NFL Week 9 Discussion - Indy/Pats and no TO

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 12:55 pm

jLp vAkEr0 wrote:
sfz_T-car wrote:The Cody Pickett era begins
Very bad beggining to the Pickett era. And the Giants D ain't that good.

Did anyone expect it to go any differently? It is kind of like being a Colts fan in the mid-80s. Let's just say we didn't have much hope in the Mike Pagel era.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 1:43 pm

I was very encouraged by the Bears win this weekend. Last week they took a step by winning a road game for first place in the division. This week I think they took another step by winning a game when they weren't playing their best football. Good teams do that and I expected them to be a good team this year. Now they have to find out how to become a great team.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 1:52 pm

Scoop, they have a great running game, always had I guess, and they beat on a fragile Saints team that just can't find their game. I wonder how much the disaster in NO comes into effect here but they lost like 5 in a row and I don't hink they are a bad team at all.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 8:26 pm

Just what I thought he should get and confirmed by the Eagles organization: T.O suspended for the duration of the season. Good for Philadelphia!

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:41 am

I'll take a repeat of that in late January, thank you very much.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:26 am

Dave wrote:I'll take a repeat of that in late January, thank you very much.

Except that's when it really counts...

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:17 am

Dave wrote:I'll take a repeat of that in late January, thank you very much.

It's tougher then...just ask the Steelers.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:56 am

Except that this year the AFC Championship game will be in Indy.

This is clearly a different Colts team. Didn't seem the least bit rattled last night. I know the Pats D is really hurting, but still, it was an impressive win.

Hard to imagine any other team hanging with the Colts right now.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 11:26 am

The Colts have played one team with a winning record (5-3 Jaguars) and that was a close 10-3 win at home. The Colts are doing an excellent job of beating everyone on their schedule. Fortunately, the teams on their schedule have a combined winning percentage of .350!

I think the Colts are damn good. The win at New England is a start, but I really won't be able to tell how good they are until after they play Cincy and Pittsburgh.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 11:36 am

I think there is no doubt that the Colts are for real. Their 'D' needs a bit of improvement, especailly on tackling, but they are definitely doing what a good team is supposed to. They are beating up on the weaker teams which is where a lot of other really good teams tend to have problems sometimes. How many times do you see really solid teams taking care of the toughest competators but having trouble with the teams they are 'supposed' to beat? Not the case with the Colts this year so far and last nights game proves it.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 11:51 am

Leebo33 wrote:I think the Colts are damn good. The win at New England is a start, but I really won't be able to tell how good they are until after they play Cincy and Pittsburgh.

Agreed. The second half of the schedule (outside of this weekend against the Texans) is a night and day difference from who they've faced to this point.

Pittsburgh scares me the most with their power running game. Corey Simon will have to earn his keep during that game.

But it was nice for one night to see Belicheck as frustrated as the Colts usually are in New England.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 12:18 pm

Way too much credit for that win over the Pats last night. Credit that to the great job in overhyping the hobbled Pats team to make this game look appealing.

But I really don't know what team can survive losing their entire secondary against the better teams in the NFL.

I think this game is pointless in a grand scheme of things. The Pats are going to struggle for the rest of the season. The Colts are going to dominate most teams. They will have a great NFL regular season barring any major injuries. Then comes the playoffs.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 12:25 pm

Spooky wrote:I think there is no doubt that the Colts are for real. Their 'D' needs a bit of improvement, especailly on tackling, but they are definitely doing what a good team is supposed to. They are beating up on the weaker teams which is where a lot of other really good teams tend to have problems sometimes. How many times do you see really solid teams taking care of the toughest competators but having trouble with the teams they are 'supposed' to beat? Not the case with the Colts this year so far and last nights game proves it.

I'm going to have to disagree. The Colts blew out teams going down the stretch last year too and they still laid an egg in the AFC Divisional playoff. In fact, they outscored opponents by more points during last year's 8 game winning streak than they have during the 8-0 start this year.

How about those three time champs winning games by close margins? It didn't seem to hurt them when they didn't blow out teams they were supposed to beat. In fact, during their 21 game winning streak they beat exactly 1 team by more than 14 points.

Are the Colts "legit"? Of course, they have been for several years. Are they the best in the AFC or any more legit than last year? I'm not sure yet. The only thing that could possibly make them any more legit in my opinion is that New England doesn't seem to be as big of threat. I just haven't seen what Indy can do yet against top competition on the field. I saw them blow out teams last year by a wider margin and it didn't even get them a trip to the AFC title game.

lexbur · Post by **lexbur** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:15 pm

Leebo33 wrote: The Colts blew out teams going down the stretch last year too and they still laid an egg in the AFC Divisional playoff.

Yeah, on the road.

