NFL chat thread

[connoisseur series500]

Interesting first half of the Pats-Colts so far. Not happy with that bogus pass interference call on Ellis Hobbs. Peyton has been the beneficiary of a couple of handsome PI calls so far--one deserved, the other a gift.

I am not implying that there is a conspiracy against the Pats, but it was a dubious judgement call.

[Free For All]

Good game, very exciting. Lower scoring than I expected.

Both QBs had a mediocre game, but Brady came through at crunch time.

Man, Addai played his ass off!

I expect these teams will meet again. That will be interesting

I'll bet Conn's a happy fella!

Edited November 5, 2007 by Free For All

[Aggie87]

i find it interesting and most unusual that an undefeated reigning superbowl champion, playing a home game, is an underdog.

Vegas turned out to be right. I think the Pats were a 4.5 pt favorite to win, and they won by 4. That outcome wasn't secured until Manning's late fumble, though.

If you mean that "other" game, then I think the Pats will win, 107-84.

Well, I got the winner right, anyway.

[T.D.]

Laid the points, missed on the spread, but hit the under.

[alocispepraluger102]

Good game, very exciting. Lower scoring than I expected.

Both QBs had a mediocre game, but Brady came through at crunch time.

Man, Addai played his ass off!

I expect these teams will meet again. That will be interesting

I'll bet Conn's a happy fella!

this was just the overture.

the connman is probably lighting up a big cheroot and snapping his suspenders.

[Bright Moments]

paul - the pats will go undefeated and the fins will go winless - oh how the times have changed!

[Tim McG]

paul - the pats will go undefeated and the fins will go winless - oh how the times have changed!

And all was right with the World.

[connoisseur series500]

Colts played tough. Awful umpiring. I was willing to concede the PI call against Asante Samuel in the first half, but it seems that PFW site said that was a bogus call as well. I thought it was iffy but can concede it. The call against Hobbs was total bullshit. Then there was the bs call against Moss for offensive interference. I think the umps did what they could to make the game competitive. In the end, it didn't matter. Pats are too strong. I believe this was the best chance for someone to upset the Patriot applecart. The only thing missing in the Patriot portfolio so far this season was a gutwrenching comeback. Now they've got it. Now their confidence will soar even higher. I believe an undefeated season is definitely within reach. Bad news for the rest of the league.

But I'm happy that crybaby Polian's team was defeated at home this evening. They did what they could to pipe in fake crowd noise as they did last year. Looks like Polian (as head of the Rules Committee) can devise yet another rule to favor his team and try to nullify what the Pats do best.

Colts are lily white, of course as labelled by the biased and insincere sports media. Polian is a cheating manipulator. Belichick never "cheated" any more than Polian "cheated." Sports media is against the Pats, and why not? It's the American way to topple those who rise to unreachable heights. Now we can go back to "running up the score." This is what the Colts have been doing for years while the media kept silent.

Pats wanted this game too much to let it slip. Our defence did a major job on Peyton in the second half. For me, this victory is very sweet.

Now, back to running up the score!

[rachel]

Pats fans who still think that it's just a big ol' conspiracy against them, even when they win...

So, the fake crowd noise and the fact that we paid off the refs kept the game close? It couldn't possibly be our pass defense that kept your boys from 'running up the score', could it?

As far as the cheating goes, man, let it go already. He knew the rule; he broke the rule. The Pats may want to send a message to teams in the NFL by running up the score, and hey that's their prerogative, but obviously that didn't happen tonight.

Edited November 5, 2007 by rachel

[connoisseur series500]

Pats fans who still think that it's just a big ol' conspiracy against them, even when they win...

So, the fake crowd noise and the fact that we paid off the refs kept the game close? It couldn't possibly be our pass defense that kept your boys from 'running up the score', could it?

As far as the cheating goes, man, let it go already. He knew the rule; he broke the rule. The Pats may want to send a message to teams in the NFL by running up the score, and hey that's their prerogative, but obviously that didn't happen tonight.

I don't disagree with a single thing you say here, Rachel. I really don't. But the media animus against the Patriots this year has been hard to bear. Colts can't do anything wrong in their eyes. I was just trying to redress the balance a bit here.

Sure the Colts "D" played a great game. So did Addai, but the pundits never mention how the Pats D came out with a 4-2-5 formation. They were giving up the run all game in favor of shutting down Peyton's passing game (especially to Dallas Clark.)

It should also be acknowledged that the Colts were missing a few valuable people for this game. We've always been shorthanded while playing them, but were pretty much healthy today. Glad there were no major injuries on either team today.

One guy on Pro Football Weekly said during the first half of today's game (before Addai made that wonderful touchdown run) "Pats: 7 Refs: 6." I'm still seething. Brady was screaming at the refs during the kneeldown plays at the end. It was really ugly.

[Aggie87]

This game could have easily gone either way. It wasn't a definitive win by the Pats, IMO. Had the Pats not caused that fumble at the end, it's entirely possible they (the Colts) could have gone on to win.

Either way, it was a good game between two pretty much equally matched opponents. Would the Colts have won with a healthy Marvin Harrison playing?

