From the disrespect being laid on the Patriots at every turn this week you’d never know that this team was the number one seed in the AFC, with one of the best offenses in football, and one of the greatest coaches of all time.
Let’s plot out all the talking points this week that the media are hitting on:
- Without Gronkowski the Patriots are dead meat
- Julian Edelman cannot cover Victor Cruz.
- The Giants front four are unstoppable.
- Eli Manning is better than Tom Brady, at least over the last couple months.
- Tom Brady does not have the ability to bounce back from getting hit like Eli does.
- The Patriots secondary is laughable. (Cris Carter)
- The Patriots will lose. (Madden Simulation)
These are just the big ones, but seriously, I have yet to hear one single mediot think the Patriots even have a chance in this one. So I don’t know how Vegas still has the Pats as 3 point favorites (down from 3.5 earlier this week).
This doesn’t feel like 2001 where it was truly David vs. Goliath going in, but it’s not that far off. But to be honest I really kind of like it this way. The media can disrespect the Pats, take their words out of context, and generally paint them as a team that is lucky to be there.
But the reality is that the Giants better be ready for a fight that goes down to the end. This Patriots team has not lost a game by more than a possession this year. And the more pressure and negativity that is piled on Brady, the more likely I think it is that he turns in a performance for the ages.
We’ll see how it plays out on Sunday, but this familiar feeling of being an underdog suits New England, and puts them in a position they’ve frequently won from. I guess Vegas knows that too…