I guess I've been jonesing for football more than I realized, as I've been watching this Super Bowl with great interest. With this being the last time to talk about a meaningful football game for seven months, a few halftime thoughts:
- Smartest thing the Giants have done so far tonight is keep the ball away from Asante Samuel - among a build-don't-break defense centered on controlling the line of scrimmage, he's the lone playmaker.
Update [2008-2-3 21:10:26 by HornsFan]: They're still picking on Randall Gay here in the second half. Smart, smart, smart.
- Second smartest thing they've done is keep Brady on the sidelines. The Patriots haven't been able to get in any kind of a rhythm yet; part of that is the Giants offense staying on the field.
- Though the halftime chatter will be about what a great job the Giants did in the first half, the truth is they're not in great shape. Despite doing a great job in a number of key areas, they trail 7-3. Remember: the Patriots aren't the most obscenely talented team year in and year out. They don't win because no one has the talent to stay on the field with them. They win because their coaches makes better in-game adjustments than anyone else in the league. So New York enters the adjustment phase trailing by four points. Not good.
- One adjustment New England is sure to make in the second half is to tweak the offense to more quick hitting pass plays. They're excellent at killing teams vertically, but the Giants' defensive line is the best in the NFL. With so little time for vertical routes to develop, look for the Pats to start spreading the field better and making the Giants defend sideline-to-sideline.
- The Giants' receivers have cost this team at least six points.
Update [2008-2-3 22:42:11 by HornsFan]: Eli was good throughout this game, but it wasn't until the second half that the receivers matched his play. That catch by David Tyree was the most unbelievable catch in a big game I've seen in a long time.
- On the extracurriculurs: Have the commercials gotten worse, or have I gotten older? Either way, they're no longer an attraction.
- In particular, what's up with Bud Light? Nativism, provincialism, and glorification of the idiocracy? Maybe it's always been that way, but it seems worse than ever.
- On Fox: crap, as usual. Joe Buck is as much a robot as the dancing Cylon graphic, while Troy Aikman remains the king of stating the obvious. It's a team of two play-by-play guys.
Enjoy the second half...
--PB--