Patriots vs. Colts, AFC Championship Game: 2nd Quarter

- It'll be a 3rd and 1 for the Pats when the 2nd quarter starts. I think they've got to get the ball to Logan Mankins here.

- Jim Nantz asks Phil Simms why he doesn't wear his glasses on-camera. "Because I'm vain," is the answer from Simms. Not that I endorse a great deal of vanity from anyone, but if you're Phil Simms, does it really matter? It's not like he's a supermodel, or he's trying to sell his ass on the corner... he's a goofy-looking old man. Does he think he's employed because he's hot?

- 4th and 6 in the Colts territory, and the Patriots are going to go... they play clock was about to die, and Brady called a timeout. I don't know if they really have a choice here... it's so close that a punt would be wasted, but I wouldn't trust Gostkowski from that range.

- And of course, they get it.. and a hell of a lot more. It's Troy Brown on the slant from Brady, and again, it's a perfect call from the Patriots. They're inside the 10.

- And Corey Dillon walks in on the next play. 14-3, Patriots. Very impressive drive there, mixing it up a ton, calling all the right plays, keeping the Colts off balance.

- My God, it's like a nightmare. Asante Samuel, interception, touchdown, 21-3 Patriots. I was hurting last week, but you know what... Thank Christ that I'm not a Colts fan. Not that the game is over, of course, by any stretch... but things couldn't be going much worse for the Colts right now.

- 3rd and 22 from their own 5 for the Colts... they're just hoping to avoid disaster here. What they can't avoid, though, is a delay-of-game penalty, pushing them back half the distance to the goal. This should be a running play.

- It wasn't... and it almost worked for them. Manning narrowly avoided the sack, and unloaded one to Reggie Wayne, and it was just barley tipped at the last second, and bounced off Marvin Harrison's hands. Here comes some primo field position for the Patriots.

- A Colts fan is doing one of those deals where they hang a Patriot thing in effigy... and the sweatshirt on the thing being hung reads, "YOUR DEAD PATRIOTS." Whose dead Patriots? What is that, the name of a punk band?

- 3rd and 6, and another excellent play call gets the Pats a first down, well within field goal range. Woops... offensive pass interference is called, though, and that makes it 3rd and 16, out of field goal range. A rare misstep for the Patriots.

- It's a 4th and 27, and the Patriots end up punting. 3:06 for the Colts to get something going here.

- Nice little MasterCard commercial there. Vinny Testaverde's in line at the concession stand, getting snacks for the coaches... not hilarious or anything, but clever enough. With Manning, Brady, Grossman, and Brees... the one quarterback who's had a new commercial debut this week is Vinny Testaverde. MasterCard must have cut the advertising budget.

- The Colts are moving the ball a little bit. They're out past midfield with over 90 seconds left in the half. Peyton Manning on this drive has been throwing to almost exclusively white receivers.

- 1st and goal with :24 in the half, and the Colts call their first timeout. Then they come out running, which goes nowhere, and are forced to burn their 2nd timeout. The Pats haven't been able to come close to stopping a pass on this drive... that seemed like a waste.

- Flag down in the endzone as a Manning pass goes over the head of a fallen Reggie Wayne. Tedy Bruschi is pointing and screaming at a ref like he's Hulk Hogan... Let's see what the call is. Peyton Manning doesn't seem to like it. And there is no foul. Fourth down for the Pats... the call is that the players just got their feet tangled up, and... that looks like the right call. Nice work by the officials.

- Nantz and Simms are saying Wayne tripped on his own feet, but that's not right... there was lower leg contact between him and the defender, which forced Wayne's back foot into his front one. Anyway, the field goal attempt is up and good. 21-6 looks to be your halftime score.

- It will be. We'll be back for the second half.