I gave serious thought to keeping this one extremely simple, declaring that the Colts are great and that the Rams suck and moving on.
Really, what could anyone learn about either team from this one? The game played out exactly as we expected.
The bigger question relates to a topic arising from the elephant in the room when it comes to pro football.
Gambling.
With so many good teams playing so many bad teams this year, when will we start seeing NCAA-style point spreads? As we pointed out last week in the SportingNews.com 10-Pack, the Colts were 13-point favorites.
Who in the hell would have taken the Rams with the points? (And if anyone actually took our advice to take the Colts and give 30, we’ll be waiting for our cut.)
Our vague sense is that, when point spreads for NFL games begin to creep above ten, plenty of casual bettors think that Vegas has set a trap, and that the game will in reality be much closer.
As a result, the line fails to move higher into the teens — and plenty of folks who realize what’s going on make plenty of money while the suckers who think they’re calling a bluff end up calling off sick from work the next morning.
So, at some point this year, the folks who think they’re being duped are bound to wake up and realize that fears regarding the size of NFL spreads are serving only to keep the numbers far lower than they should be.
And until that happens, someone will be making plans for their “House That Saints-Rams Built.”
There is no such thing as a “lock” in the National Football League. If you believe otherwise talk to all those poor saps who took the Johnny Unitas lead Colts and gave up 18 1/2 to Joe Namath’s Jets in Super Bowl III.
As for the higher NFL point spreads. The Super Bowl champion Steelers gave up 27 to the winless Tampa Bay Bucs back in the late 70′s. Joe Montana’s 49ers teams gave up 20+ quite a few times in the 80′s. Just a couple years ago the undefeated Patriots team was giving up 20+.
You just normally don’t see these type of numbers being thrown around in week 7. Teams need to establish themselves a little more before the numbers rise on the betting lines.
We are dealing with professional athletes here. Nobody wants to be insulted before the game seeing their team as a 3 touchdown underdog going in…that does something to a man. It makes him rise to the occasion. Every dog has his day…
28-6 in the 4th quarter, Manning threw a TD pass.
Where are all those people who despise classless acts like running up the score in that fashion?
28-6? This is the NFL, not Pop Warner. 28-6 is not insurmountable. Just look at the Saints-Dolphins game yesterday. Indy could have won that game by 60 if they wanted to. If you’re mad that Manning threw a TD pass, just look what happened when they took him out. Sorgi hands off to our 3rd string running back on his 1st play from scrimmage and rips off a 30 yard td run. St Louis has some responsibility to stop Indy.
IndyWilson, Really? The Rams were going to score 22 points in LESS THAN 7 MINUTES?
Face it, it’s the same thing everyone was bitching about last week when Tom Brady threw a TD in the 3rd quarter.
It’s not Indy’s job to stop scoring…obviously it’s the Rams’ job to stop the Colts.
Everyone has their opinion. I agree with IndyWilson 100%. If you’re up big, you can’t just hand the ball off 3 times and punt.
I do think the Colts leave Peyton in there a little too long sometimes though…
No, it’s not the same. And after 35-6 an undrafted rookie made his first INT and scored and a second year undrafted RB scored his first ever TD. You can’t blame them either.
It’s Pro football, not a therapy session. If you don’t want to feel bad about getting the score run up, don’t suck. It’s that simple. Honestly, I wish Brady had been left in to drop 30 more points on the Titans last week, and Manning should have been left in to pile more on the Rams.
Worrying about hurting the other teams feelings or whatever stupid crap people whine about is ridiculous. This is pro football, grow up.
Sorgi hands off to our 3rd string running back on his 1st play from scrimmage and rips off a 30 yard td run. St Louis has some responsibility to stop Indy.
TFB, what exactly do you expect Indy to do? Even when they pull anyone who’s remotely a starter and play with their second string QB and third string RB, they still score. If the Rams’ defense can’t stop that, it isn’t the Colts’ fault. What are the Colts supposed to do? Run the ball in the opposite direction on purpose? Take a knee on every snap in the 4th quarter? It’s not like they kept Peyton in until the bitter end. It’s just that Indy’s worst players are better than St. Louis’ best.
“ColtFan21 says:
October 26, 2009 2:09 PM
It’s not Indy’s job to stop scoring…obviously it’s the Rams’ job to stop the Colts.
Everyone has their opinion. I agree with IndyWilson 100%. If you’re up big, you can’t just hand the ball off 3 times and punt.
I do think the Colts leave Peyton in there a little too long sometimes though…”
I agree.
I just think it’s hypocritical that no one is bitching about this. The game was won, Peyton was padding his stats. It’s not different.
I just think it’s hypocritical that no one is bitching about this. The game was won, Peyton was padding his stats.
Considering the huge number of people who frequent this site, you can’t really say it’s hypocritical of anyone in particular… the people who were complaining last week might not even be reading this post. I didn’t read last week’s post, and I wasn’t complaining then (or now).
Peyton’s not the kind of guy who really cares about padding his stats. If he were, he’d have made sure to get that sixth 300-yard passing game in a row in an effort to meet/break the record. He seems to care more about winning and just happens to rack up great stats along the way.
“Chimeric says:
October 26, 2009 2:32 PM
TFB, what exactly do you expect Indy to do? Even when they pull anyone who’s remotely a starter and play with their second string QB and third string RB, they still score. If the Rams’ defense can’t stop that, it isn’t the Colts’ fault. What are the Colts supposed to do? Run the ball in the opposite direction on purpose? Take a knee on every snap in the 4th quarter? It’s not like they kept Peyton in until the bitter end. It’s just that Indy’s worst players are better than St. Louis’ best.”
My point is that a lot of people called the Patriots classless, and suggested that opposing players should hit Brady late and try and injure him (yes, the irony is delicious) when they pulled him after ONE DRIVE in the 3rd quarter of a blowout.
