Afc championship

[Fusebazell]

Oh, how the mighty have fallen!  The Colts and Peyton Manning looking unstoppable the past 2 weeks.  Dominating both the Broncos and Chiefs on offense.  Now, I admit the Chiefs do not have the greatest defense but Denver has a decent defense and got picked apart by Manning.  Today, Manning and the Colts have done absolutely nothing.  So far Manning has thrown 2 ints and Marvin Harrison has fumbled once.  Hunter Smith has punted more times today then he has the rest of the playoffs and the Colts have ever given up a safety on a bad snap on a punt.  The Colts offense has managed 0 points in the first half and trail the Patriots 15-0 going into halftime.

[Saintsfan]

Answer= the patriots defense!!

And as the colts hadn't punted all through the playoffs before today, the stat about Smith punting more today than in the rest of the playoff doesn't mean too much!! But keeping the Colts to 0 points in a half is a great job by the Pats D. Just hope they can keep it up.

[Fusebazell]

Actually, I made a mistake Smith still hasn't punted in the playoffs. The Colts attempted to Punt but the snap was high and Smith couldn't reach it and kicked it out of the endzone for a safety.

[nitroseed]

Manning is doing his annual collapse in the playoffs.

[Saintsfan]

Actually, I made a mistake Smith still hasn't punted in the playoffs. The Colts attempted to Punt but the snap was high and Smith couldn't reach it and kicked it out of the endzone for a safety.

If that stays the same way I sense a trivia question for future years!!

[Fusebazell]

Actually, I made a mistake Smith still hasn't punted in the playoffs. The Colts attempted to Punt but the snap was high and Smith couldn't reach it and kicked it out of the endzone for a safety.

If that stays the same way I sense a trivia question for future years!!

Smith has now punted and it went 55 yards.

[Joshawaggie]

Yay Patriots!

Vinatieri just tied the playoff record with 5 FG's in one game.

[Fusebazell]

Congratulations to the New England Patriots.

24-14 winners over the Indianapolis Colts

[Puckguy14]

Wow, I totally expected a close, low scoring game...low scoring in the Arena variety of course.

[slapshot]

The reason the Colts lost? Not only did they finally play a team that had a defense, they played the BEST defense.

The game would not have been as close if the Pats stayed with the run and didn't get picked off in the end zone.

GO PATS!!!

[JQK]

It was good to see that the patriots recievers could butt-fu*k the Colt recivers and not get a second look from the ref. That last 4th and Whatever play was horrendous. THe worst non-call i ever did see.

[NJTank]

Yeah the refs seemed to let the Pats secondary have its way with the Colts. Taht last 4th Down may have not been a differnce maker, but it had to be called.

[See Red]

It was good to see that the patriots recievers could butt-fu*k the Colt recivers and not get a second look from the ref. That last 4th and Whatever play was horrendous. THe worst non-call i ever did see.

Yeah... I completely agree.  The ref'ing was horrible when it came to Ty Law on Marvin Harrison and that 4th and 10 where Pollard's (?) arm was being held.  That may have made a difference in the game, majorly.

And what makes ANYONE think it was the Patriots defense that stopped the mighty Colts?  We're talking about a dome team playing in snow... logic, people.  If that game is played on a dry field, can you honestly say the Patriots win?  if you can, you're a liar.  Yeah, the Patriots are 'unbeatable' at Foxboro... but the Super Bowl ain't played in Gillette Field... and I think the Panthers have as good a shot at anyone at beating the Pats.

[slapshot]

And what makes ANYONE think it was the Patriots defense that stopped the mighty Colts? We're talking about a dome team playing in snow... logic, people. If that game is played on a dry field, can you honestly say the Patriots win? if you can, you're a liar. Yeah, the Patriots are 'unbeatable' at Foxboro... but the Super Bowl ain't played in Gillette Field... and I think the Panthers have as good a shot at anyone at beating the Pats.

The Colts and the Patriots were both playing on the same field. If the Colts had just played 6 games in a row in a dome, then I can see it making that much a difference. But both teams had played one outdoor playoff game coming into this one. They're from Indianapolis...it's not like the Sun Belt or anything. Both teams practice in climate controlled conditions during the week. The Pats have a big practice bubble dome next to the field. When it was below zero during the week the Pats practiced indoors. I'll bet the Colts did too.

