Greg Cosell from NFL films picks SB 46

[BradyBranch39]

in his interview with Florio, he did address the special teams.

said both were solid and unlikely to cost or win you the game

 

[makoute]

Strong analysis by Cosell and I agree with both his points; but not his outcome or that there isn't a 3rd & 4th point.

I think he underweights the recent improvements in Pats secondary and finally getting a locked set of players back there.

3rd pt which he didn't address: Giants run D is suspect.

4th pt which he didn't address: SPECIAL TEAMS.
- Giants got 14 pts off a horrid 49ers ST performance. I am 90% confident the Pats ST is NOT going to give them such breaks. I think when it comes to the field position game Zoltan and Ghost are going to keep them starting at/behind the 20 and Pats will have a shorter field all day. If the Pats offense can be same or even only slightly less efficient than NYG that shorter field should mean they still pull it out.

so we shall see.

It's hard to address when you don't think the Pats will actually try to take advantage of it.

 

[byfuglien]

I've always liked Cossell. He does his homework then gives his opinion. He is NOT a mediot, even if he picked the Giants. He acknowledges this was a hard pick. He gives a point to both sides. He backs his opinion with some fact, not just opinion or misinformation.

He is one of the few observers who recognizes that the Giants DL is not going to be the factor that "everyone" thinks they are. To get to Brady they are going to have to blitz and blitzing Brady is not a sound tactic. Of course I have to wonder if being born, bred, and living in NYC taints....just a bit, his thought process.

BTW - I have to disagree with his thoughts on the Ravens receivers. The combination of Bolden, Smith, and the 2 TEs is as good as anyone's situation. Smith had a great rookie year and was coming fast at the end of the season. Boldin is as good a possession receiver as their is in the league, and their TE situation is Patriot-light. And he completely ignores the contribution Rice made to the passing attack.

Bottom line, Cossell thinks if the Giants DL is not going to be a big factor in this game, and the Pats secondary can't cover the Giants receivers, then its going to be a shoot out. He evidently picks Eli over Brady. Bad pick, Greg.

Well, the Giants DL wasn't a huge factor in the last game, yet we still lost to them.