New England Patriots 2011-2012 Super Bowl run...can they win the big game?

New England Patriots 2011-2012 Super Bowl run...can they win the big game?

For the first time since the 2007-2008 season the New England Patriots will be playing on the biggest stage in all of football, the Super Bowl and they will be hosting the same opponent they suffered defeat to in the 2008 Super Bowl, the New York Giants.
Unlike the historic 2007-2008 season in which the Patriots became the first team ever to go 16-0 in the regular season and only the second-ever NFL team to go through the regular season undefeated (1972 Dolphins went 14-0) the road to the Super Bowl for the Patriots was much more difficult. Sure the Patriots finished with the AFC's best record at 12-4 but this was thanks in large part to an extremely strong offensive team lead by QB Tom Brady and receivers Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, and Wes Welker. The defense once again this year was one of the worst teams in the league when you look at total yards allowed. In fact, the Patriots gave up more passing yards this season than any other team has in the history of the NFL. Despite the low ranking of the Patriots overall defense they did step up at times and in key situations as they ranked in the middle of the pack in points allowed. What you can conclude from this is the Patriots may give up yards but they don't really translate into points.
While the Patriots did roll over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional Round the Broncos were a weak team with a well below-average offense and while the defense was a bit solid they did have trouble against power house offenses they did have trouble against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game. In fact, you can actually than the Patriots defense for their AFC Championship victory over the Ravens. Tom Brady was not sharp at all in this game and he nearly actually lost it for the Patriots. While Brady did perform well against the Broncos we continue to see Brady struggling in playoff play, something that can be dated back to the 2009 playoffs. Is this something Patriots fans should be concerned about? I believe so.
With only 6-days until the Super Bowl one of the biggest concerns for the Patriots right now is the health of star Tight End Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski injured his ankle late in the game against the Ravens and there are conflicting reports that the injury is rather serious and may end up requiring surgery. He has been in a walking boot. If Gronkowski is unable to play or ineffective enough to be a real threat this will seriously deplete the Patriots offensive potential and also weaken the teams offensive depth as well as options.
Besides the injury concerns regarding Gronkowski there has been and will continue to be talk regarding the Patriots defense. In my opinion this should actually be the least of the Patriots concerns right now. While they do give up the yardage they have showed and proven they can make the big plays when needed and they buckle down when their opponent gets near the red zone. The one thing you always have to be concerned with, however, is the big play...that long deep pass and the fact that the Patriots defense can have plenty of miss-tackles.
Being a major Patriots fan my major concern is actually...Tom Brady. As I stated above since 2009 Tom Brady has been very shaky in the playoffs and has had a fairly high turnover rate throwing lots of interceptions. Besides that Broncos game Brady has not had a solid playoff game since the Super Bowl loss to the Giants and some could argue he wasn't even all that sharp in that game. We have seen teams blitz Brady quite a bit in these playoff games and apply lots of pressure which has made him try to force passes you normally wouldn't see him make and when this happen you're going to have your share of interceptions no matter how great you are.
The key to the Patriots success against the Giants will be to establish a well-balanced offensive attack of a running game and a passing game. The Patriots can't solely rely on Tom Brady and the passing game or otherwise the Giants are going to make Brady's life a living hell. If the pats can establish some sort of running game this will change how the Giants setup defensively and could open up some slots for the passing game.
Turnovers nearly cost the Patriots the AFC Championship game and they will NOT beat the Giants turning over the ball as much as they did against the Ravens. Don't turn the ball over, play your game, and make your tackles...if the Patriots do this they will raise the Lombardi Trophy.