Alright everyone, I know it's been a while since I've posted something and after the Patriots awful collapse this past Sunday I must address what we saw. First of all, let's talk about the first 57 minutes of the game: awesome! What a fantastic display from the league's top two teams! Arguably the two best-run franchises in the NFL, New England and Indy treated us to one of the better games we will see played this season. Might this be an AFC Champ game preview? perhaps. But let's get down to the controversial moment of the game. Here's the situation, the Colts have just scored with a little under three minutes remaining in the game. Patriots up by six. Brady leads the offense out on the field. First play a run, no gain. Second down a pass good for 8 yards. Third and 2: incomplete pass, nearly picked off might I add. Now it's 4th and 2, the ball is spotted on the Patriots 28yd line. The Colts defense starts to run off the field, fired up that they had stopped the all-powerful NE offense. But wait a minute, Tom Brady is discussing something with Bill Belichick on the sideline. No way the Pats are gonna go for it? Are they? Yes they did go for it, and Brady threw a pass to Kevin Faulk, however, because Faulk bobbled the ball as he caught he did not get forward progress and the ball was less than a yard short. Colts take the ball, Manning goes down the field, and with 13 seconds left throws a TD pass and the hated Colts get a 35-34 win, leaving every Patriots fan shaking their head in disbelief, wondering how a game that was in our hands managed to slip away in the final minutes.
Well, I will tell you how the game slipped away. And guess what? I AGREE with Bill Belichick's decision to go for it on 4th down. Every sportscaster everywhere on every tv, radio, newspaper, website, etc is ripping Bill for his unconventional decision. The Patriots were 7 inches away from the first down. If they get the first down, Brady takes a couple of knees and all everyone is talking about is how Indy is no longer undefeated. However, that is not the case, the Patriots lost the game and I see the offense as the main reason for the loss. In the 2nd half, Maroney fumbles the ball inside the 2 yard line on his way to score, that cost us 7 points. Also, late in the game with NE up 10pts, Peyton Manning threw an INT, the Patriots had the ball on the Indy 35yd line, primetime scoring position. Yet the Pats settled for a field goal to go up 13pts instead of scoring a touchdown, which would have put them up 17. The defense played very well thru the first three and a half quarters. They started to fade a bit at the end but you can't fault them too much, they are playing against Peyton Manning and the guy is playing at an amazing level.
Many people are trying to say Belichick didn't trust his defense against Manning. I disagree. If he didn't trust the defense he would have told them to let the Colts score immediately when they got the ball so that the offense could have the ball back. Bottom line: Belichick tried to give his team the best possible chance to win even if it meant going against the grain and upsetting people all around the sports world. It didn't upset me at all. I love that my team is willing to take a risk to win a big game. This time it didn't work out. I do believe that we might see these two teams meet again, but for much bigger stakes. One thing is for sure, the Patriots players will remember this game and learn from it. That's one thing New England does better than EVERY team in the National Football League - get over a loss! The last time the Patriots lost 2 games in a row was in 2006. Impressive 3 year run, wouldn't you agree?
Enter the New York Jets week 11. The game is in Foxboro, MA. The Jets won the first time in week 2, 16-9. The Patriots didn't look good, Brady was rusty, Welker was out, the Pats defense was without MLB Jerod Mayo, so many things were not going in the right direction for NE. Well things have changed just a little bit... The Patriots are 6-3, the Jets are 4-5. Two teams going in opposite directions. About the only thing in common the two teams have is that they both blew 4th quarter leads last Sunday and had their hearts broken. The Patriots have been waiting for this game. They didn't like going to New York and losing. They didn't like not scoring a single touchdown. They didn't like watching the Jets celebrate after the game. I have a feeling this game will turn out a little differently. I look for Brady to lead the offense to a multitude of points and the Pats D to feast on a out-of-sync NY offense run by inexperienced rookie Mark Sanchez. What amazes me is how Jets fan still like to talk about how "great" their team is and how "awful" the Patriots' loss to the Colts was. Remember NY, your team is 4-5. You have more losses than wins. Mark Sanchez is tied for the league lead in turnovers. That's not a category you want to lead. Your coach is a crying, winy baby that makes excuses after losses rather than take responsibility for them. This NY Jets team is one that I enjoy hating and really enjoy watching implode. Should be a fun finish to the season with the Patriots rising up and the Jets falling down flat on their face. I look for a blowout in New England on Sunday afternoon: Patriots 38 Jets 17.
P.S. - If you really want some good theater, check out the Giants this week, they host Atlanta and are looking to lose their 5th game in a row! Looks like a great weekend for New York fans!
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