Another obstacle for the Pats & Bears

[denverpatsfan]

If you are a conspiracy therorist or just plain paranoid like myself you have to wonder if the Indy-Saints Super Bowl is just too attractive to the league.

On one side you have the "feel good" story of the year in the Saints remarkable season. Giving the people of New Orleans something to feel good about after all they have been through.

On the other side you have Peyton who grew up in New Orleans and who's father played for the Saints. And the obvious "finally getting to the big game" story.

This is too big of a storyline for the league to resist. And these are the teams the rest of the country will be rooting for too.

Coupled with Polians constant whining & haranging of the league. This is a considerable obstacle for the Pats to overcome.

Don't laugh. They change the friggin rules for this team! Those calls in the Pittsburgh game would have put the Colts in the Super Bowl LAST season had they had a real kicker.

Don't be surprised if there are some "homefield" type calls in this game.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

The game is going to be tough, I do feel the same , people want to see a Saints/Colts Super Bowl.. But dont forget, people wanted to see a Bears/Dolphins Super Bowl too..

 

[Brownfan80]

I'm not so spoiled by winning that I can't appreciate this season even if it's climax is an AFCC loss, but if we do get taken out, I hope it's by the COLTS and not the refs. I can't take another loss like Denver. We played bad in Denver, yeah, but so did the refs. And everytime they made a bad call, it was against US.

I can take a loss if it happens, I just can't take an unfair one.

That said, I really hope that Peyton has to wait a little longer for his first SB shot.

 

[patsox23]

The Patriots will handle the Colts to the degree that any kind of "cheating," which I dobut and think is always overblown anyway, will be rendered moot.

 

[Michael]

If you are a conspiracy therorist or just plain paranoid like myself you have to wonder if the Indy-Saints Super Bowl is just too attractive to the league.

On one side you have the "feel good" story of the year in the Saints remarkable season. Giving the people of New Orleans something to feel good about after all they have been through.

On the other side you have Peyton who grew up in New Orleans and who's father played for the Saints. And the obvious "finally getting to the big game" story.

This is too big of a storyline for the league to resist. And these are the teams the rest of the country will be rooting for too.

Coupled with Polians constant whining & haranging of the league. This is a considerable obstacle for the Pats to overcome.

Don't laugh. They change the friggin rules for this team! Those calls in the Pittsburgh game would have put the Colts in the Super Bowl LAST season had they had a real kicker.

Don't be surprised if there are some "homefield" type calls in this game.

No one will be surprised. And actually it has been brought up. That's why the Pats will just have to score more points early and often. The Clots will be getting all PI calls, holding calls asked for. Especially on 3rd down. During the Indy v Baltimore game I actually saw Peyton slap an official on the ass after they decided the call was going against Baltimore.

 

[oldskool138]

I'm not so spoiled by winning that I can't appreciate this season even if it's climax is an AFCC loss, but if we do get taken out, I hope it's by the COLTS and not the refs. I can't take another loss like Denver. We played bad in Denver, yeah, but so did the refs. And everytime they made a bad call, it was against US.

I can take a loss if it happens, I just can't take an unfair one.

That said, I really hope that Peyton has to wait a little longer for his first SB shot.

You forget one thing COLTS = Refs.

 

[Tunescribe]

I really hope that Peyton has to wait a little longer for his first SB shot.

I hope Commercial Man NEVER makes it to the Super Bowl. Never, ever. Can't stand the guy.

Anyone know who's the ref for this game? I hope it's Hoculi's crew.

 

[DisgruntledTunaFan]

FWIW-the Saints got hosed on a few calls last week.(i.e. the Marques Colston TD at the end of the half WAS a catch)

Why is it that everyone will whine and &*()* about the refs every game? These guys have the toughest job on the field-given them a break.

 

[Brownfan80]

You forget one thing COLTS = Refs.

I'm hoping that for at least one game the refs can call a fair outing even with the Blue Toiletseats as one of the contestants. I'm crossing my fingers.

 

[oldskool138]

I'm hoping that for at least one game the refs can call a fair outing even with the Blue Toiletseats as one of the contestants. I'm crossing my fingers.

With NaPolian calling out the refs this week (over a missed call in a Colts win ), I hope they will be angry enough to have a couple of borderline calls go the Patriots' way just to piss him off.

On the other hand, NaPolian is on the competition commitee so I'm not holding my breath. The refs have been his toadies for too long.

 

[Michael]

FWIW-the Saints got hosed on a few calls last week.(i.e. the Marques Colston TD at the end of the half WAS a catch)

Why is it that everyone will whine and &*()* about the refs every game? These guys have the toughest job on the field-given them a break.

I think people are very fair with them. But, late flags on non-existant penalties or wrong calls that are not over-turned even after review are inexcusable. As Skip Bayless said after week 2 of the play-offs last year they are either corrupt or completely incompetent. I said after Sunday's game I thought the officiating was the best I had seen all season. It was probably the best I had seen in several seasons. But, mostly because they just stayed out of it. The officials gave the SB to Pittsburgh last year and I had video proving that but, the NFL made YouTube take it down. Funny how all the videos rooting for Pittsburgh are still up on YouTube.

