Larry Bird offers his thoughts on Colts-Patriots rivalry

[Patspsycho]

Colts vs. Patriots: Epic rivalry continues tonight | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star

 

[wizwor]

Nice find. I think, though, that the rivalry began when they were in the same division.

 

[wizwor]

Here's some historical data...

Colts?Patriots rivalry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[jmt57]

Kravitz also had another good column on the upcoming game:

The real showdown? It's Manning vs. Belichick by Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star

They sat there for hours, two football savants, sitting at a table near the pool at the Ihilani Hotel outside Honolulu before the 2007 Pro Bowl.

Peyton Manning, just coming off his first Super Bowl, would move salt and pepper shakers to make a point. Bill Belichick, who was coaching the AFC team, would move ketchup and steak sauce bottles like chess pieces to counter. Around them, napkins were scribbled with X's and O's and the secret language the two men understand.

It was like chess masters Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer getting together for a beer summit.

 

[Bill B.]

Best thing for the Colts. Moving out of the AFC East. Manning couldn't have padded his stats against weak teams like the Jags, Texans, and Titans if he was still in the East and had to play the Pats, Jets and Dolphins twice a year. I don't understand why they moved the Colts, though. Miami is in more South that Indianapolis, so technically it should have been the Dolphins that went to the South.

 

[Mista Kool]

Best thing for the Colts. Moving out of the AFC East. Manning couldn't have padded his stats against weak teams like the Jags, Texans, and Titans if he was still in the East and had to play the Pats, Jets and Dolphins twice a year. I don't understand why they moved the Colts, though. Miami is in more South that Indianapolis, so technically it should have been the Dolphins that went to the South.

From another forum...

Three teams over .500 and Tennessee has won three straight.


And once again, the AFC East is the AFC LEAST. Three teams with losing records.

I'd say it's the other way around. Brady would be average to slightly above average in the AFC South, whereas Peyton Manning would be even more dominant eek in the CFL-like AFC East.

 

[olschool]

Best thing for the Colts. Moving out of the AFC East. Manning couldn't have padded his stats against weak teams like the Jags, Texans, and Titans if he was still in the East and had to play the Pats, Jets and Dolphins twice a year. I don't understand why they moved the Colts, though. Miami is in more South that Indianapolis, so technically it should have been the Dolphins that went to the South.

Really. Why is Dallas in the NFC East ? To me Dallas should be in the West or South.

Baltimore in the AFC North ? Baltimore should be in the East or South and Buffalo in the North.

The stupid re-alignment was all about trying to create new rivalries or sustain old rivalries.

 

[zoostation]

Excellent score!

 

[jmt57]

I don't understand why they moved the Colts, though. Miami is in more South that Indianapolis, so technically it should have been the Dolphins that went to the South.

As I recall they were trying to keep as many older divisional rivalries intact as possible. The current AFC East has been in the same division since Miami was an expansion team in the AFL. Actually if you wanted to keep it strictly geographic, move Baltimore to the AFC East, Indy to the AFC North, and Miami to the AFC South. Dallas in the NFC East makes even less sense geographically. Actually the pre-merger NFL was even worse with teams like Baltimore and Atlanta in the Western conference.

 

[Kontradiction]

Best thing for the Colts. Moving out of the AFC East. Manning couldn't have padded his stats against weak teams like the Jags, Texans, and Titans if he was still in the East and had to play the Pats, Jets and Dolphins twice a year. I don't understand why they moved the Colts, though. Miami is in more South that Indianapolis, so technically it should have been the Dolphins that went to the South.

They didn't want to do that because it would have killed the Dolphins/Jets rivalry.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

From another forum...


I'd say it's the other way around. Brady would be average to slightly above average in the AFC South, whereas Peyton Manning would be even more dominant eek in the CFL-like AFC East.

Right. You have heard of a little thing called weather? here in the Northeast we play real football outside in November, December and later...
BTW (that's by the way for you people in Indiana) Do you know Brady's record is against those teams on the AFC South (Tenn,Jax, Houston)??
He's 9-1 including playoffs with the last loss in 2002......Is that slightly above average??

 

[Mista Kool]

Right. You have heard of a little thing called weather? here in the Northeast we play real football outside in November, December and later...
BTW (that's by the way for you people in Indiana) Do you know Brady's record is against those teams on the AFC South (Tenn,Jax, Houston)??
He's 9-1 including playoffs with the last loss in 2002......Is that slightly above average??

The average DIII QB could be 9-1 against those teams if he knew the play calling before hand, the way that Brady and the Patriots almost certainly did.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

gawd... game day and another moron Dolts troll has arrived, posting from his Mom's basement

 

[Kontradiction]

The average DIII QB could be 9-1 against those teams if he knew the play calling before hand, the way that Brady and the Patriots almost certainly did.

Jimmy Johnson learned of the videotaping practices from Tony Dungy's staff, which accompanied him to Indy. What say you, ******?

 

[RobertWeathers]

Mista Kool is a mad poster today. Speading his wisdom for all to ponder....

He must be pocrastinating from skinning his freshly killed squirrel he is about to boil....

 

[Mista Kool]

"If a player has talent and doesn't succeed, that means that they either don't want to be successful, I have failed as a coach, or the battery went dead on the camcorder." - Bill Belichick

I went ahead and fixed that quote for you. See? I'm not such a bad guy.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I went ahead and fixed that quote for you. See? I'm not such a bad guy.

That is pretty funny........

 

[jmt57]

I'd say it's the other way around. Brady would be average to slightly above average in the AFC South, whereas Peyton Manning would be even more dominant eek in the CFL-like AFC East.

I wouldn't go so far as to say what Bill B. said because the Titans and Jaguars usually have pretty good defenses. But to say "Brady would be average to slightly above average in the AFC South" is flat out ridiculous. Even if your assertion about the rest of the division being bad was true, ten games are played outside the division every year.

If you are referring strictly to this season, none of those three other teams have a very good defense. Entering week 10 the Titans, Texans and Jags were 11-14; the Jets, Bills and Dolphins were 10-14.

If you are referring to the period of time since the league went from six divisions to eight, there have only been two seasons when the AFC South had a better record then the AFC East.

 

[Bill B.]

My point isn't about this year, but when the realignment happened the AFC East had three good contending teams, the Patriots, Jets, and Dolphins. They even tied with the same record in 2002. When Indy went to the South, they had a lousy Jaguar team and the expansion Texans. Titans were the only quality team. The Colts record in the AFC East was always bad before 2002.

 

[falloutboy14]

Jimmy Johnson learned of the videotaping practices from Tony Dungy's staff, which accompanied him to Indy. What say you, ******?

I've heard you say this once or twice. Would you care to elaborate more? I looked up Jim & Jimmy Johnson, and can't find a point where he was anywhere I associate with Dungy.

And in the AFC South vs East discussions. Since '02, the South has 6 wild-card appearances, the East has 3. Also, since '03, the South has had eight 12 win teams(5 Ind, 2 Ten, 1 Jax). The East has had three (Pats all 3 times) In '07, the Texans were 8-8, 1-5 in the division, 7-3 vs the rest of the NFL. Child please.