Super Bowl week is upon us as the New England Patriots take on the New York Giants in Super Bowl 46 on Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis. The game is a rematch of Super Bowl 42 which took place in Arizona in 2008.
The Patriots come into the Super Bowl with an overall record of 15-3 including playoffs. They have been led by their juggernaut offense, which averaged 32 points per game in the regular season. The Patriots cause a matchup problem for any team they face because of their excellent tight end play.
Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez combined for 169 catches and 24 receiving touchdowns this season. Wes Welker led the team in receiving yards with 1,569.
The Giants finshed the regular season at 9-7 but the team has caught fire in the post season. After a 24-2 drubbing of the Atlanta Falcons, the Giants went on the road and defeated the NFC's top two seeds, Green Bay and San Francisco.
Eli Manning has thrown eight touchdowns to only one interception this postseason and has a passer rating of 103.1 in three postseason games.
Super Bowl 46 features Arizona talent as three starters in the game have prominent Arizona ties.
Perhaps the most recognizable Arizona face in the Super Bowl will be Patriots Tight End Rob Gronkowski. "Gronk" played two seasons at the University of Arizona. He had 16 career touchdown receptions and 1,197 career receiving yards.
Gronkowski was forced to miss his entire junior season because of a back injury. He left school early after his junior year and entered the 2010 NFL draft.
Cardinals fans will know Antrel Rolle well. Rolle was drafted eighth overall in the 2005 by Arizona and spent five seasons with the team. Rolle had eight career interceptions as a Cardinal including a career high five in 2007.
Rolle started 59 games as a member of the Cardinals before leaving Arizona for the Giants. In two seasons in New York, Rolle has three interceptions and 162 tackles.
Perhaps the least known Super Bowl player with Arizona ties is Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara, Amukamara went to Apollo High School in Phoenix and starred on the gridiron. His senior season, Amukamara rushed for over 2,000 yards and had 95 tackles on defense. Amukamara also had 30 total offensive touchdowns that season.
Amukamara went on to play cornerback in college at the University of Nebraska where he was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2010 and a first team All-American.