In the years between 2001 and 2004 the Patriots were racked with obstacle after obstacle. Riddled with injuries the Patriots some how managed to adjust and overcome all adversity and walk away with 3 Super Bowl victories in 3 appearances. They never won handedly, they never won pretty, eeking out just enough to put another W in the column.
In that same time period, the Indianapolis Colts were an offensive juggernaut, racking up points. The defense, though not top notch, was often overlooked as Peyton Manning and such high-profile receivers as Harrison and Wayne controlled the game with ease. Despite their dominance, and a career season in 2004, the Colts were not overcome the speed bump known as the Patriots. Even in 2006 when the Colts finally earned their Super Bowl title, the AFC championship against the Patriots was a close battle to the end (We are not going to discuss "the call" that changed the outcome of the game).
Fast Forward to 2007 and the roles have been reversed.
The Patriots are the hot team. Brady and the Patriots offense, fueled by controversy and spite, have dominated the league with a legitimate shot at going 16-0 and are a Super Bowl favorite.
The Colts, in contrast have been riddled with injuries. One of Manning's favorite targets has been taken away for most of the season. The defense has been all but wiped out. The list of injuries is alarmingly long, and a lot of these names are huge. Harrison, Freeney, Sanders, Morris, O'Neil, McFarland, Worsely and the list goes on and on.
While many teams would crumble and fall with far less injuries especially with key players. Manning and coach Tony Dungy have managed to adjust and find ways to win, in a very Patriots-esque manner. The wins have not been pretty, struggling against teams they normally would roll right over, but they are still wins. At a time when they were most vulernable in week 9, they played a great game against the Patriots (albeit with again some help from the zebras) and held their own. They may have lost the game but you have to think that keeping the game close was a small moral victory for them.
On a personal level, I have always equated Manning and Dungy with Satan. Manning looks like a chicken on the field with his constant-audible offense not to mention not being able to go 10 minutes without seeing him on TV 24-7. Dungy never got the job done in Tampa with great talent, and was not getting it done with an all-star team in Indy.
2007 has put them both in a new light. Peyton still looks spasmodic on the field, but somehow, him and Dungy are defying all logic and getting the job done despite nightmarish obstacles. They have found new weapons, more of them and honestly present more of a threat to stopping the Patriots than ever before.
If anyone, especially Patriots fans are overlooking the Colts and think they have no chance in the post season you need to seriously take another look at the Colts and think again. As a Patriots fan myself, I can only hope that the Patriots are not falling into the trap and believing their own hype. If they are then it will be the gravest mistake in Patriots history,
Steelers @ Browns: This is one of two big upsets in the playoffs. On paper, the Steelers are the better team, but their arrogance in thinking they are a better team than they really are works against. Big Ben has had a good year but it is not enough to stop a team that has played with a lot of heart. This is a close game that comes down to the last minute of the 4th Quarter. Bowns win 17-14.
Jaguars @ Chargers: This game is over before it starts. No way the Chargers, despite winning their division is able to hold off the Jaguars. Jaguars breeze through this one winning 27-17.
NFC
Giants @ Buccaneers: The Giants barely squeak into the playoffs and are out in the first round. Not having Shockey really hurts the Giants offense really limiting Eli's Options. John Gruden and the rolling Buccaneers win in a 31-10 rout.
Vikings @ Seahawks: A classic pass vs rush game. When it comes down to it, the Seahawks are a more experienced team in the post season and that experience pays off with a close win. Seahawks 27-24 in OT
Divisional Round:
Browns @ Colts: The fairy tale is over for Romeo and the Browns are humbled by the Colts: 41-7.
Jaguars @ Patriots: The Jaguars are #1 in rushing plays and #2 in rushing yards but ranked 4th in rushing touchdowns. This is the kind of team that can beat the Patriots. Garrards' inexperience along with falling behind early makes the Jaguars play the game they can't play in weather they can't play it in. Patriots win 35-17.
NFC
Seahawks @ Packers: As good as the Seahawks looked late in the season, Packers send them home in for the season win: 31-24.
Buccaneers @ Cowboys: Combine Romo's bum thumb, his playoff inexperience and Jessica Simpson and you have the recipe for a meltdown. Barber fails to carry the offense and the Buccaneers get by in a very close game 13-10.
Championship Round
AFC:
Colts @ Patriots: Once again it comes down to this rivalry. Even though the Colts are heathier than during the regular season, they are tired after a tough game against the Jaguars the week before. Patriots come away with another close battle as Manning lets frustration and fatigue get the best of him. Patriots win 27-20.
