COTTRELL COLUMN: Don’t be a hero: Pick the Patriots

By Tim Cottrell

Published: February 2, 2008

Plenty of damage has been done in the world of sports — and the world in general — by people talking themselves into things that sound implausible if you think about them for a second.

The examples are myriad (“Ohio State can beat LSU because Jim Tressel is better than Les Miles,” “Florida’s starters don’t have that extra gear to go back-to-back,” “We’ll be greeted as liberators.”), and none are better than the multitude of people trying to talk themselves into the Giants over the last two weeks.

There’s a lot to like about this Giants team: A strong running game, one of the better pass rush groups ever assembled, a strong sense of team unity and an uncanny knack for winning on the road.

But, quite honestly, they simply are no match for the Patriots.

Allen Barra of the Wall Street Journal pointed out on the Paul Finebaum Show on Friday that the Patriots have outscored their opponents this season by 335 points through 18 games, while the Giants have outscored their 19 opponents by a total of 39 points up to this point.

This Patriots team is a machine, already good and dynastic and built to annihilate after last season’s disappointing loss in the AFC title game.

Everyone knows his role, no one cares about who’s getting the credit and all everyone is thinking about is winning.

So you’re telling me, with just those few cherry-picked points and opinions, you’d be even mildly comfortable putting your money on a team with an occasional headcase quarterback and a coach with a mediocre history in big games?

Patriots coach Bill Belichick, whether he admits it or not, is too obsessed with his place in history to let his team lose this game.

But when it all comes down to it, there are two major reasons the Giants can’t win this game.

The Patriots will find ways to score behind quarterback Tom Brady, the most unflappable quarterback I’ve ever seen, while the Giants will consider themselves lucky if Eli Manning doesn’t completely implode.

Just picture this scenario for a moment: The Giants get the ball first, the Patriots blitz like crazy and New York goes three-and-out. New England goes right down the field and scores and Manning has to come back out there with things already starting to fall apart. That can’t make you feel good if you happen to root for the Giants.

The second reason the Patriots will win is because they have the best offensive line in football, and that line will be able to neutralize the Giants’ pass rush, leaving New York’s suspect secondary ripe for being picked apart by Brady.

So talk yourselves into the Giants at your own peril. I learned my lesson last month in the BCS title game.

Tim Cottrell is sports designer of the Opelika-Auburn News. He can be reached at 737-2511 or .