2007-2008 NFL Playoffs

[wco81]

The Chargers don't handle being spread out as well as Indy, and they don't generate any pressure against New England with their base package. They won't get anywhere near Brady. More importantly, their offense isn't consistent enough to move up and down the field on every single possession, which is what they need to do. The Colts were snakebit with the way the turnovers worked out or they would have won comfortably. In any event, it's not wise to conflate performance in a single game with performance over the course of a season. The Chargers came in and played a very gutsy game and pulled off an upset, which is great for them. It happens. But they're going to get their doors blown off next week, which wouldn't have happened to the Colts. We've seen how Indy matches up with New England and how San Diego matches up, and there's no comparison.

It's not quite as bad as, say, the 1985 Patriots knocking off the one team who could have hung with the Bears- the Chargers have a lot more talent. But it's along those lines.

Colts didn't generate too much pass rush today. Without Freeney, it's not going to happen.

And without Marvin Harrison playing like he used to, the Colts aren't the offensive juggernaut.

Manning did throw for 400 yards today but he was getting pressured a lot.

I agree that the only team which can beat the Patriots this year is a team which can score with NE.

You can only hope NE tries to load up against the run and Chambers and Vince Jackson can make some plays one on one on the outside.

At this point, the question left for the Patriots is whether they can blow out their opponent in the SB. If they go 19-0 some will call them the greatest but they have three 3-point SB victories while there have been a lot of blowouts in the SB by teams which nobody was calling the greatest of all time.

[bkrich83]

Ugh, it's 1995 all over again, with the one team capable of beating the Cowboys (the defending champion 49ers) getting knocked off at home by the up-and-coming but not ready yet Packers, leading to the inevitable coronation of said Cowboys. Just change the type and insert "Patriots," "Colts" and "Chargers," and you're all set.

Oh, and then throw in that not only does San Diego not match up well with Indy (they don't defend the pass nearly well enough, and their offense isn't consistent enough to go stride-for-stride with the Pats), but they're going to be seriously undermanned, to boot.

It's a perfect cap on the worst season of my lifetime, honestly.

If the Colts can't beat a depleted SD team at home, how are they a better matchup for the Pats on the road. SD is better and deeper in the secondary and SD rushes the passer better.

The Chargers don't handle being spread out as well as Indy, and they don't generate any pressure against New England with their base package. They won't get anywhere near Brady. More importantly, their offense isn't consistent enough to move up and down the field on every single possession, which is what they need to do. The Colts were snakebit with the way the turnovers worked out or they would have won comfortably. In any event, it's not wise to conflate performance in a single game with performance over the course of a season. The Chargers came in and played a very gutsy game and pulled off an upset, which is great for them. It happens. But they're going to get their doors blown off next week, which wouldn't have happened to the Colts. We've seen how Indy matches up with New England and how San Diego matches up, and there's no comparison.

It's not quite as bad as, say, the 1985 Patriots knocking off the one team who could have hung with the Bears- the Chargers have a lot more talent. But it's along those lines.

Not sure where you are getting this. The Chargers generate a hell of a lot more pass rush than the Colts do out of the base package no matter offense the Pats come out in. They also force more turnovers. They also have actually played the Pats as well as or better than the Colts have during the Brady Era. So not sure where exactly you are getting any of this.

San Diego has beat up the Colts the last 4 games they've played, and more than held their own against the Pats, including defeating New England at their place 41-14 year before last. I see no way the Colts are the better team or the better matchup for New England.

As far as blowing out SD, or their offense not being consistent, have you even watched them the last 7 weeks of the season?

Now if the Chargers go in with Gates still banged up, and Rivers and LT out, obviously that would be trouble. But if you've watched this team at all over the past 2 months, when everyone is playing they are scoring points at a pretty fast pace. The offense has balance and depth at every skill position.

