The Official Patriots vs Colts postgame thread

woolster22 said:

Without watching the game again, Ridley seemed to have that extra wiggle. Sure Blount took one to the house (safeties cheating up and the backers sold out and got creased), but Ridley seemed incredibly effective tonight.

Again, the run game was effective enough it seemed silly (to me) to pass on second and eight, or again in third and six. We were gashing them all night on the ground.

I know Denver can't contain this power game, and I doubt ADw cab contain it. That said, I'd prefer to be in Colorado to seeing SD come here. SD could throw the run game back at us. Denver, not so much, plus we have the secondary to line up with Denver.

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Yeah, of course someone needs to take a little dig at Ridley. He has been very good ever since he returned from the fumble streak. Hard running at the goal line for the TD and then the 2 pt conversion. Blount has obviously been the play maker and out performed just about everyone the past couple of weeks...I wonder how Ridley felt with the crowd screaming to give Blount the ball when he was flawless on the goal line himself.

Ridley has been running different since his benching too as well...notice he no longer does that spin move that leaves the ball vulnerable. seems to now just hold onto that thing tight and lower his shoulders

So what would the call have been if Allen threw the ball properly to the guy in front of him, who intentionally dropped it? Incomplete, right? Even though it was like 60 yards behind the LOS...

It makes me happy that BB has probably practiced this.

Field Yates ‏@FieldYates 4h
Barkley extends hand 2 @MikeReiss, who says "Im Mike Reiss." Barkley responds, "I know who the **** you are, that's what I put out my hand."

awesome!

Salva135 said:

To everyone gushing about our running game... part of that comes from Brady. Defenses HAVE to respect the passing attack and worry about play action. But when the running game is legitimately working, defenses have no idea what's coming up next. The Pats ran some "lightning no-huddle" tonight, they ran the power game, they sped up and slowed down when the situation dictated it. You could basically predict their next offensive play, but it didn't matter, they knew what they were doing. Virtuoso performance by BB and McDaniels.

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Wat? I think you broke me brain.

The running game dominated because the Colts had no answer for it. It did far more to help the passing game than vice versa.

Three New England Patriots will get paid this off-season:

Blount, Edelman, Talib

I wonder how many of the aforementioned New England Patriots will be retained?

ATippett56 said:

Three New England Patriots will get paid this off-season:

Blount, Edelman, Talib

I wonder how many of the aforementioned New England Patriots will be retained?

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We now know that spikes will be gone ......

ThatllMoveTheChains!!! said:

Wat? I think you broke me brain.

The running game dominated because the Colts had no answer for it. It did far more to help the passing game than vice versa.

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I think he is saying that the defense can't truly commit to stopping the Pats running game because despite a lack of weapons, you still have TB12 throwing the ball. The run opened up play action but the defense must always respect Brady or he'll kill them with whatever he's got.

what a game...i was all the night in front on tv...

grandissimi Pats !!!

immensi !!!!

grazie Patriots !!!!

I predict that Blount will be this year's super bowl MVP. :rocker:

KamikazeKnight said:

I predict that Blount will be this year's super bowl MVP. :rocker:

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I'm good with that.

KamikazeKnight said:

I predict that Blount will be this year's super bowl MVP. :rocker:

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The long snapper can win the SB MVP for all i care, all i want is SB 4

unfortunately these have gone unsung in this thread...most undeserving... so I want to give a shout out to Develin, Hoomanawanui and Mulligan. All three did an outstanding job as run blockers. Dumbledorf credited Hooman and Develin, but Mulligan absolutely destroyed the defender on the second TD and threw some other key blocks too. Obviously Blount and the OL deserve their credit for transitioning this team to a power run team, but the aforementioned three have played a crucial part too.

New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount's 2nd TD run - NFL Videos

Congrats, the better team advanced. Our run defense was as laughable as any time during the 00's. They are trying to fix it for a decade now, no luck. Speaking about Luck, what we were talking about, he's still too inconsistent. Oh well, it was a good run for that young team.

Mountain_Commando said:

If someone told you that the Pats would score 43 points in a playoff game, and Brady would throw 0 tds and be placeholding for the kicker...

...what would you say?

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I would say if any team in the NFL could have the scenario take place it's the Patriots. Says a lot about that team and the coaching staff.

collins and hightower came up big today! its the depth and young players of the patriots that has really impressed me.

A someone who's been yelling for years about the need for a stout running game, I couldn't be happier to see this group ground and pound all game long

Thought the D front did a great job in constantly pressuring Luck. There was always someone around him or near him. Rarely a clean pocket. Great job.

The 2 areas on this team that continue scare me are the WR's and the DB's.
Brady simply doesn't have enough weapons in the throwing game right now. All Patriot fans need to pray every night for the health of Julien Edelman. Without Jules this team has NO passing game. ZERO!!!! Amazing how far their passing game has fallen. Kudos to the coaching staff for recognizing it and changing the focus of the O to the run. In the past they were too slow to make those changes and it cost them Super Bowls.
These DB's are scary. Capable of making the great pick and equally capable of giving up easy long gainers. Have little confidence in this group.

mesoslo said:

collins and hightower came up big today! its the depth and young players of the patriots that has really impressed me.

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I am tickled to death at the development of Collins. Nice article on him on espnboston.com this morning. They started him off slowly this year, gradually increasing his snap counts as the season wore on.

He was all over the field last night.

Looking to the future, with Hightower, Collins and Mayo the speed and strength combo they have at linebacker is frightening (in a good way!)

RhodyPatriot said:

A someone who's been yelling for years about the need for a stout running game, I couldn't be happier to see this group ground and pound all game long

Thought the D front did a great job in constantly pressuring Luck. There was always someone around him or near him. Rarely a clean pocket. Great job.

The 2 areas on this team that continue scare me are the WR's and the DB's.
Brady simply doesn't have enough weapons in the throwing game right now. All Patriot fans need to pray every night for the health of Julien Edelman. Without Jules this team has NO passing game. ZERO!!!! Amazing how far their passing game has fallen. Kudos to the coaching staff for recognizing it and changing the focus of the O to the run. In the past they were too slow to make those changes and it cost them Super Bowls.
These DB's are scary. Capable of making the great pick and equally capable of giving up easy long gainers. Have little confidence in this group.

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I agree with you with regard to the passing game. They are limited. With the inability to throw to the outside which has allowed defenses to focus on jamming the underneath and middle of the field throws, that has been one of the reasons this team has lost on the playoffs. I'm hoping Dobson and Tompkins are OK next week. I think they need them.

In terms of the secondary, Arrington and McCourty did not have good games. Overall I thought Talib on Hilton was a bad matchup and Dennard made some good plays and not so good plays. Keep in mind the slick field I believe helps the receiver so that might have had a little to do with some of the longer completions. I also think Luck made some GREAT throws last night. On the other hand he completed less than 50% of his passes, converted 6-15 on 3rd down and threw 4 picks so the pass defense (along with the rush) did something right. Wouldn't be too hard on them. The pass defense is much better than recent years. Can't stop ever play.