Well, looks like Peyton can get a rest now...

[Afflyer]

So it looks like the '72 Dolphins can relax for yet another year, as their perfect season record won't be broken by the Colts.

Gotta hand it to the Chargers- great game by them.  Congrats to Burnt 70RT- your Charger's  made the Colts defense reminicent of last year and the year before that.  I had a sinking feeling in my gut from the very first opening play by the Colts when Peyton got sacked that I underestimated this opposing team.  I've been so geared towards the Christmas Eve game against the Chickenhawks, that I had blown off the Chargers.

At least now, the pressure is off of coach Dungy and he can rest his players, starting with Peyton Manning.  

So much for a perfect season.     

No matter how upset I got during the game, my little one year old daughter, Rhiannon, would look up at me and flash me the biggest smile and totally take my anger away.     Thank God, for her!

Now let's gear up for Seattle next Saturday!

Bradley

Go Colts Go!

[golden73]

Peyton could definately use the rest now... he took a lot of big hits during the game.

Should be interesting to see the way things turn out...

[Afflyer]

Yeppers- he took WAY to many hits.  I, along with the rest of the crowd in Indianapolis, was humbled.  I could not remember the last time I saw those long faces along the Colts sideline. 

That's right fellers- I'm bummin. 

Bradley 

[Chris G.]

That's right fellers- I'm bummin.  

Bradley  

Geez, talk about demanding perfection . Your team has home field throughout the playoffs! Who gives a rat's ass if they go undefeated? My team needs to win outright and hope the Steelers lose one game.

Wanna switch places? I thought so.

ps- The schedule makers should all be taken outside and shot. There was a lot of hatred when doing the Chargers schedule.  

[bull]

I also thought it was pretty pathetic seeing all those people, including Manning, all pouty and near tears because they finally lost a game. Only in America would people cry about a 13-1 record.

[Afflyer]

Well, let me try to explain as best I can, though it will probably be in vain.

     The looks on the crowds faces, as well as the sidelines (and my own), are in response to something Colts fans have dreamed about and have pulled right out from underneath.  A perfect season is something every football fan dreams of- hell in ANY sport, for that matter.  It's happened before with the '72 Dolphins- something I wanted to experience just as they did back then. 

     Yes, you two are correct in the sense that Colts fans shouldn't whine, as we have home field advantage and a first round bye in the playoffs.  That, I would agree with you on.  But like everything else- we wished and wanted for the perfect seaon to boot.

     Not only was the crowd long-faced over the fact that an unbeaten team was finally beat- but so many other streaks came to an end as well; home wins, first possession of the game points, etc., the list goes on.

     All we can do, as fans who "bleed blue" (and did so yesterday), is buck up and gear up for Seattle and give some much needed rest now, to our star players. 

     I may be hearing violins from a lot of you, I'll take it with the best of them.

     Bradley 

[nh_mopar_fan]

There were really a couple TERRIBLE decisions by Manning in that game. That naked bootleg? What the hell was he thinking?

In any case, what the Chargers did to Indy yesterday did not go unnoticed by the Patriots.

The championship game should be great.

[bull]

A perfect record doesn't mean jack squat if you don't have your heads in the game and are thinking long-term, like Superbowl. Getting all bummed out and emotional about losing one game can do more to grenade a team's chances of doing well in the playoffs than anything. Quite often these teams get all cocky and sure of themselves and then one little bump in the road knocks them so far off track they never recover. How many teams with excellent records have you seen get dismantled in the playoffs by a supposedly "lesser" team? I've seen it happen more than I care to recall. That's why there's that saying, "any given Sunday." If the Colts don't pull their heads out now they could very well tank the remainder of the season. Their recovery should have started at the game they lost yesterday. If I had seen some smiles and some "that's okay" looks on their faces, rather than a bunch of "we just got spanked in round one of the playoffs" looks I wouldn't be saying this. Now I have to think they are going to be completely taken apart by Seattle because they're sulking.

[Afflyer]

There were really a couple TERRIBLE decisions by Manning in that game. That naked bootleg? What the hell was he thinking?

Exactly!  The entire Colts offensive line looked at Peyton and wondered whatthehell was that all about- on during that play!  I was so friggin mad- could have been a beautiful touchdown, but NOOOOOO-screw it up on the one yard line and give SD back the ball.

