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A brief side note, I did the social thing yesterday for the game and went to a AFCCG party with a lot of casual fans (a lot of people talking about other crap during the game and not paying attention to the game). So I didn't watch the game with my usual detail (which is shoddy at best anyway). So my analysis will be more off the mark than usual (which is pretty far). So here we go:
- I don't know if I have ever seen a team as versatile as this one. The coaching staff is able to morph this team on both sides of the ball to become whatever they need to be week to week. I mean how many teams can go from abandoning the run completely and spreading out the offense and passing 50 times for 408 yards and 4 TDs one week and then the following week rush the ball 40 times for 177 yards and 3 TDs the next week. I think many people don't understand how amazing that 180 switch truly is. A majority of the teams in this league are what they are and do what they do best every week whether or not it is the best way to beat their opponent.
- When all the people were crying all last week for Jonas Gray, I was thinking "Hey, what about LeGarrette Blount?". People said they had to play Gray because how he dominated the Colts in November, but people forget that Blount had 166 yards, 4 TDs, and 6.9 YPC in the division round against the Colts last year. He literally pounded them into submission and made them not want to tackle him. A similar performance last night.
- Speaking of Blount, I love his patience when hitting the holes. Some people complain that this is him being slow to hit the line, but I think it is more savvy. He will wait for defenders to over pursue and get out of position. No play showed that more than the one play where he juked and head bobbed for good 2-3 seconds totally throwing defenders into different angles to go where he wasn't going to be. Add that to the fact that he is impossible to bring down, he is can be a dangerous weapon.
- Unsung Hero Award: Rob Ninkovich. He got a decent amount of praise last night, but not for the dominant performance he actually had. He was Joe Reitz's (the Colts' RT) nightmares last night beating him all sorts of ways (bull rushes, outside rush, spinning inside, etc.). He pulled a few times to rush inside. He could have intercepted two balls. His stats line (3 tackles, 2 pass defenses, and 2 QB hits) doesn't speak to how big of a game he had. He pressured Luck for much of the night.
- Glad to see Develin get a TD in a big game. He has one of the most unsung jobs on this team. Good to see him get a spotlight. On a side note, right before the TD play, my friend said to me that the Pats should let Develin score the TD.
- When Revis went down, I beginning to think maybe it wasn't Talib and this team is just cursed to lose their #1 CB in every AFCCG. Luckily unlike Talib, Revis had the intestinal fortitude to come back into the game. Hell, Richard Sherman played the fourth quarter of the NFCCG with one arm. Winners gut out injuries in big games. Edelman was hobbled for much of the night with a hip injury too and still played.
- I am amazed all the stuff the Pats are pulling out of their bag of tricks this playoffs. You see what they can do in the playoffs with a healthy receiving corp. That Edelman end around is executed so perfectly.
- I think the one DB TY Hilton doesn't want to see lined up against him in the entire league is Kyle Arrington. Whether you think Arrington is overpaid or not, he earned his salary this year last night. No CB in the league defends TY Hilton better than Arrington. Totally took him out of the game.
- Not to take away from the Patriots win because it was a dominating performance no matter who they faced, but all the talk that this was a much better Colts' team the Pats faced in November was just a mirage. They are the same soft team with a mediocre defense and a near elite QB with limited weapons. Their defensive performances against the Bengals and Broncos were more of a statement of the state of those offenses than the Colts' defense.
- I think Deflate-Gate is much ado about nothing, but it is a damn shame that it will be a focus of attention for the next two weeks and allow the Patriots haters in the media to question the legitimacy of their accomplishments this season.
- I didn't think that anyone in the AFC were in the same league as the Pats. No one scared me in this conference (although I probably should have respected the Ravens more). The Seahawks scare me. Not as much today as they did 24 hours ago especially if Sherman and Thomas are either out or far less than 100%. But they are a team that are built to match up against the Pats. But then again, we don't know which Pats will show up in two weeks (Run heavy? Spread them out and throw? A combination of the two?).
- Off topic, but I have to say that Mike McCarthy's performance yesterday was one of the most gutless showing of coaching in the playoffs I have ever seen. Back to back fourth and goals on the one (one actually about the 4 inch line) and you kick field goals? A fourth and one on the 22 and you kick the field goal. You are protecting the lead midway through in the fourth and you have back to back three and out drives with very predictable play calling. McCarthy coached to not lose rather than win and like many games where you coach to not lose over trying to win, they lost.
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