Superbowl XLVI (2012)

Superbowl XLVI (2012)

...Superbowl XLVI....Patriots VS Giants.
 
Break It Down, Super Bowl Matchups: Bill O'Brien vs. Perry Fewell


Bill O'Brien will plot Tom Brady's game plan one more time in the Super Bowl before leaving the Pats to take over as Penn State's new coach. (AP)

To get you ready for Super Bowl XLVI, "Break It Down" will take a closer look at five matchups, one per day, that will be critical to the Patriots-Giants showdown.
Monday: Vince Wilfork vs. Giants' O-line
Tuesday: Rob Gronkowski/Aaron Hernandez vs. Giants' secondary
Wednesday: Ahmad Bradshaw/Hakeem Nicks vs. Patriots' defense
Thursday: Giants' pass rush vs. Patriots' O-line
Tom Brady will be the first to tell you that he didn't play particularly well in New England's AFC championship game win over the Ravens. It's no secret that he'll have to be much better on Super Bowl Sunday.
But the Giants have thrown off Brady's rhythm in the past, including in their Week 9 win in Foxborough. Whether or not Brady can get into a groove may very well come down to the battle of wits between New England offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien and Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.
How will that duo punch and counter-punch next Sunday? Here are a few things to look for, in the final pre-Super Bowl edition of "Break It Down."

We open with a set the Patriots used on multiple occasions vs. the Giants in Week 9 and sporadically throughout the year:

That's a six-man line with Brady under center. To get some extra protection, the Patriots brought in Sebastian Vollmer (No. 77) as an extra tackle in this scheme.
Brady faked a handoff to Danny Woodhead, then wound up scrambling through a huge hole for a few yards. While this formation essentially eliminates one of the Patriots' receiving options - though, technically, Vollmer was eligible on the play - it also provides Brady some extra time against New York's pass rush.
The Patriots went right back to this idea on their next play, sliding Vollmer to the opposite side of the line and inserting Rob Gronkowski on the right.

The Patriots probably would prefer not to do this, but it does serve its purpose - both in getting Brady some more protection or adding an extra blocker on run plays.
Especially if Gronkowski is less than 100 percent, you can expect to see some of this in the Super Bowl. New York's pass rush is just too good for the Patriots to block with only five linemen all game. They'll have to do some different things to keep Brady upright.
And among those "different things" they might try is shifting their receiving threats around. We touched on this possibility some in Thursday's "Break It Down," but here's another example:

There, the Patriots had two wide receivers (Deion Branch and Wes Welker) to the left, tight end Aaron Hernandez to the right and motioned Gronkowski into the backfield, where you'd traditionally see a fullback.
The Patriots sent both Woodhead and Gronkowski out in patterns, leaving the five-man line to block the Giants' four pass rushers. New York won that head-to-head, generating a huge amount of pressure on Brady.
But by sliding Gronkowski into the backfield and delaying his release ever so slightly, New England kept its top receiving option available as a safety valve to Brady. The Pats' QB just dumped it off to Gronkowski for a solid gain.

Misdirection will be a key component in the Patriots' attack - whether it's running draw plays, screens or simply utilizing some play-action fakes. New England put that final option into practice on the play pictured below.
Brady faked a handoff to Woodhead, freezing the Giants' linebackers for a split second. New England also, again, delayed Gronkowski's move downfield. He's boxed in yellow, staying home to defend against a late blitz.

Once the fake is executed - and thanks to some strong blocking up front - New England has tipped the scales in its favor. Gronkowski (boxed) finally releases out of the backfield and is more or less uncovered. Same goes for Woodhead, who sprints into the space vacated by the Giants' linebackers, who turned and bailed out downfield once they realized this was a passing play.
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Brady made an easy toss to Woodhead for a nine-yard pickup. The Patriots don't need to go for home runs on every down against the Giants, especially if Gronkowski is hobbling. Taking what's there will be critical for Brady's success.
A couple more looks at what we might see from New England's offense and, in turn, New York's defense …
Here's a pretty standard look for the Patriots: Basically a five-wide set, with Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez tight to the line on Brady's right. Notice how the Giants matched up on this play - it's probably what you'll see again, should the Patriots utilize this formation.

