Do we beat the Colts playing like we did?

[patsin°°]

Not that it matters, but I'm curious to know your opinion on if we played the Colts do you think we would have won.

 

[Arrrr]

No, you destroy us. We had absolutely no pass rush, and it was our undoing. Volek looked like a regular pro bowler. Imagine what brady would have looked like.

 

[Ootball]

The Colts would have scored more, but their D would not have been nearly as effective as the Chargers.

It might have been a closer game, but more high scoring. I'm a Colts fan, but I think the Pats still would have prevailed....

 

[RayClay]

Not that it matters, but I'm curious to know your opinion on if we played the Colts do you think we would have won.

We don't play one team like we play another, we game plan and have the ability to be a long passing team, dink and dunk, screens and power running like we did against Sandiego at the end with three tight ends.

There is no answer to that question.

 

[sanvara]

Not that it matters, but I'm curious to know your opinion on if we played the Colts do you think we would have won.

Probably, but the Colts play very well against the Pats. It would have been a close game and anything can happen in a close game.

 

[Patriots Nation NY]

We will never know.. Who cares ... On to Arizona..

 

[bradmahn]

The gameplan would have been completely different on both sides of the ball, but I think the Pats would have beat the Colts. I also thought that before the Colts played the Chargers, after they played them, and before we played the Chargers. The Colts' defense turned out to be a paper tiger and their offense was too one dimensional for the entire second half of the season.

 

[Joker]

Probably, but the Colts play very well against the Pats. It would have been a close game and anything can happen in a close game.

the only sure thing in life is no matter what, Sanvara will always find something negative to say about the Patriots

 

[jcdavey]

it does take two to tango

chargers defense just played better than the colts defense in the playoffs

the question could also be, would the colts have held NE to 21 playing the D they played against SD?

i think the answer to that is F no lol.

 

[upstater1]

It was a game played in the cold.

It was colder than any game the Colts have played at Foxboro.

More wind too.

Last time the Colts played the Patriots in the playoffs, the wind chill was 15 degrees, and they scored 3 points.

I'm not convinced the game would have looked all that different.

 

[eom]

yes
.

 

[Watson's IQ]

No way to tell, really, it would have been a completely different game. The Chargers D was a nightmare matchup for us, considering the quality of their corners, plus a good pass rush. The Indy D, while greatly improved from years past, would have been a far better matchup (minus Freeney). Sure, Peyton would probably not have squandered those chances in the Red Zone, but I think in general it would have been a more high-scoring game, but the Pats would have found a different way to win (as they always do)

 

[coltsfan]

No way to tell, really, it would have been a completely different game. The Chargers D was a nightmare matchup for us, considering the quality of their corners, plus a good pass rush. The Indy D, while greatly improved from years past, would have been a far better matchup (minus Freeney).

Yep, Colts would have had a very hard time winning without the best defensive player in football. After you beat us in the Dome, I thought you were the favs, but anyone besides the Pats would have a hard time beating the Colts. After Freeney got hurt, I knew that the Colts wouldn't be the same. Anyone who's watched the Colts for years should have known that.

 

[Watson's IQ]

Yep, Colts would have had a very hard time winning without the best defensive player in football. After you beat us in the Dome, I thought you were the favs, but anyone besides the Pats would have a hard time beating the Colts. After Freeney got hurt, I knew that the Colts wouldn't be the same. Anyone who's watched the Colts for years should have known that.

Nice to see a cogent Colts fan, I was curious if there were any left. I agree with you 100% re: Freeney. He might not be the "best defensive player in football", but no player on an opposing team scares me more, I remember countless examples of him turning our tackles into turnstiles. Without him, they were a completely different defense, and I don't think there's any understating the impact that would have had on a potential re-match.

 

[coltsfan]

Nice to see a cogent Colts fan, I was curious if there were any left. I agree with you 100% re: Freeney. He might not be the "best defensive player in football", but no player on an opposing team scares me more, I remember countless examples of him turning our tackles into turnstiles. Without him, they were a completely different defense, and I don't think there's any understating the impact that would have had on a potential re-match.

Yep, was actually scared to play the Pats without Freeney. It really could have gotten ugly for the D. Mathis would have been doubled like the Chargers did, and Brady would have all day to throw.

