Official commitments to the Miami Hurricanes

Giants stun Pats to win Super Bowl

Eli Manning twice led the Giants back from fourth-quarter deficits as Big Blue stunned the previously undefeated Patriots, 17-14, to win their third Super Bowl championship on Sunday night. Manning's heroics earned him MVP honors.

Colonials Get Coach McKeown Victory No. 500

No. 16 George Washington gives Coach Joe McKeown his 500th career victory, relying on two pivotal first-half runs to beat Duquesne.

Scouts views: Giants must capitalize on Pats’ mistakes

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Observations and opinions on Super Bowl 42 from two NFL scouts, one from each conference:

I think the Giants have a good chance. There aren't many people who think New York can win, but the Giants played the Patriots well the first time. They have the type of defense that can put a lot of pressure on Tom Brady, and I think that will be a key in the game.

Bill Belichick is a master at taking away whatever a team's strength is. It will be interesting to see the first quarter and what kind of wrinkles he puts in to stop Eli Manning.

The Patriots have to get the ball to Randy Moss early in the game. Try a couple quick hitters and get the Giant defenders cheating up on him and playing tight.

I like the Giants' running back combination of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. Each has a little something different. I love big running backs like Jacobs who can wear defenses down. What he did against Green Bay in the NFC championship game, when he ran over Charles Woodson on the first play, set the tone. And Bradshaw is real quick, a nice change of pace.

The Giants have to be consistent with their running game. They have to stay with it, and eventually it's going to pop. They can't do what Green Bay did against them -- run just 14 times and then abandon it. They've got to stay with it. You can't go one-dimensional against the Patriots, or they'll beat you.

Wes Welker is a slot receiver who's tough to handle one-on-one. What the Patriots do well is they get themselves in third-and-3 or third-and-2 situations, and it's very tough to handle a guy like Welker, who has that quickness right off the snap. One of his strengths is handling those underneath routes. Playing man or zone, he's tough to stop.

I don't think the Giants can win the game without Plaxico Burress having a good day. He's such a big part of what they do. Even though he has played hurt the whole season, he knows how to manage it. So him missing time this week isn't really a concern for me. But if he can't be some kind of downfield passing threat, you'll see the Patriots stack the box with eight guys and make the Giants beat them passing the ball.

Asante Samuel has the best chance of defending Burress, absolutely. I don't know if they'll match up, but Samuel is New England's best cover guy and one of the best in the league. On the other side, Ellis Hobbs can be exploited.

You're not going to stop Brady. But the important thing is to try and make things uncomfortable for him. You've got to make him move his feet in the pocket, make him get out of his rhythm, disrupt the passing lanes and throw off the timing of his routes. Then, after you do that, you have to take away New England's running game. And that's something Jacksonville and San Diego couldn't do.

There aren't a lot of teams that can put pressure on Brady without blitzing. The Giants are one of the few teams that have the ability to rush their four linemen and apply pressure. And that's going to be important. If they can't get pressure with just those four guys, it will be a long day for them.

The right side of the offensive line is the place to attack the Patriots. I don't want to say Nick Kaczur, their right tackle, is the weak link, but he's been hobbled with a foot injury, and the right guard, Stephen Neal, has battled injuries all season.

I don't know if the Giants have simplified things for him, but Manning is making good reads, he's getting rid of the ball quickly and he's not forcing it when he doesn't have someone to throw to. I think he's shown a maturation process over the last few weeks, and that's very encouraging for him.

So much attention is paid to all of New England's other weapons that some people think running back Kevin Faulk is nothing special. But he's a good, solid player who's a good runner, a good receiver and fits right into what the team does well.

I'm curious to see what Kevin Boss, the Giants' young tight end, does. He hasn't caught a lot of balls, but each game he's made a big play. I think New England will try to take away Burress and put pressure on Manning. That's where injured Jeremy Shockey was a nice outlet and a security blanket for Eli. Boss is going to have to play an important role in this game.

You have to make the most of your opportunities against the Patriots. Score touchdowns instead of field goals in the red zone. Very rarely are the Patriots going to beat themselves, so you have to capitalize on their mistakes when they make them.

Dennis Dillon is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at ddillon@sportingnews.com.