Meanwhile, in a game the Rams had NO CHANCE of coming back in, no one takes issue with Peyton still throwing TDs with less than 7 minutes to play.
I don’t have a problem with it. I have a problem with the fact that unwritten rules only apply to certain players.
“Chimeric says:
October 26, 2009 3:12 PM
Peyton’s not the kind of guy who really cares about padding his stats. If he were, he’d have made sure to get that sixth 300-yard passing game in a row in an effort to meet/break the record. He seems to care more about winning and just happens to rack up great stats along the way.”
That’s actually not true.
In 2004 he did a TON of stat padding. I did the research on a discussion at another site, and here’s what I posted about a 4 game stretch in 2004:
“182 points in a 4 game stretch, and only FOUR passes weren’t thrown by Mr. Classy Peyton Manning. And Peyton threw for 18 TDs in those 4 games. A 69 yard pass in the 3rd quarter of one, DURING A SHUTOUT, when the team was up by 21. Then another 80 yarder during the same game to make the score 42-7. Up 27-3 the next week, another Peyton TD pass in the 3rd (29 yards), the following week, 2 3rd quarter TD passes when the score was 27-9 and then 34-9, and the following week….gee, why is Mr. Classy throwing the ball in the fourth quarter when the team is up 41-24? That’s not very sportsmanlike of him.”
18 TD passes in 4 blowouts that were more than in hand by halftime, and 6 of them came in the second half of blowouts.
I don’t have a problem with it. I have a problem with the fact that unwritten rules only apply to certain players.
Or, as mentioned above, it’s likely that most of the people aren’t reading the same posts. I didn’t read the post you were referring to from last week. I don’t have the time to read most of the posts on here.
I just need more time in general =|
Regarding your phantom “unwritten rules applying to certain players,” keep in mind that Manning only threw 3 TDs this week; Brady threw 6 last week.
… being up by 20-30 points isn’t really much of a blowout unless it’s maybe the last five minutes of the game. If it’s still third quarter, it’s perfectly plausible for the other team to come back. Don’t forget that the Colts overcame a 35-14 deficit the year before, ’03, to beat the Bucs. With four minutes left in regulation. Four.
If your team’s up by 50 points or something then by all means, stick a fork in it, but 20-something points doesn’t ensure that the final nail is in the coffin (I hope I’m allowed to mix my metaphors here).
I thought the topic here was you complaining about people treating players differently… why are you dredging up stats from five years ago? I’m pretty sure there were people whining about running up the score then, too. But that’s not the topic at hand. And why is Manning all of a sudden “Mr. Classy?”
TF Buckfutter,Indy was leading the Seahawks 34-3 a couple of weeks ago, until Seattle scored 14 points in 2 minutes against our 2nd string. So to answer your question, it is possible to score 22 points in 7 minutes.Did you watch the NFL on Sunday? How many games were decided by 28 points? A bunch. It’s not Indy’s fault that the Rams suck. Like I said, Indy could have won by 60 if they wanted to. The Rams are talentless, but not one team in the NFL would put all their subs in when the score is 28-6.
I’m included in the “didn’t read the post about Brady” group. I try to avoid anything Brady-related, for fear of being shot at.
Let’s put a fork in this conversation…Colts 6-0!
Enough said!
“Chimeric says:
October 26, 2009 3:38 PM
Or, as mentioned above, it’s likely that most of the people aren’t reading the same posts. I didn’t read the post you were referring to from last week. I don’t have the time to read most of the posts on here.”
But they were indignant enough to make the effort to bash the Patriots for classlessness. The lack of outrage here would suggest that the people upset about the “running up the score” were actually upset about the PATRIOTS running up the score. It’s not about an unwritten rule upsetting people. It’s about a specific team or person upsetting people. Which is petty and stupid.
“I thought the topic here was you complaining about people treating players differently… why are you dredging up stats from five years ago? I’m pretty sure there were people whining about running up the score then, too. But that’s not the topic at hand. And why is Manning all of a sudden “Mr. Classy?”"
I cut and pasted that verbatim. The guy was saying that Peyton is never left in blowouts and even if he is, he isn’t still throwing, meanwhile Brady was a douche, hence the Mr. Classy part….But no, I don’t recall ANYONE complaining about the Colts running up the score in 2004. I just remember everyone wanted Golden Boy to break the record.
“IndyWilson says:
October 26, 2009 4:33 PM
TF Buckfutter,Indy was leading the Seahawks 34-3 a couple of weeks ago, until Seattle scored 14 points in 2 minutes against our 2nd string. So to answer your question, it is possible to score 22 points in 7 minutes.Did you watch the NFL on Sunday? How many games were decided by 28 points? A bunch. It’s not Indy’s fault that the Rams suck. Like I said, Indy could have won by 60 if they wanted to. The Rams are talentless, but not one team in the NFL would put all their subs in when the score is 28-6.”
Again, I don’t have a problem with Peyton throwing TDs late in a blowout…..I’m just concerned that an unwritten rule has been broken, and the silence is deafening.
Get over it. Are you also concerned that Brady threw a 16 yard pass to Welker that ended at the 2 yard line with 11:30 to go in the 4th quarter? They were obviously trying to score, right? Tampa Bay clearly wasn’t going to win, so why are the Pats throwing? My suggestion to you is to move on with your life and worry about things that are a little more important. As for your research that Sorgi only threw 4 passes in those blowout victories in 2004, what you failed to mention is that Sorgi played most of the 4th quarter in all of those games and simply handed the ball off to backup running back Dominic Rhodes in an effort to run out the clock. Manning threw the ball 497 times in 2004, as opposed to Brady’s 578 pass attempts in 2007. No stat padding by Manning at all by Manning.