SBNation.com - Super Bowl XLVI: Giants-Patriots Halftime Report

Rob Gronkowski's Injury Leaves Patriots TE As Non-Factor In First Half

2012-02-06T01:02:35Z

The injury to Rob Gronkowski's ankle became such a story to the point where it was absurd how much attention one player's ankle could get (including the obligatory Gronkowski injured ankle Twitter account).

But for nearly the entire first half of Sunday's game against the Giants, Gronkowski was invisible with zero catches. He seemed winded at times and unable to drive blockers like he usually does. The Patriots started the game keeping him out wide, perhaps as a way to test out the ankle.

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Gronkowski finally got on the board when he caught a 20-yard pass from Tom Brady shortly before the two minute warning in the first half. And, to his credit, that catch came on a scoring drive.

For more on the Patriots and their Super Bowl run, check out SB Nation's Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit as well as SB Nation Boston. For more on the Giants and their Super Bowl appearance, visit Giants blog Big Blue View and SB Nation New York. For all news and information regarding Super Bowl XLVI, please stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated Super Bowl hub.

Super Bowl 2012 Halftime Score: Patriots Take 10-9 Lead On Record-Tying Touchdown Drive

2012-02-06T00:54:29Z

It was bound to happen sooner or later: the New England Patriots finally got the sort of methodical touchdown drive they've made their trademark throughout the 2011 NFL season, with Tom Brady slicing and dicing the New York Giants and finding Danny Woodhead for a touchdown to cap a 96-yard drive that tied the Super Bowl record for longest drive and gave the Patriots a 10-9 lead heading into halftime.

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After being pinned at their own 4 by a great Steve Weatherford punt and backed up their own 2 by a penalty, the Patriots clicked off a brutally efficient drive to take their first lead of the game. Brady completed 10 straight passes on the drive, and snuck a pass to Woodhead to complete it, despite Jason Pierre-Paul's best efforts.

You can see Pierre-Paul, on the left side of the Giants' line, break off his pass rush to drop into coverage. That turned out to be a bad decision.

2012 Super Bowl, Giants Vs. Patriots: New York Hurts Themselves With Penalties Again

2012-02-06T00:34:42Z

Once again, the New York Giants have driven down the field, but thrown away a great opportunity to score because of penalties. On their last drive, a 12 men in the huddle penalty set them back five yards and ultimately led to a punt. On their most recent drive, Brandon Jacobs picked up a third and one, but a holding penalty brought the Giants back ten yards. They were unable to convert on third and 11 and were forced to punt. With just over four minutes remaining, they still lead the New England Patriots 9-3.

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The Giants picked up two first downs on the drive, and almost had a third before the holding penalty. Ahmad Bradshaw was especially effective with three runs and one reception for a total of 24 yards, but the Giants weren't able to convert that into a move into scoring position.

Steve Weatherford gave his team a perfect punt to down inside the ten-yard line on his first punt, and barely had his second slip by a gunner for a touchback. On his most recent punt, he angled it out of bounds perfectly to give the Patriots' terrible field position. Tom Brady will start on his own four-yard line.

For more on the Patriots and their Super Bowl run, check out SB Nation's Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit as well as SB Nation Boston. For more on the Giants and their Super Bowl appearance, visit Giants blog Big Blue View and SB Nation New York. For all news and information regarding Super Bowl XLVI, please stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated Super Bowl hub.

You Down With JPP? Or Feeling O-L-D?

2012-02-06T00:30:34Z

Like many of you, I'm trying to figure out what's so Whiskey Tango Foxtrot about the "JPP" song NBC played going into a commercial. See, it's like "O.P.P.," but it's "J.P.P."

And if that wasn't enough, here's the video. To be clear, these aren't SB Nation employees. We didn't make this up. This really exists.

No shade to Josh Hyman, the gentleman behind this. It's fairly clever. It's time to come to grips with why this seemed so weird.

That's right, children of the '90s: we're officially old enough that people can do corny remakes of the corny classics of our day and not come off as corny. This isn't too far from doing something off "My Sharona." "O.P.P." is more than 20 years old. It's a dusty.

