I'm pretty confident that it will sell out this year, for the reason you point out - sadly, around the same time the NFL coverage on Sky exploded, we were on a run of Superbowl successes, resulting in a myriad of folks who previously didn't know a thing about us becoming "fans". A good test to a "proper Pats fan" vs a "Post 2002 Superbowl Fan" is by asking who the Pats QB was prior to Brady - it's a good starting point to sorting them out! These fans have no concept as to what it was like following New England in the 90's, when we were the NFL punching bag - I remember those nauseating days all too well!
I also fancy the Giants, but I reckon it'll be very close and will probably be decided by who makes the fewest mistakes
As good as our offense is, and I do think we'll score a few TD's, assuming Brady finds the form which eluded him vs Baltimore, our defense isn't going to suddenly be a group of superstars. As much as it stepped up against Baltimore, there were still holes.
The good thing is that we've seen New York both through the regular season and in the pre-season, so there's not much we don't know about their style of play. If we can get to Eli and shut him down, New York don't have much else in reserve, whereas getting to Brady will just remove one of our many offensive weapons.
I'm still not optimistic right now though, so I'll go with the Giants by 7-10.
Quite proud that, despite our poor defense, I managed to pick the AFC representatives well before the season started :greengrin