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10 - 9

Super Bowl XLVI Game Thread #3

New England Patriots vs. New York Giants

Sunday, February 5th, 2012 | 6:29 PM ET | TV: NBC

Giants Coverage: Big Blue View

First half thoughts:

• Disappointing to see the Patriots only get a field goal on that opening drive of the 2nd quarter. Erases the safety by the Giants, but doesn't do much else. The Pats will have to take advantage of their red zone opportunities.
• Good "bend but don't break" defense by the Patriots for the majority of the second quarter. The team is limiting deep shots from Eli Manning and while they're giving up yardage and half been on the field for the majority of the game, they're doing whatever they can to keep the Patriots in this game.
• And although it seemed as if the Giants had dominated this entire game, Brady leads the Patriots 96 yards in 14 plays to close out the first half and give the Patriots a 10-9 lead. The drive was capped with a four yard Brady to Woodhead touchdown pass on a third down.
• The Patriots have the ball to start the second half with a new-found momentum on their side. This wasn't the way we thought the first half would turn out, but the Patriots have the lead, and that's what counts. A touchdown to begin the second half would be huge.

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0 - 9

Super Bowl XLVI Game Thread #2

New England Patriots vs. New York Giants

Sunday, February 5th, 2012 | 6:29 PM ET | TV: NBC

Giants Coverage: Big Blue View

First quarter thoughts:

• Patriots gained momentum by forcing two sacks on three consecutive plays for a loss to stop the Giants on their opening drive. Then the Patriots blew that momentum, when Brady had a terrible no-decision that led to an intentional grounding.
• Un-Patriot like mistake on the Giants next drive. Sterling Moore forces the fumble that leads to Pats turnover, but team had 12 men on the field. Two plays later, Giants score a touchdown and the Patriots are in a 9-0 hole early.
• Fortunately, the offense seems to be settling down, getting a nice drive going to end the first quarter. The 9-0 start is not what the Patriots were looking for, but this game is very far from being over.

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Super Bowl XLVI Game Thread

New England Patriots vs. New York Giants

Sunday, February 5th, 2012 | 6:29 PM ET | TV: NBC

Giants Coverage: Big Blue View

60 minutes. That's all that stands between the New England Patriots and a fourth Super Bowl title since the 2001 NFL season.

Tonight, the New England Patriots will take on the New York Giants here at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis. Kick-off is at 6:29 PM ET, but you will all have the television on long before them.

My prediction for tonight's game? A Patriots win, of course. While any Patriots fan would love a blowout, considering the match-up, that's unlikely to happen. I expect a closely contested game, with the Patriots fending off a late comeback attempt by the Giants. In the year of the quarterback, it would only be fitting that the Patriots much criticized defense makes the critical stop. Well, that's my prediction at least. I think Tom Brady will come out and have his best career Super Bowl performance - he has more than just his legacy on the line. And of course, LETS GO PATS! Greg's Prediction: Patriots 31 Giants 27

1. Pressure Cooker - In Week 9, Tom Brady was pressured and struggled to string together a consistent performance. The Patriots offensive line has the most important job on the field: protecting quarterback Tom Brady. If Brady is given enough time and is able to stand up in the pocket and make positive decisions, then the Patriots offense should be able to flourish. If the offensive line cannot match up against the Giants formidable defensive line, then the Patriots will have no chance of winning the game.

Throughout the playoffs, the Patriots have been able to keep Tom Brady clean for the majority of the game. All they need is one more positive performance.

2. Cruz Control - We reviewed a way of how the Patriots defense can control Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz when he lines up in the slot. Cruz is Giants quarterback Eli Manning's safety net and he is willing and able to cut away from his route if Manning needs help. He is dangerous when he's in the open field and not engaged by a defender because he can always find the empty pocket in the secondary.

Look for Cruz to receive 10+ targets, especially if Julian Edelman is in coverage. If Cruz is limited in his production, the Patriots defense will have had a good game.

3. Run the Rock - Double edged point. Can the Patriots run the ball? With Kevin Faulk inactive, the Patriots believe that Stevan Ridley has worked enough on his ball protection over the past three weeks to earn another look- and he's the most dangerous running back on the Patriots roster. If the Patriots can control the line of scrimmage and push back the Patriots athletic defensive line, the score might not be impressive, but the clock control will trump the total points.

On the other hand, can the Patriots slow the Giants rushing attack? Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs are both extremely dangerous and can break free for large gains. How will the Patriots play heavy enough to contain the run, while be agile enough to defend the pass? The answer to the question is the outcome of the game.

4. 4th Target - The Patriots have Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez as their big three receivers. However, Gronk is limited and Welker has been "contained" by elite defenses. Who will step up as a big time receiver on the Patriots roster? Will Chad Ochocinco have the best game of his Patriots career (wouldn't be too hard) a la J.D. Drew? Will Matthew Slater catch a deep pass? How will Julian Edelman factor into the offense? Will the running backs like Danny Woodhead, Ridley, and even BenJarvus Green-Ellis be available out of the backfield? Someone will have to step up.

5. 60 Minutes. - That's it. 60 minutes to glory.

The Patriots have announced the inactives for the Super Bowl:

QB Ryan Mallett

RB Kevin Faulk

RB Shane Vereen

OG Donald Thomas

OC Nick McDonald

DL Ron Brace

LB Gary Guyton

The only real surprise is Kevin Faulk being inactive, although the release of WR Tiquan Underwood shows that Bill Belichick will not be sentimental in this Super Bowl.

