5. New York Giants
The defending Super Bowl champions are once again a very good defensive team. While they don’t have the amazing pass rush they had last year, they are a solid all-around defense. They give up only 177.1 yards per game in the air, which is second best in the NFL. The Giants are a serious threat to win another Super Bowl this year — in large part due to their defense.

4. Baltimore Ravens
In the Ray Lewis Era, the Baltimore Ravens have been a very good defensive unit. Coming into this season, the Ravens were thought to be over the hill on the defensive side of the ball. It turns out that the supposed NFL experts were wrong. In 2008, Baltimore has been almost impossible to run against, as they give up only 65.4 yards per game on the ground. No team in the league looks forward to facing this veteran yet effective defensive bunch.

3. Carolina Panthers
The odd part of the Carolina Panthers’ defense is they aren’t especially good in any one category. However, the bottomline is it’s difficult to score on this team. The Panthers give up only 14.8 points per game, which is second best in the NFL. While it’s possible to get yards against the Panthers, getting into the endzone has proven to be quite difficult.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have long been a very good defensive team — and this year is no different. They lead the league in pass defense, allowing only 171.1 yards per game. Overall, no team gives up less yardage per game. Pittsburgh mark of 240.3 yards given up per game is more than 18 yards better than second place Baltimore.

1. Tennessee Titans
The main reason why the Tennessee Titans are currently undefeated is their league-best defense. The Titans give up only 13 points per game, which is easily the best mark in the league. Tennessee can pressure the quarterback, stop the run and shut down passing games. All in all, no team in the NFL can claim to have a better defense than the one in Tennessee.

Part of the reason why it’s hard to score against the Titans is their distracting cheerleading squad:

Soak up this Super Bowl victory, New York. Bask in its glory. If you are a fan of the Giants, you should buy up all the championship merchandise you can get your hands on.

Sorry to tell you this, but this was it. This Super Bowl victory was your one-hit wonder. Everything else in the Eli Manning era will be downhill from this. The Giants will not win another Super Bowl anytime soon. Period.

I don’t mean to take anything away from this season. The Giants were a great story. The team got hot in the playoffs and fought their way to the top of the mountain. The Giants deserve all the props they are getting.

But let’s get serious. Peyton’s brother played way over his head during the playoffs. This is the same Eli Manning who had 20 interceptions in the regular season. In the playoffs, he had only one. Sure, he was in the zone and playing great but there was also a lot of luck during that four-game stretch for such a drastic drop.

Even if you want to pretend that Eli wasn’t lucky, there are other reasons why the Giants won’t win a Super Bowl anytime soon. The coach who was most important during the Super Bowl and the proceeding games, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, is going to be hired away as a head coach before too long. When everyone else was scared to send a pass rush at Tom Brady, Spagnuolo had the guts to rush again and again. The Giants won’t find a replacement defensive coordinator who will have the guts to stick to that type of playcalling.

Staying on the defensive side of the ball, 36-year-old Michael Strahan doesn’t have much gas left in his tank. While the defense has a lot of quality young guns, Strahan is the straw the stirs that drink. Take Strahan away, that defensive line will no longer be dominant.

Offensively, other than Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress, the team just doesn’t have any stars. Brandon Jacobs is good but he’s far from elite. The offense relied on precision and a lot of average players playing way above their usual capabilities.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, New York. I wish I could tell you this is the start of a dynasty. But it’s not and deep down, you know this is the truth.

As the New England Patriots count down the hours until the Super Bowl XLII begins, their focus is solely on winning the game. They don’t care how it happens – as long as the New York Giants lose, the Patriots will be happy.

However, the Patriots’ perfect season deserves a perfect ending. This is a season you will be telling your kids and grandkids about. This isn’t just a Super Bowl on Sunday; this is NFL history.

If the Patriots come out and destroy the Giants, the Super Bowl will have been anticlimactic. On the other hand, if this unbeatable team was pushed to its limits by the Giants and were able to dig deep and will their way to victory, the Super Bowl will be the cherry on the top of their perfect campaign.

That’s why the Patriots need the Giants to show up and play well during the Super Bowl for this team to truly become legendary.

Imagine this scenario:

Patriots down 14 points headed into the fourth quarter, every football fan in existence is stunned and gathered around their televisions. Could the unbeatable team actually lose? Is David about to slay Goliath?

Tom Brady comes out and leads his team down the field but is intercepted in the endzone. The Patriots are now into the fourth quarter, without the ball and down by 14. Things look exceedingly bleak.

The Giants and Patriots trade punts as the Giants milk precious time off the clock. With two minutes to go, Brady leads a last gasp drive. In true Brady fashion, he leads the team down and gets a touchdown.