It's man coverage everywhere, with two deep safeties and four rushing. The Giants can afford to do that, because (as pointed out a couple of photos above) their defensive line tends to cause some issues when it's a four-on-five scenario.
In this example, the Giants had a linebacker on both Gronkowski and Hernandez. The other option the Giants like to employ against the Patriots - one discussed more in-depth in Thursday's "Break It Down" - is to bring safety Deon Grant in as, essentially, an extra linebacker and pin him to Gronkowski.
They did this last week against the 49ers and Vernon Davis:

New York also tried to double-team Davis when it could. Here, Michael Boley dropped to support Grant deep.

The Giants will use those double-teams on Gronkowski if they need to, but ideally, they won't have to. Doing so leaves the rest of the cover guys even more exposed and also takes away Boley as a blitzing threat, a role he's thrived in during this postseason.
Back to the Patriots quickly: New England loves to run Welker and Branch to the same side of the field. Why? Well, it makes it difficult for a man-to-man defense to contend with both the deep pass and underneath routes.
Welker's in motion in the photo below, headed over near Branch:

Both receivers had those man-defense looks facing them here. Branch took off on a deep fly route, while Welker hesitated a bit and ran a short curl about eight yards downfield. With Branch helping to clear out the two cornerbacks in coverage, this turned into a pitch-and-catch for Brady and Welker.

The other thing New England might try to do to keep New York off-balance is run the football more than usual. It's a tall order against the Giants front, but going to shotgun and spreading the field could open up some room up the middle.
San Francisco did that, to some extent, last week.
On this Frank Gore run play, the Giants are in their usual man-to-man press coverage look outside, with Grant acting as that extra "linebacker" to help defend Davis. Gore took a handoff from Alex Smith and ran just off right guard.

The 49ers' offensive line created a nice push and the Grant-as-a-linebacker strategy backfired - you can see him here (No. 34) not even in the fray yet as Gore's already three yards upfield before getting touched.

For all the different formations and plays New England will run, though, the Giants will have just as many defensive sets prepared. They've even gone so far as to drop Justin Tuck into zone coverage and rush three in recent weeks, another new twist.
A quick refresher from Thursday's "Break It Down" about a couple of different tactics the Giants take.
Grant (boxed in yellow) and Boley (orange) are two of the biggest keys to what the Giants do. Boley will switch from covering the middle of the field to blitzing often, making him a focal point for the Patriots' offensive line. Grant, meanwhile, will jump around as well - he can blitz, but more often than not, he'll be responsible for Gronkowski.

And up front, the Giants like to stunt and twist their linemen on a regular basis. It worked on this play against the 49ers, with Mathias Kiwanuka slotting outside as Jason Pierre-Paul occupied two linemen inside.

The O'Brien vs. Fewell matchup will be a complete chess match. Can the Giants get in Brady's face and take away his favorite weapons downfield? Will the Patriots utilize their running backs and different formations to keep New York on its heels?
It should be fun finding out those answers on Super Bowl Sunday.
 
Super Bowl 2012: 10 players to watch on Sunday

Matthew Scianitti Feb 4, 2012 – 9:00 AM ET | Last Updated: Feb 3, 2012 6:17 PM ET
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Al Bello/Getty Images

Think about it for a moment: Are the 7-7 Giants in the Super Bowl if Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie limits Victor Cruz to a first down, rather than letting him run for a 99-yard touchdown on Christmas Eve?




Haven't been following the New England Patriots and the New York Giants leading up to the Super Bowl? Post reporter Matt Scianitti provides a guide to 10 key players to watch on Sunday.

1. Tom Brady, quarterback, Patriots Brady looked shaky in the AFC Championship, but his poise bubbled in the fourth quarter, like it always does, and he dove over the Ravens' goal line for the winning score. No other quarterback is loved and hated for the same reason: When it counts, Brady is damn good.