[seanmac31]

The Chargers don't handle being spread out as well as Indy, and they don't generate any pressure against New England with their base package. They won't get anywhere near Brady. More importantly, their offense isn't consistent enough to move up and down the field on every single possession, which is what they need to do. The Colts were snakebit with the way the turnovers worked out or they would have won comfortably. In any event, it's not wise to conflate performance in a single game with performance over the course of a season. The Chargers came in and played a very gutsy game and pulled off an upset, which is great for them. It happens. But they're going to get their doors blown off next week, which wouldn't have happened to the Colts. We've seen how Indy matches up with New England and how San Diego matches up, and there's no comparison.

It's not quite as bad as, say, the 1985 Patriots knocking off the one team who could have hung with the Bears- the Chargers have a lot more talent. But it's along those lines.

Colts didn't generate too much pass rush today. Without Freeney, it's not going to happen.

And without Marvin Harrison playing like he used to, the Colts aren't the offensive juggernaut.

Manning did throw for 400 yards today but he was getting pressured a lot.

I agree that the only team which can beat the Patriots this year is a team which can score with NE.

You can only hope NE tries to load up against the run and Chambers and Vince Jackson can make some plays one on one on the outside.

At this point, the question left for the Patriots is whether they can blow out their opponent in the SB. If they go 19-0 some will call them the greatest but they have three 3-point SB victories while there have been a lot of blowouts in the SB by teams which nobody was calling the greatest of all time.

No, the Colts offense has been as good as ever- it just attacked the field differently. If anything, it was perfect to go up against the Pats because it was so good at controlling the ball by working the middle of the field high/low with Clark and Addai.

As far as the Super Bowl goes, the Packers are the team that has the best chance to play with New England based again on the question of matchups- they're deep at corner and play the kind of press coverage that Brady struggles with. But I think the best chance at derailing a lifetime of New England-generated nausea just went by the boards...so...depressed...

[dougb]

Well considering all the heat he was getting Norv Turner deserves some props. To win a game with Tomlinson and Rivers out, Gates banged up, and Bill Volek engineering the game winning drive you just have to take your hat off. As badly as things went for him in his two previous jobs can't help but feel happy for the guy.

Best wishes,

Doug

[bkrich83]

The Chargers don't handle being spread out as well as Indy, and they don't generate any pressure against New England with their base package. They won't get anywhere near Brady. More importantly, their offense isn't consistent enough to move up and down the field on every single possession, which is what they need to do. The Colts were snakebit with the way the turnovers worked out or they would have won comfortably. In any event, it's not wise to conflate performance in a single game with performance over the course of a season. The Chargers came in and played a very gutsy game and pulled off an upset, which is great for them. It happens. But they're going to get their doors blown off next week, which wouldn't have happened to the Colts. We've seen how Indy matches up with New England and how San Diego matches up, and there's no comparison.

It's not quite as bad as, say, the 1985 Patriots knocking off the one team who could have hung with the Bears- the Chargers have a lot more talent. But it's along those lines.

Colts didn't generate too much pass rush today. Without Freeney, it's not going to happen.

And without Marvin Harrison playing like he used to, the Colts aren't the offensive juggernaut.

Manning did throw for 400 yards today but he was getting pressured a lot.

I agree that the only team which can beat the Patriots this year is a team which can score with NE.

You can only hope NE tries to load up against the run and Chambers and Vince Jackson can make some plays one on one on the outside.

At this point, the question left for the Patriots is whether they can blow out their opponent in the SB. If they go 19-0 some will call them the greatest but they have three 3-point SB victories while there have been a lot of blowouts in the SB by teams which nobody was calling the greatest of all time.

No, the Colts offense has been as good as ever- it just attacked the field differently. If anything, it was perfect to go up against the Pats because it was so good at controlling the ball by working the middle of the field high/low with Clark and Addai.

As far as the Super Bowl goes, the Packers are the team that has the best chance to play with New England based again on the question of matchups- they're deep at corner and play the kind of press coverage that Brady struggles with. But I think the best chance at derailing a lifetime of New England-generated nausea just went by the boards...so...depressed...

Clark and Addai are better in the middle of the field than Tomlinson, Gates?

