Former NFL star Dale Butler believes defensive lynchpin Antonio Pierce must be at his pinnacle if Giants are to stop the New England Patriots juggernaut at Super Bowl XLII.

Tom Brady's bunch of unbeaten record-breakers have steamrollered their way to 'the show' this season and will be heavy favourites when they go head-to-head with the Big Blue for the Lombardi Trophy.

But for Butler, a Bermuda resident and former Washington Redskin, the outcome is far from a forgone conclusion with the Giants formidable defence, captained by ex-Redskin Pierce, holding the key.

"If the Giants can compete with Patriots awesome offence then I believe they've a great chance of winning," said Butler who played linebacker in the early 1980s.

"The Giants defence has to play that's for sure. It's a better unit that the Patriots defence, which is older."

Butler is more than qualified to pass judgement on today's crop of linebackers and reckons Pierce is up there with the very best.

"Antonio Pierce is a massively important player for the Giants and has been playing very well this season," he said.

"He's more talented than I ever imagined and I've seen him take on two 220lb guys at once. That's some player."

Redskins diehard Butler was an avid viewer during Giants' enthralling 23-20 victory over Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship and like most former warriors still finds it difficult to watch from the comfort of his armchair.

"Sunday's match personified NFL for me," said Butler who hails from Pennsylvania.

"Those were the conditions I used to love playing in. When we were kids growing up we all wanted to play in that sort of game. When it's freezing cold and your trying to focus on the plays - that's what NFL is all about."

Along with former Chicago Bear Rickey Watts and ex-Dolphin Ron Davenport, Butler now coaches Island youngsters and would love to see Pierce share his knowledge of the modern game with the stars of tomorrow.

"Antonio Pierce could potentially do a lot for the community in Bermuda," he said.

"There's a lot of young NFL fans here who'll be supporting him from their television screens in the Super Bowl.

"But wouldn't it be great if they could meet him in person and benefit from some of his knowledge and learn some of his skills at training camps.

"Who knows what may happen when he next comes back to the Island and I'd certainly like to see him get involved in the youth.

"That's what myself; Rickey Watts and Ron Davenport do, although we're all retired players whereas Antonio has a hectic schedule.

"There are a lot of questions he'd be able to answer for the kids that maybe we can't.

"After all, Antonio is still playing in the NFL and he could talk about how the game has changed - it's certainly a lot faster than when we played."