There were lots of former and current NFL players involved in the breakdown and analyzing of the game. I thought it was kind of funny watching Aaron Rogers in the booth breaking down a game in which just two months ago most of us predicted he would be playing in. I really enjoyed the pre-game locker room camera and tunnel walk as we were allowed to look into the face of pro football players preparing to play the biggest game of their life.
I thought that Blake Shelton and Miranda Lamberts rendition of "America the Beautiful" was a bit too twangy, I mean they are both well respected and accomplished artist in the country genre but I don't think they were able to nail this song which can be very emotional when done by the right person. Kelly Clarkson on the other hand I though did a good job singing the national anthem.
The game was commentated by Al Michaels whom I've admired since his Monday Night Football days and Chris Collinsworth who's style it took me some time to get used to but over time have grown to like.
From the beginning of the game The New York Giants clearly appeared to be the better team. The Patriots could not catch a break and if it wasn't for bad luck they had no luck at all. After a Steve Weatherford punt that pinned New England down on their own 6-yard line Tom Brady who is forced back into the end zone throws a deep middle incomplete pass which is ruled intentional grounding and results in a safety giving the Giants a 2 point lead and the ball only 6 minutes into the first quarter.
On the Giants second drive of the game they were able to move the ball quite effectively thanks to poor tackling and bad positioning by New England cornerback Kyle Arrington. New England had seemed to catch a break when Victor Cruz fumbled on the 5 yard line. The fumble was recovered by Brandon Spikes only to be reversed by a 12 men on the field penalty against new England. Two plays later Victor Cruz was doing the Salsa in the endzone just after catching a two yard tochdown pass from Eli manning. After the extra point the score was now 9-0 Giants.
With four minutes left in the first half and New England's only score coming from a Gostkowski 29- yard field goal things were looking bleak for the Patriots who was down 9-3 and starting once again on their own 4 yard line. On this drive the Patriots looked like themselves as Tom Brady orchestrated a 96-yard drive completing passes to Welker, Hernandez, and even a 20-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski early in the drive. The 4-yard touchdown pass to Woodhead and Gostkowski extra point put the Patriots up 10-9 going into halftime. That Patriot drive tied the record for longest drive in Super bowl history.
I thought the halftime show was pretty safe and boring just like the Super Bowl committee likes it. Madonna who looks pretty good for her age kept the celebration rolling along as planned and other than an obscene hand gesture by British rapper M.I.A. trying to generate publicity this years halftime show was at least watchable.
On the first drive of the second half Brady once again led the Patriots on an 8 play drive resulting in a 12 yard touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez. This put New England up 17-9 and had me thinking that the Patriots had finally hit their stride and were about to morph into that unstoppable offensive machine we know that they can become.
Going into the fourth quarter the Giants could only muster two field goals in the third and found themselves down 17-15 with New England holding the ball. At 14:31 in the fourth quarter Brady who was forced out the pocket by Giants tackle Mathias Kiwanuka heaved up a deep pass to Gronkowski, the pass was intercepted by linebacker Chase Blackburn and shifted the momentum back onto the side of the New York Giants. This I believe was a key stop in the game and kept the Giants within one score of taking the lead. The Patriots were able to stop the Giants on there next drive and get the ball back but at 4:06 in the fourth quarter the Patriots missed an opportunity for a big gain when Brady found Welker wide open at the Giants 20-yard line and Welker although getting both hands on the ball could not bring it down. This play was crucial because if Welker catches this ball it puts the Patriots on at least at the giants 20-yard line. With a first-down a little under Four minutes left in the game a touchdown here I believe would have won the game for the Patriots. The Giants would have had to score twice with less than 3:50 remaining in game. Instead, The Giants found themselves holding the ball with 3:46 left in game and down by only 3 points.
The Giants first play of the drive was a 38-yard pass to Mario Manningham who was pushed out of bounds at the 50-yard line. It was clear to see from the replay that Manning threw this ball into cover 2 as Patrick Chung rolled over to help Sterling moore in coverage. Chung was a little too late and Manningham made a great adjustment on the catch. Two more catches by Manningham a catch by Hakeem Nicks and two runs by Ahmaad Bradshaw put the Giants on the New England 6-yard line with 1:07 left in the game. This is where I thought we got a glimpse into what makes Belichick such a great coach and separates him from the rest. Instead of defending the touchdown Belichick decides to let the Giants score in order to put the ball back into the hands of his future Hall of Fame quarterback with less than 1:00 left. As Bradshaw goes in for the easy touchdown he stops just at the goal line and hesitantly falls into the end zone unsure of how he should react and probably realizing a minute later if New England go on to score in the last few minutes he will instantly become the goat of the game. After a failed 2-point conversion by the Giants New England gets the ball on their own 20-yard line down 21-17 with 57 seconds left in the game. A Justin Tuck sack on 3rd and 10 pushed the Patriots back to the 14-yard line setting up a 4th and 16. Brady was able to convert the first down with a 19 yard pass to Deion Branch. After another 11-yard pass to Hernandez and a defensive 12 men on the field penalty against the Giants the game came down to the Patriots standing on their own 49-yard line with 5 seconds left in the game hoping for a miracle. It didn't happen, Brady was able to launch a deep pass to the end zone intended for Hernandez but it was unsuccessful and the New York Giants went on to become the 2012 NFL super Bowl Champions.
Although I didn't have a dog in the fight I thought it was a pretty entertaining game. The score remained close throughout the game and I wouldn't say either team dominated the other, the outcome was for the most part unpredictable. Oh yeah... I would be rimiss if I didn't mention Chad Ochocinco, 1 catch for 21 yards at 14:54 in the 3rd quarter.
My Favorite Commercial: The Chevy Mayan Apocolypse http://youtu.be/XxFYYP8040A
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