NFL 2009 Regular Season Discussion Thread - Page 8

Summary: one of the craziest finishes of all time in the NE-IND game.

Indy scores, and is still down, 34-28.  With 2:14 left.  Indy stops NE on a 3rd and 2 at NE's own 28 yd line.  New England, rather then punt the ball -goes for it-.  They pass the ball, and it gets juggled (badly), and he comes to the ground short of the first down, turning the ball over and giving Indy 30 yards to drive for a score to win..

Bellichek is a genious, 3 Super Bowl rings and all.. but that was really an insane playcall.. a complete vote of no confidence in his defense.  That or a lot of hubris that his offense was way better then it turned out to be. 

On my station in Munich, I get ESPN's  "NFL Primetime" which is very good showing highlights of all the games. At the end, they have had the "Game of the Weak"  which I am sure is the KC-OAK game.

Scott,

I too was impressed -- very impressed -- with how easily the Patriots were moving the ball (both rushing and passing) for about 3.5 quarters.  The Colts did stop the Pats a couple of times in the fourth quarter (especially when it mattered most), and then Manning got very hot.  I was confident that Brady would be able to get at least one first down, but he couldn't get it done at that moment.  The Colts' defense was quite good when it had to be.

Even though many are questioning Billechick's call, I'm not.  They went for it, and didn't get it done.  But the decision was in my estimation not as bad as many are making it out to be.  The alternative would have been to kick it away, and the Colts would then have had their three timeouts plus the 2:00 warning with which to work.  And I don't really think the defense of the Patriots would have stopped Indy.  I believe Manning would have found a way to score in either scenario, and I also think that there would not have been much (if any) time left for the Patriots.  So the call was IMO correct.  Maybe Bellichick was thinking that there would have been time left after a quick score.

These two teams may meet up again in the playoffs.  But one of them is probably going to have to defeat the Bengals -- and the way Cincy is playing, that may not occur this year.

How about those Redskins, eh?  You can't stop 'em. ;)

Surprise of the week for me?  The Cowboys being outplayed 'on both sides of the ball.'  I thought the Packers' defense was going to be shredded, but it didn't occur.

I'm not a fan of the Patriots or Belichick, but that was one gutsy and I think, right call to make. Manning had over 2 minutes and 3 timeouts to work with if the Patriots punt the ball away and he was on fire at the point, so it made sense to go for it and keep the ball out of his hands. A crazy finish to the latest game in the best rivalry in the NFL.

A writer for SI said that yesterday's KC Oakland game was the worst of the season. He must not have watched the Lions and the Rams and forgotten about this weeks Lions Browns game! :)

Looking at the schedules of the 4 1-win teams, it looks like Tampa Bay and Detroit have the inside track to the #1 pick.

Cleveland has the easiest schedule the rest of the way due to playing Kansas City and Oakland. Tampa Bay plays New Orleans and Atlanta twice.

I can see the Browns finishing 4-12, the Rams 3-13 and the Lions and the Bucs 2-14.

Pats defense has seemed weak all season, especially against the pass. So I agree with Belichick's thinking on fourth down. Get a first down and it's over; punt it and Manning is very likely to drive down the field.  Very sad that after putting up all those yards, the Pats couldn't get the last couple for the win. Then all Brady had to say about it after the game was that it was "a bummer."

It would be nice if Brady could actually show some emotion once in awhile. I'm beginning to think he's some sort of robot (whose warranty is about to run out). But win or lose, he gets paid the same, and he's already got three SB rings, so I don't think he really cares either way at this point.

It also doesn't help when you turn it over twice at your own goal line on consecutive drives.  That's a minimum of 6 additional points that should have been on the scoreboard for the Pats.

Someone has changed his post-Earlier someone stated "what happened?" I will find out tonite my time when the game is rebroadcast. Also look at the one of the networks full play-by-play. I tend to look at CBS-Sports. From what I have heard - I would have kicked.

I'll check in on the game, but only because I need Ray to score 20ish for my FF team(s) to win.

Yeah.  I think I'll use the evening to clean out my DVR.

Re: Pats/Colts - I thought the 4th down call was to try and get the Colts to jump off-sides (and it was close as the ball was snapped), and pick up a cheap first down, but they actually snapped the ball and ran the play, and gave the Colts a really short field. 

At that point, the Pats should have just let the Colts score quickly (it looked like no Colt was going to take a knee a la MJD to burn the clock), and get the ball back with almost 2 minutes left and try to score a game-winning field goal with the remaining time.

Had the Pats punted the ball away on 4th down, it still forces the Colts to drive the length of the field, and you have to leave yoursefl open to the opportunity to force a turnover with an INT or a sack, etc, you have to string the game along, play it out.  But by giving the Colts the short field, and playing aggressive defense and burning away all that clock, the Pats had little time to mount a drive for a winning field-goal.

