The Super Bowl

One of the greatest events in sports, The Super Bowl, happens this weekend in Indianapolis. The New York Football Giants play against the New England Patriots in what is essentially a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. There are 10 players remaining from that squad on the Patriots, and 19 players on the Giants squad. Last time around, Eli barely out-dueled Tom Brady. Eli was helped by an unbelievable catch by David Tyree off of his helmet, and allowed the Giants to score with only a few seconds left, leaving Brady with no time to mount a comeback. The Giants were able to win by a field goal, but this game shouldn’t be as close.
This game features two squads very different from the last time they played. The Patriots’ defense has given up more passing yards than any team in NFL history except one, but they have a decent run defense. The Giants defense is also ranked in the bottom half of pass defense, but they have come on strong in the playoffs. They held Aaron Rodgers to around 300 yards, and sacked him several times. The Giant’s ability to get pressure on the quarterback might be the key to this game. Last time these two teams faced each other, both had very good defenses which led to that low-scoring game.
The offenses have also changed. In 2007, Tom Brady led the best offense in football onto the field while the Giants featured an amazing ground game with a young and inexperienced Eli Manning at quarterback. This time, Tom Brady leads an average Patriots offense with no running game and an injured Rob Gronkowski against a Giants team with a budding superstar in Eli Manning. This year, Eli has thrown for almost five thousand yards to a very talented receiving core and although they rank last in rushing, they still have two very capable backs in Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw.
So, although this is a rematch of the Super Bowl XLII, the teams are very different. I think that the Giants offense is too good for New England’s defense. New England has not been able to pressure any of the opposing quarterbacks, and even if Eli is pressured, he showed against the 49ers that he can handle it and make the perfect throws. On the other side of the ball, the Giants defensive line will be too much for New England’s offensive line, and it could be a long day for Tom Brady. With the possible loss of Rob Gronkowski, their best playmaker, it changes their entire offense. They use him in 99% of their plays this season, and losing him in the most important game really impacts their offense. They’ll probably end up using Julian Edelman as a third receiver, which makes their offense more predictable, and less likely to run the ball. Overall, with the Giants ability to force turnovers on defense and special teams, and the Patriots loss of Gronkowski, I like the Giants on both offense and defense. Tom Brady or not, I see this game being within 1 score most of the game, until midway through the 4th quarter when Eli can take control. I see the Giants winning 35-24 to win their fourth in franchise history.

The NFC Championship Game

Today is the NFC Championship Game. In the NFC Championship game, the New York Giants play on the road against the San Fransisco 49ers. Both teams have top-ten defenses and average offenses, although New York holds the edge in the offensive category. New York’s quarterback is Eli Manning, who for several years has been considered average at best. However, this year he has taken his game to the next level and led the Giants to six fourth quarter comebacks, and he throws to several quality receivers, such as Mario Manningham, Victor Cruz, and Hakeem Nicks. He has a quality running game with a bruising back in Brandon Jacobs and the speedier and more agile Ahmad Bradshaw. For the 49ers, their quarterback is Alex Smith. In this offense, he is simply asked to not turn the ball over, as he has thrown for only twenty touchdowns in seventeen games. He has an elite tight end in Vernon Davis, and a quality running back in Frank Gore. His only notable receiver is Michael Crabtree, a first round who is beginning to perform up to expectations but still hasn’t reached his potential yet. Both teams have very good special teams. Lawrence Tynes is a very clutch kicker, and David Akers for the 49ers made 44 field goals this season. Both punters are incredibly talented. This game will ultimately come down to turnovers, and who creates them and gives an opportunity for their offense. I like the New York Giants in this situation because they have a much better front four and can create pressure with just those rushers, and can get to the quarterback and Alex Smith hasn’t faced an incredible amount of pressure all year long. I believe the Giants will win by a touchdown and field goal, or a score of about 30 to 23.

First Blog

 Hi I'm Chris Leonard and I'm an athlete.  I love competition and playing most sports.  In other words, I'm the crazy fan who also plays the sports he watches.  As a little background, I played football and soccer and lacrosse, and also ran cross country and track.  I've also been lifting almost daily since sophomore year, and learned many different types of exercises.  Most exercises are designed to target one specific area of the body or muscle group.  Other exercises are designed to burn calories and elevate blood pressure; these are known as cardiovascular exercise or simply as ‘cardio’.   As a part of these blogs, I’m going to be talking about different types of workouts, and some professional athletes and their workouts.  And since it’s the NFL playoff season, I will discuss some of the teams and their chances to win the Superbowl.  I’m from Pittsburgh, so I was disappointed when Tim Tebow won this weekend.  In their defense, the Steelers played very valiantly despite numerous injuries to their starters.  By the end of the game, the Steelers had three healthy defensive linemen, were missing their starting All-Pro center and had 6 total offensive linemen.  In football, most games are won in the trenches, and they need their linemen.  Ben Roethlisberger played most of the game on one leg, our starting free safety couldn’t play because of anemia, and two of our linebackers had hamstring issues.  To go into Denver and force overtime with that many injuries, I’m happy that they were able to do that, but disappointed that they lost.  The Steelers got “Tebowed” and his legend only seems to grow.  He has led several six 4^th quarter and overtime comebacks, more than everyone not named Eli Manning.  He also brought the Broncos into the playoffs after a 1-4 start.  But the purpose of this blog is to talk about fitness and healthy lifestyles, and also about current sport events, such as the Superbowl.  I look forward to discussing more sports-related topics in the future.