Thank god we didn't play the Colts

[PatSunday]

In 2014, 59% of passes from the 1 yard line ended in a TD.

I'm the first to admit -- thank god we didn't play the Colts. Andrew Luck and backup Matt Hasselbeck scored TD's on each of their 7 passes at the 1 yard line in 2014.

For comparison, next closest were Rivers (4/4), Carr (5/6), and Brady (4/5). Nobody else is close: Peyton (2/5), Eli (4/7), and Rodgers (5/10).

Wilson was perfect (1/1) and nobody had thrown an interception from the 1 yard line... until the end of the last drive of the Super Bowl.

...Oh, and right, we did play the Colts and kicked the four asterisks out of them, didn't we...

 

[aztecafut]

If somehow we had to play the Colts in the SB, I have a strange feeling the game wouldn't have come down to us stopping them at the 1 yd line to win the game. But maybe that's just the homer in me talking.

 

[Gronkowski123]

i hope we run up the score against these clowns next season.

 

[doesntmatter1]

Unless the Colts magically bring a fortified run defense, they should be allowed to just forfeit. Forfeiting has to be less embarrassing than getting ran over and having guys thrown from the club.

 

[ewg_gestalt]

Unless the Colts magically bring a fortified run defense, they should be allowed to just forfeit. Forfeiting has to be less embarrassing than getting ran over and having guys thrown from the club.

Especially when you know it's coming, and still can't do anything to stop it.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I wish we played the Colts 16 times a year. Luck would score from the 1, no doubt, but that would just break the 45-0 shutout that was happening...

 

[DarrylS]

If we played the Colts the likelihood of the ending we witnessed, were slim and none. If in some parallel universe the whole schemes would have been different, as Arrington did a very nice job on Hilton and Butler may not have even been in there.

We have their number and the Superbowl would not even have been close...

But of course we are all aware that two AFC teams cannot play in the Superbowl.. so I do not even understand the premise of this thread... long offseason.

 

[chasa]

And I thought things around here could be unbearable after losing a superbowl.

 

[PatSunday]

For context:

From my research, the Colts, the team we demolished, had no problems with converting that call throughout the season, doing it 7 of 7 times with two different quarterbacks, the best mark of 2014 or any recent season by far.

And yet I noticed that Seattle fans on their forums still think that passing was the wrong call. Even Seattle was 1/1 prior to that play, and the league success rate overall was 60% TD, 40% Incompletion, 0.00% Interception (plus an occasional sack.)

Rather than creating an account on their sites, I thought I'd post here. The last thing Seattle fans want to hear is that the team we demolished in the AFC Championship was way better at that play, and that the overall league average is better than Seattle after that play (60% > 50%).

In fact, Seattle themselves are one of the small number of teams that uses an 8-man run defense. http://www.fieldgulls.com/2012/12/1...pline-and-kam-chancellors-role-in-run-defense . If they need to stop the clock, and the play works 60% of the time against a normal defense, why wouldn't it work 80% of the time against an 8-man run defense?

Fans of both teams also forget that Butler's job was to hit the receiver very hard at that point, even if it was a pump fake or a route to the sideline. Butler got beat 2 plays prior, there was no way his target was standing up after the play no matter where it went. The Patriots could be penalized several inches -- no big deal.

With a scoring chance way above 60%, the overwhelming odds were the Hawks would score on the passing play, or stop the clock. Belichick must have felt the Patriots could get into field goal range in 30 seconds and 2 timeouts, after the prolific 4th quarter the Patriots had.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

i hope we run up the score against these clowns next season.

Trust me....Gronk will be throwing MANY out of the club

 

[BradyFTW!]

I think you can argue that it was a bad call simply based on the fact that the Seahawks had Marshawn Lynch and the Patriots D was generally pretty bad at stopping opponents who had to gain a yard or less, relative to the league average. So, as far as this matchup was concerned, it would be hard to second-guess Carrol if he decides to run it there.

Having said all of that, passing there was a totally defensible call. I understand the reasoning, and it took an absolutely brilliant play to force the turnover. In some alternate universe, Carroll did decide to run the ball and someone made an equally brilliant play in stripping Lynch. Same outcome, only real difference is that nobody second-guesses the Seahawks after the fact.

 

[patsfan-1982]

the NFL is all about matchups and the colts don't match up well vs the pats. other the jones gray only Arian Foster got 100 yards on them once and they faced some really good RB's but the pats had 400 yards rushing on them in two games, they also averaged over 28 points per game but only had a total of 24 in two games vs the pats