Paul Domowitch: For Pats, rush a Giant concern

INDIANAPOLIS - The most lasting memory of the Giants' 17-14 win over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII 4 years ago was that miraculous, ball-pinned-against-his-helmet catch by David Tyree that kept alive the Giants' game-winning touchdown drive.

But there would have been no late-game heroics by the Giants' offense if not for the beginning-to-end havoc wreaked by the defense on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady that day.

The Giants' pass rush made Brady's life a living hell, sacking him five times and giving him precious little time to get the ball to a receiving corps that had lit up scoreboards all season long. Brady, who threw 50 touchdown passes and averaged 8.3 yards per attempt that season, threw for just one TD against the Giants and averaged 5.5 yards per attempt.

When the two teams meet again here Sunday in Super Bowl XLVI, the Patriots' ability to protect Brady from the Giants' ferocious pass rush again will go a long way in determining the winner and loser.

"They can really get after the passer," Brady said yesterday after his team arrived in town. "It starts with those guys up front - Justin [Tuck], Osi [Umenyiora], JPP [Jason Pierre-Paul], [Chris] Canty, [Dave] Tollefson - it seems like whoever they put in there can get after the passer.

"Any time you can limit a quarterback's time to make reads and make an accurate throw, it's much more challenging. But I have a lot of trust in my offensive line."

The Giants managed to notch 48 sacks this season despite the fact that Tuck and Umenyiora were hurt for a good chunk of it. Pierre-Paul, the freakishly athletic second-year man out of South Florida whom the Eagles took a pass on in the 2010 draft, had a team-high 16 1/2 sacks. Despite playing in just nine games, Umenyiora finished with nine sacks. Tuck fought through injuries to record five sacks.

The Giants sacked Brady just twice in their 24-20 come-from-behind win over the Patriots in Week 9. But the pressure they put on him contributed to two interceptions.

Both Tuck and Umenyiora are healthy now, and the Giants' pass-rush has been relentless in the playoffs. They have nine sacks in their three postseason wins, including seven in victories over the 49ers and Packers.