Recap Week Nine: Colts 20-Patriots 24

by Brad Wells on Nov 4, 2007 11:18 PM EST in Game Recaps

Antoine Bethea is a stud, even in defeat.
Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images

I'm just glad this damn game is done and over and finally friggin' behind us. The only draw back is for the next few weeks or so (until they lose), all we we see in the sports world are reports and specials on how great and wonderful the Patriots are and how they will go undefeated. That said, like so many here have stated: The Patriots earned it today. This was a gutty, hard fought, classic regular season game that went down to the wire.

What we can all agree on is based on this game, the two best teams reside in New England and Indianapolis right now. No other team comes close. Here's the recap:

I LOVE INDY'S DEFENSE! You will never hear me say anything bad about Gary Brackett again. He could be sleeping with my girlfriend right now and I'd still think he's awesome. That second pick on Brady was one of the greatest defensive plays I've ever seen. All game long, Brackett, Sanders, Marlin, Kelvin, and Antoine were hitting the snot out of Patriots receivers. It wasn't until the mid-fourth, when injuries knocked out Marlin, Bob, and a few others that Brady started making plays. Give New England credit: They made the plays when they needed them. Still, Brady faced constant pressure all game, and it showed. Hats off to Dungy and Meeks for getting this defense playing this well.
The injuries just took their toll. In the fourth, with only 2 healthy WRs, the offense sputtered. Injuries aren't an excuse, but when you play a team like New England, it helps to have all your horses in line. With Marvin and Gonzo out, the Pats simply blitzed like madmen. Moorehead dropped a sure first down on a drive that could have iced the game, and even Reggie dropped a few long balls he should have reeled in. The past two years, Reggie and the others make those catches. This time, they don't. That's really the difference.
New England is a fine team. We've all said that. But they escaped with this win. The Colts were simply more physical than the Patriots. Joseph Addai ran right down their throats. Indy's front four lived in New England's backfield, and Brady faced constant pressure all game. On offense, despite back-up LT Charlie Johnson getting killed play after play, Manning played very well. As stated before, his receivers dropped some well thrown balls, and his protection simply broke down in the fourth. Credit NE for taking advantage of the Colts' injuries.

Obviously, it's tough to take a loss. This game was so weird, so surreal it had a playoff feel to it: Vinatieri missed his first career FG in the RCA Dome, the Pats committed a sinful of dumb penalties, the Colts blew a fourth quarter lead for the first time in eons, and the Pats trailed in the fourth for the first time this year. It was an odd, wonka-rrific game, and as JasonB from BGN said:

This game was really just a warm up. They'll meet in the playoffs for all the marbles.

I agree. What was interesting about this game is I think we saw a blueprint to beat NE. They have a finesse offense that relies heavily on the big play. Take that away, and they struggle. It'll be interesting to see if others copy it. Still, today they were better and the final score proved it.

Fan participation on the blog today was excellent. Thanks to all Pats fans for commenting with us. We appreciate your comments and your respect. Please understand, we think your team is dirty, whiny, cheap, and loaded with punks. However, that doesn't mean we don't respect it, because we sure as hell do. This is the best rivalry in football, and I'm glad to see it continue.

For the Colts, it's just odd to see them lose. It hasn't happened in a long time; almost 11 months. It's yet another reason to enjoy this team, even after a loss like this. They'll regroup. They'll re-evaluate. They'll recover. And later on, they will face New England again.

And then, when the stakes are high, Indy will beat them. Go Colts.

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Comments

Also on the plus side

the cheerleaders look hotter this year. Then again I don't have hi-def.

by beckmania on Nov 4, 2007 11:55 PM EST reply actions

dungy on the sideline

dungy was very calm on the sideline... with the number of starters he sat out, i think he expected the result to be worse for us... i wonder too about some of the play calls... we really didn't do much different than any other game... i suspect he knows we will play in the playoffs and didn't want to give away too much at this time..

and part of sitting so many starters was fear of how new england might try and hurt them further.... rodney harrison is one of the dirtiest players in the game.. why take the risk with half the season yet to play and much more important divisional matchups.

and the way new england celebrated after you'd think they had already won the superbowl.. i think they might be in for a rude surprise if we meet again...

now let the patriots play in the spotlight... they are the type of team where it will go to their heads and that type of circus is a hell of a distraction

by bluegirl on Nov 5, 2007 6:26 AM EST reply actions

Jennings

What about the decision this year to move Marlin to the slot and bring Jennings in at corner when we run our nickel D? It seems that teams are just exploiting that over and over again.