I know it's hard for a Steeler fan to put much stock in to the importance of home field advantage throughout the playoffs after last year, but you gotta like the Colts chances if they're home throughout.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:44 pm

Call me a racist all you want (even if it's not even close to being true), but leave it to ESPN's resident angry black man Scoop Jackson to say the Eagles made a mistake by dropping T.O.:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... son/051108

Take care,
PK

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:47 pm

Between Scoop Jackson, Steven A. Smith and Jason Whitlock...its rather tired. None of them seem to write a single column without blaming the man...or saying the man is holding them down. Whatever...I've finally stopped reading their garbage.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:53 pm

Leebo, while I agree their schedule has been soft, you can't help but notice that they seem like a more intense team this year than last year. It may have been regular season, and the Pats D may have been banged up, but they still had to face Brady and Belichick on Monday night at Foxboro. I saw no tightness or tension from them, and they looked confident that they would win from the opening snap. They played the way a team trying to get to the Super Bowl is supposed to play.

The second half is certainly going to be a test, as five of their next eight are against good teams. I just don't know how you can't saw they're playing the best football in the league right now. No other team has their combination of passing, rushing, defensive, and special teams capabilities.

Anyway, not trying to be a Colts homer, I'm just finding their season interesting. Glad I have Sunday Ticket so I can catch some of these games if they're not on the broadcast channels.

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:01 pm

I have mapped out the Colts future, just as I predicted their easy win in NE. They will go undefeated and win the Super Bowl. The 72 Miami Dolphins will cry long into the night. It will be the New York Giants that they defeat. Peyton gives his younger brother the ultimate noogie. Yes, I am a Steelers fan but right now they are too one dimensional on offense and it will bite them in the playoffs. Just as it bit them against an injured NE team earlier this year. We do miss Plaxico and the Giants are glad to have him.

Peyton Manning will also end up on the cover of Madden 2007.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:02 pm

pk500 wrote:Call me a racist all you want (even if it's not even close to being true), but leave it to ESPN's resident angry black man Scoop Jackson to say the Eagles made a mistake by dropping T.O.:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... son/051108

Take care,
PK

That column was so idiotic and shows why most sports writers are not cut out to be real journalists. They just love stirring the pot.

Let's face facts: TO or no, the Eagles weren't going to win the SB this year. McNabb's playing admirably for being banged up, but he is banged up and not at the same level he was last year. Their rushing game sucks and isn't going to get much better. Their defense isn't quite good enough to compensate for their offensive deficiencies. Add in a rejuvinated NFC East and they were headed for a tough season anyway.

So why sacrifice your team chemistry and your franchise's integrity to probably get bounced in the NFC divisional round? I wish more teams would do this kind of thing. It's not because TOs black or flamboyant -- he's always been both and had no trouble finding employment. It's that he crossed the line of what you can allow in your locker room. When you think of what NFL teams do put up with, that's pretty remarkable.

Chances are he'll be in uniform next year, but I wish the owners would finally put their foot down and not offer him a job. Maybe that might make other players think twice about putting themselves so far ahead of their teammates.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:03 pm

My big question about the Colts-Patriots game: Since when did Foxboro become Foxborough? I now see Foxborough in datelines.

Take care,
PK

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:03 pm

Brando70 wrote:I just don't know how you can't saw they're playing the best football in the league right now. No other team has their combination of passing, rushing, defensive, and special teams capabilities.

I didn't say they weren't playing the best football right now, but that's a big difference from saying "Hard to imagine any other team hanging with the Colts right now." I can name 5 or 6 teams in the AFC alone that can hang with the Colts.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:03 pm

Brando70 wrote:Anyway, not trying to be a Colts homer

Brando, you better not take my job around here!

The team seems a lot more inflappable this season. Some of the early games where the offense just wasn't clicking might have ended differently in previous seasons. But this year, the D stepped up to the challenge and the offense kept grinding it out.

And DB, you can add Skip Bayless to the list of ESPN Page 2 columnists to avoid, that guy swallows. I was happy to see the addition of Chuck Klosterman today, though.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:08 pm

lexbur wrote:I know it's hard for a Steeler fan to put much stock in to the importance of home field advantage throughout the playoffs after last year, but you gotta like the Colts chances if they're home throughout.

It has nothing to do with being a Steelers fan. I've seen 4 NFC road teams advance to the Super Bowl in the past 8 years and the road team has won 2 of the past 4 AFC Championship games that didn't involve the Steelers.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:09 pm

Okay, Leebo, good point. Seeing as some of the crappy teams have hung with the Colts, I did ladle on a little too much praise. We'll see what happens after the Cincy/Pitt games.

As for Skip Bayless, all you need to know is that when he was a Chicago Trib columnist, he swore up and down that the Bulls made a huge mistake by not drafting Lasagna Diop. He is probably my least favorite sports columnist of all time and embodies every negative characteristic you can think of about the profession.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:14 pm

Brando, the real question is "can you guarantee me a Bears victory this weekend vs. SF?" I am *this* close to putting them in as my pick in an elimination pool and $250 may be on the line.