Time for a change
NFL. Analyst Brian Baldinger said when it comes to Super Bowl XLII, football fans should expect a very different looking Patriots’ defense than the one that met the Giants in the last week of the regular season.
Baldinger, one of co-hosts of the NFL Network show “Playbook” and an 11-year veteran of the NFL, can’t believe the 35 points allowed by the New England defense the first time the two teams played back on Dec. 29 — a season-high against the Patriots — sat too well with the veterans in the New England locker room.
“I think they will change a great deal,” Baldinger said of the Patriots’ defense. “In fact, I think they will do many, many different things this time around — to give up 35 points was a sore spot for that defense.”
For the Patriots’ defense, there are some sore spots left over from the last time the two teams met, including the fact that the New York offense went 4-for-4 on touchdown opportunities inside the New England red zone. But whatever defensive breakdowns the Patriots had, they were always able to answer on the offensive side of the football: Against New York, Tom Brady finished the evening 32-for-42 for 356 yards and two touchdowns, capping a season full of the sort of consistent performances that allowed him to win his first MVP award.
It’s a level of consistency that continues to amaze Baldinger, who says the quarterback has bailed New England out of some awful tough jams this season.
“The Patriots always find a way to win in the end. I thought they were outplayed for much of Indy, Philly, Baltimore and the Giants games, yet they made the plays to win,” said Baldinger, who also works as an analyst for Fox. “The quarterback was amazingly stable and consistently good all year. Peyton [Manning] threw six interceptions in a game. [Tony] Romo had his stinkers. This guy never had a bad game.”
According to Baldinger, much of New England’s success on the offensive side of the football can also be traced back to the offensive line. A former offensive lineman himself (he played for Dallas, Indianapolis and Philadelphia), he stands in awe of what the Patriots — specifically Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal and Nick Kaczur — were able to do this season.
“They are very, very good pass blockers,” Baldinger said of the group that allowed just 21 sacks during the regular season, the fifth-lowest total in the league. “They are asked most of the game to block their man one-on-one, and that’s not easy to do. Give great credit to [offensive line coach] Dante Scarnecchia.”
Baldinger says that the Giants are playing well and doing a lot of good things on both sides of the ball, but the Patriots simply have too many weapons to overcome.
“I think the Giants will challenge hard, [but] they’re not better than the Patriots,” he said. “They’re playing well and are not making mistakes, but the Patriots will win, and go 19-0.”
