Can you feel the excitement going into Super Bowl week?  The Patriots have a great chance to win their fourth title in their fifth appearance in a Super Bowl since Tom Brady took over the reins at quarterback. Brady and Belichick should be licking their lips at a chance to get back at Eli Manning and the New York Giants after their famous loss in Super Bowl XLII.

The Giants explosive receivers were still in college back in 2008 and they are definitely looking to get a ring of their own. The Patriots 31^st ranked defense is going to have a hard time stopping these threats along with running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. They did, however, make some very important stops in the closely contested AFC Championship game against the Ravens.

New England’s rookie cornerback Sterling Moore made two huge defensive plays including one where he knocked the ball out of Ravens WR Lee Evans hands in the end zone during the closing minutes of the game. Not only did he stop what was in all likelihood a winning touchdown, but managed to knock away another pass in his direction that forced Baltimore to go for the now infamous field goal attempt by Billy Cundiff.

Vince Wilfork is coming of a great game in the AFC Championship and will be crucial in getting after Eli Manning and not allowing the Giants QB enough time in the pocket to utilize his explosive offensive weapons.

The Gronk impact

I already mentioned that the Pats have great receivers in a previous post. Tight End Rob Gronkowski has been missing practice to recover from his ankle injury and be ready for the Super Bowl. Gronkowski not being a hundred percent can be an issue for the Pats because he has the ability to dominate over the middle of the field and also be able to catch the long pass from Brady. He commands double coverage and this allows Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez the chance to catch balls.