Lazy Man and Sports

After two weeks of waiting it’s finally game time. I must have watch at least 72 different analysts talk about every possible aspect of the game. With this much media coverage no stone has been left unturned. With a nod to Peter King, here are ten things I think I think:

1. Motivation - The Patriots didn’t need any more motivation than the possibility of going 19-0. However, with renewed talk of Spygate, the Patriots could have a little extra.
2. Best Quarterback - Tom Brady has set nearly every quarterback record in history.
3. Complementary Wide Receivers - It’s pretty rare to have a Hall of Fame deep threat in Randy Moss and a great possession receiver who can break tackles like Wes Welker. Stallworth could be a #1 or #2 receiver on a lot of teams. On the Patriots he’s number 4.
4. Laurence Maroney - He’s always going to be compared to Joseph Addai of the Colts. They came out of the same draft, were picked at around the same time, and went to the best two teams of the decade. Ten weeks ago, you’d say that the Addai was by far the better running back. Today, it looks a lot closer. Some of that is that Addai’s production dropped off a little, while Maroney is running like a champion.
5. Week 17 Match-up - The Patriots came out tight on this game. I don’t think they expected the Giants to care or play hard in week 17.
6. Best Coach - The Patriots have a Hall of Fame coach and one of the best at making in-game adjustments.
7. Humble Pie - In the history of great teams, it seems that every team has had to deal with getting over-confident. I haven’t heard one analyst say that’s a fear for the Patriots.
8. Experience and Pressure - There’s a lot of pressure on the Patriots, but is it any more than any other Super Bowl game? I’m not sure. The Patriots do have a lot of experience in the Super Bowl with a quarterback who has already won three.
9. Kickers - A lot of analysts (including ESPN’s Hammering Hank) have reminded us that the Patriots have one 3 super bowls by 3 points each. I don’t think the past is an indicator of future performance.
10. Prediction - I think the Patriots start of strong and maybe go up 14-3. If that happens it will take the Giants a little out of their game and it could snowball on them. I could see a 34-17 game coming from that.