With only second left and down seven, the Patriots are forced to attempt an onside kick. New England’s special team comes through when needed most and recovers the fumble. With just second to go, Brady hooks up with Randy Moss for a long touchdown.

Kick the extra point? No way. These Patriots go for two and the win. Brady drops back, hangs in the pocket and finds Wes Welker short in the corner of the endzone as the clock ticks to zero. Patriots win!  Patriots win!

Of course, in this perfect scenario, Gisele hops out of the stands in a bikini and Brady and his girlfriend talk about their forthcoming visit to Disneyland. Most importantly, the Patriots are remembered as the best team ever and a team that simply could not lose. As the Super Bowl proved, once again.

By beating the New York Giants and winning the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots will have ended the season 19-0 to become the second undefeated team in NFL history. The Miami Dolphins, who were the first time to go undefeated, went 17-0 to win the Super Bowl in 1972.

However, that’s where the comparisons end. To put it bluntly – the Patriots would roll the Dolphins if the two teams played. The game wouldn’t even be close. In fact, the Dolphins would be good to lose by less than two touchdowns.

Don’t get me wrong, the ‘72 Dolphins were a solid group. Led by head coach Don Shula, they deserve their props for going undefeated. That said, their undefeated season relied on a lot of luck.

First of all, their schedule was one of the weakest schedules in NFL history. The Dolphins played two teams with winning records – the 8-6 Kansas City Chiefs and the 8-6 New York Giants. Secondly, the ‘72 Dolphins were far from dominant in the playoffs. They beat the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins by a combined 17 points.

On the other hand, the ‘07 Patriots have blitzed the NFL since Week 1. Sure, they’ve had a couple close calls but they’ve been far more dominant than the ‘72 Dolphins ever were. And while the Patriots didn’t have the toughest schedule in the league, it was far from the joke of a schedule played by the ‘72 Dolphins.  With a win, the Patriots will join the Dolphins in the records books. The comparisons, however, should end there.

And if by some freak occurence, the Patriots lose? Tom Brady can be comforted by knowing he has Gisele when he gets home.

The New England Patriots are supposed to dispose of the New York Giants handily on February 3rd to secure yet another Super Bowl championship. Nobody is expecting the Giants to put up much of a fight. Tom Brady and the Patriots are expected to be too much for the Giants to handle.

And while that may end being true, don’t count out the Giants just yet. New York’s team is a tough bunch that has excelled in an underdog role. On the road, the Giants haven’t lost since Week 1. To even make the Super Bowl, the Giants had to win three straight road playoff games.

But why do the Giants have a chance? True, they will be away from home once again – but that’s not the main reason. The main reason is Steve Spagnuolo. Spagnuolo won’t score a touchdown or even register a tackle. Spagnuolo, for those who don’t know, is the defensive coordinator for the Giants.

If Tom Brady has a weakness, it’s moving in the pocket when being blitzed. With Spagnuolo in charge of the Giants’ defense, you can count on him blitzing early and often. When in doubt, Spagnuolo sends a blitz. With Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan providing the power, New York should be able to get at Brady.

Chances are that Brady and the Patriots win their 19th straight game. However, if they don’t, it’ll be because Spagnuolo’s blitzing defense made the difference.

Over Tiki Barber’s final seven seasons as a member of the New York Giants, he put up impeccable stats and the running back was one of the team’s most valuable players. This season, however, Barber may have been even more valuable to the Giants. And, yes, that was quite the accomplishment considering Barber retired after the 2006 NFL season and spent the 2007 season working for NBC.

Statistically speaking, the Giants didn’t miss Barber too much. In 2006, the Giants’ offense averaged 342 yards per game and scored 38 touchdowns. In 2007, the offense averaged 331 yards per game and scored 38 touchdowns. The Giants were able to replace Barber’s production by using a running back committee of Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, Reuben Droughns and Ahmad Bradshaw.

However, what that running back committee didn’t replace was Barber’s overbearing personality. Barber has always been open and accessible to the media. Over the years, he was open and upfront about what he felt was wrong with the team. Eli Manning and the rest of the offensive unit were often overshadowed by what Barber had to say.

With Barber gone, Manning was able to spread his wings and grow into the quarterback he is now. Manning leading cold-blooded drives on the road in the playoffs was unthinkable this time last year. Now, with more respect on and off the field, the team genuinely believes in Manning for the first time.

When the Giants were struggling earlier in the season, Barber was quick to tell stories on air about the shortcomings of Manning and the Giants. Now that the Giants are better without him, perhaps it’s only fair to question just how good Barber was as a player.

10,449 career rushing yards is impressive; retiring and your team becoming better without you is not. One more win this Sunday and the Giants can head to the Super Bowl. Hopefully they remember to thank Barber on their way there.