Boston vs. New York. Except it's the NFL, baby!

At 10-6, it’s a winning record for Tom Coughlin (38-31 in four years in New York). While the regular season totals don’t stack up much to New England’s perfect 16-0, Big Blue’s last four games including the last of the regular season against the Patriots find a team hitting its stride.

Technically it isn’t a rivalry for the Giants love to clash with the Jets and the Eagles. As for the Patriots, most recently, it’s been the Indianapolis Colts. But hey, everyone’s looking for an angle. It’s not the Yankees versus the Red Sox but this will do nicely, thank you.

Tom Coughlin, a native New Yorker, began the season in the hot seat with a one-year extension and an almost lame duck status. He’s been called out at least once in each of the last three years by his players for the team getting outcoached and outplayed. But now, he has a 3-1 post-season record.

Bill Belichick early in the season was in the hot seat for Spygate. And with all the hoopla surrounding Super Bowl XLII, it has been resuscitated not just by a member of Congress about allegations that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hastily destroyed all evidence but also because a former Patriots staff member has come out and insinuated that he has evidence of long-time cheating. Oh, Belichick has a 14-2 post-season record.

Both coaches have roots to the New York Giants as they both served under former taskmaster Bill Parcells so they’re quite familiar with each other.

The Giants tied an NFL record of 10-straight road wins. The Patriots broke the 1972 Miami Dolphins former 16-0 record and need a Super Bowl victory to validate their season. And they’re first and goal to a historic 19-0.

And it will be Manning versus Brady. Make it Eli Manning versus sure-fire Hall-of-Famer Tom Brady.

It’s New York with their 11 rookies – Zak De Ossie, Ahmad Bradshaw, Kevin Boss, and Steve Smith in particular – complement vets Manning, Michael Strahan, Plaxico Burress, and Amani Toomer.

And it’s the Brady Bunch of Sammy Morris, Kyle Eckel, Mike Vrabel, Jabar Gaffney, Kevin Faulk, Kyle Brady, Donte Stallworth, Heath Evans, Wes Welker, Benjamin Watson, Laurence Maroney, Logan Mankins, and a certain guy by the name of Randy Moss who caught an NFL record 23 touchdowns this year. So what did all these guys do? Simple, they caught a Brady pass in the Patriots march for perfection.

As for New York, they’re hoping that a win this Monday in Glendale, Arizona will erase all their team’s imperfections.

Go Big Blue!