The biggest news out of today was Giant wideout Plaxico Burress making just a little Super Bowl prediction before his team took off 45 minutes later than expected for Tempe, Arizona yesterday after rookie corner Aaron Ross’ stomach bout (yikes). Hope the kid from Texas will be okay for the big game.

The veteran receiver who torched veteran Green Bay corner Al Harris for 11 receptions and a buck five four in Big Blue’s NFC Championship victory made the prediction to New York Post reporters including Giant beat writer Paul Schwartz.

Here’s the key excerpts from Schwartz’ column:

As he pulled his car up to the Giants Stadium tunnel to unload his bags, Burress was asked by The Post a direct question: Are you ready to make history? “You better believe it,” the towering Giants receiver said.

And then, as he entered the stadium and turned left toward the Giants locker room, Burress was asked for his prediction. Burress never hesitated, flatly stating “23-17.”

Alright. So Plax is confident in what his team has a chance to do- something 18 previous New England opponents couldn’t get done. Put a big ‘L’ next to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady’s unbeaten Patriots. Is it wise to make this sort of gutsy prediction against one of the best teams who feeds off this sort of thing? Probably not. But hey, it’s not like the Pats need any more incentive. They didn’t come to the Desert to lose but rather to make history.

Burress should be confident in what his team can do. Winning an NFL record 10 straight on the road and eliminating the Bucs, Cowboys and Packers is proof that Tom Coughlin’s club is playing very well headed into a rematch of the regular season finale.

Still, giving a coach like Belichick a couple of weeks to prepare isn’t a helpful proposition. Like Belicheat or not, he’s the best coach in the league for a reason. Personally, I got nothing against him and don’t want to hear any excuses from other team’s fans if our Giants fall short. And that includes these ridiculous conspiracy theories about how the Pats play dirty and get all the calls, etc.

Newsflash people: If you want to watch Conspiracy Theory, go watch the movie starring Julia Roberts and Mel Gibson or better yet watch Oliver Stone’s JFK.

This is football. Do the Pats have an edge with the stripes? Undoubtedly. But that’s the case in any sport when a successful franchise builds a reputation.

Bottom line: The Giants must continue to execute the way they have on offense without turning it over and must disrupt Brady’s timing at the line of scrimmage. An unenviable task against a strong line which gives the 2007 regular season MVP plenty of time to deliver the ball to Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth, Ben Watson and special third down back Kevin Faulk.

Combine those threats with the physical running style of Laurence Maroney and you got a heck of a lot to deal with. Jabar Gaffney is also their fourth WR option. So they certainly have a huge edge in terms of depth. 

The Giant line featuring sack leader Osi Umenyiora, veteran Michael Strahan and Justin Tuck must win the battles in the trenches and pressure as much as possible under aggressive first-year D coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s schemes.

One thing which would concern me is that Brady is very good at reading blitz packages and will trust his receivers by finding the underneath routes. Those probably should be open all night Sunday. Especially against that Giant secondary. Figure Corey Webster to draw the tough assignemt of deep threat Moss while the physical Ross gets to cover middle of the field specialist Welker. Stallworth could be presented with a mismatch against Sam Madison.

The linebacking core led by veteran Antonio Pierce will have to do a solid job covering the seams which is usually where Welker and Faulk along with the underrated Watson do most of their damage. It’s going to be a chest match.

On offense, Eli Manning’s playing as well as he ever has. Since that Pat game in which he threw for four touchdowns, the fourth-year signal caller has really stepped up in January making smart decisions with the ball. His presence seems to have grown larger and he’s definitely enjoying this run despite a continued low profile as the younger brother of last year’s Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning didn’t make any predictions. Big shocker.

As outstanding Post columnist Mike Vaccaro attests, the former Ole Mississippi product is very happy to be the younger brother of the Indy Colt QB whose face is on every TV during this time of year:

“I am Peyton’s little brother,” Eli said. “That’s not a bad thing. I don’t take it as an insult when people ask me about that. It isn’t an insult.”

“We like it that way,” Eli said. Earlier in the day, before busing to the airport, a few Giants had filled a few Post notebooks with a few final swaggering tidbits before wheels-up, Plaxico Burress being kind enough to provide a score - 23-17 - for everyone. Someone pointed out to Eli that it didn’t take much of a leap to remember another fourth-year quarterback from another New York Super Bowl trip and how he gladly spiced things up.

“Joe Namath was a very confident young man,” he said, declining to leap along. “But you won’t get a guarantee out of me.”

Manning will lead a balanced attack which features primary target Burress, seasoned vet Amani Toomer along with rookies Steve Smith and Kevin Boss. He has relied on the top two threats while finding the pair of first-year players during crucial moments.

With the two-headed Thunder & Lightning attack of Brandon Jacobs and rookie Ahmad Bradshaw also getting plenty of work, the Giants should be very formidable against a susceptible NE D which can be beat by speed. However, they do play to their strengths and usually do a decent job stopping the run. So this should be a real good test.

It all starts for the Giant offense up front with an undervalued line which includes Shaun O’Hara, Chris Snee, Kareem McKenzie, David Diehl and Rich Seubert. They do a solid job plugging holes for the two runners and usually giving Eli enough time in the pocket. One aspect that I’ve liked about Kevin Gilbride’s offense is that he’s wisely played to the QB’s strengths by rolling him out of the pocket into play action. That could be vital against a New England rush which includes a healthier Richard Seymour, Adalius Thomas and linebacker Mike Vrabel. Junior Seau and Teddy Bruschi are also key cogs.

Their secondary is very physical with top corner Asante Samuel, Randall Gay, Ellis Hobbs and dangerous safety Rodney Harrison. Watch for Harrison to sneak in on safety blitzes.

Clearly, when you break it all down, it’s easy to understand why the Giants are 12-point underdogs. A lot has to go right for them to pull this off. I’ve said this before to long suffering Buffalo buddies Brian Sanborn and Robert “Kraze” Davis.

They must utilize a similar strategy to the one Bill Parcells’ 1990 club executed to perfection in defeating the Bills 20-19 in Super Bowl XXV. Ball control offense. Hard hitting aggressive D. Keep that Patriot offense off the field as much as possible.

We’ll have much more tomorrow.