Bad call on Belichick's part.

Sure, Peyton was hot and might have guided the Colts to another TD after a punt...but there are so many things that can go wrong when you've got 60-70 yards to go and you can't settle for a field goal.  That was a bad call to go for it.

I'm still a little stunned about the Chargers now being tied with Denver.  A few weeks ago, I wouldn't have given that situation a snowflakes chance in hell.  One thing I've been believing for sometime now is the Rivers is an elite QB and doesn't get the recognition he deserves.

LT nealy got a 100 yards.  It was fun watching him do that. 

Johnny,

I knew the Chargers would be tied for first at this point.  I tried telling you that a few weeks ago, when I foretold that the Broncos would lose at least three games in a row.  I believe that instead of heeding my thoughts on the matter, you were watching vintage films of Lance Alworth and Kellen Winslow (the latter tearing apart the Dolphins' defense) in a certain playoff game from many years ago.

I do wonder how the Broncos will bounce back from this.  I'm sure you wouldn't mind seeing them finish, oh, 6-10 or so. :)

LT was very happy before the game. He found out that he will become a father

Thus far, Stafford is 17-27 for 345 yds with 4 tds, against arguably the greatest team to have set foot on Ford Field in over seventy-five years.  You can't stop Detroit -- you can only hope to contain them.  I can't believe they are doing this well against the feared Cleveland Browns.

What's with the Cowboys?  They're being shutout against the Redskins (6-0) in Dallas, with ten minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

The Saints move to 10-0.  And the Colts are winning, but only by two points (17-15) with about seven minutes to go in regulation.

Let's go Chargers!  I want the coffin to be nailed shut today in Denver. ;)

I think that game (Cle - Det)  will be the game of the WEAK! 

That's three games in a row for the Colts that could have been lost (missed last-second field goal, gift from the Patriots, and yesterday's Ravens game). Random thought: Wouldn't it be incredible if somehow the Colts and Saints both got to the Superbowl at 18-0?  I think it's highly unlikely, of course.  But it's fun to dream a bit.

I'll know after next weekend if this year's Patriots team can play with any team in the league. It could be a good one down in New Orleans.  I'm not sure who the game will mean more to, as the Saints (IMO) really have to host the Vikings rather than play in Minnesota (the Saints really are quite good this year in New Orleans).  The Patriots are currently tied (7-3) with at least two other teams vying for playoff spots.

Scott,

Well, there's always the third turkey day game to watch (New York Giants at Denver).  That game is extremely important for both teams.

Edited by Ockeghem - 11/23/09 at 6:24pm

Well, eating humble pie right now tastes pretty good.  Now the Broncos have done a swan dive with too different coaches.  Let's not bury them just yet, there are 6 games to go.  However the Chargers have in effect a 2 game lead over the Broncos.  1 game in the standings and were they to tie, head to head would be the next factor and that's even, then I think it would be point differential in the two games and the Chargers would win that.  I think that's how it would work.

What is encouraging is the Chargers are playing better than the previous game.  I hope they can keep that up.  It was pleasant to see us have such a balanced offense yesterday.  I still got a little wistful on some of LT's runs when I found my self thinking that 5 yards 3 years ago would have been 10 or 20 or...  I know, don't get greedy.

The class of the AFC still appears to be the Colts and the Pats.  Yesterday's results made me really wonder about the Steelers.  What's going on with them?

Well, I was joking about knowing how badly Denver was going to do. But I am pleased that San Diego is doing well again. :)

The Steelers really do miss Palomalu.

Let's hope it doesn't come down to point differential. I hope San Diego wins the division outright. I'm now thinking ahead to which AFC team (other than the Colts, which is a given) will have the first week bye in the playoffs. There is currently a three-way tie between New England, Cincinnati, and San Diego at 7-3. And after this, there are three teams (Denver, Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville) at 6-4. (And this group could include the Texans after tonight.) Things could change in a heartbeat, especially since the Patriots play three of their next four games on the road.

12. Coin flip.

13.  If coin is lost or disabled, winner of arm wrestle between coaches.

Steve and Scott,

LOL.

On another note, if the Texans team I saw last night is the team that is fielded when they play the Colts, Indy is going to have a field day.

Concerning the Charger Bronco game: did anyone see the line on the game?  According to my Sunday paper that morning, there were no odds given for that game.  I can understand that.  First you've got the Broncos who were 6-0, and than you've got the Chargers and they can be really difficult to predict how they'll play.

Same thing in the Columbus, OH paper. "OFF." appeared in the "Line" and "Over/Under" columns.

Thanks.  I guess it was just one of those games in which the oddsmakers had no idea of what would happen.  I guess they have figured out the Giants will beat Denver in Denver by 6.5.