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Posted at 3:04 p.m., Thursday, January 31, 2008

Super Bowl: A five-point plan to beat the Patriots

By Bob Glauber
Newsday

No one has figured out a way to beat the Patriots just yet, and there's only one more chance to prevent New England from becoming the first 19-0 team in NFL history. The only team standing between the Pats and perfection: the Giants.

Is there a chance for the underdogs? No question. The Giants didn't get here by accident, not after three straight impressive road playoff wins. And the Giants can take some comfort in the fact they nearly upset the Pats in the final regular-season game.

But if they are to pull off what would be one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, the Giants will have to play a near-perfect game. Not an easy task, especially with a billion or so people around the globe watching.

Tom Coughlin won't give out his strategy for how to get it done, but we have our own five-point blueprint to keep the Patriots from their appointment with destiny:

1. Run Like It's 1990:

Remember the Giants' game plan against the Bills in Super Bowl XXV? They decided the best way to deal with Jim Kelly's K-gun offense was to keep it off the field as long as possible. They did just that, keeping the ball for more than 39 minutes by slamming Ottis Anderson through the line play after play, then going to scatback David Meggett and sprinkling in some Jeff Hostetler passes. The strategy was brilliant, because Kelly couldn't stay on the field long enough to dominate the Giants' defense.

Get the picture? The Giants are facing the highest-scoring offense in NFL history and a quarterback who has thrown more touchdown passes than anyone in a season. So, what better way to deal with that than to keep Tom Brady & Co. off the field by pounding Brandon Jacobs between the tackles and using change-up back Ahmad Bradshaw to throw the Patriots' defense off.

If there's one weakness in New England's defense, it's against the run. Aging inside linebackers Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau occasionally can be overpowered, and their speed isn't what it once was. They are generally sure tacklers, but if Jacobs can wear them down sufficiently in the first half and Bradshaw can find cutback lanes and use slippery moves to evade tacklers, then the Giants stand a decent chance of establishing a ball-control offense that not only will keep Brady off the field but also open up the play-action passing game for Eli Manning.

2. Jam the Patriots' Receivers:

Randy Moss has only two catches for 32 yards and no touchdowns in the playoffs, and part of the reason is that the Jaguars and particularly the Chargers had their cornerbacks play close to the line and jam the Pats' receivers to disrupt their patterns. This strategy is especially important against Moss, who can still fly once he gets into the open field.

The trick is to make it as hard as possible for him to get into open space. The best way is for the Giants' corners — Sam Madison, Aaron Ross, Corey Webster, Kevin Dockery and R.W. McQuarters — to jam him within the legal five-yard zone. That will not only prevent Moss from making an easy get-away for his longer routes, but will also interrupt his shorter patterns, particularly the ones he runs to the outside.

It's tougher to get a good jam on slot receiver Wes Welker, who might end up being Brady's go-to target if the Giants are intent on limiting Moss. Welker is built very low to the ground and extremely strong, and thus better equipped to fight through the jams and get into his pattern with minimal effort. Once Welker does get into his pattern, it's incumbent on the Giants' defensive backs to limit his yards-after-catch, especially on crossing patterns over the middle.

3. Pressure Brady With Four-Man Fronts, Especially Up the Middle:

Brady is the league's best quarterback for a reason: He is brilliant at finding his open receiver in the split second before the pass rush gets to him. Brady works behind arguably the best offensive line in the NFL, and he's often able to sit back in the pocket, bounce up and down on his toes while waiting for receivers to get open, then fire the perfect pass.

The only real way to disrupt it — outside of providing blanket coverage of the receivers — is to pressure Brady and make him throw early. The Giants might have the best defensive line in the game, so this matchup will be critical. It's a no-brainer that Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora must provide a good rush from the end spots, but Justin Tuck might be just as important a player from defensive tackle in the nickel package. Tuck is an extremely strong, fast and agile lineman, and he has the ability to fight through double teams on the interior.

Patriots center Dan Koppen and guards Steve Neal and Logan Mankins have a huge challenge trying to contain Tuck. If Tuck can get inside pressure and get a good rush on Brady, who might be somewhat limited by a sprained right ankle, then it will collapse the pocket more quickly. That would give the Giants a chance to force Brady into a mistake or an interception because his timing is interrupted.

The Giants will surely blitz, as they have done all season under coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, but it's the four-man rush that gives them the best chance of success. In their three playoff wins, that rush proved relentless, particularly in the fourth quarter. It was a major factor in disrupting the play of quarterbacks Jeff Garcia, Tony Romo and Brett Favre.

4. Find Ellis Hobbs and Throw His Way: Again & Again & Again:

Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs is no match for fellow starter Asante Samuel, one of the best ball-hawking corners in the game. Manning needs to be extremely careful of going in Samuel's direction, although he can't stay away from him completely, especially if go-to receiver Plaxico Burress is matched up against him. But if Hobbs is matched up with single coverage on Burress, Amani Toomer or No. 3 receiver Steve Smith, then Manning has to go in that direction whenever possible.

It is also important that Manning get Smith involved early. Smith has turned into a reliable receiving threat, something the Giants didn't have in his absence. If he can catch a few balls early, it will take pressure off Toomer and particularly Burress. The Packers mistakenly thought they could assign one defensive back to Burress, and he burned them big-time. Part of the reason for the coverage was that Green Bay had to respect Toomer and Smith. If the Giants can force New England to do the same, especially by exploiting Hobbs, then the passing game stands a good chance of succeeding.

5. Take Away the Pats' Running Game:

Everyone knows Brady is the best there is, but the Patriots' running game has been extremely effective in the playoffs. Laurence Maroney went through a period in midseason when the Patriots didn't use him nearly as much as now and there was some speculation whether he was injured or simply not as good as a first-round back should be. But Maroney is now as big a threat as ever and the Giants need to limit his effectiveness to get the Patriots in second-and-long and third-and-long situations.

That puts the onus on middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, who has struggled in spots with his run defense but is generally a sure tackler. If the Giants' linemen can funnel the tackles to Pierce, which is the object in the 4-3 defense, and if Pierce can get to Maroney early, it will make it that much easier for the Giants to put New England in must-pass situations.