Well the Patriots off-season is starting two weeks earlier than it could have, and some would say should have. A lot of people will be tempted to look at various moments late in the game with the Colts where New England failed to capitalize on the opportunities they had, and they would be right in doing so. But the game began to turn against the Patriots much earlier, at the end of the first half.
At that point the Patriots defense, which had been playing smash-mouth football, settled into a “Prevent Defense.” Of course, as the old addage goes, all a prevent defense does is prevent the defenders from winning. And so it was true here. Peyton Manning was allowed to finally develop a rhythm with his receivers and effectively managed the Colts down the field to a field goal. Although it was 21-6 at the half, it wasn’t comfortable.
And so the game went downhill from there and you could feel the tide turning against the Patriots. It was as though we were playing the part of the Colts, and the were playing in the role of the comeback Patriots. Although several people told me they expected Tom Brady to pull it out at the end, I didn’t. I knew this team was hitting its limit and that the season was coming to an end.
Two dropped balls (and I mean DROPPED) by Reche Caldwell
Tom Brady’s failure to see Caldwell uncovered prior to one of those plays
Richard Seymour hurt and ineffective
Too many second-stringers playing defense for chunks of the second half because the starters were winded or sick
Great pass blocking but not so good run blocking
Laurence Maroney not being ready for prime time
Corey Dillon not getting the ball enough
Field goals when we should have been scoring touchdowns
It simply wasn’t to be. We brought our “B” game when Indy brought their “A” game. Perhaps we could beat the Texans playing like that, but not the Colts.
Classy Colts
I hate Peyton Manning. Not because everyone else likes him, but because the man has always reminded us that you can’t spell team without “me”, having thrown portions of his team under the proverbial bus for the past two seasons. But last night he earned some respect back, having only good things to say about the Patriots and Tom Brady and honestly seeming humble in victory. It was a pleasant surprise. Perhaps his friendship with Brady is rubbing in more ways than we know. When asked about the lack of respect he gets (you know, from fans like me!), he simply said, “I don’t play that card.” Well done, Peyton.
Tony Dungy as always was the epitome of class, and he and Belichick shared a pleasant post-game greeting on the field. Brady, Kevin Faulk and Tedy Bruschi all sought Peyton out after the game to wish him luck in the Super Bowl, and Peyton intentionally mentioned this after the game.
Don’t get me wrong…. I still hate the Colts. The Polian family is barely evolved from earth worms, and I am a Bears fan for the next two weeks.
No Excuses
The Patriots franchise has won three Super Bowls and each of those championship teams won in spite of serious injuries to key personnel. Injuries and sickness have never been an excuse or a factor in winning, so they shouldn’t be brought up in losing either. The Patriots’ message board resounded with cries of player illness and bad officiating from a few disgruntled “fans”.
Injuries? They happen…they are a part of the game. That’s why the Patriots have always fielded the best “teams” (meaning all 53 players) rather than bank on only the starters. The simple fact is that last night our second string defensive fill-ins were not good enough to stop the Colts’ attack. End of discussion.
Sickness? Exhaustion from the Chargers? Perhaps. Clearly some players had the flu during the week and others were tired from the previous game. But the Colts played last week too, in a hard fought physical contest. There is no handicap added to the score for being sick or tired. Again, end of discussion.
Poor officiating? Puh-leeeze. If you want to see bad officiating, go watch the video from last year’s playoff game against the Broncos. That wasn’t just bad; it was horrible, and in large part contributed to the Patriots loss. Some will point to five turnovers as the reason for losing last year, but at least two of those turnovers would have been negated by better officiating. The game last night was well officiated, and I thought the refs made a couple of gutsy (but correct) calls, both of which benefitted the Patriots. A few fans pointed to two calls — one a pass interference call that wasn’t made on a pass to the end zone, and another about a personal foul for roughing the passer for a player who barely tipped Manning’s helmet with his hand after Manning had released the ball. The PI call? Sure, it was bad but arguable. The personal foul? Players are prohibited from contact with the quarterbacks head…. the rule does not get into degrees of contact. In addition, the refs said that they had let several previous taps to the head go, but needed to get the Pats’ defenders to stay away from Peyton’s head. You don’t like the rule? Fine, change it. But the rule was applied correctly, just as correctly as when the now famous “tuck rule” call was made against the Raiders in January 2002. Suck it up and get over it.