[nh_mopar_fan]

Take his 2 cents' worth -- to the bank
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist | December 19, 2005

You're thinking of it, but you dare not say it. Master Belichick has trained you well, so you will not give voice to what you have been thinking since the end of Saturday's shutout.

That's OK, my child. I will do it for you.

The Patriots are going to beat the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs Jan. 15 at the RCA Dome. Set aside the Super Bowls, Tuck Rule Games, and annual playoff conquests in Steeltown; in the long, lofty reign of His Hooded Holiness, this will be the greatest victory of them all.

You saw the Patriots destroy the Buccaneers Saturday. You saw the Colts lose at home yesterday. It's clear. The Patriots are going to get Indy again.

No one can talk about this in Foxborough, of course. Not now. Not ever. In fact, it's amusing just to think about what would happen if some cub reporter stood up at Bill Belichick's news conference this morning and said, ''Ahem, Coach, now that you're playing better, and now that we've seen the Colts lose, how do you think you'd match up against the Colts in the playoffs if you played them right now?"

Said reporter would have better luck asking Barry Bonds what's in his medicine cabinet or calling Bill O'Reilly to talk about Hillary Clinton.

No. We know how it will go this week and the week after and the week after that. Belichick and his men will spend these next several days telling us that the 3-11 Jets remind them quite a bit of the 1985 Chicago Bears. And next week they'll have us believing the 2005 Dolphins are just about as good as Don Shula's undefeated team in '72. And then we'll spend a week praising the Jacksonville Jaguars (''almost a carbon copy of Lombardi's Packers") before they come here for the first playoff game.

Not me. I'll be thinking about the Colts and how sweet it's going to be when the Sons of Belichick go into the Dome and pull off the greatest NFL triumph since a bunch of these same Patriots beat the St. Louis Rams in New Orleans Feb. 3, 2002.

Think about it, it's all falling into place. The planets are aligning. The Patriots and Colts are on paths toward an inevitable collision and the football world will be stunned when the team with the five losses shocks the star-stocked team of the century.

Remember when the 1969 old-guard Celtics finished in fourth place, then rallied in the playoffs and won Bill Russell's final championship? They beat a Lakers team that had Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor. And they won Game 7 on the road. That's a little bit what this will be like.

The Patriots at this hour are a team on the way up. The Colts are fat and happy. The Patriots have won their last three games by an aggregate score of 79-10. They beat a couple of division bums, then smoked a playoff-bound Tampa team that recently won on the road against one of the NFC's best (Carolina).

The Colts yesterday finally lost and showed us that you can run on them. You can dominate their defensive line. You can beat them at home. Most of all, you can get to Peyton Manning. The Chargers put Manning on his butt all day long yesterday. Imagine what Willie McGinest and Rosevelt Colvin will be able to do.

New England's defense is peaking at just the right time. Sure, the secondary is young and vulnerable, but the front seven is so good teams can't run and quarterbacks can't get any time. Colvin and McGinest are playing like Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson in their primes. And even when facing a QB like Manning, Patriots fans have learned to Trust In Bill.

New England's early-season plague is paying benefits now. Losing Rodney Harrison remains the lone blow that still could derail a Super Bowl run, but elsewhere the Patriots have healthy, rested people playing their best football in December rather than October. Tedy Bruschi looks like the defensive captain again. Richard Seymour is taking on two and three guys per play up front.

In 1986, Red Sox lefthander Bruce Hurst missed more than a month in the middle of the season with a groin pull. The good part of the injury was that it enabled him to be strong in October when he pitched better than Roger Clemens, who was worn out after going 24-4. These Patriots in December (and January) look like Bruce Hurst in October of '86.

The Patriots are back. They have the best player in football in Tom Brady -- also the most clutch player in sports. They have the greatest clutch kicker in football history in Adam Vinatieri. They have a coach who is considered the new Lombardi, one who is 9-0 in playoff games in New England. They have a running back. They suddenly have healthy leaders back on defense. They have experience and confidence and purpose. No team ever has won three consecutive Super Bowls.

The Colts are going to stagger to the finish. They could lose again next week. In any event, they have lost their veneer of invincibility and they will be stale and worried anew when the Patriots come marching into the Dome in mid-January.

