Live Blogging the Super Bowl

The Giants won the coin toss and elected to receive. After the kickoff Eli goes to work at about the Giant's 23 yard line. Not surprisingly the Giants start with two straight running plays followed by a pass to Burress on 3 and 6. Stick with what got you here I guess.

5:37. I have to say for being a Super Bowl rookie Eli doesn't look nervous at all. So far he has been forced into two 3rd and 6 situations and thrown out of both of them. I have a feeling if the Pats can't get into Eli's head this might have the making of an upset.

5:47. The Giants are definitely here to play. They took the opening kick and drove down the field. They converted four straight third downs, three of them with Eli's arm, and bled about 10 minutes off the clock. The only saving grace for the Pats is that they only gave up 3 points. The Giants did exactly what they needed to do, take the ball down the field into the red zone and get points. Now lets see what Brady can do with his opening drive.

I've noticed that Belichick is wearing a new bright red hoodie. I'm not a superstitious guy but maybe he should have stayed with the gray. If they lose this game I'm blaming it on the hoodie.

5:54. The Pats start their first drive with pretty decent field goal position. After holding the Giants to a field goal they have to score a touchdown here. Not surprisingly they also open with two straight running plays. Both teams got here on the strength of their running game at the end of the season. So far though it looks like Brady is not getting nearly as much time in the pocket as Eli.

5:59. So the Giants make the first mistake of the game. This is huge in the Super Bowl. The experts predicted they needed to play a perfect game anyway. Its early and this might get lost in the shuffle later on but keep it in mind if the Pats have a small lead in the 4th quarter.

End of the First Quarter: Pretty much what you would expect from two very good teams. Two long drives into the red zone. The Giants come up with 3 points and the Pats put 7 on the board with the first play of the second quarter.

6:11. Amani Toomer just made an amazing catch. Eli facing a blitz on third and long just heaves it down the field for 38 yards and Toomer tap dances along the sideline to make the reception. The replay shows Toomer might have gotten away with a little push off but still a great catch.

6:14. This is exactly what the Giants did not need... Eli throwing an interception in the red zone. The Giants had an impressive almost mechanical first drive. They make a costly defensive penalty that directly leads to the Pats first score. Now you have a delay of game penalty on Eli (which he has always had a problem with) and an interception. We'll have to see whether Eli folds under the increased pressure now or shrugs it off.

6:20. So to answer the interception the mighty Patriots... go three and out. You have to wonder how many mistakes the Giants offense can make that their defensive is going to be able to cover. The Patriots also need to find some way to get Brady just a little bit more time in the pocket.

End of First Half: After the Patriots 3 and out above, the teams trade a couple more 3rd and outs drives. The Giants almost lost a fumble and eventually had to punt. The Patriots punted after Brady got sacked twice. The Giants got the ball back and made some good progress before Manning got hit and coughed up the ball. On the next play Manning was nearly picked off on another long toss down the field. The Giants punted and the Pats started on their own 11 but with only 1:47 left on the clock they couldn't get the ball into scoring position. Brady was forced to fumble on the NE 49 with about 10 seconds left. An interesting stat for the half...Moss was thrown at 3 times the entire half with 1 reception. All three of those passes didn't come until the last drive of the half as the Pats were trying to score quick.

My thoughts on the first half... Both teams look pretty good and I think this game could easily come down to whoever has the ball last. The Giants have done what they needed to do on defense and held the highest scoring team in the history of the league to 7 points. However, Eli doesn't look as good as he has the rest of the playoffs. He's made some questionable long throws down the field. On the other hand the Patriots have to give Brady more time in the pocket. He is facing pressure on almost every play. The Patriots running game doesn't look like it will be able to carry the team this game, and the Pats are going to need that big play down the field to win. All in all its a much better game than a blowout heading into halftime. I still think the Pats are going to win. Besides, the leader going into halftime is like 34-7 all time in the Super Bowl.

Halftime show: The NFL key demographic is something like males between 16 and 39 or so. I like Tom Petty and I thought the show was good. You just knew he was going to play Free Fallin. However, some say that the NFL sooner or later is going half to start booking half time acts that reflect their key demographic and not the IPod playlists of their 50-something executives (Yes, I know Goodell is 48)

7:32. The Patriots got the ball first in the second half and did little with it. After picking up a few first downs the pressure from the Giants forced the Pats into 3rd and 5 that the Pats couldn't convert.