[wco81]

Yeah it's going to be a drag hearing about the Patriots.

It's kind of an artificial situation though. Moss wanted a ring badly enough that he took way less than market.

Lot of role players for NE did that over the years.

Unless Brady has sold his soul to the devil, Moss isn't going to play for cheap next year. Either Moss leaves or NE has to pay him too much and other talent on the team has to be let go.

NE will still be good though.

[seanmac31]

Colts didn't generate too much pass rush today. Without Freeney, it's not going to happen.

And without Marvin Harrison playing like he used to, the Colts aren't the offensive juggernaut.

Manning did throw for 400 yards today but he was getting pressured a lot.

I agree that the only team which can beat the Patriots this year is a team which can score with NE.

You can only hope NE tries to load up against the run and Chambers and Vince Jackson can make some plays one on one on the outside.

At this point, the question left for the Patriots is whether they can blow out their opponent in the SB. If they go 19-0 some will call them the greatest but they have three 3-point SB victories while there have been a lot of blowouts in the SB by teams which nobody was calling the greatest of all time.

No, the Colts offense has been as good as ever- it just attacked the field differently. If anything, it was perfect to go up against the Pats because it was so good at controlling the ball by working the middle of the field high/low with Clark and Addai.

As far as the Super Bowl goes, the Packers are the team that has the best chance to play with New England based again on the question of matchups- they're deep at corner and play the kind of press coverage that Brady struggles with. But I think the best chance at derailing a lifetime of New England-generated nausea just went by the boards...so...depressed...

Clark and Addai are better in the middle of the field than Tomlinson, Gates?

When Peyton Manning is doing the throwing? Yes. And that's assuming LT and Gates are healthy. They may not even play. When all was said and done, the Colts had one of the top 2-3 offenses in the league, and the Chargers were fairly mediocre (I go by DVOA, not by conventional stats).

The line on an Indy-Pats game would have been somewhere around 8, 9 at the most. This game is going to have a 20 point line.

[bkrich83]

No, the Colts offense has been as good as ever- it just attacked the field differently. If anything, it was perfect to go up against the Pats because it was so good at controlling the ball by working the middle of the field high/low with Clark and Addai.

As far as the Super Bowl goes, the Packers are the team that has the best chance to play with New England based again on the question of matchups- they're deep at corner and play the kind of press coverage that Brady struggles with. But I think the best chance at derailing a lifetime of New England-generated nausea just went by the boards...so...depressed...

Clark and Addai are better in the middle of the field than Tomlinson, Gates?

When Peyton Manning is doing the throwing? Yes. And that's assuming LT and Gates are healthy. They may not even play. When all was said and done, the Colts had one of the top 2-3 offenses in the league, and the Chargers were fairly mediocre (I go by DVOA, not by conventional stats).

The line on an Indy-Pats game would have been somewhere around 8, 9 at the most. This game is going to have a 20 point line.

Chargers offesne was compleltely different in the 2nd half of the season. Took time to get in synch with the new staff, not to mention Chris Chambers adds a whole different dimension to the offense. So I am not sure how the numbers add up. I also don't think stats tell the whole story to begin with.

SD is a better team than Indy, they've proved it time and time again these past couple of years. How Indy would be a better matchup than SD (assuming the Chargers return Rivers and LT), makes zero sense. The Chargers have a better secondary especially at CB, they get to the QB better, they force turnovers better, they run the ball better, and they are more physical on offense.

To be honest though, I don't think it matters, no one is beating the Patriots. But the idea Indy is better or is a better matchup than SD is ridiculous.

[Dave]

As a Colts fan, I was having deja vu to last year's defense. What the hell happened out there? The front 4 was getting no pressure (although this was the case most of the 2nd half of the season), the DBs were always giving too much cushion, and the safeties were a few steps behind where they had been most of the season.

The Kenton Keith deflection-into-interception was sadly predictable; the guy has been dropping passes all year. Why put him in that spot? Dumb.