The Off-Season
So our off-season begins today, and promises to be very active. The Patriots, like a number of other teams, have a fairly significant amount of salary cap room (around $30 million) and should be in a good position to retain good talent, as well as attract new talent. And we have two first-round draft picks.
The first priority has to be the re-signing of Head Coach Bill Belichick, who just completed his contract. While rumor and speculation suggest that the Kraft family might well be angry at Belichick for his extramarital affairs, I have to believe that the Krafts won’t let him get away, and will hopefully sign him for another 5 or 6 seasons.
As to players, the first priority in my view must be Cornerback Asante Samuel, who had a brilliant season and made several key plays yesterday, including an interception of Manning taken in for a touchdown. If I am Scott Pioli I would buy a wheel barrel, fill it with $100 bills and ask Mr. Samuel if that would be a good start. I am not kidding. The Patriots only pay top dollar to those people that are actually top at their position, such as Tom Brady and Richard Seymour. Asante Samuel belongs in this group, and may well rival Champ Bailey as the best corner in the league.
A quick (and I do mean quick) snapshot of our needs:
QB - We are fine. Brady and Cassel are a solid pair of quarterbacks. Don’t be surprised when Cassel eventually makes his mark on the NFL.
RB - Corey Dillon is on the wrong side of 30. Kevin Faulk had a great season, particularly at the end of the year and in the playoffs. Laurence Maroney showed some flashes, but needs to be more patient finding the holes to run through and needs to use his speed more to accelerate past defenders rather than just juking in place.
WR - Keep Gaffney, Keep Caldwell (despite yesterday, though I expect he won’t be brought back). Chad Jackson needs go get a healthy season in next year. After that, it’s pretty thin. We need to bring talent in at this position. I’d prefer a vet or two here as well.
TE - With Watson and Thomas in the fold, I am not expecting Daniel Graham back. While he is a solid TE, he has seemed pretty unhappy in New England and may well demand greater dollars than the Patriots are willing to pay. I’d be very surprised if he came back.
OL - When it comes to pass protection, this is a solid group of players with very serviceable back-ups. The problem comes in for the running game, where this group can be less than overpowering. Light is a good LT, but not a great one. It would be really nice to have the talent to move him to the right side. With two first round picks in April’s draft, never count the Patriots out of selecting an offensive lineman.
DL - This is the best 3-4 defensive line in the NFL with Seymour, Wilfork and Warren as starters and Jarvis Green and Mike Wright as the immediate back-ups. Depth is always good, but this is a young and talented group of players.
LB - Biggest need position. Bruschi (my favorite Patriot) is getting close to the end, and we still have not addressed our inside line-backing needs. Colvin and Vrabel are great on the outside, but the inside needs help. Getting one more season from Junior Seau would be great, but the fact is that we need youth in the linebacking corps. Tully Banta-Cain is a great back-up, but I don’t think he is going to make it as a starter. Same with Alexander, who had a good game yesterday. Izzo and the others are fine for special teams, but not for extended game time. We need an infusion of talent here now.
DB - Asante is the key to the cornerback situation. Bring him back and we have a solid 1-2 punch with him and Ellis Hobbs. Hobbs has made some great plays this season but has struggled against a few receivers… I think he is a solid #2. I don’t think he is ready to be #1 just yet. After that, it’s a dog fight at corner that could always use new talent. It’s worse at safety. Harrison may be done and is certainly far from 100%. Wilson is good, but he is no Harrison. We have serviceable guys back at safety, but could again benefit from a fresh infusion of talent.
ST - On special teams, we are set at kicker with Ghost, who showed some of the same “ice water in the veins” look as Adam Vinatraitor did for so many seasons. Josh Miller is a great punter if he is back and recovered, though Todd Sauerbrun did a great job in his place.
Well, that’s enough Pats information for now. The details of yesterday’s season-ending loss are below. No doubt I will have plenty of draft thoughts between now and April.
PATRIOTS
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7
|
14
|
7
|
6
|
-
|
34
|
COLTS
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3
|
3
|
15
|
17
|
-
|
38
|
|
Passing: Brady (21/34, 232 yds., 1 TD, 1 INT
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Rushing: Dillon (7/48 yds., 1 TD)
Faulk (4/27 yds.)
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Receiving: Watson (5/48 yds.)
Caldwell (4/46 yds.), Gaffney (3/37 yds., 1 TD)
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Sacks: Alexander, Colvin, Vrabel
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Interceptions: Samuel
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