The defensive ends are the keys for the Giants this Sunday, as they won’t win without putting pressure on Tom Brady.  It’s lucky for the Giants that they had two of the best DEs in the NFL on their team right now.  23-year old Jason Pierre-Paul is a flat out beast.  He played in all 16 games for the Giants this year and he had 86 tackles, 16.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 6 passes defensed and 8 tackles for a loss.  He has also played well in the playoffs so far.  In his first three playoff games this year, Pierre-Paul has 16 tackles, 1/2 a sack, 3 tackles for a loss and 2 passes defensed.  30-year old Osi Umenyiora is also a big time pass rusher and playmaker.  He played in 9 games for the Giants this year and he had 25 tackles, 9 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 pass defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  Omenyiora also has played in all three playoff games for the Giants this year and he has 8 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.  The Giants hope that Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora get Tom Brady nervous this Sunday.

The Giants didn’t run the ball too well during the regular season in 2011.  The Giants only rushed for 89.2 yards per game and 3.5 yards per carry during the regular season.  But, Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs have stepped up in the playoffs as the Giants are averaging 117.3 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry so far.  The Giants need Bradshaw & Jacobs to have one more big game in them this Sunday in the Super Bowl.  Bradshaw has carried the ball 46 times for 200 yards (4.3 ypc) and he also has caught 14 passes for 95 yards (6.8 avg) so far in the playoffs.  Jacobs has carried the ball 28 times for 127 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has also caught 4 passes for 16 yards (4.0 avg) so far in the post-season.  If the Patriots gang up to stop the Giants’ passing game, look for the Giants to hit the ground running this Sunday.

65-year old head coach Tom Coughlin runs a tight ship.  Early this year their were rumors going around that he might get fired.  The Giants snuck into the playoffs with a 9-7 record, but they are red hot right now.  The Giants are 3-0 in the playoffs so far and they have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 81-39!  Tom Coughlin is now 74-54 (57.8%) during the regular season in his 8 years with the Giants.  He also is 7-3 (70%) in the post-season for the Giants and he won the Super Bowl in 2007 over the Patriots.  Tom Coughlin can punch a ticket to Football’s Hall of Fame with a second Super Bowl win and he has had Bill Belichick’s number as of late.

25-year old WR Victor Cruz played in 3 games as a rookie in 2010 for the Giants and he didn’t catch any passes.  In 2011, Cruz was needed due to injuries and he really stepped up.  Cruz played in all 16 games during the regular season for the Giants and he caught 82 passes for 1,536 yards (18.7 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Cruz had over 100 yards receiving in a game seven times in 2011.  The sky is the limit for Cruz in the future.  He could have a big game this weekend in the Super Bowl as the Patriots have had some issues in the secondary.  He has already caught 17 passes for 244 yards (14.4 avg) in his first three games in the post-season for the Giants, but he has yet to catch a TD pass as Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham have been hogging them up.  I look for that to change in the Super Bowl this Sunday.

31-year old QB Eli Manning carried the Giants back to the playoffs this year.  He led them to a 9-7 record which was good enough to win the NFC East.  Manning played in 16 games (all starts) for the Giants this year and he completed 359 of 589 passes (61%) for 4,933 yards with 29 TD passes and 16 INTs (92.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 35 times for 15 yards (0.4 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  Manning has now played in 121 games (119 starts) in his NFL career so far and he has completed 2,291 of 3,921 passes (58.4%) for 27,579 yards with 185 TD passes and 129 INTs (82.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 193 times for 365 yards (1.9 ypc) with 4 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Manning is 69-50 (58%) during the regular season as the Giants’ starting QB.

30-year old Eli Manning is playing the best football of his NFL career right now.  He has played in 13 games for the Giants so far this year and he has completed 303 of 489 passes (62%) for 4,105 yards with 25 TD passes and 12 INTs (95.5 QB Rating).  Manning has also carried the ball 28 times for 2 yards (0.1 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  His 4,105 passing yards is already a career high and he still has three games left to go.  Manning has overcome an utter lack of  a running game this year, making his performance even more impressive.  They need him to keep up the good work if they are going to win the NFC East this year.

22-year old DE Jason Pierre-Paul has turned into a beast this year for the Giants.  He has played in 12 games for the Giants so far this year and he has 53 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 7 tackles for a loss, 6 passes defensed and 1 forced fumble.  Pierre-Paul has now played in 28 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 83 tackles, 15 sacks, 9 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 12 passes defensed.  The scary thing for the rest of the NFC East and the NFL is that Pierre-Paul is just getting started!  He has a HUGE upside!

25-year old WR Victor Cruz has been amazing this year for the Giants.  He has played in 11 games so far this year for the Giants and he has caught 55 passes for 957 yards (17.4 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  He has four games in which he has went over 100 yards receiving for the Giants so far this year.  Eli Manning has completed an amazing 55 of 75 passes (73.3%) in Cruz’ direction so far this year.  He is going to eventually bump Hakeem Nicks down the totem pole if he keeps playing like he is right now, and the Giants are banking on that happening.

30-year old QB Eli Manning has really stepped up for the Giants this year.  The Giants usually high powered running game is only averaging 83.2 yards rushing per game and 3.2 yards per carry so far this year!  That has put a lot of pressure on Eli Manning and the passing game to carry the offense.  He has played in 10 games for the Giants so far this year and he has completed 220 of 355 passes (62%) for 2,952 yards with 18 TD passes and 9 INTs (94.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 25 times for 0 yards (0.0 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  The Giants need Manning to finish this year strongly if they want to get back to the playoffs in 2011.

30-year old DE Osi Umenyiora is making up for lost time as he missed the Giants’ first three games due to injury.  He has played in 6 games for the Giants so far this year and he has 19 tackles, 7 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 forced fumbles and 1 pass defensed.  Umenyiora has now played in 110 games in his first 8 years with the Giants and he has 327 tackles, 67 sacks, 23 tackles for a loss, 30 forced fumbles, 13 fumble recoveries and 12 passes defensed.  The Giants have to be glad that they found no takers in the trade market for Umenyiora.