NFC: Buccaneers @ Packers: In a game with as much heart as ability, the cold at Lambeau proves to be too much for the Buccaneers who should go home smiling for as well as they played at the end of the season. Old Man Favre shines again and earns one more trip to the Big Show..
Superbowl:
Patriots vs. Packers: Imagine the hype surrounding this game. The Packers led by the record breaking Favre in a season as improbable as it was spectacular playing the New England Patriots, led by the record breaking Brady and a team that has a chance to avenge their Super Bowl loss to the Packers in 1995-95 and go 19-0. This game blows the ratings off the charts as the most viewed program in history. This will be a game that EVERYONE watches, football fans or not. An offensive shootout. The Arizona conditions are ideal for the Patriots who hammer the Packers 44-27.
There you go, those are mine and just how I see them. Agree? Disagree? What are yours?
As a fan of the Patriots, it can be fun to get yourself caught up in the hype of a big game. I enjoy arguing until hoarse in the throat and red, white and blue in the face defending the team. More so, I am glad that there are fans out there willing to point out with the utmost certainty that my opinions and views are completely wrong. Thank you so much, the past week as been fun.
The Colts have a great team. There is no doubt about that, and it starts with their Organization, on down through the Head Coach and the rest of the coaching staff and ends with the players. There is so much talent on the team from the top down. They have been a dominant team for over half a decade and in any other time would have the term dynasty hung over their front door. They were rewarded last year with a well-deserved Super Bowl victory.
However you can not have your David without your Goliath. And in the NFL that means the New England Patriots. Over that same time span, the Patriots have been feeding off the talent and skill of the Indianapolis Colts and no rational person should think for a second that the Patriots would be as great as they are if they did not have a team they NEEDED to be great against. The two teams have evolved into the top tier of the NFL and that is something that you can not dispute.
What I find most disappointing is the attack on character that has gone on the last few weeks. I do not think there is a team in the NFL that embodies class and sportsmanship better than EITHER team. You can talk about handshakes all you want. The reality is that both teams play with 125% of their hearts, and when you put yourself out on the field like that, it is impossible to not feel the disappointment and frustration in losing. Over their recent rivalry, both teams have handled themselves with the utmost professionalism, about as much as you could possibly find when the game is played at such a level.
This year, for the Colts and the Patriots alike, the road to the Super Bowl will be through each other, most likely in the AFC Championship. True sportsman would have it no other way. In order to be the best, you have to play against the best. For the Patriots and Colts, there is no other competition.
I look forward to that game and all the hype and conversation surrounding it.
The game between the Patriots and the Colts is being billed as on of Good v.s Evil. It is the evil hooded Darth Vader (Bill Belichick) against the good Luke Skywalker (Tony Dungy). The frenzy surrounding this game is greater than any I have ever seen including the Superbowls. Fans have polarized into two factions, Pats fans, and everyone else.
But is Belichick really evil? Is he really the classless cheater that the media and anti-pats fans alike make him out to be?
Since Spygate, with all that has been written and said about Belichick in the media he has said nothing. He has not defended himself, he has not tried to explain or rationalize his actions nor has he tried to pass the buck or point out other indiscretions he may be aware of by other coaches. Instead, he has continued to do exactly as he has over the last 6 ½ years. Every day he goes to work and does everything he can to try and make his team better. Even when opposing coaches (Dungy included) make inaccurate and slanderous statements every time a microphone is placed in their direction and the subject comes up, Belichick says nothing in return.
THAT is what class is.
Sure, it’s hard to like Bill Belichick if you are not from New England or you are not a Patriots fans. He is short with the media, never gives a good soundbite. He dresses in the hoodie that Pat’s fans have come to love and the rest of the nation has come to loathe. He just is not likeable on many different levels, however that has nothing at all to do with class. Belichick was convicted in the media of Spygate long before the NFL even finished their investigation, sounds like a classy thing for the media to do. Even when the fine was handed down the NFL never stated that Belichick had been guilty of anything more than violating a league policy. Not once did Goodell ever state anything to the effect that Belichick had cheated. Apparently, in this country we are innocent until the media says otherwise.
You can say what you want about the Patriots and Belichick, because they are just going to continue what they do best… win football games. And you can argue that they run up the score, but the untold side of that argument is they ran a score on a defense that had talked trash all week long. And you can criticize for the quiet mocking of Terrel Owens by eating popcorn in their locker room after a game, as long as you don’t mention that TO should have just kept his mouth shut all along. The truth is you will not hear the Patriots trash talk other teams, players and coaches, it just is not tolerated in Foxboro. And whenever incidents emerge it is always omitted that the Patriots have never instigated any such conduct. Their actions speak volumes on their own.