Besides, weren't the Colts at a big advantage when the Pats played there in November? An outside grass team playing in a turf dome? Hmmm....I remember the Patriots winning that one too.

As far as defense goes, sure, that non-holding call was lucky on the Patriots part. Do I think that made the game? No. But I think 4 INTs against Peyton went a very long way in making the game.

Ty Law had the same number of catches off Payton Manning as Marvin Harrison. Think about that. Manning was sacked 3 times. Edgerrin James could not break outside to make many gains. There's your game right there.

[RyanB06]

Sigh...need I remind everyone of the oldest axiom in football?

"Offense wins games, defense wins championships."

Pats and Panthers have it, Colts and Eagles don't. Guess who's in the big game? I thought so.

And for all the gripes about the non-calls on the holding, how about at the beginning of that drive the Colts got away with a BLATANT delay of game? The play clock was at 00 for about a three-count before Manning took the snap...and got a first-down out of it, too!

Bad calls tend to even out. Deal.

[NJTank]

This one does not even out that would have given the Colts a first down. It should have been called, will it have made a difference, its hard to say for sure. However, we should have been able to find out.

[KCScout76]

defense wins championships."

I have been telling my friends who are "Chief-a-holics" that they don't have the defense to last long in the playoffs. I was right.

Look at the teams with great defenses who have won titles; Ravens, Bears 4-6, Doomsday from Dallas, Steel Curtain, and the Bucs, I could go on. Eagles have a good defense, they held the Panthers to mininal points, it's your offense that has to come through-Carolina's did and the Eagles 'O' stuttered.

Andy Reid will fix it over the Spring.

The Colts have had no "D" most of the year. Carolina's offense will be exposed by the Pat's Defense.

Question is, can the Panthers' O generate enough offense to win, this could be one of the lowest scoring SB in a long time.

[See Red]

There's a difference.  The Colts played a fairly warm weather game in KC while the Chiefs played in those same exact conditions.  How many game did the Colts lay in poor weather as compared to how many the Patriots did?  Um... the Patriots played more.  The Patriots are far more setup to play in those conditions than the Colts were.

And don't you remember what happened when the Colts actually woke up very late in the 3rd quarter of the game the first time they played?  They came within 2 yards of winning the game despite having been down by 21 midway through the 3rd quarter.

The Colts offense is based on passing, it's difficult to pass a wet ball, hell, that's the only reason Harrison fumbled, even... and there's a reason dome teams have faired so badly in poor weather in the playoffs.  Don't you see a pattern?!  Yes, they both play in the same conditions.  But one of the teams is set up to play in those conditions for half the season.

[NJTank]

Manning was terrible Sunday but he did play a good defense in bad wetaher on the road.

Next year is the test for Peyton and the Colts, if they dont make it to Super Bowl XXXIX then they will be looked at as failures like the Eagles were this year.

[shiznit1083]

There's a difference.  The Colts played a fairly warm weather game in KC while the Chiefs played in those same exact conditions.  How many game did the Colts lay in poor weather as compared to how many the Patriots did?  Um... the Patriots played more.  The Patriots are far more setup to play in those conditions than the Colts were.

And don't you remember what happened when the Colts actually woke up very late in the 3rd quarter of the game the first time they played?  They came within 2 yards of winning the game despite having been down by 21 midway through the 3rd quarter.

The Colts offense is based on passing, it's difficult to pass a wet ball, hell, that's the only reason Harrison fumbled, even... and there's a reason dome teams have faired so badly in poor weather in the playoffs.  Don't you see a pattern?!  Yes, they both play in the same conditions.  But one of the teams is set up to play in those conditions for half the season.

THE PATS STILL WON BOTH TIMES!!!!!  Dude, you can say what you want about how the Colts woke up in the second half, the Colts are better, yadda yadda ya.  Fact is the Pats beat them in Indi, the Pats beat them in Foxboro and now they're going to Houston.  They won, not once, but twice, get over it.

And yes, defense does win championships.