The Giants: Good But Not Great?

By WGBH News & Wires

Jan. 23, 2012

BOSTON — Las Vegas oddsmakers are giving the Patriots a three-point edge in the Super Bowl. Carl Beane, the "Voice of Fenway," agreed that New England can take home the trophy.

True, the Patriots "had their issues" in Sunday's game, Beane said. After all, the Baltimore Ravens only lost because they failed to complete a field goal they should have been able to complete. And as Patriots quarterback Tom Brady himself admitted, he didn't have a great game — he thanked the defense. "But as we've seen in the last two or three weeks, when they've needed to make a play they've been able to do so," Beane maintained.

Fans have wondered whether Brady is nursing an injury. Beane said he'd been digging around and had heard murmurs about the left shoulder — but that the consensus is that sometimes, for whatever reason, Brady just doesn't "have it."

Still, he said, "The Patriots are a better team when they play the way they should — and that's always the key element… the Giants are good, but they're not great."