Official Pats/Colts Postgame thread

[Joker]

poor Maroney on this board this week

it's much worse if he fumbles in a playoff game in January...hope this is a leaning experience for him

[upstater1]

I liked the call to go for it.

I watched our depleted line the earlier series and they were gassed. 2 minutes for Peyton, I say he scores from 65 yards out 60% of the time.

4th and 2, 60% chance for a 1st down against a poor Indy defense.

I liked the call.

Now, as for the lack of a challenge, I don't blame Belichick for spending his last time out. You must get that play right. It's the last play that's reviewable before the 2 minute warning, so the chances you need a challenge flag for 1 play are about 1%.

The bigger problem is O'Brien. On the previous series, he went conservative except for 2rd down. If you're going to call safe plays, commit to it and run 3 times. If he had done that, the Colts would be at the 2 minute warning on their second to last series.

Finally, Brady doesn't trust O'Brien's play call so he calls a timeout to start the series. Then they come back with a run.

There are problems there.

[pwes]

Dont blame the refs its disheartening to see actually. The team blew it with redzone turnovers and at the end with the wasted TOs and the 4th and 2 which was way to bold when you are against Manning. Dunno what Beli was thinking with that. Anyway giving up 17 points in nearly 10 minutes cannot be blamed on the officials. The entire team fell flat on their collective faces.

[BradyBranch39]

Polian's damn good at what he "does"

[aurakilla]

ya 1 game means he should leave.......bc ya know the D was totally capable of stopping them at that point and getting a first down wouldnt have allowed them to run the clock out

[IcyPatriot]

Tough lose tonight ... Pats had plenty of chances to win it but didn't make the one play more to pull it out. Lots of good play by key people and perhaps some failure by the defense to finish the job.

I think in the end the loss of DL players hurt us the most as rotation of players would have helped greatly. The players were hot and over heated as usual ... tough place to play no doubt.

I give Belichick credit for the gutsy call ... Brady could have done a better job there and he knows it. I'd make the call again if I was Bill as that play puts the nail in the game. Even if they punted it our DL were toasted and Manning still makes that drive.

We'll be in the playoffs and we'll get even better ... so go Pats ... keep up the hard work ... we'll meet the Colts again.

[upstater1]

Originally Posted by crypto

I have come to despise fans who habitually blame the officials. If my team loses, it is my team's fault, not the officials. Are there bad calls? Yes. Do they land on both teams? Absolutely. Pre-game jokes and rants about the refs and the RCA Dome and all that are fine by me, but post-game I have no patience for it, barring very rare and extreme circumstances.

The Patriots killed themselves tonight. Maroney's fumble was ... well, a fumble. Pees' prissy bend-but-don't-break scheme toward the end of the game was a horrible plan against a guy who is currently—I hate to say it, but currently—the AFC's best quarterback in the clutch. Belichick's fourth down call was, needless to say, one hundred percent idiotic. I don't remember him ever pulling this hysteria between 2001 and 2006. Snapping the ball through your own end zone for a safety? Fine. But this is inexcusable.

The pass/run playcalling was just as bad. Faulk is great, but he's a situational player. With Taylor and Morris injured and BJGE apparently not a factor, Maroney is your man. Give him the ball. He will not play well with thirteen snaps. Just like in the 06 playoffs, the lack of a run game in the second half was devastating. Again, inexcusable.

So, yes, I'm very frustrated with the coaches' boneheaded management of this game. They put the nail in their own coffin.

But more than all that pin-headed BS, the pass interference call on the Pats' defense late in the fourth quarter was the singular factor in New England's loss. Twenty or thirty free yards for the Colts. From what I saw, the defender—I don't even remember who he was—his helmet grazed the receiver's shin. The flag came well after the end of the play. I have never seen such blatantly warped judgment by the officials in my admittedly short span as an NFL fan. But I have seen enough such garbage by the officials that, while I'm not going to complain speculatively about stacking the odds for or against certain teams, I am beginning to lose interest in the league as a form of entertainment. It is sickening to see this travesty of an officiating crew continually ruin games with such obviously biased calls. Again. And again. And again.

Ugh.

LOL, so you despise yourself?

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Belichik again , does not believe in his defense, or his running game... Maroney is a joke, sorry... It was a horiffic coaching decision for that situation...

[Warren94]

3rd and 2 you run the ball even with Maroney u are going to get a yard most likely. or even a qb sneak. BB needs his head examined....

[Joker]

Silver lining fellow Pats fans...we get to absolutely MURDER the Sancheese Jumping Bean, Big Mouth Bart and Wrecks Cryan next week...I WILL be there