Stats on Pats Weekly - Pats Have Real Chance for Perfect Season
Article by Raleigh Dugal, southcoast247.com correspondent
A couple of hours before the big match-up with the Colts, I turned to my dad and said, "Jesus, it's like Christmas."
Most of America felt the same way. The game was broadcast under the same superior camera coverage used for the Super Bowl and media day was hosted early at the RCA Dome. Pats fans, myself included, didn't want to give Indy enough credit to live up to the hype (shank count: 3). Watching New England steamroll teams like Super Bowl hopeful Dallas and half-decent Washington clearly colored my opinion red, white, and blue. I watched in horror while the Colts stifled the Pats incendiary offense, with a freak 98 yard check-down score by Joseph Addai to end the first half and put a serious bee in Belichick's bonnet. The second half saw the Pats claw back up the stat ladder and score the go-ahead TD in the fourth quarter on a pass to Kevin Faulk. A Roosevelt Colvin fumble recovery s ealed the deal, and Patriot Nation reveled as NE ran out the clock.
Peyton's helmet is firmly in place so we can't see his whining tears
Strangely enough, while America has embraced the evolution of the Red Sox into an annual powerhouse, the NFL and the national media continue to compliment the Pats from the sides of their mouths as they pile up the wins. Yes, Shannon Sharpe, we all watched the Colts newly prolific defense (Did I call them depleted?) rattle Tom Brady for two timely picks. Yes, Greg Easterbrook, we all saw Bob Sanders in the backfield stuffing Maroney and Peyton Manning stepping lightly around the pocket and artfully dodging the Patriot linebackers like a dove evading fearsome hawks, somehow espousing family values along the way (satire my ass). Really, though, I just hope the conversation is over, or at least quieted, about who is the superior quarterback. In the past six years we've watched Brady take character guys and turn them into top tier receivers on the way to th ree Super Bowls (granted, on the back of a vaunted defense) while Manning's A-list offense ground to a halt every time it came through Foxboro. Finally, we have borne witness to Tom Brady with a similar cache of scary receivers and he is on pace to shatter all the records Manning set a few years ago. I'm miffed, but my friend Dan might have summed it up. "America loves Peyton Manning because he's in commercials and they hate Tom Brady because he has illegitimate children."
I wonder if that goes for officials too. Anyone who played Little League knows you can't finger the officials for a loss, but the three bogus interference calls and the non-call on Kevin Faulk really get me wondering. In the first quarter Belichick had to waste a challenge on a blown sideline call that was in clear view of two striped-shirts. It seems taboo for journalists to seriously blame the NFL for such skullduggery, but seriously, what the fuck? Indy receivers basically raped Pats' defenders on both plays, who were both in better position for the ball. At least yesterday turned out to be a "sad day" for Colts' head coach Tony Dungy, who subtly criticized Belichick about cheating when just last season his own team was busted for blaring the infamous RCA Dome crowd roar over the speakers. Hope your foot tastes nice, see you in January, Dungaroo.
Enough negativity. Now, the New England Patriots have cleared the way for a real chance at history. This won't be any cakewalk, as under card teams like Pittsburgh and Baltimore still wait in the wings, and division rivals Buffalo and New York are sure to be head hunting with nothing but pride to play for toward the season's end. What a time for a bye week.
A couple of hours before the big match-up with the Colts, I turned to my dad and said, "Jesus, it's like Christmas."
