We can split the front seven into two categories, defensive line and linebackers. They’re 2 different stories. The Patriots feature a linebacking corps with surefire Hall of Famers in Junior Seau and Tedy Bruschi. They line up next to Mike Vrabel, and Adalius Thomas. In terms of experience and talent, the Patriots linebackers have it all.

The Giants linebackers have a less impressive pedigree. The unit is lead by MLB Antonio Pierce and Kevika Pittman. The Giants linebacks have range, and youth on their side. Besides that, they pale in comparison with the Patriots.

On the defensive line, the Giants measure up a little more favorably. The D-line is undoubtedly one of the strengths of the Giants defense. Defensive ends Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck all have motors that don’t quit. They love getting to the quarterback. When Michael Strahan is your 2nd or 3rd best pass rusher, you know you have a squad. The Giants definitely do. They also bring Fred Robbins and Brandon Coefield up the middle at defensive tackle. These guys take up space, and allow the ends to do their thing.

The Patriots D-line isn’t shabby by any means, Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, and Ty Warren can handle theirs, but they’re just not as disruptive as the Giants line.

Overall, I have to give the Giants Defensive front seven the edge against the Patriots. The dominant defensive line play of the Giants overshadows the leadership of the Patriots linebackers.

Now we get the guys who have to cover the likes of Randy Moss, and Plaxico Burress. No fun, especially not in a Super Bowl. This is where you can get burned, and have to live with it the rest of your life. If you get torched in a regular season game, people will probably forget about it after the next game, or at least after the next season. Get lit up in the Super Bowl, and you will never live it down.

The Giants come into the Super Bowl banged up in the secondary. Sam Madison, Kevin Dockery and Aaron Ross were all listed on the injury report heading into the NFC Championship game. The Giants will need all them at the tops of their game to match up with Moss, Welker, Stallworth and the rest of the people the Patriots throw at you.

The Patriots have the luxury of locking Asante Samuel on Plaxico Burress. Samuel is a Pro Bowl corner who is very opportunistic. If he can make a play on the ball, he will. Also in the defensive backfield, the Patriots have veteran leadership from Rodney Harrison. He’s often called the dirtiest player in the NFL, but he has been at it a long time, and he knows how to play safety.

I think the battle of who can stop the other teams as they try to stretch the field with the pass, will factor heavily in who wins the game. I have to pick the Patriots over the hurt and undermanned Giants.

It’s almost unfair for anyone to coach against Bill Belichick in a Super Bowl. He is the master tactician. He game plans to expose the other team. He did it every week this season, and now, for the Super Bowl he has 2 weeks to get the game plan right.

On the other sideline will be red-faced, and always red-assed Tom Coughlin. The man always seems he’s about millisecond away from a heart attack, but to his credit he has rallied his troops this year against all kinds of odds and scrutiny. The team lost their best rusher (Tiki Barber), and the Giants offense outperformed the squad from last year. On the coaching side Kevin Gilbride is to thank for that performance. The Giants defense has played very well, especially of late. They have had to contend with major injuries in the secondary, and on the defensive line earlier in the season. If Giants Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnola can devise a scheme to stop the Patriots offense in the Super Bowl, he deserves any head coaching position that’s offered him. Quite frankly, I wouldn’t be opposed to him taking over for Lovie Smith. But that’s a different story.

On the Patriots sideline, everything runs through Coach Belichick. He’s the boss. Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees, and Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels lead their respective sides of the ball, but in the locker room and meeting room, I’m sure there is no doubt that Belichick is the unquestioned leader. In the past few years Belichick has lost his coordinators to other job openings, Charlie Weis to Notre Dame and Eric Mangini to the Jets. So he’s brought in new guys to run both sides of the ball.

Despite my love of watching to see if Tom Coughlin is going to blow a gasket each game on the sidelines, I have to give the edge to the Patriots and Bill Belichick.

As the hype of Super Bowl week starts to really get into high gear, we here at Vigilante Sports will do our best to inundate you with worthless knowledge and previews. We’ll try and stay away from the size and style of Tom Brady’s “boot”, or where he is dining in NYC. We’ll try and stick to the actual game of football that will be played in Glendale, AZ this Sunday.

