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What a great game and another phenomenal season. Given various reasons, the Patriots went farther than I thought they would this year. Yet they gave it their all, the Colts played a perfect 2nd half, and sometimes this is just how things end up. There is no reason to hold our heads down at all.

Great plays and players:
- Gaffney’s acrobatic TD catch, even twisting his foot while falling to make it parallel to the end-zone line.
- Ellis Hobbs for his multiple huge kick returns, after playing long defensive drives.
- Roosevelt Colvin made some huge plays all over the field before cramping up.
- Asante Samuel’s interception for TD was Ty Law-esque.
- Troy Brown with yet another big play (27 yard catch on 4th down).

Thoughts on the game:
The 1st half was great, but we started cramping up, players started going down, and our weak depth on defense really showed. Our linebackers couldn’t keep up with Dallas Clark, who had 6+ catches for 120+ yards. Still, we had a chance to either get a 1st down at the end and make it tough, or play solid defense at the end; we just couldn’t get it done. There were a few huge situations at the end that just didn’t pan out but that’s how it goes sometimes. My hats off to Peyton Manning – I still think he’s a whiner with questionable leadership, but he came up big in this game, and so did his defense. The Colts played Championship ball and advanced.

Minor beefs:
- Again, I thought Josh McDaniel had problems. The ’12-man in the huddle’ penalty was huge at the end, and reveals a logistics problem at offensive coordinator. I was scratching my head at Dillon outside runs, Maroney inside runs, and no use of Kevin Faulk after the first drive. Also, I am disappointed that the Pats only got 3 points with a half dozen minutes left, and even more disappointed that they couldn’t get a single first down with a 3 point lead. Finally, the final drive inexplicably had Heath Evans in the backfield, as opposed to Faulk or Maroney.
- Our defensive depth at linebacker and at safety is very weak. Once Hawkins and Colvin went down we were in trouble. We got gashed with Eric Alexander, Tully BC, Mickens, and Baker playing significant minutes in the game. This is why Dallas Clark had a huge game in big moments against us. This weakness will need to be addressed in the off-season.
- Reche Caldwell dropped a sure TD pass, as well as a key 4th quarter pass that may have sealed the game for us.

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What is this I hear about Belichick brushing off Peyton after the game?