A Patriots Fan's Blueprint to Beating the Patriots

First off let me say that I hate the way the word "blueprint" was thrown around this year. Some team would stick with the New England Patriots for four quarters, lose, and then suddenly everyone thought that team discovered a way to beat the unbeaten. I guess you could say they had a blueprint to ALMOST beat the Patriots because obviously no one has beaten them yet. What was that blueprint? Throughout the season the pundits suggested that the Patriots two biggest weak spots were A) a defense that could be scored on and b) lack of a running game. Clearly in the last two playoff games these myths were dispelled. So now what are the New York Giants to do? The blueprint has been burned. Here's what I would do:

 (I should also point out that my actual footbal experience is limited to one year of freshman football and one year on a one-win varsity high school team as a 190-pound tackle who, though horrible, never left the field. That should tell you how bad we were and that I am completely unqualified to make any kind of plan of attack against what could be the greatest team in history)

 Anyway, here's what I'd do in some handy dandy bullet points. I don't know how possible these points are or if they contradict eachother so don't post some message with overcomplicated phooey telling me it's impossible. This is what needs to be done. I'm not saying it's possible.

-Eliminate Kevin Faulk and Wes Welker as viable options on third down. It always seems to be one of these two guys on the biggest third down conversions. Sure they might go to Moss instead but if you take these two guys out you're going to get at least 2-3 more punts than if you played a normal coverage.

- Mix up the blitzes as much as possible. Getting pressure on Tom Brady is key but you have to pick your spots. If he knows guys are coming every down they will make accomodations to beat it. So I'd say bring the house on some plays, drop everyone on others. Most of all be unpredictable. Teams that had success seemed to do a little of both.

- Do not stop scoring. Remember, this is a team that was down to the Indianapolis Colts by 10 points with 9 minutes remaining in a hostile environment and still managed to be kneeling in the victory formation to end the game. Even if you're up by two scores do not get conservative. You must continue to put points on the board.

I'm sure Tom Coughlin will get a lot out of reading my blog since I'm such a tactical football genius. I really believe if Welker and Faulk are held in check and the Giants D can keep Brady on his toes we'll be looking at a close ball game. Randy Moss could have a few long catches, but I think that will be okay. The Patriots are going to score. You just have to get a few key stops and make sure you capitalize on every opportunity. It's not impossible, unless the Eli Manning we're used to shows up on Sunday.