We had no offense for the second half.
The offense scored 14 points in the first half on two scoring drives. It scored 13 points in the second half on 3 scoring drives. That's not having "no offense".
The defense had played more plays than any in the playoffs. They had the flu. The were undermanned by injuries at LB and S. We were playing Baker, Alexander and Hawkins!!! The defense was playing against a no-huddle offense that was having its best day ever. And yes, the it was THE DEFENSE that failed. They need to stop Manning and the colts.
I'm with you 100% on this. The team was ravaged by injury and illness, particularly on defense. However, it was the defense which let the team down as a result. Were I assigning blame, I'd begin with injury/illness as the greatest culprit. However, that wasn't where people were going with this nonsense about the offense being to blame.
HOWEVER, it would have nice if the offense could have done anything at all. The offense was not even able to run a little clock off. The passing game was aweful and the running game was non-existent. But yes, it was the defense that allowed the points.
This is not true. The time of possession difference for the entire game was just 2 minutes. New England had a 2 minute edge in the first half and Indianapolis had a 4 minute edge in the second half. Now, if you want to talk about the playcalling for the offense, I'm with you. Indianapolis was selling out against the run and New England elected to try to pass as a result instead of killing the clock by running anyway, which might also have worn down that small Colts defense. But that's a coaching decision, and it's not on the offense.
What was the reaction of the Front Office? Yes, they addressed the issue of lack of depth on the defense. Thomas and Meriweather were brought in.
But the Front Office addressed the REAL problem. Morris, Moss, Stallworth, Welker, Kyle Brady and Washington were brought in. They may still bring in an additional running back. I would have drafted one at #28.
Wide receiver wasn't the real problem, although it was the greater weakness. There is a difference. The real problem was that the Patriots defense wasn't able to stop the very offense which it must stop every year in order to get to the Super Bowl. That same offense had carved up the Patriots during the regular season, in New England. In that game, the Colts offense scored on all 3 real possessions in the first half (the fourth 'possession' was just a kneel down with 16 seconds left in the half), and would also have scored on its first possession in the second half had Vinatieri not missed a field goal. The ensuing drive resulted in a punt for the Colts and then they scored another touchdown right after that.
In other words, the Colts scored on 4 of their first 6 drives in that game, and would have been 5 for 6 had the Vinatieri not missed from 37 yards out. The Patriots defense simply could not stop the Colts offense last season, whether it was playoffs or regular season.
BOTTOM LINE
The defense was at fault. However, they played as well as they were capable of playing. They were clearly outmanned by Manning's offense. They need just a little bit of help from the offesne. There was none to be had. The defense was on their own, and not up to the job.
And BTW, setting up for a field goal on 3rd down with 5 minutes left yo tie the game was the single largest vote of no confidence I've seen in some time by an OC for the patriots.
The defense was a fault, which is what my point was. The offense did not help out as much as any of us would have liked. The coaching staff coached scared and stupidly in a way I'd never seen before from a BB team. You can believe me when I tell you that I was cursing about the coaching much more than I was cursing the defense during the game, but that wasn't the issue put in play in this thread.
However, again, despite the lack of confidence you opine about, and despite the subsequent hunt for receivers, that Patriots offense found a way to score 3 times in the second half even though the play calling was terrible in many key situations. Frankly, I thought the coaching staff lost the game by making terrible decisions at halftime and not adjusting properly during the rest of the game. A BB team was clearly outcoached by Tony Dungy and company and that, to me, was the biggest travesty and shock of that game. I'd never even thought of the possibility that the coaching edge in a Colts/Patriots matchup would have gone to the Colts.