“The New York Giants are a bad football team.” Those were the first words to come out of my mouth this year in my football predictions, and as a diehard Giants fan, it obviously took a lot for me to say that. I didn’t think the Giants had a prayer of making the playoffs, let alone starting an unbelievable string of road victories that propelled them to Glendale, Ariz. to play the Patriots in the Super Bowl. I’d like to examine exactly how this was done and how your team might have a chance to do the same next year.

1. The play of Eli Manning. Eli has really come into his own in the last three games. He marched into Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Green Bay as a double-digit underdog, and simply outplayed the likes of Jeff Garcia, Tony Romo and the oh-so-heralded Brett Favre. While Garcia was calling for his nursing home attendant, Manning was managing his first playoff victory. When Romo was on vacation with Jessica Simpson, Manning was watching film and diligently lifting weights. And the one bad throw Favre made, Manning didn’t. What is even more interesting is that Eli and his brother Peyton had identical records through their first four seasons in the league—further proof that what we are seeing now is no fluke. Although it took this long, this is the time for Eli, and more importantly, for the Giants.

2. Tom Coughlin remembered his days on the Jaguars. In 1996, the Coughlin-led Jaguars faced Buffalo and Denver in the playoffs and took them both down by 30-27 scores. This Giants team reminds me of those Jaguars (except without the power of Natrone “Refried” Means), in the sense that Coughlin made it plain that making the playoffs was just not good enough. Making the playoffs was part of the process; winning the Super Bowl is the goal. The chants for Coughlin’s head were ringing loud and clear in the Meadowlands before the season, but the scene will be quite different in the friendly confines of Phoenix Stadium next weekend.

3. The banged-up defense has put together a number of extremely solid games against tough quarterbacks. A patchwork secondary led by Corey Webster and R.W. McQuarters has once again proved doubters wrong. Each cornerback has come up with at least one game-saving interception in one of the playoff road games. I will admit that Webster did not understand the concept of pass coverage in the first 16 games of the season, as I labeled him another sophomore trainwreck for New York. But something has gotten into him, and whatever it is needs to remain for the Giants to win this upcoming game, especially against the most feared receiving corps in the league. Although Randy Moss has not been much of a factor this postseason, I expect him to be a formidable challenge for Webster.

4. Dominated. Ruined. Embarrassed. Whatever word you want to use to describe what Plaxico Burress did to cornerback Al Harris last week, it makes no difference to me. Burress will need to have another game like he did in Green Bay, or the Giants will be Patriot feed. Covering him will be Asante Samuel, the highest-paid player on the Patriots and a perennial Pro-Bowler. Burress needs to make use of his height and great hands to do the same thing he did in the subzero temperatures of Lambeau field against a great cover cornerback.

I want to conclude by saying that the Patriots have had a truly amazing season, and one that will not be forgotten in the near future. They are a team that hasn’t been beaten, and I take no credit away from them. However, they have not dominated every game they’ve played. If it weren’t for a number of calls that went their way, they would have lost to the Ravens (who lost to the 1-15 Dolphins) and the Eagles (who were home for the playoffs). The Giants are an absolutely red-hot team playing out of their minds, and that is something that is dangerous in the playoffs. No doubt, the Giants will need to put up some big points, but the Patriots are beatable and the Giants will provide the final exam. I will take the Giants (I can’t believe I’m typing this) to win Super Bowl XLII by a score of 30-27. Coach Coughlin just wouldn’t have it any other way.