This loss is on Dave Thomas

I can't blame Thomas for that call. It wasn't one of those chippy "I need to get my shot in" fouls. He clearly thought the play was still going and was trying to throw a block. It was bang bang in terms of timing and he happened to do it in front of the refs.

So overall I just chalk it up to bad luck. But the refs picked a heck of a time to make a call like that. In a game where there was a total of 2 penalties for 10 yards assessed on BOTH teams calling a 15 yarder on the last drive essentially costing one team the game is ridiculous.

It was a bad call for the Pats and a bad call for the NFL.

If I were the Colts I wouldn't want to win that way.

fillylabinga said:

If I were the Colts I wouldn't want to win that way.

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Really? If the Patriots win on the other teams idiot mistakes I love it.

Deus Irae said:

3 plays gave the Colts the win:

Gaffney dropping the ball
Thomas getting the personal foul
BB calling that timeout on 4th down

If any of those don't happen, the Patriots probably win the game.

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If those don't happen, we definitely win the game. No question about it. TD or not, we should have been put in the position to at least tie the game with a chance of going into O.T. If we got there, forget about it. We were going on long, systematic drives ALL NIGHT. What an idiot play by David Thomas. If the guy does something like that again, I wouldn't hesitate to kick his ass out of New England.

In other news, BIG props to my man Meriweather. That guy was laying the wood last night (ask Reggie Wayne... he knows).

As many have said, Gaffney's drop, while painful to watch, was a physical error. They happen. Thomas' error, however, is unacceptable on the professional level. There is no possible way he thought the play was still going, everyone was standing around, that is a lame excuse. While I do agree that BBs clock management was iffy at best, and I'm sure that there are some plays he would take back, Dave Thomas single handedly lost the game with a needless mental error. BBs errors, Gaffney's drop, all were parts of attempts to help us win a game, for better or for worse. There was no outcome of Thomas' late hit that could have benefitted the team. It's on him. I don't think we should cut him, string him up, forcibly give him horrible diseases, or hunt him for sport (though I admit to running all these possibilities through my head last night as I tossed and turned before finally falling asleep), but I sure as hell hope BB doesn't pull any punches with him in the locker room and makes it abundantly clear that he singlehandedly lost a very important game for us.

PatsFaninAZ said:

and the bad luck that our success in prior years makes it so this freaking game is always on the road.

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I have very little idea of how nfl scheduling is done.

Could you explain why New England's prior success mandates that this be a road game?

I just thought it was some tv, bad luck, stick-it-to-the-Pats thing.

Deus Irae said:

The game plan was brilliantly successful. McDaniels didn't drop the sure touchdown pass.

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Yeah that draw play on 3rd and 16 was pure genius.

oldskool138 said:

Yeah that draw play on 3rd and 16 was pure genius.

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That was a checkdown route. If you taped it, go back and look. Moss and Welker were well past the chains but were not open and the Colts were bringing the heat. Cassel did what most other QBs would do in that situation and checked it down. Would you have rather him thrown a pick-6?

oldskool138 said:

Yeah that draw play on 3rd and 16 was pure genius.

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I dunno, but when you have four consecutive scoring drives of 13+ plays, there has to be some good playcalling in there. . . .

vyrago said:

I have very little idea of how nfl scheduling is done.

Could you explain why New England's prior success mandates that this be a road game?

I just thought it was some tv, bad luck, stick-it-to-the-Pats thing.

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Neither. It's the stupid way that the schedule is constructed.

Every team plays every other division in conference once every three years. The other two years, they play the team of the same rank (1 v. 1, etc.). For whatever reason, though, instead of alternating it, this is how they decided to arrange it:

2003 - play all
2004 - 1 v. 1 South @ East
2005 - 1 v. 1 South @ East
2006 - play all
2007 - 1 v. 1 East @ South
2008 - 1 v. 1 East @ South
2009 - play all

So, since it's been the Pats and Colts at the tops of their divisions (except, ironically in two years when it doesn't matter), Pats/Colts has been on the schedule every year for the last seven. 2004, 2005, and 2006 were all in Foxboro, while 2007, 2008, and 2009 are in Indy. The current rotation ends in 2009, so they may or may not tweak it at that point.