Then again, Madonna's playing halftime. Maybe we're not that old, after all.

Travis Beckum Injury: Giants TE Ruled Out With Torn ACL

2012-02-06T00:29:09Z

The New York Giants entered the Super Bowl with few injury questions but they've lost a tight end early in the game. Travis Beckum went down with a torn ACL, according to press box reports. Beckum went down earlier in the game on what seemed like a routine play where he was jammed by a defender but when he started to cut after coming off the block he fell to the ground. Medical personnel came out and helped him limp off the field.

Here is a look of the injury where you can see it seems like a normal play:

The Giants could use him for this game but this injury is a lot more serious than just one game. He'll be out for several months at a minimum, including most of the offseason. This is an automatic season-ender.

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The Giants are leading the Patriots, 9-3, midway through the second quarter.

This won't have a significant impact on the game against the Patriots. Beckum only played about 15 percent of the snaps on the season.

Super Bowl 2012, Giants Vs. Patriots: New England Unable To Get In Gear

2012-02-06T00:25:40Z

Early in Super Bowl XLVI, the New England Patriots just can't get untracked. After a first drive that gave the Giants a safety and a second drive that produced just a field goal, the Pats went three and out on their third drive of the evening.

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Brady's first pass of the drive was batted down by Jason Pierre-Paul, just like his last pass of the second drive was, and Danny Woodhead only managed a few yards on a second down carry.

Even the first appearance of Chad Ochocinco couldn't help the Patriots. The much-discussed, little-used receiver came onto the field on a third down, but Brady fired to Wes Welker for a reception that was just inches shy of a first down.

For more on the Patriots and their Super Bowl run, check out SB Nation's Patriots blog,Pats Pulpit as well as SB Nation Boston. For more on the Giants and their Super Bowl appearance, visit Giants blog Big Blue View and SB Nation New York. For all news and information regarding Super Bowl XLVI, please stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated Super Bowl hub.

2012 Super Bowl, Giants Vs. Patriots: New York Forced To Punt

2012-02-06T00:23:08Z

The New England Patriots' defense looked a bit shaky yet again, allowing the New York Giants to rip off a couple of nice plays en route to a couple of first downs, but they were able to do enough to force a punt like they did on the first drive. New England is down six points, and can fire themselves back into the lead on their next drive.

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Brandon Jacobs had an impressive 11-yard run early in the drive, while Hakeem Nicks came up with a massive 18-yard reception, but the Giants ultimately prevented themselves from continuing down the field. While on the Patriots' 47-yard line, they picked up a penalty for too many men in the huddle, forcing them into first and 15. Ahmad Bradshaw picked up 11 yards on a third down checkdown play, but he came up short of the sticks.

The Giants couldn't keep this punt out of the end zone like Steve Weatherford's first, and the Patriots will start on their own 20-yard line with ten minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Super Bowl 2012 Score Update: Patriots Get Field Goal, Trail Giants 9-3

2012-02-06T00:07:40Z

Things were not going so well for the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. A safety that resulted from Tom Brady's intentional grounding penalty on their first offensive snap had put the Pats in a 2-0 hole, and the Giants getting a touchdown on the subsequent drive made the score 9-0 in New York's favor. But Brady and the Patriots relied on some old hands on a field goal drive that cut into the Giants' lead and made the score of Super Bowl XLVI 9-3 early in the second quarter.

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On their way to field goal range, Brady found Wes Welker and Deion Branch in the passing game, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Welker both made plays on the ground. But a third down pass from Brady was batted down, forcing Stephen Gostkowski to come on and make a 29-yard field goal.

Brady has completed four of his six passes for 46 yards.

For more on the Patriots and their Super Bowl run, check out SB Nation's Patriots blog,Pats Pulpit as well as SB Nation Boston. For more on the Giants and their Super Bowl appearance, visit Giants blog Big Blue View and SB Nation New York. For all news and information regarding Super Bowl XLVI, please stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated Super Bowl hub.