And so it begins...

[SamBam39]

As far as I'm concerned, I couldn't care less if Peyton gets into the Hall. What I care about is the Patriots winning. If Peyton breaks every record in the books -- and adds NEW records that haven't even been thought of yet -- I say, good for him.

But if the Patriots keep winning championships, setting the bar for team results in an era when the gods of individual stats run so rampant, I'll be a happy camper.

As far as I'm concerned BB, Pioli, and company have injected some sanity in the modern NFL game, and that's a lasting contribution, far more important than any number of gaudy individual stats.

A great player may be great -- and good for him -- but that's only one man out of 54. To consistently put together a great team requires a higher level of genius. Btw, Red Auerbach exemplified that in his day with the Celts, may he rest in peace.



//

nicely put.

 

[sieglo]

sure ..can happen to anyone, hypothetically can happen to brady too...lets give him props for what he has done...heck...this game against the colts this week is a game simply because of him , no one else on the colts really makes this matchup as competitive...

Brady has three rings. What does Manning have? Not even a passing record.

 

[sieglo]

Manning could retire in the middle of next week's game and still make the Hall.

If he did it would be an injustice and only because of media ballwashing.

 

[Fogbuster]

If I think the Colts play better on the road than in the Dome, should I root for NE Sunday night?

You can't go wrong with that !!

And if you do, welcome back from the dark side.







//

 

[Hoodie]

Manning could retire in the middle of next week's game and still make the Hall.

I wish he would. Then we wouldn't have to see him on every 2nd commercial.

 

[Fogbuster]

nicely put.

Thanks, Bam.




//

 

[SamBam39]

If I think the Colts play better on the road than in the Dome, should I root for NE Sunday night?

I would expect a game similiar to the Broncos on Sunday. Seems like we've played a million times over the years cause i've made a ton of these Colts/Pats threads.

Post ya thoughts.

This sounds to me like your already lining up your excuses for the Colts if they lose next week - 'that's ok - I wanted them to lose so they can play on the road in the playoffs' - what a load of BS. Didn't we just spend the last 5 years hearing that if the Colts could ever get home field advantage they'd finally win a title, because they are so unbeatable in their little controlled environment dome? Then they showed the world just how pathetic chokers they actually are when they totally choked again to a clearly not that great steeler team. (The pats would've crushed Pittsburgh if they had beaten Denver) Now you want to claim the Colts are better off going to Foxboro, in the cold and snow in the playoffs because 'they play better on the road' ?
Hah hah hah hah - you can't even keep your excuses straight anymore! That's sooooo funny. I can't imagine you actually believe that. I think you just watched the Patriots look like a well oiled machine, without any weak links, and with incredible physicality and an obvious advantage in game-planning and scheming, and you realized there was a very good chance your fairies of stats and regular season blowouts of the titans and texans could very well have their lunch handed to them again on national television, and you want to have some way of claiming it doesn't bother you! Deny it all you want. It's pretty obvious. There's no way you'd prefer to come here in the playoffs. Well, The pats are still coming together, despite how well they played last night, and they may not beat the colts next sunday night, but I'll tell you this, come playoff time, they will be very, very hard to beat, and I think your best hope is for the broncos to play them before the colts do, and hope the broncos can knock them out before they knock you out. You never know of course, but I think the Colts fans concerns with the pats this year should have gone up much higher after seeing them overcome their only concern last night.

 

[RayClay]

If I think the Colts play better on the road than in the Dome, should I root for NE Sunday night?

I would expect a game similiar to the Broncos on Sunday. Seems like we've played a million times over the years cause i've made a ton of these Colts/Pats threads.

Post ya thoughts.

Same run defense, I hope. We've got 2 RBs and they both want to pad their stats. Evans too. And Faulk.

Sounds good to me. :bricks:

 

[Oswlek]

To paraphrase Parcells, I think it's a little premature to start moving Manning to Canton.

Compare him to Bledsoe as a prolific passer. Will Manning surpass Bledsoe's gaudy numbers? Maybe. Will Bledsoe make it to the Hall? Doubtful. If Manning can't win the big game and he doesn't exceed Bledsoe's numbers, he won't see the Hall either.

You are letting Manning's matchup issues with NE cloud your views of Manning. He was a better Drew Bledsoe up until 2003, and then he made the leap. You would be hard pressed to find any 3-4 year run by a QB in the history of the game as impressive as the one Manning is on now.