The Shogun of Harlem

by shonuff on Nov 5, 2007 7:27 AM EST reply actions

But we can stop the run from the Nickel

that's nice

by shake n bake on Nov 5, 2007 8:12 AM EST up reply actions

I suppose

But I think Jennings is a pretty good tackler too. (Probably not as good as Marlin though.) However, isn't the theory of a nickel defense that you are bringing in more DBs to stop the pass on what is normally a throwing situation? It's just weird that when it looks like the other team will throw, we are putting our 3rd DB on their best WR.

The Shogun of Harlem

by shonuff on Nov 5, 2007 8:28 AM EST up reply actions

Jennings on Moss was the problem

not Jennings on the outside

by shake n bake on Nov 5, 2007 8:33 AM EST up reply actions

i agree...

i complained about this the whole game. they had jennings lined up on moss. jennings is only 5'8" whereas m jackson and hayden are both 6'.

by WayneWayneJr on Nov 5, 2007 1:19 PM EST up reply actions

well

Jennings has continuously been torched all season. I go crazy whenever I see him in the game, he just isn't that great as a corner.

Go Colts!

by KingRichard on Nov 5, 2007 1:22 PM EST up reply actions

Anyone else think

That if we played the Pats in Foxboro in the snow in the playoffs that that might play in our favor?

by yellowsnow on Nov 5, 2007 8:37 AM EST reply actions

weather

wouldn't that be ironic, but a miserable snowy windy night (like superbowl xxxx) would be perfect... Randy Moss has played in a dome and oakland... what were his stats in on the frozen tundra of lambeau? that kind of pass happy offense won't work in january in foxboro...

by bluegirl on Nov 5, 2007 10:01 AM EST up reply actions

choking

i don't exactly call it choking when your WR are dropping passes and he is missing his starting LEFT tackle and keeps getting hit...

bad coverages by our special teams gave pats great field positions all day, and that is hard to overcome against a good offense ...

by bluegirl on Nov 5, 2007 1:04 PM EST up reply actions

I don't have anything against nearly anybody

But that tommasse guy is really an asshole. His posts just plain suck. Anyone that can take it, check his blog.

Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone You'll never walk alone

by MerryGoByeBye on Nov 5, 2007 8:38 AM EST reply actions

take a look

but don't troll, don't be assholes. Be classy like they aren't.

by shake n bake on Nov 5, 2007 9:39 AM EST up reply actions

Yeah, sure

Even with the kind of shit that guy writes, there must be some solid classy Pats fan that reads/writes on that blog. And trolling is just plain sad.

Walk on, walk on With hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone You'll never walk alone

by MerryGoByeBye on Nov 5, 2007 2:17 PM EST up reply actions

Policy

It's not my policy to bash other SB Nation writers, but I think most here know that tommasse and I don't get along. In fact, tommasse and most writers don't get along. I won't tell you not to see the site, because that's bad for SB Nation. However, I rarely visit it. I enjoyed it a lot more when InBradyWeTrust wrote for them. JMO.

Please make an account and post a diary, add some comments, and make some noise. Accounts are free, and only require an email address.

by Brad Wells on Nov 5, 2007 10:18 AM EST up reply actions

Thanks

To be honest, I haven't been there in quite some time...and have not read anything he writes...so, I cannot really comment one way or the other. I tried to be a bit funny and not take it too seriously...

by InBradyWeTrust @ Stampede Blue on Nov 5, 2007 11:41 AM EST up reply actions

My thoughts

Anybody who's read this blog regularly probably knows I can't stand Tommasse too, so I figured I'd pile on here.

What bothers me about him is not his homerism, that should be expected -- after all these are fans' blogs and not true journalism outlets. What bothers me is his hypocrisy and self-righteousness:

-- He claims to frown on name-calling, yet calls names himself (for example, he has referred to BBS as "Big Blue Idiot," among other things).

-- His site is full of disdain for the Colts' supposed "whining" (Polian in particular is a frequent puching bag), yet all he does is whine about how the Pats are treated by everyone: fans, officials, the league, etc.

