9-0

The game of the century lived up to the hype - for once. Who would have thought it? Certainly not I. I knew the Colts D was good, but I never imagined they were THAT good. After the game, most experts were crowning the Pats as superbowl champion, giving the Colts no chance to win in Foxborough in January. They are dead wrong. What wins games in January? Good defense and a good running game. It's pretty obvious that the Colts possess both and pretty obvious that the rematch not only will happen, but also that it will be another close game. As good as the Colts were running it and playing D, let's face it the Pats weren't on their game and were still able to pull it out against it all.

I already know what the league will do about rookie referree John Parry and his officiating crew. Nothing. The league needed this to be a close game. That's why the Pats got a franchise record 146 penalty yards to a mere 25 for the Colts. I'm not a math whiz, but that's about 121 free yards for the Colts. Add that to the 329 yds the Colts 'earned' and you get a total of 450 yds. Yet, somehow the Pats D was fantastic and quite simply they won this game by overcoming Manning and the officials and keeping the Pats in the game long enough for the offense to mount it's comeback.

How good was the Pats defense? Take away the bullshit pass interference calls and a flukey 73 dump off to Addai before the half and the Colts would have a total of 7 points. Yup, a 24-7 blowout of the mighty Colts AT Indy. Not only did they hang tough early, but they closed the game out in the fourth. When the Pats pulled within three, the D forced a punt. When the Pats went ahead leaving Manning 3+ minutes to score the winning TD, the D stepped it up and made Manning turn it over. Ballgame.

The difference Rodney Harrison makes can not be overlooked. He held Dallas Clark to 2 catches, picked off a pass and finished with 6 tackles.

Oh and don't forget that the Pats D had one other obsticle to overcome, perhaps the biggest of all. One Josh McDaniels. I've had no reason to get on Joshy yet this season, but that's just because the talent on O has been enough to win games so far. In a game where they needed some offensive strategy, the offense was feable for 51 minutes. That's a direct result of an inept offensive coordinator, my friend Joshy. Where do I begin? Moss catching balls inside of 5 yds while sending Stallworth deep for a jump ball. Not getting the ball to Welker until the fourth. If you want to or have to throw quick passes to the WR throw them to Stallworth and Welker, not Moss. How about Maroney running for nearly 5 yds/carry in the first half and then getting one touch in the second half - a 3rd and one that they refused to account for and block Bob Sanders. Good job Joshy. Did anybody know coming into this game that Dwight Freeney is a great pass rusher? Maybe we all should have told Joshy about Freeney. How many times was he in Brady's face, forcing an early throw or an incompletion or nailing Brady right after he threw it. Joshy, Matt Light needs help with Freeney before he kills Brady. Here's a suggestion for you. Line up Kyle Brady next to Light and let them beat down Freeney the entire first half. How about lining Rodney up in the slot and having him run down the line and smash Freeney a few times. Beat his ass into submission and THEN single him up with Light. A realistic way to slow the pass rush is to use the screen pass. Joshy used the screen pass once. ONCE! Take notice Joshy, I'm not letting you off the hook for the rest of the season.

The fact is, that this game was won in the offseason. When it came down to it Brady hit Moss, Moss Moss, Stallworth, Moss, Welker, Moss and Welker. How about the one handed grab that Moss made? I've never seen a catch that good. Moss had his second TD of the game taken away on another bullshit call, offensive pass interference on Moss who never even touched the defender. Moss was unstoppable, but it was Welker that made the difference in the game. His returns in the fourth set up the TD drives. And he made an incredibly smart play on his last catch. The Pats were facing 3rd and 7, if they didn't convert Manning was gettng the ball back. Welker runs a great route, makes the catch and then drops like he got shot before rinning out of bounds. If he runs out, the Pats need to make another first down. Instead, he flops, stays in bounds and the Pats take a knee the rest of the way. Genius.

In the postgame Manning said they need to get healthy. The fact is, in the fourth quarter with the game on the line and the Pats closing in, Manning had two chances to end the game. He choked. First posession 5 plays and a punt. Second posession 5 plays and a Manning 'fumble' into the hands of Colvin. Two drives that took a total of 4:50. Better get your team healthy Peyton. Good excuse but typical of Manning - blame everybody else.

But these Colts are very good and they'll be back, on January 21st as a matter of fact, in the AFC Championship game in Foxborough. Peyton's already got his excuse, it's gonna be cold.