Hampton picking against Pats — again
Four years ago you couldn't find anyone interested in selecting the underdog New York Giants against the undefeated New England Patriots.
Well, almost no one.
Hall of Famer Dan Hampton looked at the Patriots as a 12-point favorite and just didn't see it, and he confidently predicted the Giants as the outright winner.
“They had a running game, Eli Manning was playing well, and the Giants had a dominant defensive line,” Hampton recalls now. “I just didn't think the Patriots would be able to handle them.
“I had a feeling they would move Justin Tuck inside and it would create a lot of problems. It did.”
Tuck had 6 tackles and 2 of New York's 5 sacks, and the Giants beat up on Brady all day, leading to a huge upset in Super Bowl XLII.
Hampton sees this Sunday's Super Bowl playing out much like it did four years ago, though this time New England is only a field-goal favorite.
“Don't be shocked if you see Justin Tuck or Jason Pierre-Paul slide in to that 3-technique to create pressure up the middle, and nothing bothers Tom Brady more than pressure up the middle,” Hampton said.
“The Patriots are very smart, and they'll be prepared for that with some traps and other tricks, but the Giants also have two weeks to prepare.
“Nothing kills a trap like stunts, and (Giants defensive coordinator) Perry Fewell will be ready. The Pats will have some crazy stuff in store for them, but Perry Fewell has become really good at in-game adjustments.”
At the same time, Hampton believes Manning will put up points against New England.
“Both offenses are explosive, but the difference is the Giants have a better defense,” Hampton said. “You have a brilliant combination with a great coach in (Bill) Belichick and a great QB in Brady, and they will have a lot to say about this game.
“The problem for New England is the Giants can get pressure with four guys, and that gives them a lot of options defensively. New England can't say the same thing about their defense.
“Belichick will have some crazy stuff for Eli to look at, but he's playing at a very high level and he's got great receivers and I think he'll handle it.”
When it comes down to it, Hampton stays with a tried-and-true formula.
“Bill Parcells always said the most lethal combination is a hot quarterback and a great pass rush,'' Hampton said. “With the Giants right now, that's exactly what you've got.”
The injury
Making matters worse for New England, Brady's biggest weapon is hurt, so the matchup problems Rob Gronkowski usually causes may not occur.
“That's a high-ankle sprain, and he's not going to have the stability he needs to transfer power,'' Hampton said. “Believe me, Belichick and Brady will try all day to confuse the Giants with the hurry-up and create confusion and matchup problems and keep the Giants from substituting like they want, but this Gronkowski injury is the worst thing — except for Brady — that could have happened to them.”
The comeback
Tiger Woods has finished top three in his last three stroke-play events, and that doesn't include some brilliant golf at the Presidents Cup, where he dominated Aaron Baddeley 4 and 3 in singles.
That was the best he's played in two years, better than when he won the Chevron in December and better than his best rounds in Abu Dhabi last weekend, where he had good stretches but still didn't put together his entire game.
Last Thursday he hit 17 greens but couldn't putt, and Sunday he was great on the greens but hit only 5. That's where he is right now, closer but not there yet.
It's probably worth noting that last week's World No. 1, Luke Donald, finished 48th in Abu Dhabi, No. 2 Lee Westwood was 17th and Woods played even with No. 3 Rory McIlroy until Woods posted a very pedestrian even-par Sunday and finished third, a stroke behind the 2011 U.S. Open winner.
But until distance control became a problem Sunday, Woods' consistency tee to green was solid, suggesting 2012 might be a year in which Woods returns to winning.
Ivan Boldirev-ing
If you're looking for some cheap, tough defensemen available the next couple of weeks, consider Hal Gill (Montreal), Andy Sutton (Edmonton) and Bryan Allen (Carolina).
The numbers
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the toughest schedules (by opponents' winning percentage) the rest of the way belong to the Preds (.596), Blackhawks (.586) and Devils (.583). The Hawks, Blues and Kings have the most road games still to play.
The good cause
K's for Kids Club, a not-for-profit corporation that takes underprivileged children to Cubs games, will hold its fourth annual fundraiser at The Ram Restaurant in Wheeling on March 10 at 5 p.m., complete with food, beverages, raffle prizes and sports-memorabilia auctions.
The group was formed in honor of the late Tom Bujnowski, a teacher, coach and Cubs fan who began bringing “K” signs to the bleachers in May 1998, on the day Kerry Wood fanned 20.
Each year the group takes 40-50 needy children from a different organization in the Chicago area to a Cubs game.
For more info, visit ksforkids.com.
Just asking
Dan Hampton: “Do you realize whichever team wins Sunday will have 4 Super Bowl victories since we won in 1985?”
And finally …
Comedian Alex Kaseberg: “Matthew Broderick is reprising his role of Ferris Bueller for a Super Bowl commercial, but Ferris has clearly gotten older. This one is called, ‘Ferris Bueller's Bladder is Off.'”
brozner@dailyherald.com
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