Edited November 5, 2007 by Aggie87

[sheldonm]

This game could have easily gone either way. It wasn't a definitive win by the Pats, IMO. Had the Pats not caused that fumble at the end, it's entirely possible they (the Colts) could have gone on to win.

Either way, it was a good game between two pretty much equally matched opponents. Would the Colts have won with a healthy Marvin Harrison playing?

...one never knows but I'm saying....

[Van Basten II]

Even when the Pats play badly they find a way to win, can we just mail them the Super Bowl and get on with our lives ?

[connoisseur series500]

This game could have easily gone either way. It wasn't a definitive win by the Pats, IMO. Had the Pats not caused that fumble at the end, it's entirely possible they (the Colts) could have gone on to win.

Either way, it was a good game between two pretty much equally matched opponents. Would the Colts have won with a healthy Marvin Harrison playing?

...one never knows but I'm saying....

I'm just happy that we were able to overcome the supreme injustice of this:

PENALTIES (Number-Yards) 10 - 146

PENALTIES (Number-Yards) 4 - 25

[connoisseur series500]

Other NFL news:

Can you believe how well the Browns and Lions are playing?

NFC just might be the stronger overall conference this year. AFC has the Pats and Colts, but the NFC have the Cowgirlz, Giants, Pack and Detroit.

Adrian Peterson is something else.

[rachel]

This game could have easily gone either way. It wasn't a definitive win by the Pats, IMO. Had the Pats not caused that fumble at the end, it's entirely possible they (the Colts) could have gone on to win.

Either way, it was a good game between two pretty much equally matched opponents. Would the Colts have won with a healthy Marvin Harrison playing?

Not because of Marvin, but only because we piped in extra crowd noise and paid off the refs.

[connoisseur series500]

This game could have easily gone either way. It wasn't a definitive win by the Pats, IMO. Had the Pats not caused that fumble at the end, it's entirely possible they (the Colts) could have gone on to win.

Either way, it was a good game between two pretty much equally matched opponents. Would the Colts have won with a healthy Marvin Harrison playing?

Not because of Marvin, but only because we piped in extra crowd noise and paid off the refs.

It was well documented that Polian's Colts had fake noise piped in during the AFC championship game last year. As for the refs, I saw what I saw, but don't take my word for it. I'll find quotes from PFW, which is NOT a Patriots site. For the record, where did I write that the Colts had paid off the refs? The reffing was overwhelmingly biased in one direction. That doesn't mean that money was exchanged or whatever. I do believe that the general intent was to level off the Patriot dominance. Even with two bogus PI penalties in the first half, the stout NE defence still held the Colts to 6 points total. Our D clearly dominated Peyton the second half.

I've got to go find some quotes now...

[connoisseur series500]

POSTED 10:04 p.m. EST, November 4, 2007

CROWD NOISE SKIPS AT COLTS GAME?

It's a subject that will be addressed more fully in some Internet hack's Ten-Pack of Week Nine observations for SportingNews.com.

For now, we'll mention only that there are renewed question as to whether the Colts are pumping fake crowd noise into their home games.

Click here for a listen, and stay tuned for more from SportingNews.com

[connoisseur series500]

Here are a few comments:

Pass interference on Moss.

Oh, man. That was the worst one of the day.

More and more readers think the fix is in -- these are the most complaints about the refs since Super Bowl XL.

Reader: "It is possible that Belichick was caught filming one of the official's wives."

More:

It just occurred to me that the Pats are the new Raiders. New England has been flagged for 107 yards, and the Colts have only five.

And then they get screwed on a non-call on Kevin Faulk.

Edited November 5, 2007 by connoisseur series500

[rachel]

Well, thank god for fake crowd noise, dirty refs, and the media, or this game would have been a blow out. Good thing we didn't have to rely on our defense to keep it a close game.

[Van Basten II]

They should fire all the refs because they do an awful job of making the Patriots lose.

[JSngry]

God, I grew up surrounded by hardcore Cowboys fans in the 60s & 70s. This paraniod persecution complex sounds very familiar...

Please, god, make it stop.

[connoisseur series500]

God, I grew up surrounded by hardcore Cowboys fans in the 60s & 70s. This paraniod persecution complex sounds very familiar...

Please, god, make it stop.

I wouldn't be surprised if the league issues an official apology over the bum job today (just as they apologized for an important blown call in last year's championship game.) We'll see....

[connoisseur series500]

They should fire all the refs because they do an awful job of making the Patriots lose.

They did a great job of destroying my pre-game prediction that it would be a blowout.

[Aggie87]

Would be curious to hear everyone's prediction for Sunday's game.

I think Dallas will beat the Eagles, 35-21.

Not TOO far off. 38-17.

Jason Witten had a great run after getting his helmet knocked off. Witten's a football playing dude. I remember a few years back when he broke his jaw and don't think he missed a single game.

edit - One other thing I find impressive: Romo has had 8 300-yard passing games already, with 18 (I think) career starts now. To put that in perspective, Troy Aikman had 13 TOTAL 300 yard games in his career, and second on the Cowboys all time list is Danny White with 10. Romo should easily eclipse that particular team record.

Edited November 5, 2007 by Aggie87