Don Banks - Inside the NFL
 

Nice article :D Plz delete this thread if already posted!
Bill Belichick fallout was comical, but*Patriots*aren't laughing - Don Banks - SI.com

Re: Don Banks INSIDE THE NFL
 

Suck it Banks.

My thoughts posted elsewhere yesterday: In the end, Indy forced two turnovers and one drive killing recovered fumble - protect the goat-kissing ball. That's what killed the game, and it hurts the most because all three of those errors were made by players who rarely make them compared to the league as a whole. Congrats to Indy, suck it up NE, get ready to make the NYJ pay through the nose.

Re: Don Banks INSIDE THE NFL
 

The OFFENSE may have played "too good of a game", but 28 points is far from "way too good of a game" by the defense. Yet you want to take away the potential game clinching play from the offense and put it in the hands of the tired, hurting defense?

What is so logical about resting your chances on stopping one of the greatest QB's to ever play the game from gaining an EXTRA 30-40 yards, rather than resting your chances on THE greatest QB to ever play the game to get 2 yards??

Those last 30 yards that Peyton got were the HARD yards. Getting from their ~30 to that point would have been pretty damn easy for Peyton against our defense AT THAT point, especially sans Warren, Jarvis and TBC.

Re: Don Banks INSIDE THE NFL
 

The offense had three drive killers - two fumbles and an interception, their game wasn't that great.

Re: Don Banks INSIDE THE NFL
 

they scored 10 second half points. no one seems to remmeber their mistakes for some reason

Re: Don Banks INSIDE THE NFL
 

Right, the offense didn't in fact play too good of a game. I was merely pointing out that the defense had a worse game. And especially late in the game when they were tired.

Re: Don Banks INSIDE THE NFL
 

The D was without Warren & Green and lost TBC and Ninkovich - BB spends big money on the D-line for a reason and that second half fade highlighted why. BB had the O eating clock to try and protect the D, it would have worked well except for the two turnovers and the strip sack Koppen saved - to me that was the difference. Brady rarely throws interceptions, Maroney rarely fumbles, and the O-line + Brady usually means low sacks; which is why Indy did such a good job forcing the mistakes - better now than in the playoffs.

Re: Don Banks INSIDE THE NFL
 

Indy got nothing off the turnovers and the fumble led to a 3 and out punt return to the 6 and a TD. No unit is perfect. The offense did it's job for the most part although settling for 3 twice isn't ideal. Manning's offense was wildly inconsistent and sucked for the most part of 3 and a half quarters. The real problem was the prevent defense allowing them to close the gap, but even that required a strategicly thrown flag per usual.

No need to kill anyone. It was a team loss albeit with the predictable twists given the matchup and location.

Re: Don Banks - Inside the NFL
 

This line bothers me (not the shock but not being on board):

"...For what it's worth, I was in the New England locker room after the game, and I saw the look in the eyes of the shell-shocked players. I don't buy for a second that they were on board with Belichick's decision. The ones who deemed to talk had to say they were, but I think they were blown away by the riskiness of the call, just like the rest of us."

Hopefully they have got over it and our D is ready to bounce back against this so-called diss by BB.

Re: Don Banks INSIDE THE NFL
 

Indy getting nothing off the turnovers was good, NE getting nothing off the turnovers was the difference - three "forced" mistakes that killed drives. It's an offensive league, NE has morphed into the O-power template of Indy and is in transition on the defense to be better able to "limit" a high scoring offense. Sunday night the defense started with one foot in cement (Warren & Green out), losing TBC and Ninkovich left the Secondary and Linebackers further handicapped against the Indy passing game - I thought the D played very well for the circumstances. The O eating clock in the second half was good, until Indy's D found a way to force two turnovers and a recovered fumble - that was the difference, it gave the ball back to Indy's O which we know isn't going to be held in check for long (anymore than the NE O can be held in check).

Indy's D "forced" the mistakes, they gave their O the chance to win, they won. A less depleted defense might have been enough to hold them, but it's hard to argue for a depleted defense's chances against Indy's O. I hated the loss, I have no problem with the decisions or the overall performance of the NE players, but head to head with Indy's D the NE O lost the ball control battle - something to correct and improve before the playoffs, it's not finger pointing Mo, it's what needs to be fixed going forward. Now...

He's going to pout,
he's going to cry,
there ain't no doubt I'm telling you why,
Sexy Rexy's coming to town.

He's wiping his eyes,
he's changing his drawers,
the disappointed Pats are pissed and looking to toast Jester smores,
Sexy Rexy's coming to town.

He knows that Tommy's grumpy,
he knows Wes is quite well,
he knows PatChung is blitzing and the Sanchize won't feel well,
so....

He's going to pout,
he's going to cry,
there ain't no doubt I'm telling you why,
Sexy Rexy's coming to town.