THAT is what class is.
So the upcoming battle of Good vs. Evil is really the good (The Patriots and Bill Belichick) and the Evil (the sports media). I like the Patriots chances against the Colts on Sunday, it should be a good game to watch. Sadly, I do not think that they fair so will against the media.
Here we are coming up on week 9 in the NFL, the half-way point of the season and the biggest question raised all season, which came about on week one mind you, has still gone unanswered.
Why did he do it?
For those of you who he been asleep for the last 2 months, I am of course talking about Spygate. During the week one opener between the Patriots and the Jets, at the Meadowlands, the Patriots were caught using a video camera on the sideline to record the defensive signals. Upon review, Commissioner Roger Goodell fined Bill Bellicheck $500,000 and confiscated Bill’s video library (more on that later). Since then the media has been on an all out crusade to demonize Bill Bellicheck and the New England Patriots. The NFL fanbase has crucified them as cheaters.
So why did Bill Belichick do it? For 6 seasons with the New England Patriots he was touted as a genius, a mastermind and the class of the NFL. He took 6th round backup quarterback to the Superbowl and upset the Greatest Show on Turf. And in his 7th season amassed an all star team like no other NFL team before it. Why on earth would someone with a resume like Bill Belichick resort to cheating?
Simple, he didn’t.
For a moment, if you can, put everything you have heard THIS season about Bill Belichick aside. Put it on the shelf for now, you can go back to hating him after the article.
Search deep inside you heart. The idea of Bellichick cheating and doing it so obviously just seams a bit unrealistic. A Coach repeatedly referred to as a mastermind the prior six seasons resorting to cheap grade school tactics. It just does not fit at all. Not to mention that the performance of the Patriots did not match the performance of a team that would in fact be cheating. Even if you had time to analyze the tape at halftime, the Patriots should have played better in the second half consistently. Not the case. Lets look at the 2006 season for example:
The Patriots were better in the 2nd half in 7 of 16 games, not an over-whelming number of a team that is cheating in that manner. The average difference between 1st half and 2nd half points is less than 5 for those 7 weeks, less than a touchdown. For a team that cheats, they certainly were not doing a good job of it.
Fast forward to this season’s performance. Now that the league is under a microscope and the Goodell is on the hunt for it, if the Patriots had been cheating, they should be struggling, when instead offensively they are dominating. I already know what you all are thinking so I will save you the trouble. The Patriots added some key offensive players and basically have an all-star dream team. In the preseason the media had already anointed them with the championship and to this point they have lived up to that hype. So even if Belichick had been cheating, now with one of the greatest NFL teams to ever be assembled, what reason is there to cheat?
Going back to the 2006 season, week 10 in the loss to the New York Jets. During that game, a cameraman for the Jets was kicked off the field for videotaping the defensive signals (sound familiar). During that game, the Jets miraculously came from behind in the second half to beat the Patriots, who had beaten the Jets in week 2 of the season at the meadowlands. Things that make you go Hmmm. Belichick and Mangini have no love for each other. Mangini leaving for a rival organization as he did, taking his playbook with him could not have sat well with Belichick and there has been a feud ever since.
So here is the theory. Belichick takes a camera over to the Meadowlands and pulls the same stunt that Mangini had done before knowing he will get caught, hence why he would be so blatantly obvious about it. The NFL would have to look into it and put a microscope on all teams and put an end to some of the acknowledged widespread cheating practiced by some teams (Miami turning up the AC on hot days, Indy piping in crowd noise… we have all heard the stories).
Far fetched you say? I’m obviously not so sure. Goodell’s goons come to Foxboro and cart of… something, video tapes. Exactly what I am not sure, no one is. In fact, you do not hear anything more of what was on those tapes. Why? That one is easy, because there is nothing on those tapes. There is zero further evidence to support the Patriots cheating because, they never did to begin with and the ongoing investigation is dropped like a lead balloon. If as millions of fans believe that Belichick had been cheating for the past 6 years, you would think there would be something. Robert Kraft, a fan as much as an owner would never stand for that kind of behavior either. Had Belichick been indeed cheating, there is no way Kraft would have resigned him this year following Spygate. Kraft stood beside Belichick proudly because there was no reason no to.
So I stand beside Belichick and the New England Patriots as well. Proud of my team and what they have been able to accomplish over the last 6 and a half seasons.