Of course, this is getting way ahead of things. Belichick and Co. need to focus on the moribund Jets, then the Dolphins. Then they must take care of business in that first, home, playoff game. There can be no talk about the Colts around here until the second week of next year. But it's going to happen. The win nobody expected. The greatest Patriots victory of them all.

[smasherofall]

Take his 2 cents' worth -- to the bank
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist | December 19, 2005

You're thinking of it, but you dare not say it. Master Belichick has trained you well, so you will not give voice to what you have been thinking since the end of Saturday's shutout.

That's OK, my child. I will do it for you.

The Patriots are going to beat the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs Jan. 15 at the RCA Dome. Set aside the Super Bowls, Tuck Rule Games, and annual playoff conquests in Steeltown; in the long, lofty reign of His Hooded Holiness, this will be the greatest victory of them all.

You saw the Patriots destroy the Buccaneers Saturday. You saw the Colts lose at home yesterday. It's clear. The Patriots are going to get Indy again.

No one can talk about this in Foxborough, of course. Not now. Not ever. In fact, it's amusing just to think about what would happen if some cub reporter stood up at Bill Belichick's news conference this morning and said, ''Ahem, Coach, now that you're playing better, and now that we've seen the Colts lose, how do you think you'd match up against the Colts in the playoffs if you played them right now?"

Said reporter would have better luck asking Barry Bonds what's in his medicine cabinet or calling Bill O'Reilly to talk about Hillary Clinton.

No. We know how it will go this week and the week after and the week after that. Belichick and his men will spend these next several days telling us that the 3-11 Jets remind them quite a bit of the 1985 Chicago Bears. And next week they'll have us believing the 2005 Dolphins are just about as good as Don Shula's undefeated team in '72. And then we'll spend a week praising the Jacksonville Jaguars (''almost a carbon copy of Lombardi's Packers") before they come here for the first playoff game.

Not me. I'll be thinking about the Colts and how sweet it's going to be when the Sons of Belichick go into the Dome and pull off the greatest NFL triumph since a bunch of these same Patriots beat the St. Louis Rams in New Orleans Feb. 3, 2002.

Think about it, it's all falling into place. The planets are aligning. The Patriots and Colts are on paths toward an inevitable collision and the football world will be stunned when the team with the five losses shocks the star-stocked team of the century.

Remember when the 1969 old-guard Celtics finished in fourth place, then rallied in the playoffs and won Bill Russell's final championship? They beat a Lakers team that had Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor. And they won Game 7 on the road. That's a little bit what this will be like.

The Patriots at this hour are a team on the way up. The Colts are fat and happy. The Patriots have won their last three games by an aggregate score of 79-10. They beat a couple of division bums, then smoked a playoff-bound Tampa team that recently won on the road against one of the NFC's best (Carolina).

The Colts yesterday finally lost and showed us that you can run on them. You can dominate their defensive line. You can beat them at home. Most of all, you can get to Peyton Manning. The Chargers put Manning on his butt all day long yesterday. Imagine what Willie McGinest and Rosevelt Colvin will be able to do.

New England's defense is peaking at just the right time. Sure, the secondary is young and vulnerable, but the front seven is so good teams can't run and quarterbacks can't get any time. Colvin and McGinest are playing like Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson in their primes. And even when facing a QB like Manning, Patriots fans have learned to Trust In Bill.

New England's early-season plague is paying benefits now. Losing Rodney Harrison remains the lone blow that still could derail a Super Bowl run, but elsewhere the Patriots have healthy, rested people playing their best football in December rather than October. Tedy Bruschi looks like the defensive captain again. Richard Seymour is taking on two and three guys per play up front.

In 1986, Red Sox lefthander Bruce Hurst missed more than a month in the middle of the season with a groin pull. The good part of the injury was that it enabled him to be strong in October when he pitched better than Roger Clemens, who was worn out after going 24-4. These Patriots in December (and January) look like Bruce Hurst in October of '86.

The Patriots are back. They have the best player in football in Tom Brady -- also the most clutch player in sports. They have the greatest clutch kicker in football history in Adam Vinatieri. They have a coach who is considered the new Lombardi, one who is 9-0 in playoff games in New England. They have a running back. They suddenly have healthy leaders back on defense. They have experience and confidence and purpose. No team ever has won three consecutive Super Bowls.