If you have the 2004/5 3 games to glory, rewatch the AFCDG with the Colts. Manning far outplayed Brady in the game, but Manning's receivers kept screwing up. Drops by Pollard, Clark and Stokely as well as pitiful efforts and poor play calling killed that team. But Manning really wasn't bad at all until the 4th quarter when the game was essentially over.

Manning issues with NE have stemmed from the fact that Manning is much worse at post snap reads than presnap and he doesn't pass well at all on the move. Plus, NE is at their best when a team's offense is almost entirely based on timing. Teams like Carolina give NE fits, because they are really good at just making stuff up when the play breaks down. Indy doesn't do this nearly as well, so NE presses the WRs and hits the TEs/RBs to disrupt the timing.

Just because NE has played well against Indy doesn't mean that Indy and Manning aren't very good in their own right. If Manning isn't a first ballot HOFer, I will eat my shorts.

 

[Seymour93]

Expect to see some...

...with a little Kool-Aid thrown in.

 

[SamBam39]

it's just silly to deny manning is already a hall-of-famer.
of course he is.
there's no debate.

 

[FloridaPatsFan]

This thought probably deserves its own thread at some point, but.....

Our defense has been in the backfield of every team all day long since week 1

I know we have had some great defensive lines in the past 5 years but if we face a team that does not have a very mobile QB....Its almost unfair this year.

I know that the Colts have some injuries up front and have not faced an unrelenting pass rush like New England's yet this year. We may not lead the league in Sacks but good God, we are going to get to the QB this year.

I say here that Manning will do a lot of throwing on the run Sunday.

And we are going to get hit with at least 2-3 "Roughing the Passer" penalties.

 

[Oswlek]

This thought probably deserves its own thread at some point, but.....

Our defense has been in the backfield of every team all day long since week 1

I know we have had some great defensive lines in the past 5 years but if we face a team that does not have a very mobile QB....Its almost unfair this year.

I know that the Colts have some injuries up front and have not faced an unrelenting pass rush like New England's yet this year. We may not lead the league in Sacks but good God, we are going to get to the QB this year.

I say here that Manning will do a lot of throwing on the run Sunday.

And we are going to get hit with at least 2-3 "Roughing the Passer" penalties.

I can't say that I agree with this one. NE has been awesome at stopping the run, sans the Denver game, but I haven't been impressed with the pass rush. It is otherworldly when teams must pass, but it seems rather common when the game is close.

 

[SamBam39]

I can't say that I agree with this one. NE has been awesome at stopping the run, sans the Denver game, but I haven't been impressed with the pass rush. It is otherworldly when teams must pass, but it seems rather common when the game is close.

as long as we're stopping their offense, I don't care how we do it.
BB will devise some nice gameplan I'm sure.

 

[DisgruntledTunaFan]

My gut tells me Indy, for some reason. Peyton lit up Denver's #1 D-me thinks he has figured out BB's schemes.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

The Colts' coffin was nailed shut the moment Dan Koppen's re-signing was announced. Koppen to Brady will strike fear in opposing defenses for years to come.

 

[zippo59]

My gut tells me Indy, for some reason. Peyton lit up Denver's #1 D-me thinks he has figured out BB's schemes.

What does beating Denver have to do with figuring out Belichick's schemes?

 

[mgcolby]

My gut tells me Indy, for some reason. Peyton lit up Denver's #1 D-me thinks he has figured out BB's schemes.

I'd say stop listening to your gut!

 

[SamBam39]

I'd say stop listening to your gut!

Look there's no doubt the colts are very strong, playing well, and hungry to beat the pats.

but the pats are very strong too, and BB is ingenious like no other at devising ways to cause manning to struggle. The pats will have to play their best game, but they can, and if they do, they can defiantely win. geez if the donkey's had killed a littgle more clock last week before scoring, they would've won. everyone is talking like 'maniing was so greast for beating the broncos', but nobody is mentioning the fact that the broncos had that game won. the colts are absolutely beatable, so you wanna crown 'em, crown 'em!

but they are who we think they are!

 

[emoney_33]

No one on the pats has forgotten the embarassment last year when the colts came to town... Watch out indy (with that awesome 5.1 ypc run defense)... watch out