Hey He Ban Me, how incredibly stubborn you are, insisting in various threads (
this one in particular) that the Colts are still #1. Allow me to explain a few things to you.
You see, a few years ago the Patriots faced the Colts in the play-offs without two premier defenders at the time: Ty Law and Richard Seymour. Not to mention Tyrone Poole. The results? The Colts still could not win; the Pats held them to 3 measely points, totally dominated the 2nd half. Then they went on to win the championship
in Pittsburgh, still without Law and Seymour.
During the regular season that same year, the Pats played stretches of games without their #1 receiver at the time, Deion Branch. How did they respond? They kept winning.
What does any of this have to do with THIS season??
In fact, in 2003 and 2004, they Patriots broke records for "man games" lost due to injury while still managing winning records. And we're not talking about 9-7, we're talking about 14-2 each season. Including the longest winning streak in NFL history.
Please define "man games"
Last season in the AFCC, despite missing Rodney and Junior, and in a hostile stadium, we came up only a minute short of a return to the Super Bowl.
You kicked out butts for 28 minutes, we returned the favor for the last 32
But now when the Colts lose some players to injuries, what happens to them? Besides all the whining, that is?
Discussing Colt injuries does not equal whining. I am already on record as stating I see it as a badge of honor. Sure, the WR's (and 17 available Offensive players) had something to do with the loss on Sunday, but in the end, clearly the Colts COULD have won that game. Hey, they came up short. AV wasn't injured, and PM wasn't injured. That miss happened regardless of injuries
Sanders goes down last year, and suddenly the run defense SUCKS. The worse in NFL history.
YThe run D was pretty porous WITH Sanders. It was all around bad. He certainly made a difference, but I don't attribute the playoff turn around solely to him
They lose a couple of receivers this year, and suddenly Peyton Manning SUCKS. 6 interceptions IN ONE GAME!
I don't think he suddenly sucks. Some outstanding defensive plays, some give ups by receivers and some poor decision making by PM
Does a pattern begin to emerge here? On top of everything else, what makes the Patriots the better team is their DEPTH. On the other hand, the Colts have no DEPTH. We lose a few "key" players, but the machine rolls on; perhaps we lose a game, but we win many more. But the Colts, the flashy machine they are when they're healthy, if they lose a few key players, it all grinds to a screeching halt.
Consecutive losses. The football world now sees what a fragile, shallow team the Colts really are.
Screeching halt my rear. We lost to one of the League's top teams, and we turn around the next week and lose to a team that was wholly embarrassed on the road the week before. Their D was certainly much better this past week, but truely, SD should be more embarrassed than the Colts for the pathetic effort otherwise.
Injuries are part of the game, get used to it. The better teams have the DEPTH to help absorb such injuries. Which makes the Patriots hands down the better team than the Colts. The Colts always wear down as the season goes on, starting their seasons undefeated, but crawling into the postseason. In contrast, the Patriots always gain steam as a season rolls on (which should really be scaring a few folks as this current season unfolds).
Oohh, scare me "We have depth yes we do, we have depth, how bout you!?"
And two weeks ago, the Patriots marched into Indy, and despite the noise and the heat and the fouling officials, they beat the Colts. Yes, you're right, in a lot of ways, the Colts did beat themselves: by madly rushing Tom Brady and disrupting his game, they ultimately paid the price when they ran out of gas in the 4th quarter, at which time the Pats were able to assert their dominance. There's that depth thing again.
Great win, we blew it. Held the greatest QB in the universe to very pedestrian numbers for 3+ quarters. So pedestrian, that folks were seen jumping off the bandwagon left and right on this site
The Patriots are undisputed #1, not just because the Colts were riddled with injuries, but because they did not have the depth to cover for those injuries and defend their house (and eventually, their championship). For you to deny that the Pats are #1 is nothing but sheer obstinance.
Who the hell really gives a crap who is "number 1" in November?? This has been the Patriot mantra for years. Why all the hubbub now??