2. Dan Connolly, centre, Patriots The reason Brady can be Brady is because his offensive line, anchored by Connolly, stretches time for him. While the Patriots allowed 32 sacks in the regular season, 15th in the league, Brady was yanked down just once in January.

3. Jason Pierre-Paul, defensive end, Giants Pierre-Paul is a 6-foot-5, 278-pound grenade with biceps. He is strong enough to fold and nimble enough to squeeze through the thickest line. And with New England eyes and hands anxiously following 23-year-old Jason Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Mathias Kiwanuka could each get a shot on Brady.

4. Antrel Rolle, free safety, Giants Brady will complete passes, the key is limiting yards after the catch, and that job belongs to Antrel Rolle. The playoff leader in tackles (18), he will need to constantly communicate with his secondary and his linebackers to make sure New England's offence only goes so far.

5. Eli Manning, quarterback, Giants Eli's body of work will never match Peyton, but no one doubts the younger Manning's big-game stature anymore. With the pocket collapsing and all his receivers covered, Eli can wiggle away and zip the ball where it needs to be, all the while looking like a spooked teenager.

6. Victor Cruz, wide receiver, Giants Think about it for a moment: Are the 7-7 Giants in the Super Bowl if Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie limits Cruz to a first down, rather than letting him run for a 99-yard touchdown on Christmas Eve? Maybe. Probably. Cruz's speed turns quick receptions into amazing gains.

7. Aaron Hernandez, tight end, Patriots If Rob Gronkowski's hurt left ankle makes him a spectator, New England offensive co-ordinator Bill O'Brien will trust Hernandez. The 22-year-old, like Gronkowksi, is strong and fast. But this post-season, Hernandez has proven himself to be a devastating rusher too, with five carries for 61 yards in the wild-card round.

8. Julian Edelman, receiver/safety, Patriots How Bill Belichick will use Edelman? The 25-year-old could be anywhere: lining up out wide as a receiver or in the secondary as a safety or defensive back. His numbers are not spectacular (four catches for 34 yards, and 13 tackles on defence), but the coach trusts him to make a big play.

9. Ahmad Bradshaw, running back, Giants Against linebackers Rob Ninkovich and Brandon Spikes and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork's belly, Bradshaw will probably not rush for 100 yards. But his angry strength will be vital in short-yardage situations, and each time Manning needs to dump the ball short for quick gains.

10. Jerod Mayo, linebacker, New England Patriots Like Rolle, Jerod Mayo will need to be the defensive example. The linebacker leads New England with 17 combined tackles in the playoffs and will be important to keeping yards by Bradshaw, Cruz and Hakeem Nicks short.
 
Super Bowl 2012 Betting Traffic Brisk



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As of 10:30 am EST Sunday morning there was every indication that the Super Bowl 2012 betting traffic could potentially shatter past records and this certainly bodes well for the sportsbooks

Traffic numbers were way up leading into Super Bowl Sunday for the Gambling911.com website with hundreds of different search inquiries related to the game. Gambling911.com has added server capacity. Content published may not show up for readers in real time due to the excessive traffic and tools being used to increase functionality. We encourage readers to get the latest news by following us on Twitter.
"I believe that by Noon we will be looking at perhaps 100 Super Bowl betting related searches coming into the Gambling911.com website per every two minutes," predicted Payton O'Brien, Operations Manager of the Gambling911.com site, which has bases in both Miami Beach and Lloydminster, Alberta, Canada.
This year's Super Bowl has fueled the Las Vegas economy.
Tony Miller with the Golden Nugget told Local 2, "I've seen million-dollar wagers come over the counter. I've seen $500,000 wagers come over the counter. A $20,000 or $50,000 bet is not an uncommon wager during the Super Bowl."
Billions of dollars were being wagered both with the online sportsbooks and in Vegas. Sin City will realize a huge positive impact as visitors not only place bets but will patronize the many restaurants and other establishments Sin City has to offer.
So who do the books want to win?
New England!
Jay Kornegay, Director of the LVH Sportsbook, said that 62 percent of the bet tickets written thus far have come in on the Giants. This mimics a similar trend with the online sportsbooks where approximately 58 percent of the spread betting is going towards New York.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
 
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