Super Bowl XLII Preview Extravaganza: Profiling the Giants

Did any of you really believe the New York Giants would even win a playoff game? I didn’t, but now they are the Cinderella team looking for their first Super Bowl win since 1991, when some kicker named Scott missed a game winning field goal.

The season started out poorly, going 0-2 to the Packers and Cowboys. It looked like they were about to be taken into OT against the Redskins, but a goal line stand at FedEx Field turned the ship around en route to a 6 game winning streak. But once again, the Giants stumbled at home, losing their last 4 at Giants Stadium, including a 38-35 loss to the Patriots to seal that undefeated reg. season and finishing 4-4 in the 2nd half of the season.

They were underdogs in all 3 road playoff games, but they were 7-1 on the road, and proved that they could win the big games. Eli Manning has played tremendous football in this year’s playoffs, with zero turnovers….that is right, that is the same Eli who lead the league in interceptions.

At this point, the Giants have absolutely nothing to lose. No one expected them to make it to Glendale, now they can either lose to New England but hang their heads high for a tremendous season, or pull off a tremendous upset and hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

The X-Factor: Ahmad Bradshaw. The rookie from Marshall, a 7th round pick, is very quick, hard to bring down, and a hidden gem in this Giants offense. Brandon Jacobs will get the attention, but Bradshaw ran for 152 yards on 17 carries, including an 88 yard TD run at Buffalo that salted the game away, and clinched a playoff berth. If Chris Snee does not get called for holding at Green Bay in the NFC Title Game, Bradshaw would’ve had a 52 yard touchdown run to win the game for the Giants. He is very much a home run threat, and can exploit that suspect run defense of the Patriots.