The Colts are going to stagger to the finish. They could lose again next week. In any event, they have lost their veneer of invincibility and they will be stale and worried anew when the Patriots come marching into the Dome in mid-January.

Of course, this is getting way ahead of things. Belichick and Co. need to focus on the moribund Jets, then the Dolphins. Then they must take care of business in that first, home, playoff game. There can be no talk about the Colts around here until the second week of next year. But it's going to happen. The win nobody expected. The greatest Patriots victory of them all.

I don't know who could believe all this dribble, the "mystique" of the patsys is over, evidence of the trouncing they received earlier this year in Fairysboro.

[nh_mopar_fan]

whistling past the graveyard is what that sounds like.

Check Bill's record against QBs the 2nd time around.....

[Afflyer]

Take his 2 cents' worth -- to the bank
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist | December 19, 2005



The Patriots are back. They have the best player in football in Tom Brady -- also the most clutch player in sports. They have the greatest clutch kicker in football history in Adam Vinatieri. They have a coach who is considered the new Lombardi, one who is 9-0 in playoff games in New England. They have a running back. They suddenly have healthy leaders back on defense. They have experience and confidence and purpose. No team ever has won three consecutive Super Bowls.

The Colts are going to stagger to the finish. They could lose again next week. In any event, they have lost their veneer of invincibility and they will be stale and worried anew when the Patriots come marching into the Dome in mid-January.

Of course, this is getting way ahead of things. Belichick and Co. need to focus on the moribund Jets, then the Dolphins. Then they must take care of business in that first, home, playoff game. There can be no talk about the Colts around here until the second week of next year. But it's going to happen. The win nobody expected. The greatest Patriots victory of them all.

Opinions are like you know what...everybody's got one.

[69_500]

Well it makes me happy as a Dolphins fan to see the Colts get a loss. I'll admit that. however I think the city of indianpolis needs a championship in any sport to hold on to as a city. Now I don't want that to happen really because I always hold out hope of the Dolphins winning it all.



But needless to say, does anyone think the Colts will be 15-1? I say 14-2. I don't see them beating Seattle either.

[Chris G.]

But needless to say, does anyone think the Colts will be 15-1? I say 14-2. I don't see them beating Seattle either.

I thought before the Charger game that the Colts would lose to Seattle. I still think they are the team to beat though. Watching yesterday, you could see that at any moment the switch was about to be turned on. The Pats are really coming on strong, but the Colts are still the top team to beat (IMO).

Any way you look at it, an AFC team will win again. The NFC is pure garbage this year. Seattle has not been tested by any real talent. I think they have done what they need to do, but against the Colts or Pats in the bowl, they don't stand a chance.  

[bull]

Any way you look at it, an AFC team will win again. The NFC is pure garbage this year. Seattle has not been tested by any real talent. I think they have done what they need to do, but against the Colts or Pats in the bowl, they don't stand a chance.  

...with most of that. Seattle has had a very easy schedule for the most part. They are good, don't get me wrong, but they are not invincible. They have never gotten past the first round of the playoffs that I can recall. Maybe once they have but they've only made the playoffs like three or four times in franchise history.

[dodgeboy67]

Any way you look at it, an AFC team will win again. The NFC is pure garbage this year. Seattle has not been tested by any real talent. I think they have done what they need to do, but against the Colts or Pats in the bowl, they don't stand a chance. 

...with most of that. Seattle has had a very easy schedule for the most part. They are good, don't get me wrong, but they are not invincible. They have never gotten past the first round of the playoffs that I can recall. Maybe once they have but they've only made the playoffs like three or four times in franchise history.

....not to mention if the chicken hawks have to play new york again , i doubt the outcome wont be the same

[Afflyer]

I would love to see a "brother vs. brother" superbowl; i.e.- Colts vs. Giants, but I don't think that'll happen.

[mikemopar]

Afflyer, that's a beautiful name for your daughter.  I imagine she's one of these, 

The Pats aren't going anywhere this year.  They're lucky the Dolphins didn't start gelling earlier in the season otherwise they wouldn't be where they are now.  The Pats front guys aren't enuf to carry the team, any kind of decent QB with good protection will pick their secondary apart. 
Example:  The Chefs aren't going anywhere, but the QB killed them a few games back.  A mediocre team did that, what's gonna happen in the playoffs.  I'm sorry, but not this year.

