Ladies and gentlemen, the following public service message is brought to you by your friends from D-Generation X, who would like to remind each and every one of you that if you're not down with that, we've got two words for you... There are few sights I enjoy in football more than the Manning Face. (Hopefully one of those things - Philadelphia being beaten senseless - will transpire tomorrow against Green Bay.)
As for the Jets, I'll say it now: They're going to give New England a way tougher fight than most are expecting. I won't be ballsy enough to predict they'll actually win, but it's not going to be another blowout like the game in November.
smark/net attack Advisory System Status is: Elevated (Holds; June 18, 2006) While the switch from Cena to RVD should alleviate some complaints, the inevitability of the belt's return to Cena (note where Summerslam is this year) and the poor initial showing by the new ECW are enough to keep the indicator where it is for now. The pieces are in place, though, especially on RAW, for improvements to be made to the IWC's psyche in the near future.
What IN THE WORLD was Santonio Holmes thinking when he faked picking up the bouncing punt early on? (I don't dare think he actually was trying to catch the punt and failed, which would have required him to have a major brainfart AND a major physical malfunction simultaneously.) As it turned out, it ended up benefiting the Jets, as it got the Colts to use up a challenge and a timeout (although they didn't end up needing either). But that could have turned out very ugly, and I can't imagine what he hoped to gain.
How did the officials not call Braylon Edwards out of bounds on the last play before the field goal? I don't mean that the pass wasn't complete--it was--but clearly the clock should have been stopped, and it wasn't. There was no doubt about that. It probably didn't matter--the Jets would just have run a quick running play and let the clock wind down--but it looked really bad. Up until that point, though, the officials had a good night.
Very clean game--other than the interception at the end of the first half, there were no turnovers and very few near turnovers--I don't think the ball was ever loose other than one play where a Jets receiver dropped the ball on his way down and it bounced right back into his hands. Not many penalties, either, with the only stupid one being the running into the punter penalty late (although that was pretty hugely stupid).
Could Vinitieri possibly have kicked that field goal any better? It was a 50 yarder, but it looked like it could have gone 65, and very close to right down the middle. I know this is old news, but man is that guy money in a big spot.
All in all, a fun game. Watched with my Dad and we were very pleased.
I have to ask: Why did Jim Caldwell take that last time out when the Jets were driving in the last 54 seconds? That seemed like a very stupid thing to do.
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A lot of tweets last night about how this game came down to feet, but my fave was from Scott Linn of The Steve Czaban show on Sporting News Radio's:
"Postgame, if the Indy lead holds, does Rex ask Adam if he can smell his foot?"
Congrats to the Jets. Peyton now has a post-season record of 9-10. Wow. Of course, takes a lot of playoff games played in to have that many losses, but still.
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The Colts look like the Pats last year, older and slower only they don't have the stockpile of draft picks to turn things around. I think Manning is going to be 35 next year, so you can't look at a long term rebuild. I don't want to write the Colts off yet, but they are going to have to make some major adjustments going into next year
As a Pats fan this is the matchup I feel most comfortable with. The Jets can blanket Branch and Welker, but what do they do with the two tight ends and Woodhead?
Originally posted by Peter The HegemonSome thoughts: How did the officials not call Braylon Edwards out of bounds on the last play before the field goal? I don't mean that the pass wasn't complete--it was--but clearly the clock should have been stopped, and it wasn't. There was no doubt about that. It probably didn't matter--the Jets would just have run a quick running play and let the clock wind down--but it looked really bad. Up until that point, though, the officials had a good night.
Not to worry, Jim Caldwell just would have called another time out :-0
He didn't learn from his mistake of doing the same thing against Jacksonville earlier this year, and it cost him again. Maybe NEXT time it will occur to him not to do that.
Peyton ultimately ends up with a losing record in the playoffs because he's good enough to get them into the playoffs even on years when his team isn't really that good. The Jets were the superior overall team, with the only real advantage for Indy coming at quarterback, but dropped balls were very much a theme this season and I saw plenty of it on Saturday, too. I'm not sure what happened to Pierre Garcon between this year and last. He was money during the playoffs last year, but has been very, very inconsistent this season.
"Never piss off a hawk with a blowgun" - Conan O'Brien
Originally posted by GodEatGodPeyton ultimately ends up with a losing record in the playoffs because he's good enough to get them into the playoffs even on years when his team isn't really that good.
Certainly that's the case this year but I don't know how much it applies to their previous one-and-dones.
Wow, there sure are a lot of pre-game festivities! This has been my first season following the NFL, so I haven't really been well-prepared for all the hype and paralysis via analysis.