Jonathan Casillas: Ex-Pats can’t offer much help with Giants’ game plan

And the Giants, perhaps more than any other team in the league, understand that.

I’m a fan of good football, and I’m a bigger fan of great football narratives.

The Patriots are the defending Super Bowl champions, and they are again undefeated as they come off a summer spent defending themselves from the league’s “Deflategate” investigation.

Sunday’s marquee National Football League matchup pits the NY Giants against the visiting New England Patriots, and while the teams don’t play within the same conference, there’s plenty of bad blood here. “I’m sure they’ll be prepared and step up, and give us their best and do a good job for us”.

He’s playing at an entirely different level from his peers and critics are easy to point to him as the best player of the season. The Giants have other weapons as well.

“We’ve always had very, very close games against them even when we’ve won”, Brady said.

This season, the Giants have been competitive, even though their record might not show it. At 5-4, they lead the NFC East. Currently, they are coming off a sizeable 32-18 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, following a tough 52-49 loss to the New Orleans Saints in which their defense allowed over 500 passing yards. In a typical New England response, I have told anyone who voices such a worry that the Patriots will be just fine without him.

In the game against the Jets a few weeks ago, we actually saw Butler on number two receiver Eric Decker and Marshall was doubled all game. There was nothing lucky about the Manningham catch. Manning missed another throw to the end zone, and on third down, he slid down inbounds to stop the clock.

Brady completed 26 of 42 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns. If there is one team that can miraculously take down the Patriots it’s Tom Coughlin’s G-men. You’ve seen them line up two guys over one guy as if you’re about to run down on a punt. If Brady is on then Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski could each have huge games when we watch the Patriots game live streaming or on TV today.

The Giants have twice knocked off the Patriots in the Super Bowl, spoiling their flawless season in 2007 with a victory in Super Bowl XLII.

The Patriots trailed 26-24 with less than 2 minutes to play when Tom Brady led New England on a 12 play, 44 yard drive to set up a Stephen Gostkowski 54 yard field goal for the win. But I’d say the thing that’s impressed me the most about him is his toughness. They’re going to have to find a way to disrupt the Brady’s rhythm with their pass rush, especially to protect a relatively inexperienced NY secondary. Put that in your pipe and smoke it! Given the recent past, how can you blame them for feeling this way when Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin await them? “Because yes, I have practiced against it but at the same time, coach (Bills) Belichick is known for switching things up on Sundays”. The 2007 and 2011 “Steel Curtain” defenses are no longer there- the Giants are dead last in yards per game now and have only nine total sacks on the season.