-- Not to be a broken record, but when I was banned, it was just after Spygate broke and I commented on the Pats' pattern of bad behavior (HGH, Belichick being a jerk on many occasions, cheap shots, attempted waiver-wire collusion with the Vikings, opposing teams' headsets mysteriously going out at critical times, etc. etc.) I supplied links, quotes and web sites to support my argument. He insisted that I had no proof, and when I did not back down, he banned me, self-righteously insisting that he did not allow "unsupported allegations" on his site. Of course at the time his site was full of unsupported allegations from Pats fans. Hell, there was even a diary by Tommasse himself claiming that there was a league-wide conspiracy favoring the Colts based on Dan Dierdorf of CBS criticizing the refs on-air for a call during the Colts-Titans game. I tried to explain that Dierdorf was a network employee, so that didn't really support his argument of league bias, but to no avail.

If he could just say, "It's my site, I'm a Pats fan and will always defend them, and if you piss me off, I'll ban you," then I could respect that. I still wouldn't like him, but I could respect that. Instead he claims to be one thing, and then consistently proves to be another. He has banned Colts fans for less than what he allows Pats fans to do.

In summary: Tommasse is a self-righteous hypocrite, and what's more, a coward.

by ctnyc on Nov 5, 2007 11:33 PM EST up reply actions

Tommassee

is a blind ignorant homer. In his post game blog, he called the colts cheaters and referred to them as the as the "evil empire". did i miss a memo? i guess we should be the evil empire since we "bought the refs"

by biosBSOD on Nov 5, 2007 10:32 AM EST reply actions

Tomasse

Has a small penis. I paid King Richard $20 to go kick his ass and post it on YouTube.

That's just a joke, of course.

by MasterRWayne on Nov 5, 2007 10:45 AM EST reply actions

well hell

I wish you had told me about this, I would have really done it. :(

Go Colts!

by KingRichard on Nov 5, 2007 1:24 PM EST up reply actions

I don't know BBS

who the pats have on their remaining schedule that can beat them. I thought after we lost to them, you guys were the only legit shot, so now you have the Steelers and maybe the Giants as the only decent teams they play the rest of the way.

I think there is a really good possibility that the next time you face them in Jan, they still might be undefeated.

by Terry @ Stampede Blue on Nov 5, 2007 11:40 AM EST reply actions

The steelers

have the best chance. They have a good quick D like Indy's and a ball control offense with a hell of a running back in Parker. I think it will be a good game as long as they keep Big Ben under 30 passes and run Willie down their throats

by biosBSOD on Nov 5, 2007 11:44 AM EST reply actions

I agree Terry...

but am not really concerned with if they lose again during the regular season. It would be kind of humorous if they have a perfect season and then the Colts knock them off in January.

by johnnyU on Nov 5, 2007 11:44 AM EST reply actions

Someone on FO

had the perfect comment on this game: These are the only teams capable of making each other look ordinary. Great, great game.

As to the injured Harrison: it would definitely have been a different game with him in it. I think the Colts would have taken it; at least, it would have been different. Too many key drops from the Colts' receivers. Keep in mind, however, that the last three Colts' victories in this rivalry came when the Pats' Harrison was out with injuries. If everyone's healthy in the post-season (probably too much to ask) it'll be a monstrous game. Also keep in mind that the Pats' best cover-safety (Wilson) sat this week and was replaced by the slower Sanders. So we neither of us fielded our favored team.

BlueGirl, your comments are curious. The idea that the Pats would let anything "go to their head" is absurd to anyone who watches the NFL. If there is one thing commentators and writers are in full agreement on, it's that the Patriots might be the best team in the league at remaining focused on the next game, to the exclusion of anything else in the past or down the road.

You and YellowSnow should know from experience that "that kind of pass-happy offense" actually can survive in the weather, as the last time the Colts came to Foxboro, it was cold and ugly and your "pass-happy" offense won the game. So I'll stick with the conventional wisdom that, if there's an edge, it goes to the team that plays most of its games in the weather as opposed to the living room.

As to the nickel, etc., I though that the Pats' attack was flawed in this game. We tried to set up the run by inviting your outside speed rushers up-field and running underneath them. It worked ok, but it didn't have the effect of drawing the safeties out of position. That's pretty hard to do, given your overall team speed.

I think the tactic could have been inspired by the fact that both Watson and Brady were playing at less than 100%. If I'd had control of calling the Pats' O, and those guys were healthy, I think I'd have lined up in a power set and played games with my receiving package. The Colts had 6 DB's on the field at times--that, to me, invites a counter-strategy of forcing them to switch up and play the run first. Based on Watson's speed and size, Moss's height and Faulk's pass-catching ability, I think Indy might have had more trouble defending a run-first offense running between the tackles and out of the "I" than the spread (although that's home and comfy for Brady). Just my .02.

