The two teams that will meet in the Super Bowl aren't the same as the ones that played in November.
The Patriots offense isn't likely to operate the same way it did last time against the Giants.FOXBOROUGH – The tape looks seems like it's from a different season.
The uniforms are the same, but the way the offense operates and some of the key players are not. Albert Haynesworth occupies the middle of the defensive line, Philip Adams plays a key role in the secondary, and the offense runs four plays out of the no-huddle.
The New England Patriots team that was beat by the New York Giants, 24-20, in Week 9 is nothing like the team that will face them again in Super Bowl XLVI.
Both teams will likely watch tape of that meeting several times over the next nine days, but what exactly, if anything, can be gathered from it is debatable since each side has undergone both philosophical and physical changes in the three months since.
"It's tough to draw off the earlier game," safety James Ihedigbo said. "You really just have to watch film on the level that they're playing at now. They're playing at a high level, and so are we. It's going to be a battle."
The most jarring difference is how the Patriots' offense chose to operate in their first meeting with New York. The spread sets, empty backfield and no-huddle offense that have come to define New England were scrapped in favor of a heavier, more compact approach.
It was likely designed to help take pressure off of the offensive line against the Giants' vaunted pass rush, but it provided little relief and New England was stuck playing a foreign brand of football.
As a result, quarterback Tom Brady was consistently forced to rush his throws in the face of pressure and ended up with two interceptions in one of his worst performances of the year.
The New York pass rush will still be there, and it has Brady's full respect, but it's doubtful that New England will allow the Giants to dictate how the game is played this time.
"They can rush the passer, there's no doubt about that," Brady said. "Playing them before -- they get a lot of turnovers, they put a lot of pressure on you. They're a big physical group."
On the other side of the ball, looking back at the battle between the New England defense and New York offense presents similar issues.
The Giants have what many New England players consider to be one of the most diverse offenses in the NFL with wide receivers Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham paired up with running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, but Nicks (hamstring) and Bradshaw (foot) were sidelined during the Week 9 meeting.
New York managed just 361 yards of offense – including 80 over the final 1:36 on the game-winning drive – but the Patriots feel that's a unfair barometer given the circumstances.
"(Nicks) changed how they play compared to how they're playing now," cornerback Devin McCourty said. "If you just look at (quarterback Eli Manning's) numbers, especially towards the end of the season in the playoffs ... they have three phenomenal receivers that made plays throughout the playoffs."
The Patriots defense was also quick to distance themselves from that performance given the changes in their locker room.
They now show more 3-4 looks on defense as opposed to the strict 4-3 base employed earlier in the season, and many of the players who fill out those formations are now different.
Haynesworth was quickly released after giving up on a Jacob's touchdown run against the Giants, and Antwaun Molden, Sterling Moore and Julian Edleman have taken on more prominent roles in the secondary in the months since.
So, as Edelman said, you look at the tape but it's probably best to move on the more recent events if you want a true feel of each team.
"You're definitely going to watch the film, but they've gotten a lot better and they've changed over time," Julian Edelman said. "We didn't play against a bunch of their players that are playing well right now. It's going to be a different team, and we're going to have a huge task on our hands."