Vereen remains inactive as he has the majority of the season.

Thomas and McDonald are inactive as the offensive line is healthy- which is important as both rookie Marcus Cannon and veteran Sebastian Vollmer are tagged as active.

Brace and Guyton are inactive as neither player can find a consistent role on the Patriots defense.

Chad Ochocinco is tagged "active" which means that he may have a larger role on offense.

Newly signed Alex Silvestro is active and should play a role on special teams.

The Patriots did not designate any defensive backs "inactive" which should provide the Patriots plenty of depth in the secondary.

Edit: Giants Inactives-

Ramses Barden, Da'Rel Scott, Mark Herzlich, Jim Cordle, Justin Trattou, Jimmy Kennedy, James Brewer

Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come.

Welcome to Lucas Oil Stadium, where the New England Patriots will take on the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in approximately 2 and a half hours.

We've talked to the players, we've broken down the film, we've looked at every possible angle... now it's time for some football.

Pats Pulpit is at the game, stuffed up in the auxiliary press box in the in the upper corner of the Patriots' end zone (opposite the big score board). The plan is to blog semi-live at the end of each quarter. We'll bring you full analysis on the inactives in approximately one hour (teams are scheduled to release them an hour and a half before kick-off).

For now, feel free to discuss whatever you want about the Giants vs. Patriots match-up... if there's actually anything left to cover. For now, here's a few pictures we took on the way into the stadium:

Continue reading this post »

INDIANAPOLIS -- Yesterday evening, we discussed how the Patriots' defense has improved a lot since the team's week nine match-up against the New York Giants.

But with that improvement came a lot of changes. Those changes started at the beginning of training camp, when the Patriots switched the 4-3 base defense. Over the coming months, the Patriots added a lot of new players, but also got rid of a bunch. Before the season, safeties Brandon Meriweather, James Sanders, and Brandon McGowan were all released. During the season, the Patriots let go of the likes of Leigh Bodden, Albert Haynesworth, and Phillip Adams. The Patriots were also victims of the injury bug - Pro Bowl defensive end Andre Carter, starting safety Josh Barrett and rookie cornerback Ras-I Dowling both landed on injured reserve while key contributors such as Devin McCourty, Jerod Mayo, Pat Chung, Brandon Deaderick, Shaun Ellis, James Ihedigbo, Kyle Arrington, Dane Fletcher, Brandon Spikes, Ron Brace, and others all missed time with injuries at some point this year.

All of this makes it that much more impressive that the Patriots will be representing the AFC in Super Bowl XLVI this evening. And with all of this being said, earlier in the week, I tried to gauge what it has been like for Patriots defenders to endure all of these constant changes.

Patriots linebacker Dane Fletcher, in his second season with the team after going undrafted out of Montana State, was the first to admit that it had been "tough... playing next to new guys every time you get in the game and what not." Fletcher added that he knows "it's not easy on guys like constant guys like [Jerod] Mayo and Vince [Wilfork] - cause you've always got new guys playing next to you."

Safety Sergio Brown, also in his second year after going undrafted out of Notre Dame, said that it was a whole new season now, and that the past didn't matter. However, when specifically asked if the constant change had been tough, Brown was more open, saying that it had been "real tough" and that while the game against the talented New York Giants receivers would be "difficult," the team would "just have to put the work in and everything will fall into place."

While Fletcher and Brown admitted that the constant transition had been tough, Patriots linebacker and special teams star Tracy White, forced into action because of all the injuries this year, wouldn't go so far. "It's all about doing your job. It's about focusing on what you've got to do and when they bring guys in, coaching them up on what they need to know. They don't make it too hard for the guys that come in. If you're doing your job, and doing what the coaches say, everyone will continue to play well."

Safety Patrick Chung said that the constant change "could be a challenge if you let it be," but had a lot of confidence in his coaches and teammates, saying that "guys [head coach Bill Belichick] puts there, he has faith in those guys, like [Matt] Slater coming over and Julian [Edelman]. He has full faith in those guys. Regardless of who's being shuffled around, we're in the same room, we're all on the same page, we're all on the same playbook, we all have to be able to communicate with everybody on the field. We have smart guys that can play any position, so I have full faith in anybody."

There's no question that the constant change the Patriots have endured on defense would be crippling for most ordinary NFL teams. Now, with the Patriots playing the Giants later this evening in Super Bowl XLVI, the Patriots are peaking at the right time and have two things going for them that they lacked most of the season: health and consistency.

Yesterday, when news broke that the Patriots had released wide receiver Tiquan Underwood, you couldn't help but feel for the guy. To get cut the night before the biggest game of your life? That's got to be tough. However, Underwood is taking it in stride. This morning, he texted ESPN's Ed Werder, and kept it classy:

"I don't want to be a distraction to the game or the New England Patriots.....i will say this, The New England Patriots are a GREAT Organization. I wish them nothing but the best today. This season has been dedicated to Myra Kraft (MHK) Mr Kraft's wife....w/ that being said i hope they pull out the victory in honor of her & because the coaches & players have worked so hard this season for the opportunity to play in Super Bowl 46. Go Pats!!!! #PatsNation

Multiple media outlets are reporting that Underwood's release had nothing to do with discipline and that the Patriots intend to bring him back to the team next season. Still, you've got to hope that Robert Kraft saves a seat for him in the luxury box.

ESPN's Adam Schefter also reported, via Twitter, that Underwood is eligible for his Super Bowl bonus, and championship ring if the Patriots are to win.