Matt Light has shown himself to be one of the top LTs in football when he's not facing Freeney. Osi should give him a challenge though. He'll have to block Osi probably with little TE help, compared to all the help he gets against Freeney. That's the thing people miss, Freeney is always getting doubled, while DLs on teams with better talent around them get single matchups.

 

[Watson's IQ]

Yep, was actually scared to play the Pats without Freeney. It really could have gotten ugly for the D. Mathis would have been doubled like the Chargers did, and Brady would have all day to throw.

Matt Light has shown himself to be one of the top LTs in football when he's not facing Freeney. Osi should give him a challenge though. He'll have to block Osi probably with little TE help, compared to all the help he gets against Freeney. That's the thing people miss, Freeney is always getting doubled, while DLs on teams with better talent around them get single matchups.

I agree that Light struggles against elite DEs, particularly of the speed rushing variety (who doesn't?). Osi is very similar to Freeney in that respect, but I don't expect him to be on an island all day. I would be shocked if the Pats don't run two TE sets a lot to chip in blocking Strahan and Osi (or playing Faulk on his side of Brady), thereby buying Tom more time to pick away at the Defensive weakness of the Giants - their secondary.

Adding some stats to back this up, of the 65 offensive snaps that the Pats ran Sunday, only 9 didn't feature a tight end at all (they didn't go 5 wide a single time). 33 of the 65 snaps featured two TEs or more, and I would expect a similar gameplan this week to neutralize the pressure the Giants front can generate. Now, a lot of those multiple-TE formations were in the second half when they were running a lot more, but I think BB has shown the willingness to go to that formation to alleviate pressure. Again, it will really depend on whether the Giants DBs are playing it soft or tight.

Source: http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2008/01/positional_grou_24.html

 

[Grogan's neck roll]

Yep, Colts would have had a very hard time winning without the best defensive player in football. After you beat us in the Dome, I thought you were the favs, but anyone besides the Pats would have a hard time beating the Colts. After Freeney got hurt, I knew that the Colts wouldn't be the same. Anyone who's watched the Colts for years should have known that.

Except of course, San Diego.

 

[pats1yes]

Not that it matters, but I'm curious to know your opinion on if we played the Colts do you think we would have won.

You are quite correct, it does not matter. On any given Sunday anyone can win. So it is a pointless post.

The Colts lost to the Chargers. The Chargers lost to the Pats.

Will we win in the SB, on any given Sunday.

Talking about the Colts right now is a waste of time because next year we will both have different teams.

 

[coltsfan]

Except of course, San Diego.

Re-read my post. I'm not surprised at all that a good team like that would beat us without Freeney. With Freeney, you would have had the sack attack going in the dome like usual with he and Mathis. Without him, they doubled Mathis, single teamed the rest, and converted a bunch of third and longs.

Mad props to the Chargers though. They outexecuted us, and that's why the won.

 

[coltsfan]

I agree that Light struggles against elite DEs, particularly of the speed rushing variety (who doesn't?). Osi is very similar to Freeney in that respect, but I don't expect him to be on an island all day. I would be shocked if the Pats don't run two TE sets a lot to chip in blocking Strahan and Osi (or playing Faulk on his side of Brady), thereby buying Tom more time to pick away at the Defensive weakness of the Giants - their secondary.

Adding some stats to back this up, of the 65 offensive snaps that the Pats ran Sunday, only 9 didn't feature a tight end at all (they didn't go 5 wide a single time). 33 of the 65 snaps featured two TEs or more, and I would expect a similar gameplan this week to neutralize the pressure the Giants front can generate. Now, a lot of those multiple-TE formations were in the second half when they were running a lot more, but I think BB has shown the willingness to go to that formation to alleviate pressure. Again, it will really depend on whether the Giants DBs are playing it soft or tight.

Source: http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2008/01/positional_grou_24.html

Yep, great job adjusting on Sunday. I've never seen a staff adjust as well as the Pats do. McDaniels may be a better OC than Charlie was because I've seen it countless times. Kyle Brady turned out to be a great pickup just for the game on Sunday.

As for the Superbowl, you also have to contend with Justin Tuck, who's very underrated and very good. He's better than any inside rusher the Colts have. Still, the Pats will be fine and I expect them to win.