The better team won today. Whenever Billy Volek leads the game-winning drive with Turner in the backfield, that becomes a painfully obvious statement.

Now I do the complete 180 and cheer on the Chargers as strongly as I was cheering against them today. Hopefully Rivers, Tomlinson, and Gates are able to be effective next week.

[bkrich83]

As a Colts fan, I was having deja vu to last year's defense. What the hell happened out there? The front 4 was getting no pressure (although this was the case most of the 2nd half of the season), the DBs were always giving too much cushion, and the safeties were a few steps behind where they had been most of the season.

The Kenton Keith deflection-into-interception was sadly predictable; the guy has been dropping passes all year. Why put him in that spot? Dumb.

The better team won today. Whenever Billy Volek leads the game-winning drive with Turner in the backfield, that becomes a painfully obvious statement.

Now I do the complete 180 and cheer on the Chargers as strongly as I was cheering against them today. Hopefully Rivers, Tomlinson, and Gates are able to be effective next week.

When Peyton got the ball with 1:40 left and a TO remaining. I'll admit, I was like "oh, s***. Here we go". Manning scares the bejeeezus out of me.

Good game to the Colts, that stadium is ridiculously loud. They have great fans.

[Dave]

When Peyton got the ball with 1:40 left and a TO remaining. I'll admit, I was like "oh, s***. Here we go". Manning scares the bejeeezus out of me.

Good game to the Colts, that stadium is ridiculously loud. They have great fans.

It was a perfect setup for heroics, wasn't it? Once Wayne was knocked out, I figured the odds of converting that 4th down dropped dramatically. Clark could have reeled that one in, but it wasn't meant to be.

That was the last NFL game to be played in the RCA Dome. Yeah it's a bit of a dump and the smallest stadium in the NFL, but I'll miss it, it was MY crappy stadium growing up!

Here's to Merriman setting up shop in the New England backfield next weekend!

[bkrich83]

When Peyton got the ball with 1:40 left and a TO remaining. I'll admit, I was like "oh, s***. Here we go". Manning scares the bejeeezus out of me.

Good game to the Colts, that stadium is ridiculously loud. They have great fans.

It was a perfect setup for heroics, wasn't it? Once Wayne was knocked out, I figured the odds of converting that 4th down dropped dramatically. Clark could have reeled that one in, but it wasn't meant to be.

That was the last NFL game to be played in the RCA Dome. Yeah it's a bit of a dump and the smallest stadium in the NFL, but I'll miss it, it was MY crappy stadium growing up!

Here's to Merriman setting up shop in the New England backfield next weekend!

It really was. And with Manning, you aren't out of the game until the final whistle blows..

[seanmac31]

Clark and Addai are better in the middle of the field than Tomlinson, Gates?

When Peyton Manning is doing the throwing? Yes. And that's assuming LT and Gates are healthy. They may not even play. When all was said and done, the Colts had one of the top 2-3 offenses in the league, and the Chargers were fairly mediocre (I go by DVOA, not by conventional stats).

The line on an Indy-Pats game would have been somewhere around 8, 9 at the most. This game is going to have a 20 point line.

Chargers offesne was compleltely different in the 2nd half of the season. Took time to get in synch with the new staff, not to mention Chris Chambers adds a whole different dimension to the offense. So I am not sure how the numbers add up. I also don't think stats tell the whole story to begin with.

SD is a better team than Indy, they've proved it time and time again these past couple of years. How Indy would be a better matchup than SD (assuming the Chargers return Rivers and LT), makes zero sense. The Chargers have a better secondary especially at CB, they get to the QB better, they force turnovers better, they run the ball better, and they are more physical on offense.

To be honest though, I don't think it matters, no one is beating the Patriots. But the idea Indy is better or is a better matchup than SD is ridiculous.

The Chargers and Jaguars were both trending hot over the second half of the season, while the Colts, Steelers, Cowboys and Patriots were all dropping off tremendously from their first half performances. But that hasn't traditionally had much predictive value once the playoffs started.

