Madonna’s halftime show at Super Bowl 46 on Sunday (Monday AEDT) will stretch the mid-game break to 30 minutes for NFL players who typically have only 12 minutes of rest between halves.
To New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who worked a long pause into one of his practice sessions this week, the gap gives a feel of playing two different games and puts a premium on starting the second half well.
“I tried to simulate what it will be like on game day,” Belichick said on Friday. “I thought this year the players would benefit from that. It’s like playing a game, stopping, then playing a second game.”
In their final public comments before Sunday’s Super Bowl 46 showdown, Belichick and New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin looked back at solid weeks of preparation and ahead at strategy for the championship spectacle.
The Patriots, seeking a fourth title in 11 seasons, figure to test the Giants’ defence at times with a no-huddle offence, Tom Brady hustling his offensive unit into plays at a faster pace to catch opposing defenders unprepared.
“It forces defences to play at a different tempo. It puts pressure on them to make adjustments,” Belichick said. “If we can do it better than they can, it’s an advantage.”
Coughlin has focused on preparing his team for any disruptions, be they longer halftime breaks or quick plays from the Patriots.
“You have got to be prepared for things that might not happen to you very often but you have to be ready for them,” said Coughlin.
“Humble enough to prepare, confident enough to perform – that has been our attitude.”
The Giants defeated New England 17-14 in the 2008 Super Bowl to deny the Patriots an unbeaten championship run and beat them again last November in a regular-season game.
Since then, the Patriots have won 10 games in a row while the Giants promptly dropped four in a row then battled back with five must-win triumphs to claim the last playoff spot and an unlikely Super Bowl berth.
“We’ve had our backs to the wall. Players have performed very well in that circumstance,” Coughlin said.
Beating the odds to reach the Super Bowl included playoff triumphs for the Giants at Atlanta, San Francisco and one-loss regular-season champion Green Bay.