 

[Brownfan80]

With NaPolian calling out the refs this week (over a missed call in a Colts win ), I hope they will be angry enough to have a couple of borderline calls go the Patriots' way just to piss him off.

On the other hand, NaPolian is on the competition commitee so I'm not holding my breath. The refs have been his toadies for too long.

Hrm.. Good points.

 

[Oswlek]

With NaPolian calling out the refs this week (over a missed call in a Colts win ), I hope they will be angry enough to have a couple of borderline calls go the Patriots' way just to piss him off.

On the other hand, NaPolian is on the competition commitee so I'm not holding my breath. The refs have been his toadies for too long.

At the very least, you can be sure that Polian's comments have made their way into NE's locker room.

Considering how openly angry Tedy was after the 2004 divisional game, I don't think that NE is going to be pleased that Polian is clearly politicing for favoritism a scant 5 days before the AFCCG.

 

[oldskool138]

At the very least, you can be sure that Polian's comments have made their way into NE's locker room.

Considering how openly angry Tedy was after the 2004 divisional game, I don't think that NE is going to be pleased that Polian is clearly politicing for favoritism a scant 5 days before the AFCCG.

True! I remember watching Tedy do that interview and thinking "Wow, I didn't realize that the rule change bothered him that much". But it did and they won! Hopefully, NaPolian will provide all the bulliten board the Pats need.

 

[Seymour93]

If you are a conspiracy therorist or just plain paranoid like myself you have to wonder if the Indy-Saints Super Bowl is just too attractive to the league.

I'm not sure the NFL is too gung ho about that. Think about it. Both the Bears and Pats have large fanbases and play in big markets. Meanwhile the Colts and Saints have both been subpar franchises for a long time. Only recently have both teams turned it around. The biggest negative about the Colts and Saints is that they play in Indy and New Orleans respectively. They can only go so far in terms of growing a fanbase. You're never going to see another Green Bay. The NFL is learning that from the Jacksonville experiment.

 

[patchick]

I'm not sure the NFL is too gung ho about that. Think about it. Both the Bears and Pats have large fanbases and play in big markets. Meanwhile the Colts and Saints have both been subpar franchises for a long time. Only recently have both teams turned it around. The biggest negative about the Colts and Saints is that they play in Indy and New Orleans respectively. They can only go so far in terms of growing a fanbase. You're never going to see another Green Bay. The NFL is learning that from the Jacksonville experiment.

It's a tough one...Indy and NO have tiny fan bases, but vastly better storylines. For a single national game that could be enough. And there are other potential storylines, e.g. Indy vs. Chicago w/2 black coaches. The one team that would probably sink the ratings is Your New England Patriots. They may be endlessly fascinating to us, but most casual fans across the country are bored stiff with them by now.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

With NaPolian calling out the refs this week (over a missed call in a Colts win ), I hope they will be angry enough to have a couple of borderline calls go the Patriots' way just to piss him off.

On the other hand, NaPolian is on the competition commitee so I'm not holding my breath. The refs have been his toadies for too long.

see, that's what I immediately thought upon hearing napolian's comments. assuming the refs have any pride in their work his comments have got to rub them the wrong way.

to make matters worse he was so weasel-y and transparent with his 'we don't need help, i'm just looking out for the league' tenor.

also, he has the competition commitee is his pocket, not the refs. The refs just work for the league and call what the league tells them to call.

I don't expect the refs to make any calls to punish the Colts but I wouldn't expect them to do the Colts any favors either.

 

[Tunescribe]

And there are other potential storylines, e.g. Indy vs. Chicago w/2 black coaches.

Uh-oh ... And February also is black history month.

 

[Seymour93]

It's a tough one...Indy and NO have tiny fan bases, but vastly better storylines. For a single national game that could be enough. And there are other potential storylines, e.g. Indy vs. Chicago w/2 black coaches. The one team that would probably sink the ratings is Your New England Patriots. They may be endlessly fascinating to us, but most casual fans across the country are bored stiff with them by now.

Yeah if the Pats were out, it probably would get better ratings by a hundred thousand or so, but the SB is always going to get monstrous ratings anyway. It's really not an issue if the SB gets 89.6 million or 88.9 million viewing what matters is what happens after the SB. "Your SB Champions, the Indianapolis Colts," just doesn't role off the tounge. It isn't going to sell tickets, merchandise, or gain very many new fans.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

And there are other potential storylines, e.g. Indy vs. Chicago w/2 black coaches.

I swear this storyline would never have occurred to me. I saw someone mention it in an ESPN chat yesterday and was taken aback that this was a person's reasoning for wanting those teams to win.

I regularly feel like the south park kids from the flag episode. who even sees this stuff, and doesn't it say much more about them than me?