KontradictioN said:

That was a checkdown route. If you taped it, go back and look. Moss and Welker were well past the chains but were not open and the Colts were bringing the heat. Cassel did what most other QBs would do in that situation and checked it down. Would you have rather him thrown a pick-6?

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They were well past the chains because it was designed to have them draw the defensive backs far from the line of scrimmage so Faulk would have more room to run after the shovel pass. It was a designed play - there was never an intent to throw it to either of them.

re: Thomas

JFK said:

I actually believe he didn't know it was over.

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I think so too. I had the exact same thing happen to me in a game, so I can understand not knowing the play is over. Sometimes they call those, sometimes they don't.

Gaffney drop, Thomas penalty, challenging 12 men, 2 point convert were all snafus, but I think what cost us the game was the timeout on 4th down. The O-line got us minimum two yards on every straight ahead rush play all night. There was no need to call that TO, and I can't believe they kicked the field goal after that. The defense wasn't stopping Manning all night - you need to go after the TD in that situation.

primetime said:

Give the guy a break. He didn't realize the play was over and the call was ticky-tack at best.

If anyone, the onus belongs with the coaches.

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I agree 100%. That was VERY ticky-tack. How many times in how many games do we see that kind of block 1/2 second after someone hits the ground out of eyesight of the blocker? About 10-15 per game.

Anyone piling on Thomas for that doesn't watch much football.

primetime said:

They were well past the chains because it was designed to have them draw the defensive backs far from the line of scrimmage so Faulk would have more room to run after the shovel pass. It was a designed play - there was never an intent to throw it to either of them.

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Really? Because it looked plain as day to me that Cassel was looking further downfield first then dumped it off when Faulk was the only guy that was clearly open. I watched it a few times on my DVR because I originally thought the same thing you did.

I pin the loss on this man:

WhoaDirty said:

... I think what cost us the game was the timeout on 4th down. The O-line got us minimum two yards on every straight ahead rush play all night. There was no need to call that TO, and I can't believe they kicked the field goal after that. The defense wasn't stopping Manning all night - you need to go after the TD in that situation.

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Agree 100%.
Dropped passes happen nearly every game. Dropped TD's happen a lot. Personal fouls happen a lot. None of these can cost the game unless you think a game only counts in the last minute of the 4th quarter. What hardly EVER happens is BB screwing up his team. He blew this game with his "over-involvement" in this game. The players did everything to win this game and it blows to see the coaches lose one...never happens. I'm stunned. Bizzarro World.

Gaffney HAS TO make that catch...end of story

wistahpatsfan said:

Agree 100%.
Dropped passes happen nearly every game. Dropped TD's happen a lot. Personal fouls happen a lot. None of these can cost the game unless you think a game only counts in the last minute of the 4th quarter. What hardly EVER happens is BB screwing up his team. He blew this game with his "over-involvement" in this game. The players did everything to win this game and it blows to see the coaches lose one...never happens. I'm stunned. Bizzarro World.

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Yeah--the rarity of that is what makes it so surprising.

Interestingly enough, though, Peter King didn't pile on the Pats as an easy choice for Goat of the Week. [Although you know Gregg Eastersuck will tomorrow.]

Another part of the game that was a bit different from what we're accustomed from seeing from Belichick was after the 15 yard penalty. Once it was 3d and 16, he should have made a decision right then about all options. You sort of need to pick at that point -- do you try for a short play to get in field goal range, figure you'll take 2 plays to get the first down if you're outside the 37 yard line, etc. The team seemed confused on the 4th and 16 about what to do. That decision should have been made while the refs were marching off the 15 yards.

If a penalty or dropped pass is enough to lose a game, then the team didn't deserve to win that game.

Nunchucks said:

If a penalty or dropped pass is enough to lose a game, then the team didn't deserve to win that game.

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So then one could draw the conclusion that the Pats didn't deserve to win any of the three Super Bowls that they played in? Because a dropped pass or a bad penalty like the one against Thomas would have been enough to lose any of those three games.

Please, people. Think about this stuff before you make a post.