The key to beating the Patriots is to be incredibly efficient on both offense and defense. The Pats average a net of +15.20 yards per drive and 1.95 points per drive, both of which are unheard of numbers. The Colts are second best in the league at both, averaging 8.93 net yards and 1.26 points per drive. The Chargers, in contrast, average a net of -.26 yards and .56 points per drive. The latter is a good number, the former is pedestrian at best.

Again, the whole key to beating the Pats is to be able to dominate the ball on offense, thus shortening the game, while converting those possessions into points, and then to force the Pats to score on long drives instead of quick strikes, and hopefully limiting their points in the red zone. Indianapolis was designed to do that. The Chargers are not. Kudos to them for beating the Colts, it was a gutty performance, but I don't think San Diego is going to improve on their week 2 game much, if at all. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see it in the numbers, and those numbers assume that the Chargers' top three offensive players are healthy, which is not going to be the case.

[kevinpars]

The offense and defense that the Colts showed today would not have a chance against the Patriots, so let's leave that one idea behind. Give the Chargers some credit - they won on the road with their starting QB and RB on the bench.

The way Manning almost beat the Pats earlier this year was running the ball and throwing to the TE. Today, on 3rd and 5 we saw a lot of long low percentage passes down the field. Either the Chargers defense is better than we are giving them credit for or Payton had a bad day. One thing that I will say for sure is that the secondary for the Chargers is better than the one that played against NE earlier this year.

Personally, I was pulling for Indy, but it was clear to me by the 3rd quarter that Indy would not have a better chance of beating the Pats than the Chargers. At that point I just watched the game to enjoy the football.

[bkrich83]

I guess all those numbers would be great if this game was decided in an Excel spreadsheet or by the BCS computers. I just don't put much stock in them.

To be honest, it doesn't matter who's going to NE. The Pats aren't losing. If the Colts can't beat a depleted SD team at home, in their dome, they aren't going to beat a healthy Patriots team on the road outdoors, under possibly difficult weather conditions.

SD is a better team than Indy. They've more than proved it. They are much improved over where they were in week 2. Hell Antonio Cromartie wasn't even starting at that point. But again, I don't think it matters, but please spare me the Colts are a better matchup. It's absurd no matter how many formulas and algorythm's you can make up.

[seanmac31]

I guess all those numbers would be great if this game was decided in an Excel spreadsheet or by the BCS computers. I just don't put much stock in them.

To be honest, it doesn't matter who's going to NE. The Pats aren't losing. If the Colts can't beat a depleted SD team at home, in their dome, they aren't going to beat a healthy Patriots team on the road outdoors, under possibly difficult weather conditions.

SD is a better team than Indy. They've more than proved it. They are much improved over where they were in week 2. Hell Antonio Cromartie wasn't even starting at that point. But again, I don't think it matters, but please spare me the Colts are a better matchup. It's absurd no matter how many formulas and algorythm's you can make up.

You're a Chargers fan and it's fine for you to be happy now. It was fine for Chargers fans to be happy in 1994 when they beat Pittsburgh. It gave us a terrible Super Bowl, but hey, the Chargers won, they must have been the better team. Alternately, they had the better day.

Advanced stats are there to explain how the games are being decided on the field. They happen to have good predictive qualities. But if they're too big and scary, that's fine. Here's why I think the Colts are a better matchup- because in their last four games against the Patriots, all of them recent, they won three of them and put up 40, 27 and 38 in those wins, and because they played the Patriots better than any other team this season and were winning comfortably before injuries imploded them. Oh, and I watched that Chargers-Pats game this year, just like I watched the playoff game last year. That would be the other reason.

[wco81]

Chargers have to try to collapse the pocket, maybe a lineman rolls over Brady's knee and knocks him out.

If you can generate a pass rush with just 4 DL as the Colt did much of the regular season game, you don't need to blitz. The Jags tried that with 3 or 4-man rush and they didn't pressure Brady.

So you got to mix in some blitzes, even though Brady is good at the hot reads too.