We had some really good pre-game exchanges with some Colts fans at Tommasse's site. Intelligent tactics and strategy stuff. It's all in how you approach things.

by NotJohnHannah @ Stampede Blue on Nov 5, 2007 12:18 PM EST reply actions

right now, I agree with that statement

but come Feburary, I might not.

by Terry @ Stampede Blue on Nov 5, 2007 2:15 PM EST up reply actions

Which one?

by NotJohnHannah @ Stampede Blue on Nov 5, 2007 2:40 PM EST up reply actions

that the Colts and pats are the

only two teams in the league that make themselves look ordinary.

by Terry @ Stampede Blue on Nov 5, 2007 5:01 PM EST up reply actions

Sure, of course

The rest of the season and the playoffs will tell the tale. But I don't think, at this point, there is any team out there that would have given these teams the game we saw last night.

Come February, we'll all have a better idea of who's close.

by NotJohnHannah @ Stampede Blue on Nov 5, 2007 6:38 PM EST up reply actions

Where is Pittsburg?

I am familiar with PittsburgH since I am a native Pennsylvanian but am not sure where Pittsburg is.

by johnnyU on Nov 5, 2007 12:38 PM EST reply actions

Or...

I could continue to be a Colts fan as I am one of the few that has remained with them since their move from Baltimore. But I should not be talking team loyalty since I am conversing with a TruePatsFan...since 2002.

by johnnyU on Nov 5, 2007 1:14 PM EST up reply actions

don't you mean whiner?

class is how you act when you are beat, not the nonsense celebration when you win just another regular season game against a team that has come off two tough road games and missing 5 starters...

by bluegirl on Nov 5, 2007 1:05 PM EST reply actions

Just change the definition:

It'll save you time. Class is everything the Colts do. Classless is anything done by the Patriots.

See? Isn't that easier?

by NotJohnHannah @ Stampede Blue on Nov 5, 2007 1:14 PM EST up reply actions

I suppose...

Gee. I suppose class must be posing after making a big play, and kissing your biceps.

Colts couldn't beat the Patriots despite disabling the QB communication system, piped in crowd noise, and buying off the officials. Part of the Patriots struggles early was simply difficulty getting offensive plays out to the QB.

The illusion of the Colts running game was simply the Patriots picking their poison. Patriots went with various forms of nickel defense the entire game, inviting the Colts to run the ball. It limited the number of possessions for each team and thereby slowed the Colts offense down.

Marvin Harrison is a shadow of his former self and would have had very little impact on this game.

As far as the Colts being more physical than the Patriots ... it sounds like you are only remembering the first half of the game. By the second half, the Colts were pulling substituting defensive linemen and missing tackles due to fatigue. Small and fast only works for 60 minutes if you can keep your defense off the field. Those long game-winning passes by the Patriots were possible because the Colts defense was sucking wind and unable to sustain a pass rush on Brady.

It seemed to me that the Patriots came to play for 60 minutes, and the Colts hit hard early, hoping to play downhill in the 2nd half.

by Gonethesun on Nov 5, 2007 1:50 PM EST reply actions

although...

i find some of your points to be legit and warranted i find the whole class, extra crowd noise, and paying off the officals to be absolutely ridiculous.

class has nothing to do with "kissing your biceps" after making a great run stop for a loss. he was pumped. every player does a form of celebrating after they make a great play. class has to do with shaking the opposing team's coaches hand and not turn and walk away when spoken to. class is not yelling "you f*in suck!" to an opposing player. class is not adding extra crowd noise, which was proven to be false.

and the whole "buying off the officals"...come on!! i admit, there might have been 1 or 2 tic tac calls but that happens every game. what can you say about the 2 personal fouls, the delay of game, the neutral zone infraction, and a couple of other calls that were made. what about all of those?

by WayneWayneJr on Nov 5, 2007 5:02 PM EST up reply actions

ijaisnainmg

"Colts couldn't beat the Patriots despite disabling the QB communication system, piped in crowd noise, and buying off the officials. Part of the Patriots struggles early was simply difficulty getting offensive plays out to the QB."

Massive fail for you.

Go Colts!

by KingRichard on Nov 6, 2007 2:22 AM EST up reply actions