New England - Jerod Mayo, Rob Ninkovich, Dane Fletcher, Tracy White
NY Giants - Michael Boley, Mathias Kiwanuka, Chase Blackburn, Jacquian Williams
2011 Leaders
Jerod Mayo: 95 tackles
Michael Boley: 93 tackles
There is not a lot of star power amongst the Linebacking units in the Super Bowl. Jerod Mayo and Michael Boley are solid playmakers respectively, but neither are going to be mistaken for All-Pros. Neither team is going to generate much of a pass rush from blitzing LBs. Rob Ninkovich and Mathias Kiwanuka are the best bets to apply pressure on the QBs. If either of these teams can get impact plays from the LBs it will go a long way.
Jerod Mayo and Rob Ninkovich are the 2 mainstays for New England's LBs. Mayo has been a starter since he was drafted in 2008 and had 100+ tackles in each season until this year. Ninkovich is the biggest pass rushing threat. He had 6.5 sacks on the year and has had at least 1 sack in 3 of the last 5 games. Dane Fletcher and Tracy White are little known, and have not contributed much. They will be asked to step it up on the biggest stage of their lives.
The Giants linebackers are lead by Michael Boley and Mathias Kiwanuka. Boley is the leader of the unit. He has been a starter since coming to New York 3 seasons ago. He had his most tackles as a Giant this season and is a key cog in the middle. Kiwanuka has never fully adjusted to being an OLB. He can play DE and fits in well with the NASCAR package the Giants use, but he has the tendency to get beat in coverage a lot. This is a tough matchup for the Giants LBs. They will be asked to help out in holding down Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
Neither team overwhelms you with talent at the LB position. These teams won't blitz their LBs too often, and they depend on their D-Line and secondary just as much to make tackles. None of the LBs are going to have a huge impact on the game, but I do like Mayo and Ninkovich slightly more than I do Boley and Kiwanuka. The Pats get the nod here.
Advantage - New England
No comments:
Post a Comment