Eagles and Ravens were bringing pressure and that was working for awhile. Then in the case of the Ravens, they started rushing 3 DL on NE's winning drive.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[XXXIV]

I can see both sides.

The Chargers beat the Colts twice this year....but I saw the Colts as the team with the best shot to beat the Patriots beacause they could keep up on the board...

[wco81]

That expression on Jerry Jones face is priceless.

[Inuyasha]

JESSICA!

JESSICA!

JESSICA!


I guess that's what their chanting in cowboy haters land. And it looks to be true. Once she got herself involved publically with this team, they've gone to s***. Their heads obviously weren't in the game today. The Giants came to play playoff football,the cowboys were still thinking it was week 5.

[jLp vAkEr0]

Victory!!!

Go Giants!

[XXXIV]

Victory!!!

Go Giants!

Have I said shocking yet?...shocking.

Though Im so glad to see TO the db go home...good bye asshole....

[bkrich83]

I guess all those numbers would be great if this game was decided in an Excel spreadsheet or by the BCS computers. I just don't put much stock in them.

To be honest, it doesn't matter who's going to NE. The Pats aren't losing. If the Colts can't beat a depleted SD team at home, in their dome, they aren't going to beat a healthy Patriots team on the road outdoors, under possibly difficult weather conditions.

SD is a better team than Indy. They've more than proved it. They are much improved over where they were in week 2. Hell Antonio Cromartie wasn't even starting at that point. But again, I don't think it matters, but please spare me the Colts are a better matchup. It's absurd no matter how many formulas and algorythm's you can make up.

You're a Chargers fan and it's fine for you to be happy now. It was fine for Chargers fans to be happy in 1994 when they beat Pittsburgh. It gave us a terrible Super Bowl, but hey, the Chargers won, they must have been the better team. Alternately, they had the better day.

Advanced stats are there to explain how the games are being decided on the field. They happen to have good predictive qualities. But if they're too big and scary, that's fine. Here's why I think the Colts are a better matchup- because in their last four games against the Patriots, all of them recent, they won three of them and put up 40, 27 and 38 in those wins, and because they played the Patriots better than any other team this season and were winning comfortably before injuries imploded them. Oh, and I watched that Chargers-Pats game this year, just like I watched the playoff game last year. That would be the other reason.

Yeah, it's because I Am a Charger fan. Chargers are a better team than the Colts because they've beaten them 3 of the last 4 times they've played. Including twice in Indy. It should have been 3 times in Indy and 4 of their last 4, if not for a special teams breakdown.

You want to think football is played in a spreadsheet or how the Chargers played in week 2 means anything next week. So be it. Maybe the BCS is hiring.

As far as 94. Miami or the Steelers would have done no better against that Niners team. They would have crushed anyone they played in that SB.

If you watched the playoff game last year, you'd also know SD pretty much controlled the game, and a fumbled punt, Unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and fumbled interception return, extended 3 Patriot drives. Not to mention a huge blown protection deep in NE territory that killed a drive. That stuff doesn't show in stats. The Pats won last year because they were more experienced in the post season, and because they played more disciplined football.

[bkrich83]

Chargers have to try to collapse the pocket, maybe a lineman rolls over Brady's knee and knocks him out.

If you can generate a pass rush with just 4 DL as the Colt did much of the regular season game, you don't need to blitz. The Jags tried that with 3 or 4-man rush and they didn't pressure Brady.

So you got to mix in some blitzes, even though Brady is good at the hot reads too.

Eagles and Ravens were bringing pressure and that was working for awhile. Then in the case of the Ravens, they started rushing 3 DL on NE's winning drive.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I don't expect SD to sit back in Cover 3 and 4 all game like they did earlier. I expect them to rush 5 a lot, and drop 8 at times.

You're on the road, you're playing an undefeated team for the SB, you've gotta go balls out and hope you make more plays than your opponent.

[XXXIV]

That expression on Jerry Jones face is priceless.

Something I can agree with...