TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
Drew Brees and the BountyGate-punished Saints will take out frustrations by winning it all.
The players are not going on strike, Tom Coughlin is not going to quit and Victor Cruz is not going to accidentally shoot himself in the leg.
That means the Giants have a good chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
The first three times the Giants have come home with the Vince Lombardi Trophy produced major disappointment the next season. The players walked out for 24 days in 1987 and the replacement team took the baton from the striking players at 0-2 and handed it back at 0-5.
Bill Parcells quit 60 days before training camp in 1991 and Ray Handley quickly turned the champs into a dysfunctional embarrassment.
Then, four years ago, the Giants were the best team in the league at Thanksgiving with a 10-1 record when Plaxico Burress ripped apart their season when he put a bullet in his leg at a midtown nightclub.
Will the Giants repeat? They will make a serious run for it.
The Jets? Get your cotton candy ready. The circus is in town.
The Giants and Cowboys open the 2012 season Wednesday night at MetLife, so it’s time to take the crystal ball out of the attic and let you know what’s going to happen in the sprint to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans:
1. Drew Brees will win the MVP and Coach of the Year awards.
Roger Goodell suspended Sean Payton for the season because of BountyGate so he’s back in Dallas helping coach his son’s sixth-grade football team. So far, Goodell has not objected. It’s been a terrible few months for Payton â€" Goodell rightfully took away his job and Payton filed for divorce after nearly 20 years of marriage.
Payton has plenty of time to take care of his family issues. Brees will take care of his team. Interim coach Joe Vitt returns for the seventh game (after serving his six-game suspension) while the interim interim coach Aaron Kromer handles the first six games. Brees is really the Saints coach. He will run the offense and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will try to keep opponents under 30 points. Brees is the best leader in the NFL. He organized the lockout workouts last year in New Orleans, took care of many of the expenses, and nearly 40 players showed up.
Side note: Brees has been critical of Goodell for the way he’s handled BountyGate and other disciplinary issues. “Nobody trusts him,†he said. Brees and Goodell became good friends after rooming together in 2008 on a USO Tour to visit the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. If they roomed together again, Goodell should be wary of Brees short-sheeting the beds.
2. The Saints will take out their frustration by winning the Super Bowl.
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