This last week, the New England Patriots decimated the Washington Redskins 52-7. The Redskins, running their mouth all week long featured the 5th rated defense in the league and the #1 defense in the NFC. Apres-Patriots, that number has now fallen to 12th in the League and 5th in the NFC.
The Patriots can do that to a team. Halfway through the season their Defense is rated #3 in the league, while the Offense is rated #1. Rating the offense at #1 does not really tell the story on how powerful this team is offensively. If you were adjust the rankings to factor in how much of a lead they have over Dallas, then Dallas would actually fall somewhere around 6th. Indianapolis is currently ranked 3rd in offense right behind Dallas, so compared to the Patriots, Indy is really ranked 7th
This game does not deserve any of the hype it is currently getting. The November 4th game should be another blowout by the Patriots. Indy and Dallas would be a far better game as those two teams are pretty much on the level. Statistics wise Dallas has the edge but in all fairness to the Colts, their schedule of playing back-up and past-prime teams has been tougher and when you adjust for that, the two even out.
Did you happen to see what the Patriots did to Dallas?
So now we have to call into question on whether or not the stats are skewed in favor of the Patriots because they have been running up the score, needlessly. Yes and No. Certainly Brady has been out on the field a couple of times when really not needed. But how many points does that really account for. The only 3 games when you can argue running up the score are during the Dallas game, the Dolphins and last week against the Redskins. In the Dallas game I don’t think that it was needless, given what Dallas had done the week before scoring twice in a mere 20 seconds. The Patriots ensured a 3 score lead and that is all. So we are down to 2 games.
The Dolphins game Brady comes back in the game after the Cassel interception to put the Patriots up by 3 scores. The drive eats up the clock and puts the lead back in the safe zone. Again I am not sure that this was intentionally running up of the score. You can come back (as Dallas did) from 2 scores down. 3 scores be it 17 or 21 points is the safe zone and the Patriots are again right at that point.
The Redskins game is the only game where you can really argue running up the points. But how much? At halftime the score was 24-0. Certainly you are not going to pull your quarterback at the half. Brady threw for one touchdown in the 3rd, the other touchdown comes from the defense, the score is now 38-0. The 4th quarter Brady throws another touchdown. That touchdown is the only one so far this season that Brady did not need to be in there for. That is not to say the Cassel would not have gotten the TD and the end score was the same, but it certainly seemed like it was done just so Brady could get his 3 touchdown passes for the game.
So with all the bad press for running up the score, in reality, Brady has only put 7 unnecessary points on the board. I still think the points end up on the scoreboard, but they should have padded Cassel’s stats, not Bradys. Even if you take the 7 points off the stats, the Patriots still stay right where they are, and are still that far ahead of anyone else in the NFL. And the vilification by NFL fans and the sports media is more unjustified than the 7 points the Patriots should not have scored.
There is another aspect to be looking at here. There has been a lot of talk about the Patriots no longer having any class, much because of the running up the points (which has been proven to be just the media and fans looking for news as proven here) and because of the way-overblown spygate scandal. The Patriots have been acting as they have for the last 6 seasons. Over the last 6 years they Patriots were repeated called the class of the NFL. During that time the Patriots made the playoffs in 5 of 6 seasons, made the Division championships 4 times, and won the Superbowl 3 times. Still they were underrepresented in the Pro-Bowl and the media still shined the spotlight on Manning, placing him and his stats on a pedestal.
So what did the fans and the media expect. When the Spygate story hit, and it called into question the Patriots numbers, you gave them something to prove. I think the mentality for this season has been to not win any games by 3 points, but rather 3 scores. I think Bellicheck is unleashing Brady to go and do what he has been capable of all these years. I still do not think that it will gain the Patriots any respect, not by fans anyway, except Patriot fans who already had that respect. The Media may be more apt to give Brady a fair shake next year, and that is really all New England, the organization and fans alike, have ever asked for.
I would like to thank everyone who read and commented on this blog entry, it certainly generated a lot of interest yesterday and into today, more than I ever though. I thought I was doing good after 10 people commented. Anyway, I have another entry today, probably the last until the big game on sunday so please, take a look. Regardless of which side you are on, since lately you are either Pro or Anti Patriots (who does not love a good vs evil story?) the debate has been a blast.
35 year old Bostonian and long time Boston sports fan.
Served 9 years in the US Army as an Airborne Pathfinder. Currently employed as a Graphic Artist for a medium sized specialty printing company.
MBUA Baseball Umpire and also a Little League coach. Besides being obsessed with Football and Baseball, I am a fanatical NASCAR and PBR fan. For some reason I also find Curling absolutly fascinating.