Hold your horses... Belichick challenges whether the Giants had 12 men on the field for the snap on the punt. The 5 yard penalty will be enough to give the Pats a first down. I don't have the numbers for Belichick's success rate on challenges but for some reason I remember them as not being very good. The Pats win the challenge and get the ball back... another thing to add to the list if the Giants lose.

So after the Pats get the ball back they run 6 or so plays and end up with 3rd and long. Brady takes the snap and gets sacked by Strahan forcing 4th and 13. The Patriots, in a move I don't agree with or understand, decide to go for it on 4th down. They could have kicked a 49 yard field goal that would have potentially pushed their lead to a full 7 points. Brady can't find a receiver and tosses the ball out of the back of the end zone. The Giants take over on downs and the Pats possibly leave three points on the field. In all fairness, Gostkowski's long for the season is 45 I think, so this might have been outside his range.

7:53. The Giants get the ball back but the Pats defense holds and the Giants are forced to punt.

The Patriots have the ball back and after being backed into their endzone are now making some good progress down the field. A 19 yard pass to Welker just put the Pats into Giants territory. Moss still only has one catch I believe. The question to me is whether Brady's frustration is going to continue to mount and throw him off his game in the closing minutes of the game.

End of third quarter. I simply cannot believe that the Patriots have been held to 7 points through three quarters of ball. I predicted this game would be somewhere around 38-31, or 31-24. Unless there is a huge fourth quarter out of both teams I was completely wrong.

8:13 pm. Well, the Giants just scored on an impressive drive down the field. They started on their own 20 and after seven plays now lead by 3. Remember that field goal the Pats didn't go for. Eli had some pretty good passes during the drive and is certainly getting more time to throw than Brady is.

Could it possibly be that the lowly Giants are going to come away as Super Bowl champs? I gotta say even I'm starting to believe at this point. Brady has no time to throw and when he does he has no open receivers. Manning looks very good at this point and the team is rolling. The Pats have to stop them here otherwise I'm afraid this game will be over.

So is this Brady's Super Bowl winning drive? so far the team seems to be moving well. A few good quick passes. Two of those passes are to Welker and I think if the Patriots win he is probably going to be the MVP if Brady doesn't get it. Right now the Pats are down inside the Giants 30... well make that the 20. Moss just caught a good ball over the middle. So we have to assume that the Pats are going to tie this game if not take the lead. What's amazing is this drive has been 8 passes and one run so far. I think the Giants D is gassed right now and they just can't hold anymore.

8:42 pm. There it is... Brady to Moss for a touchdown. Moss may not have contributed much but he may have just caught the ball that gives himself and his team a ring. I am now convinced that Brady is one of the best of all time. He threw his team down the field with the cool and calm the likes Montana used to show.

Now its Eli's turn. He has 2:42 left to play and three time outs. Can he lead the Giants down the field and score a touchdown? This is where we see just what Eli is made of.

The Giants have kind of stalled out and are facing 4th and 1. The Giants go for it and convert. Now 1:28 left on the clock. Eli takes off running for 5 yds. Now Eli almost throws an interception. On 3rd and 5 Eli almost gets sacked but escapes and airs the ball down the field complete to Tyree. 59 seconds are left on the clock and the Giants are on the NE 24.

1 and 10 and Eli gets sacked. The Giants use their last timeout with 51 seconds left on the clock. 2nd and 11 at the NE 25. Eli gets pressured again and tosses the ball out incomplete. 3rd and 11 with 45 seconds on the clock. Eli completes the pass to the Smith right at the first down mark. 1st and 10 on the NE 14 with 39 seconds left.

8:57 pm. Manning tosses it to Burress alone in the end zone for the score! No flags and the Giants take a 3 point lead. Remember that field goal the Patriots didn't go for earlier?

Brady is going to get the ball back with about 27 seconds and two timeouts. Can they get into field goal range in that time?

Brady couldn't get it done. Congratulations to the New York Giants! Their defense should be the MVP of the game. They managed to do what no other team this year could... shut down not only Moss, but Brady and Welker and Maroney and Faulk and Stallworth.