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From the Depths of Irrelevance |
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Wednesday, 07 November 2007 |
One More for the Bad Guys
By Bob Kalbaugh
Intern Online Reporter
All was almost good in the world. With less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Indianapolis Colts held a 10-point lead over the New England Patriots Sunday night.
Then reality struck.
The Colts, playing shorthanded without No. 1 receiver Marvin Harrison, simply did not have enough in the tank to finish the Patriots off.
Patriots
quarterback Tom Brady, who the Colts’ defense had held in check for the
better part of the day, found Wes Welker in the left flat to make the
score 20-17 in the Colts favor.
A New England
defensive stop gave Brady another drive to work his magic. A few short
plays later, Brady checked down to Kevin Faulk for the go-ahead
touchdown, and the Patriots were on top 24-20 and the rest was history.
For the
Patriots, the win puts them at 9-0 for the season and staring at the
possibility of being the NFL's first undefeated team since the 1972
Miami Dolphins. With a week 14 match up against the surging 6-2
Pittsburgh Steelers being the toughest remaining game on the schedule,
the aforementioned possibility might become a reality.
The Colts, on
the other hand, proved a lot in defeat. Without their best receiver in
Harrison, they were still able to play the Patriots as tough as anyone
would have thought.
The potential
rematch could take place in the AFC Championship game, and with a
healthy Colts offense, the result could be different.
Defensively, the
Colts were able to apply pressure on Brady, even forcing him into
throwing two interceptions. Defensive end Robert Mathis registered two
sacks and Dwight Freeney had several pressures.
The Patriots
offense came into the game averaging more than 35 points a contest, and
the fact that the once questionable Indianapolis defense was able to
hold them to 24 points is a nice accomplishment.
When Harrison
becomes healthy for the potential rematch, his presence alone will free
up WR Reggie Wayne, TE Dallas Clark and RB Joseph Addai in the passing
game.
With all that being said, the Patriots hold the mental edge over not only the Colts, but also the rest of the NFL.
It is hard to
remember an offense looking as dynamic and unstoppable as the current
Patriot regime. The much-maligned Randy Moss, who literally went on a
mental and physical vacation for his previous two seasons with the
Oakland Raiders, looks better than ever before.
His 12 touchdown
catches in nine games is an unbelievable feat. If teams try to take
Moss out of the game, secondary receivers Wes Welker and Donte
Stallworth make them pay dearly.
The league is also feeling the wrath of Brady and head coach Bill Belichick.
Brady finally
has a great receiving core and is on pace to break every significant
passing record in existence. His 33 touchdowns and only four
interceptions in nine games are eye-popping statistics.
Belichick, who
truly could care less what his peers think about him, is obviously
still angered by the NFL penalizing the Patriots for illegally
videotaping coaching signals and the overall suggestion that the
Patriots three Super Bowl wins are tainted. He has coached the Patriots
to get touchdowns on every single possession on the season, no matter
how many points New England is ahead.
As much as we all hate it, the Patriots always get the job done.
If the rematch does occur, America will be heavily rooting for the Colts.
However, as the Patriots have proven throughout the 2007 season, they love playing the role of the bad guy.
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