tombonneau

It dawned on me yesterday as I watched the Colts win another game they really "shouldn't have won" -- making something five for the season -- that what I was watching was old school New England Patriots football.

The team isn't amassing a ton of yards or points, but you know what? They score TDs in the red zone.

The team occasionally gives up yards and I doubt ranks highly in many defensive categories. But you know what? They have one of (if not THE) best red zone Ds in the league, rarely giving up TDs.

So as I watched that game thinking the Browns "should have won", I realized they had the ball inside the ten twice, maybe three times, and came away with FGs. And that's not luck. That's the Colts being a good team that knows how to win games.

And I couldn't help thinking it all looked a bit too familiar ...

PS
With much disgust, I'll be putting down some $$ on whatever the latest Colts Super Bowl odds are ...

xmarkd400x

I think a more accurate assessment would be "The Colts this year are putting together gritty wins, much like our Patriots have in their past Super Bowl seasons".

They are not the "New New England Patriots" until they either 1) Win back to back super bowls or 2) Blow it at the last second in back to back seasons.

Pats726

There is always a flavor of the month...hop on their bandwagon..cya...

tombonneau

Huh? Sorry I detest the Colts, but I can be objective, and I see a team winning the way the 03/04 Pats won games. And those were the teams that also won SBs. With the AFC wide open, the Colts get a home WC game, and then I think they can easily win two on the road, esp. if round 2 is @NYJ or @PIT. They are much better than either of those teams.

And it's not a matter of this month, it's the whole season. Even when they struggled early with injuries, they found ways to win.

denverpatsfan

You better get ready for it. Manning v Manning Super Bowl. It's coming. The league wants it too so look for some calls to go Peyton's way in Pittsburgh in the AFCCG. You heard it hear first folks.

I think I am going to get sick...

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BelichickFan

I've been saying it for a while, these are the un-Patriots. We used to win by not making mistakes and making the big 3rd down or red zone stop when we needed it despite giving up more yards. Now we are often out gaining our opponents or, at least, being about equal but we are losing because we make the mistake (Gaffney drop against Indy), allow the big 3rd down play (3rd and 15 against The Jest in O.T.)

It's a shame but it is what it is.

tombonneau

That's exactly the miserable irony of it all. Less talented Pats teams would beat more talented Colts/Steelers/Chargers because they didn't make the dumb mistakes, now it seems like the dumb mistakes happen at least once a half.

And it just puts it into even more bitter perspective to see the Colts winning close games and avoiding big mistakes. Puke.

Pats726

I think THAT is a better statement of what one sees....the Panthers in 03 were MUCH LIKE the Patriots...I think many winning teams have that ability...to win games that they should not..do not make mistakes..and let OTHER TEAMS make them and win games they should not...part of what winning football is....

PATSYLICIOUS

It's the law of averages. Indy has been putting a great product on the field ever since 2003 and was knocking on the door for several years. They finally got a ring in a year where they weren't even that fearful, probably not even their best team in this run. What they do this year is unknown but if they win it all it won't be undeserved no matter how many breaks they caught.

When you look at our team, we had 3 rings in 4 years with elite, but not dominant talent. For that to happen, you need alot of bounces to go your way. You need alot of things to fall into place, no matter how great you are and yes we were great. In this era you don't win without good fortune. The last 3 years, and this season of tough breaks seems to be a summation of everything 'owed' to us by the law of averages. It just can't go on forever. On the bright side, we are going to field a contender for at least the next 5 years with the personel and leadership we have on and off the field. Sooner or later things will start bouncing our way again, in due time, as long as we keep knocking on that door.

Rob0729

I don't remember the Pats playing mediocre football and having lucky breaks against bad teams. I can't remember a game like the Texans game earlier in the season where the Texans outplayed the Colts in every phase of the game and then have the QB make a couple of dumb mistakes (like trying to go over the defenders with a huge lead near the end of the game rather than sliding and punting away the ball) that gave the game to the Colts.

Sorry, the Pats had a dominant defense in 2003 that gave up the fewest amount of points in the league. In 2004, the Pats were near the top on both sides of the ball. They also had back to back 14-2 seasons and had the longest regular season winning streak during that stretch. The 2008 Colts are playing mediocre to average football and coming out with the right plays at the end. The closest I can see this year's Colts being is the 2001 Pats, but even that is a stretch. It is an insult to the 2003/2004 Pats to compare them to this Colts' team.