We’ll look at the coaches, the offensive lines, the receivers, the running backs, the quarterbacks, the front seven, the secondary and all this hype and analysis will culminate with a prediction. Exciting, I know… we’ll try and get all the contributors here to give their predictions.

All signs are pointing to the fact that the Mariners will have a true #1 starter for the 2008 season. It is also looking like they will part with their 5-tool outfielder Adam Jones. Jones was called back from his Winter League assignment in Venezuela over the weekend to take a physical in Baltimore. Also rumored to be in the deal are left-handed reliever George Sherrill, 2006 second round pick minor league pitcher Chris Tillman, and another minor leaguer to be named later.

In some ways this is great for the Mariners, Bedard is a great pitcher. He will anchor a rotation that was very up and down last season. Losing Jones is a big problem for me. From what I’ve heard, and what I’ve seen, this guy will be an All Star for a long time.

We could argue conventional wisdom here, pitching and defense win championships, or you’ve got to score runs to win. Both are true, but looking at the Mariners, which is the bigger problem?

The Mariners finished no worse than 7th in the AL in all major hitting categories. And in pitching statistics the Mariners are consistently at the bottom. I guess that tells me what I need to know.

I’m hesitant to give up Adam Jones, but for a top shelf starter, that might be a great deal for the Mariners. Remember the Mariners recently signed Carlos Silva to a 4 year, $48 million contract. So it looks like their rotation will be Erick Bedard, Felix Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista, and Carlos Silva. Throw in Horacio Ramirez for a spot start, or injury replacement, and you have the looks of a solid pitching staff. The loss of Sherrill in the pen will be hard to replace, but the Mariners seems to have a lot of young arms who are about to make the jump from young and decent to solid bullpen arms.

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The Cubs have signed left-hander Jon Lieber to a one year, $3.5 million contract.

That seems like an awful lot to pay a 37 year old, injury-prone starting pitcher. But it does add some depth to the rotation. Apparently Lieber will be competing for a starting role. In his contract there are some performance bonuses. Lieber was one of my favorites back during his first stint with the Cubs. He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy who, when healthy, eats up innings and gives solid outings. That’s what the Cubs need at the tail end of their rotation. Like I said, might be too much to drop on a pitcher of his caliber, he went 3-6 with a 4.73 ERA last year for the Phillies. If he can stay healthy, it’s a great move.

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This is a great spoof on the Coors commercials with the always amusing Terrell Owens.

Ryan Mallett has left the building. Shembechler Hall to be more specific. The freshman quarterback is going to transfer to another school, sit out next season and play his remaining 3 years of eligibility at another school.

This sucks.

I predict that Ryan Mallett will win the Heisman trophy. Wherever he goes. He’s that good. As a freshman he stepped in with poise, and was a major part of Michigan’s return from their horrible start to this season.

He’s rumored to be heading to Tennessee. But other options are Texas A&M, Arkansas, and UCLA. UCLA seems like the best fit for him. With new coach Rick Neuheisel wanting to make a splash and open it up. But it looks like Tennessee with hire former Michigan offensive coordinator Mike DeBord, and quarterbacks coach Scott Loeffler. He obviously gained confidence in them as coached in his time at Michigan. If that scenario does happen, look for the Vols to return to the national title hunt when Mallett takes over.

What does this mean for Michigan. Well, I hope that it means that this clears the way for blue chip recruit Terrelle Pryor. National signing day is February 9th. If he really is the next Vince Young, I want him in Maize and Blue.

The games are over, the chips stale, and the victory is oh so sweet. Once again, I came out on top. I was successful in combining correct picks with my confidence in those selections. Congratulations to Mark Smith who picked 24 of the games correctly (Derek McCarthy came in with 23 and myself and my sister scored 22 correct picks). But folks, it wasn’t just about picking the games correctly, they needed to be weighted correctly to score you enough points to dethrone me… and no one was able to do that.

Below are the final results. There will be another chance to knock me off my high horse. There will be a March Madness tournament here on Vigilante Sports. So come on back for that. I certainly plan on taking that contest too.