Ladies and gentlemen, it's Super Bowl time
Cold, Hard Football Facts for February 05, 2012

Don't forget to follow us here on Facebook and here on Twitter for all our latest posts. Doing a lot of updating there!

9:36 p.m. Patriots defense has not made one big stop all year. And now it looks like it must if the team is to win the Super Bowl. Two awkward passes by Brady on last drive helped make this drive for New York possible.

9:32 p.m. Looks like Mario Manningham had something close to a Tyree moment.  

9:13 p.m. Speak of the devil. Cruz comes up with his second-consecutive catch, this one for a first on third and short. If this drive keeps on rolling, we make look at that offside against Rob Ninkovich as one of the critical plays on the game. It kept alive a drive that should have been over.

9:11: p.m. Cruz has been awful quiet tonight, too ...  no? Three catches for 17 yards, though he does have a touchdown.

9:05 p.m. Brady seems to throw a lot of passes like that since his Randy Moss days: long airballs to covered players  that he should just throw a way.  Still a very quiet night for his target there, Gronkowski: 1 catch for 20 yards.

8:32 p.m. Brady is 16 of 16 for 154 yards and 2 TD since Eli Manning and the Giants last touched the ball.

7:56 p.m. In case you were wondering, here's what the fashionable football writer is eating in the press box for Super Bowl XLVI, a lovely turkey sandwich in a cardboard box. It's about the only chintzy thing you'll see around the generally first-rate NFL Super Bowl experience. Oh, they do have a buffet, too ... but not up to our exacting tailgate food standards. They should have the CHFF Tailgate Team run concessions here.





7:44 p.m. Wow! Cannot believe the Patriots are leading 10-9 after getting dominated the entire first half. If the Patriots win, we'll look at that drive at the end of the first half as foundation of a championship: 14 plays, 96 yards, 3:55, scoring with 8 seconds to play in the half.

7:16 p.m. We're seeing why the Patriots were 28th in third-down defense in 2011, allowing opponents to convert 43.1 percent of attempts this year.

7:02 p.m. Teams that record a safety are 4-2 in Super Bowl play. The only true indicator of victory, is a pick six. Every team in Super Bowl history that's recorded a pick-six has won the game.

6:36 p.m. Haven't seen the Patriots defense unload that much heat on the big, bad Giants marching into their territory since Lexington circa 1776.

6:22 p.m. Giants long snapper Zak DeOssie is out on the field as one of New York's captains. His dad, Steve, of course, won a Super Bowl with the Giants in 1990. CHFF interviewed Dad DeOssie in the media center at the JW Marriott in Indy the other day. He said it's MUCH more nerve-wracking watching his son play in the Super Bowl than it was actually playing in the Super Bowl himself.

6:18 p.m. Nice job, Kelly! Always the best moment in all the build-up to the biggest spectacle in our country. Nothing will ever top Whitney, though.

6:05 p.m. Hey folks, it's your friendly neighborhood Potentate of Pigskin Kerry J. Byrne chiming in. If you're wondering what the view is like from the press box, here it is: many stories high above the field, one of the highest in the NFL. Totally insulated environment. Can barely hear the PA announcer or crowd. Like it's own little bubble for people with keyboards. By the way, Friend of the Facts Don Banks is to my right. ESPN's John Clayton is to his right. And the guys from Yahoo! Sports are too my left. The Mighty CHFF has come a long way, folks.



 

4-4:30 p.m.

4:02: They’re talking about the new Hall of Famers – I have to say that if there was one choice I’d dispute it was the selection of Curtis Martin. He was classy, a great guy, and a really solid running back, but he was never the guy you'd want first. Stats are stats, but with so many greats in the game, I just feel like he was more of a Hall of Very Good type of guy. Good to see three defensive players get in, as the Hall continues to try and even those numbers up a bit.

4:04: Feature story on Myra Kraft on the Jumbotron. Hard not to root for Bob Kraft no matter which team you like. As much as Brady and Belichick will be stories if the Patriots win, it’s Kraft and his family that are the real story.

4:12: If the Patriots are “heartless” for cutting Tiquan Underwood so they could activate a defensive lineman that’ll actually play, give me heartless anytime.

4:22: I’m always a little amazed when I see four-year-olds at the Super Bowl. I love my son more than life itself, but take him to the Super Bowl? Nope.

4:27: Stadium’s still only about 15 percent full (the stands, that is). But the outside walkways are starting to get pretty full, and there are a lot of “Whooooooos!” going on.

3:30-4 p.m.

3-3:30 p.m.