Blame Vinatieri

Let me say this, THE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS ARE FINE. I'm tired of hearing everyone in the media questioning if the Colts are going into a decline. I know that they didn't play their best game, but they should have won the game. We're talking about ADAM VINATIERI. How does the super (bowl), almighty kicker miss a chip shot 29 yard field goal? How is that even remotely thinkable? If you told me the Colts were going to have Vinatieri kicking a 29 yard field goal with about 1 minute left, I would definitely take the Colts chances. To me, the Colts loss is incomprehensible. Yes, Peyton Manning struggled and threw the most interceptions in one game he had ever thrown in his career, but the defense proved again that they are what carries this team. It doesn't mean anything if you pick of a quarterback 6 times and aren't able to capitalize on all of them. The defense did their job. The real reason the Colts lost this game is ADAM VINATIERI. I can't repeat that frequently enough. If you are getting paid the kind of money Vinatieri is just to kick the dang ball, then kick the dang ball through the uprights when the team asks you to. It's not like the Colts asked for a miracle 50 yard field goal to win the game either, we asked him to kick the dang ball 30 yards. 30 YARDS!! In the NFL, that is a chip shot, no excuse, end of story. There is no further place to look to place blame then the kicker who now gets referred to as no. 4 until he hits an important kick that helps our team because he flat out blew this one.

A for speculation that the Colts are now "done" this is completely ludicrous. Anytime you line up with your no. 2 receiver being someone named Craphonso, it doesn't look good for you. Look, the Colts not only played without Manning's best weapon, Marvin Harrison, but they played without his secret weapon Dallas Clark and his new favorite toy Anthony Gonzalez. And he had squat protecting him. Jake Scott had to move to RT, a position he supposedly knows how to play and Michael Toudouze, a LT signed from the practice squad earlier in the week, was covering Peyton's blind side. To Toudouze's credit, he did a pretty good job, but he definitely wasn't agile Rookie Tony Ugoh over there. People should stop worrying about the offense. We're talking about the Indianapolis Colts, the offense will be there, trust me. The point that everyone is skipping over is the defense. Hello? We scored a defensive TD and scored the final points of the game. They held the Chargers when Peyton was busy forcing throws that turned into interceptions. Yes, that's the reason he had all of those. He was weapon-less and he was trying to make something out of someone named Craphonso Thorpe better known as nothing. Back to the defense and turning something out of nothing, they played with Clint Session at LB whom no one had ever heard of and what did he do, he only had 2 crucial interceptions. He was huge. And while Bob Sanders (who is the second coming of Chuck Norris according to Tony Kornheiser) is getting all of the credit, Gary Brackett is simply sitting back and having one of his best seasons. No one even knew who he was when he made that great interception on Tom Brady in Week 9. Hello NFL, his name is Gary Brackett and he happens to be one of the most athletic and most fierce Middle Linebacker's in the league. By the way, ever wondered who forced the fumble of Jerome Bettis in the '05 playoffs that gave the Colts a chance, that would be Gary Brackett.

So people should just shut up about the Colts crumbling and falling into abyss. All you have to do is look at no. 4 at accusingly point your finger.

It Just Slipped Away...

Well, the Colts may have lost the battle, but the war is still to be fought. And even though the Colts lost, they still showed that the Pats are not invincible and that they clearly aren't one of the best teams in NFL history. Brady showed that his isn't stellar, golden boy QB like the league was anointing him. The Colts definitely proved that they are the only equal to the pats. Yes, I still believe that these two teams are equal. Had the Colts had Marvin Harrison or the defense was at full strength, the outcome could've been different. But I'm not going to try to make excuses, the Pats played a good 2nd half and deserved to win the game.

That being said, I think you can clearly state that if you pressure Tom Brady, he is actually one of the worst quarterbacks in the league. When Mathis and Freeney were breathing down his throat, Brady threw interceptions and made poor throws. It was great to see someone finally nail him and put him in the ground a few times. It also showed how Brady doesn't even do anything that special. He threw bombs that Bob Lamey, Colts radio broadcaster, described as "punts." He is just heaving it as hard as he can down field and Moss happens to come up with it. Another time, he threw a poor ball to Moss but he was lucky enough to have Moss make a one-handed, amazing catch. Brady is lucky he won the game.

The Colts defense certainly showed that they are the best defense in the NFL. They picked Brady twice, equaling the number of interceptions he's had all season. They also hit the Pats in the mouth every single play. Marlin Jackson's hit was one of the best this season. And how could you ask for a better start with Robert Mathis nailing Brady to the ground. Gary Brackett had one of the best interceptions all season. Bob Sanders managed to stop another 3rd and 1 and give the Pats a loss of 3.

Another thing, Joe Addai is an absolute beast. He is the 2nd best back in the league right now behind, get this, Adrian Peterson. LT had his time, and now it belongs to Joey Addai. His 73 yard run was absolutely incredible. The way he was breaking tackles and running people over, astonishing.

Last thing, Bill Belicheck is a complete jerk. He started dancing on the field as if he had just won the Super Bowl or something, when it was just a regular season game. Then, he didn't even have enough class to shake Tony Dungy's hand. I guess we all know who the real man is between them.

True, the Colts lost, but I can't wait for the AFC Championship game in New England. That's what really matters. And trust me, I'm not the only one who knows that-Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy know that too.