Here goes, the Charger's playoff hopes will suffer come Saturday afternoon in Missouri.  Their schedue is no different than the Chefs, strength wise.   They play a lot of the shorter coverage, which is what the Colts have problems with.  Take away their crossing patterns and make Peyton hold on to the ball just a little bit longer.  Chargers were the perfect team to beat them, they play a lot of that.  Shawn Merriman is a STUD.

With 2 games left, Jacksonville & Pittsburgh for the final 2 spots is looking like the ticket.  I was hoping for the 2 AFC West teams to make it.  There's just too many scenarios that have to happen, especially after the Chefs beat da' Chargers Saturday.  I'm prolly all wet, tomorrow night I'll prolly feel the opposite.

I say play Manning and company the rest of the season.  Maybe pull them in the fourth quarter of both games, or start bringing in the backups half way thru the third quarter.  I've heard it in the past where players say the time off hurt them more than anything.    I'd like to see the Colts win it all!
The next game is gonna say a lot about them.  How they react to the first loss.  If they come out flat, nevermind, they shouldn't with all the veterans, right?

I live 150 miles away from the Seagulls but don't know much about them, except they haven't played anybody.  I wish they were still in the AFC West so I could watch my team every year.


                                                  IMO

[nh_mopar_fan]

The Pats front 7 are playing the best they have all year. They have a pass rush that can get to a QB without blitzing. They also have the best coach and QB on the planet.

I'd say that they will be in the AFC championship game.

What will happen in Indy, we don't know. But, I would not count them out.

As for the Fish, please. Maybe next year, but with that putrid QB, they were not going to win this division this year.

[mikemopar]

I won't argue the Fins QB scenario.   They're similar to a Ravens team, good defense and lousy QB.

[Afflyer]

Afflyer, that's a beautiful name for your daughter.   I imagine she's one of these,  

Why thank you Mike!  I came up with the name, Rhiannon, after my most favorite Fleetwood Mac song from 1975.  It's of Welsh origin from a mythological goddess who loved horses and children.  Back then, it was a rather popular name thanks to the song.  Most everybody comments on how pretty it sounds, though most of the time my wife and I have to spell out her name to folks- that's the only down side.

As-far-as the Colts going all the way- I now feel that if that is to happen, Coach Dungy has to rest his players.  He attempted somewhat of a mix with that last Sunday against the Chargers and it failed.

The Colt's injured list has grown quite a bit, especially since last Sunday.

Right now, Peyton Manning has a swollen knee, but will probably play SOME of next Saturday's game against the Chickenhawks.  I don't think he will play more than half of the game- if that much.  The chase for the perfect season is now behind us and it's foolish to keep Peyton in for the next two games.

I've said it before and I'll say it again- this is the year for Indianapolis.  New England will not stop us.  I have all the faith in the world for my Colts to go all the way.

Bradley

[Chris G.]

Coach Dungy has to rest his players. He attempted somewhat of a mix with that last Sunday against the Chargers and it failed.

Bradley

Sorry Bradley, but he did not mix in reserves with starters last week. He played every starter that was not on IR. You got beat and that's all there is to it. It should have happened last year as well, but we just missed. If we played you again this week, we'd slap them around again. Just keep the Dolphins away from us. 

[smasherofall]

Coach Dungy has to rest his players. He attempted somewhat of a mix with that last Sunday against the Chargers and it failed.

Bradley

Sorry Bradley, but he did not mix in reserves with starters last week. He played every starter that was not on IR. You got beat and that's all there is to it. It should have happened last year as well, but we just missed. If we played you again this week, we'd slap them around again. Just keep the Dolphins away from us.  

puullleezze!!! guess we'll just have to see if that happens in the playoffs, oh wait a minute, that cann't happen 'cause the Chargetts will be home watching on T.V.   

[69_500]

I'm finding this very amusing, reading about how the Seahawks haven't played anyone with talent, and how weak their schedule is. Did anyone look at the first 8 weeks of the Colts Schedule? At one point this year the Colts opponets had a win percentage of like .326 How tough is that?