[1320wayne]

Super Bowl pick: Giants beat Patriots based on strength of defense.

O.K., I've got to go here.

I am a huge football fan. Have been all of my life. Played some back in the day as well so I know a thing or two about the game. I am also a lifelong Pats. fan so yes, my opinions are biased, but at the same time can admit when strengths are not where they should be.

So, that being said, I think people are seriously underestimating the overall strength of the Patriots as a team. Yes, throughout most of the season they were listed with one of, if not the worst defense statistically. But that was during the regular season. Things can change when you reach the postseason and I think they proved that this past weekend. I know that every team has a different look about them and your defense has to play differently depending on who your up against. But I also know what I saw this past weekend and that was total domination of a team that was listed (statistically) with the best rushing offense in the league. Yeah, Tebow is not as good as the hype but overall the Broncos had a pretty daunting offense.

So try these stats. on for size. Patriots defense sacked the Broncos quarterback 5 times. They also contributed with 16 plays for negative yards. 16? That's almost unheard of. Give credit where credit is due and recognize that the regular season is in the past and the Pats. defense is ready for all comers. Plus, who is going to stop Brady and Welker and Gronkowski and Hernandez and Branch and Kevin Faulk out of the backfield and anything else they can throw at the best looking defense.

Hey, I could be wrong, I've been there before, but I'm just saying. Watch and see.

[Monty]

I think people are seriously underestimating the overall strength of the Patriots as a team. Yes, throughout most of the season they were listed with one of, if not the worst defense statistically. But that was during the regular season. Things can change when you reach the postseason and I think they proved that this past weekend. I know that every team has a different look about them and your defense has to play differently depending on who your up against. But I also know what I saw this past weekend and that was total domination of a team that was listed (statistically) with the best rushing offense in the league. Yeah, Tebow is not as good as the hype but overall the Broncos had a pretty daunting offense.

So try these stats. on for size. Patriots defense sacked the Broncos quarterback 5 times. They also contributed with 16 plays for negative yards. 16? That's almost unheard of. Give credit where credit is due and recognize that the regular season is in the past and the Pats. defense is ready for all comers. Plus, who is going to stop Brady and Welker and Gronkowski and Hernandez and Branch and Kevin Faulk out of the backfield and anything else they can throw at the best looking defense.

Hey, I could be wrong, I've been there before, but I'm just saying. Watch and see.

My assessment of the Patriot defense was based on the analyses of former NFL coaches and players. I think you and I could agree that, statistically, this was not a typical Patriot defense such as we've seen over the last 10 years or so. That said, what makes the Patriots so hard to beat is their offense. Best example: They're down 21-0 to the Bills and come back to win 49-21. They can bury you in points and make your offense one dimensional, which is pretty much what happened in Denver. If your D-line and LBs don't have to worry about stopping the run, it shouldn't come as any surprise that the defense racked up tons of sacks and negative yards.

Admittedly I would've preferred to see a Super Bowl QB duel such as Brady vs Brees or Brady vs Rodgers, but (assuming my picks are correct) I still say, based on the health of the team and the way they finished out the year, the Giant defense will probably be the difference maker here.