looking for a brief rundown of the IND/NE game

[cthomer5000]

I didnt' see the game (but did tape it). I already know the result. I plan on watching it late tonight/tomorrow morning.

I want to know what to watch for... basically what the hell happened?

I'm not surprised the Patriots would win, but 20-3?

[Joe]

good defense and long offensive drives by NE. Time of possession was 37 minutes for them I believe. some dropped passes from the indy receivers, tried mostly short routes. and corey dillon ate up the colts d.

[DaddyTorgo]

in a nutshell: the pats did an effective job shutting down Indy's running game and they allowed Manning the underneath pass. Unfortunately his receivers both dropped a lot of catchable balls and got smacked and dropped balls also. Colts never really took any shots long downfield because (I assume, couldn't really tell though on TV) the Pats had that covered up well. Pats recovered a couple fumbles during the game, and also had their 3 longest drives of the season (one 9+ minutes, one 7+ and the other 8 or so I think). It was 6-3 at the half and then the Pats put it away with 14 unanswered points. I think in the 3rd quarter the Colts offense had the ball some ridiculous amount of time, like...less than two minutes or something.

[BishopMVP]

Colts never had any receivers open downfield, and eventually the Patriots would come up with a stop in 3rd and mid-range before the Colts could score in the first half. One amazing play by Bruschi to rip the ball out of Rhodes hands in the 3rd quarter on the Colts one decent chance, one quick fumble by the Colts the next time they got the ball and then a meaningless late pick by Harrison when it was 20-3 and under 10 seconds to go, but mostly just strong defense by the Pats keeping everything underneath. Manning didn't play bad, he just never had guys open downfield to throw to. Surprisingly the Colts didn't run Edge much after the Pats had some early success stopping the stretch play and screens and they kind of gave up on the running game. On offense real long drives (3 14+ play drives) led by Dillon (and Faulk to a lesser extent) featuring clutch conversions on 3rd down.

Or the bad weather/field prevented the Colts from playing like they should have against an inferior team missing 3 key defensive starters, and it would have been 35-20 Indy in a dome if you prefer that version. Which you'll probably hear a lot more of in the next week.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Or the bad weather/field prevented the Colts from playing like they should have against an inferior team missing 3 key defensive starters, and it would have been 35-20 Indy in a dome if you prefer that version. Which you'll probably hear a lot more of in the next week.

No doubt from Mike VanderJERK as well as the "Payton Manning butkiss fanclub" in the national media

[Vince]

Ok, about Vander'jerk' -- did anyone else think that his remarks weren't the least bit inflamatory at all?

[DaddyTorgo]

i didn't think they were. i just think the name is funny. and ya gotta admit, it's not like the guy's own teammates like him, don't forget that. he has a...shall we say...history

[33sherman]

I think the third quarter lasted a real fifteen minutes. The clock never stopped. I got up to get a beer and it was over by the time I got back.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Vince

Ok, about Vander'jerk' -- did anyone else think that his remarks weren't the least bit inflamatory at all?

But what would they talk about in pregame and on Sunday Countdown then/

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

I didnt' see the game (but did tape it). I already know the result. I plan on watching it late tonight/tomorrow morning.

I want to know what to watch for... basically what the hell happened?

I'm not surprised the Patriots would win, but 20-3?

Really the Patriots dominated the game, nearly from start to finish, with the exception of one drive towards the end of the first half. Bruschi was absolutey spectacular on defense. Corey Dillon was awesome to watch on offense, and helped the Patriots dominate the clock. Kevin Faulk also broke off some great runs. The Patriots running game vs. the Colts lack of it was the story to me.

[rkmsuf]

What happened?

DOMINATION

Actually the drive in the 3rd quarter against the wind where they ran it down their throats was the defining moment.

[Cap Ologist]

I felt like I was watching Super Bowl 25 again. An overwhelming offense shutdown by a dominating defense while their overlooked offense had the ball for almost 40 minutes. Hmmm, Charlie Weiss, Romeo Crennel and Belichick were all involved in that game. Interesting.

[flere-imsaho]

[SirFozzie]

That splains it.

[FrogMan]

flere-imsaho, hilarious

FM

[Logan]

Wow. Amazing.

[gstelmack]

So what is the formal process behind getting flere's tag changed from "Division III" to "Resident Cartographer" or something similar? I mean seriously, these contributions need to be recognized more formally...

[Kodos]

I sure hope the Colts draft nothing but D this year.

[flere-imsaho]

While I'm at it:

[GrantDawg]

Those were great, except the Falcons o-line stinks.

[damnMikeBrown]

Outstanding

[Eilim]

Perhaps we've found something to add as another "weekly feature" for the front page?

[Franklinnoble]

Those MSPaint drawings are about the only thing keeping flere off my "flaming liberal ignore list."

[flere-imsaho]