This is the first installment in what will be a weekly column from Eli Asch and Brian Woods. Each Thursday, the two will debate the biggest national sports story of the week that will then lead into their sports talk radio show on Fridays at 10 a.m. on Whitman’s KWCW. Their columns will be written in a conversation-style format, which emulates the back-and-forth discussion they have on their show.

WOODS:
Finally, the Super Bowl XLII matchup is set. In the AFC Playoffs, the Patriots continued their perfect season, showing that they can prevail through sub-par games from star receiver Randy Moss (one catch for 14 yards against Jacksonville) or NFL Most Valuable Player Tom Brady (three INTs vs San Diego). The NFC proved to be there for the taking as the New York Giants, led by the other Manning son, got hot at the right time and won three straight road playoff games to get to the Super Bowl. With the Patriots favored to win by 12 points on Sunday, I think the big question out there is, “Can the Giants make things close, or at least interesting?”

ASCH:
I think that question must be answered with a resounding “yes.” As we saw in their Week 17 contest: in which the Patriots trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter before sealing their perfect regular season with a 38-35 win: the Giants actually match up against New England as well as anyone. Giants’ defensive ends Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan are strong and fast enough up fronts cause problems aplenty for anyone’s offensive line, and although Brady was only sacked once in Week 17’s game, Strahan and Umenyiora’s pressure and presence was clearly felt: as Laurence Maroney and his measly 2.4 yards per carry on that day can attest. The Giants also had some success running the ball against New England: admittedly in small doses: and if they can control the clock by getting Brandon Jacobs 20 or 25 carries this time around, their chances of not just beating the spread, but even eking out a close-and-late victory, will certainly increase.
Also, although the Super Bowl has a history of blowouts: only the most diehard football fans remember more about the Budweiser frogs than they do about the largely lackluster string of NFL championship games in the mid- and late-’90s: the Patriots’ 2002, ’04 and ’05 Super Bowl wins all came by the same margin: three points. While I’m not guaranteeing a last-second Stephen Gostkowski game-winning field goal, I certainly think the Giants can keep it interesting.

WOODS:
While I agree that the Giants may have the talent and confidence to keep things close for awhile, I really don’t see them having any chance at pulling it out in the end. I’ve been impressed by the Giants’ ability to go to their power running game led by Jacobs, and I think that’s where the Patriots are susceptible. But then I look at the Patriots’ road to the Super Bowl and how they beat Jacksonville, who in my mind had probably the best running game in the league. It was clear this year that the AFC had three, maybe four teams that could have made it out of the NFC, and with that I think the Patriots have already beaten their closest competition, because the Giants don’t do anything better than any of the teams the Patriots have already beat (and keep in mind the Patriots already beat the Giants too). The Giants’ pass rush might be the only exception, like you said, so Strahan and Umenyiora give them a puncher’s chance, especially if that one punch could knock out an already fragile MVP like Tom Brady, who’s been photographed wearing a protective boot over his ankle and suspiciously absent at practices early this week.

ASCH:
This whole ankle injury situation smells fishy to me. I mean, yes, sure, Brady does have a sprained ankle, but there is no way that it is severe enough to substantially hinder his ability to perform in the Super Bowl. I get the feeling that Bill Belichick and the Patriots: who are notoriously coy in sharing injury information with the media: are playing possum here, intentionally setting up an ambiguous situation in which the media exaggerates the extent of Brady’s injury, and by extent challenging the Giants to bring pressure. If the Giants take the bait, a (likely fully-healthy) Brady will pick them apart. How much do you want to bet that once the 15-minute open portion of practice ended and the media members were escorted out Brady trotted out onto the field and worked on some quick timing routes with Wes Welker?

WOODS:
Belichick and Brady are definitely up to something here, and I would agree that the “injury” probably won’t have any effect on the game (even if it is injured, he’ll have had two weeks to heal by the time the game rolls around). But there is the possibility of something worse for Brady, keeping in mind that this is the league where injury issues are always kept under the rug. For instance, in between starting playoff games, quarterback Phillip Rivers of the Chargers underwent surgery on his knee without anyone knowing about it until after they lost. So don’t get too comfortable, Patriot fans.

ASCH:
I’m really not worried about Brady’s health. Strange as it is to say, it might be more worrisome if the Patriots weren’t playing these “bootgate” mind games. Even with a healthy Brady, though, these Patriots will have their hands full with the Giants pass rush, their power running game, a seemingly-new-and-improved Eli Manning (who has looked better than Brady during the playoffs), and: not least importantly: the pressure they must feel not to blow their perfect season now.

Picks:
WOODS: Patriots 31, Giants 20
ASCH: Patriots 34, Giants 31