Allen: Super Bowl storylines you're not reading

By now, just about all the storylines for this Super Bowl are in place. You can recite them in your sleep. Tom Brady's ankle. The Patriots pursuit of perfection. The Giants Cinderella run through the NFC playoffs. The Giants wearing black on the plane because they're going to the funeral of the Patriots dynasty. Those storylines have been beaten to death. Here's a few you might not have seen as much:

The Patriots are undefeated in the postseason when Rodney Harrison suits up for them.

With the two playoff wins thus far this season, the Patriots are now 8-0 when Rodney Harrison is their starting safety in the playoffs. That includes three games after the 2003 season, three games after the 2004 season and two game this season. In the postseasons for 2005 and 2006, Harrison was injured and the Patriots did not make it to the Super Bowl. This illustrates how important the 35-year-old Harrison is to the defensive secondary. While he still takes the dumb penalty more than he should, he also comes up big in the postseason, where he usually seems to get the big interception to seal a game or kill a drive. His emotion and leadership back there are something this franchise is going to miss sorely when he finally hangs them up for good.

Plaxico Burress was not a huge factor in the first game.

Some commentators this week have held that Plaxico Burress is going to have a huge game in the Super Bowl, and that the Patriots with Ellis Hobbs cannot contain the 6-5 Burress. They point to his two touchdown performance against the Patriots in week 17 as evidence. A look back at that game reveals otherwise. Burress did indeed have two touchdowns and 84 yards receiving. however, he only had a total of four catches the entire game. Two of them came on the Giants first possession, when he caught a 52-yard pass, and three plays later he caught a 10 yard pass. Burress wasn't heard from again until the third quarter, when he ended the Giants first drive with a 19-yard TD catch. Burress' final catch of the day came with 1:08 remaining in the game, with the Patriots up by 10 points, as Burress caught a three yard touchdown from Eli Manning. Manning only threw in Burress' direction four other times in the game, one of those times he was intercepted by Hobbs. So Burress caught two passes on the Giants first drive, one on the last, and only one other pass in the entire game. Plaxico might be guaranteeing a New York victory in this game, but for that to happen, he's going to have to be much more involved in the offense this time around.

Kevin Faulk is the Troy Brown of running backs.

This is another player that we are going to mourn when he retires. Talk about a clutch player. One of the very few holders from the Pete Carroll era, in some aspects it's amazing that he's even still here with the Patriots. Earlier in his career he had some problems with fumbling at inopportune times, (though when you think about it, when is it an opportune time to fumble?) to the point that some of my friends dubbed him "Fumbles" Faulk. He seems to have taken care of that issue, and now always seems to come up with the big play when the team needs it. Whether it is a screen play, a draw, or catching a pass in the flat, Faulk does exactly what is needed, always conscious of how far he needs to go to keep the drive going. He's a small guy in stature, but is also very effective when called upon to help in pass protection. Just as Troy Brown is now held up as the model Patriot who gets the most out of his ability and comes up with the big play in big moments, Faulk has moved into that same category. His season and career numbers aren't gaudy, but they don't tell you when and where those numbers were compiled. For many around the country, he is known as the guy with the same last name as distant cousin Marshall. New England fans know him as the guy Tom Brady turns to when he needs critical yards.


Bruce Allen is the creator of Boston Sports Media Watch, which has recently been recognized by SI.com as one of the best non-corporate sports web site's on the Internet.