Patriots Backs Super With Playoff

Football Betting Lines

It's not a surprise Brady would critique his own play so harshly, but in reality he didn't play all that poorly. He may have missed a few open targets, but one of the two picks he threw came on an acrobatic tip drill by two Baltimore defensive backs.

It's easy how quickly some, including Brady, can forget how well he played in against Denver one week earlier in the Divisional Round. The future Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl champion carved up the Broncos to the tune of 363 yards while tying an NFL single-game playoff record with six touchdown passes.

"Tom's an up-front guy, straight-forward," said Branch. "Trust me, everyone made a lot of mistakes on the field [in the game] except for our defense. Defense and special teams did a great job. As far as offense, we didn't put our best outing on the football field [in the game], and I promise you the next time we step on the field it won't be the same thing. I promise you that."

The Patriots know they'll have their hands full on both sides of the ball against the G-men, and that Brady is getting no younger under center as well. Is the window of opportunity closing for the poster boy of the NFL? Not quite yet, but the chances of the Patriots churning out success are becoming limited by the years. Brady, who ended a three-game losing streak in the playoffs by beating Denver, was outplayed by Giants quarterback Eli Manning four years ago for the ultimate prize, the sterling silver trophy created by Tiffany & Co weighing in at seven pounds.

Brady and the Patriots will be out for a measure of revenge against the Giants, the franchise that ruined their quest for a perfect season in Super Bowl XLII and kept the three-time champion quarterback from becoming just the third signal-caller (along with Bradshaw and Montana) to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy four times in a career.

But guess what, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez weren't even on the Patriots back then, and the pair has since become two of the most dynamic tight ends in the game today. Gronkowski hopes to play despite an ankle injury he sustained in the AFC Championship, and teaming up with Hernandez can only make it difficult for the Giants.

Belichick knows Brady, who can claim his own wing in the Hall of Fame with another Super Bowl triumph, has the ability to take the Pats back to the top with an effort slightly better than his last, but is also aware that his quarterback can't do it alone even though Brady may beg to differ.

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Devin Thomas always believed he'd be an impact player in the National Football League, albeit with another team and in a far different role than the one he currently occupies with the New York Giants. Four years ago, the physically-gifted wide receiver was hailed as a potential future frontline player after bursting onto the radar of scouts and personnel executives with a sensational junior season at Michigan State. Blessed with 4.4 speed on a chiseled 6-foot-2, 215-pound frame, Thomas was a tantalizing prospect but a cautionary one as well, having to overcome the dual stigmas of a limited track record of collegiate success as well as the position's history of early entrees struggling at the professional level.

Thomas did indeed get his career off to a slow start, managing just 120 yards on 15 receptions as a rookie with the Washington Redskins, who made the now 25- year-old the third pick of the second round (No. 34 overall) in the 2008 draft. But a more productive second season, highlighted by a seven-catch, 100-yard, two-touchdown outburst against New Orleans in December, seemed to be a positive sign that the talented youngster was on the right path to stardom.

Having realized it could be his last chance, Thomas was quick to accept and embrace his new duties. He logged two tackles and partially blocked a punt that led to a field goal in his first game as a Giant, a 31-7 win during Week 13 of last season.

Thomas has maintained a permanent place on the active gameday roster in his first full year in New York, despite having little opportunity on an offense that boasts a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Nicks and breakout performer Victor Cruz and a more established No. 3 man in Mario Manningham, taken by the Giants in the third round of that same 2008 draft in which such notables as Jordy Nelson, DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon and Stevie Johnson were also picked behind Thomas.

comments

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•    This NFL season didn't feel right without Peyton Manning playing

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•    Working on putting together video from practice today using some stuff from the man himself, Smart and Isaiah Thomas. #ItsJimmerTime

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•    That's Brady's third career postseason rushing TD, tied for third most in NFL history.

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•    A lifestyle is what you pay for; a life is what pays you. ~ Thomas Leonard

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•    Yay finally got my new tattoo!! :)

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•    I dont know what happened this year but the x-games are super interesting to me

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•    Joe Montana > Tom Brady fuck what u may have heard

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•    Thomas is going bananas on twitter....

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•    Manning vs Brady #AQuienLeVasEnELSuperBowL

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