ESPN’s Tedy Bruschi, who has done very well in his first year with the network, recently chimed in on the Colts’ decision to pull the plug on the possibility of perfection.
Bruschi played two years ago for a team that continued to push for regular-season victories, even after nailing down the top seed in the AFC playoff field.
Said Bruschi: “When you compare the ’09 Colts to the ’07 Patriots, I
am going to say something that a lot of people are thinking but aren’t
saying: At least the ’07 Patriots had the guts to go for it. That’s
what they did, that’s what the Indianapolis Colts didn’t do, and that’s
their problem.”
Bruschi played for the 2007 Patriots team, which went 16-0 in the regular season but lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl.
“I know what it’s like to play when it feels like there’s a gorilla on
your back of pressure, when you’re 15-0. But it’s the
most satisfying thing when you achieve that 16-0 mark,” Bruschi explained.
Others believe that the Colts had different motivations for laying down against the Jets, including the possibility that the Colts wanted to keep the Steelers out of the playoffs by letting the Jets in.
Bruschi also addressed the ridiculous suggestion from Colts president Bill Polian that going undefeated isn’t a “historic” accomplishment.
“It is historic to go 16-0, because that means you have a chance to
go 19-0,” Bruschi said. “You only can go 19-0 if you go 16-0 first and 19-0 trumps
every single team record ever.”
But there’s still a connection between the two teams. One faced a major controversy after the first regular-season game of the year, in the form of the Spygate scandal. The other is facing a major controversy with one regular-season game to play, and four days after the fact the storm has still not disspated.
Tedy’s just upset that a team might have an 18-1 record and not be a laughing stock because of it.
Bruschi is right. Hey Polian, ever realize that every time you rest your starters, you lose in the playoffs? San Diego to the Superbowl. Rivers winning a SB would make the 04 QB class one of the best in history.
Well… I see we have some replacements ready for when the last geriatric Dolphin moron bites the dust. Maybe he can line up a few of his pals and they can do a shot when the last undefeated team gets beaten in any given year.
Yeah, Tedy, the ’07 Patriots ran 100 miles but they still had 1 to go when they crapped out.
If the Colts go to the Superbowl, all of this is forgotten.
A little late to the party… but right on.
Let’s see if the Colts brass takes the bait… or if they pull a Belichick… “We’re moving on… to Buffalo. We’re getting ready for next week…”
It’s not going away this year unless the Colts win the Super Bowl, when(not if) they lose in the playoffs it is going to be a hot topic until next season.
Yeah. I would like to hear what all these pundits would be saying if Manning was seriously injured in the 4th Qtr.
It has happened before i.e. Warren Moon with the Oilers.
“Others believe that the Colts had different motivations for laying down against the Jets, including the possibility that the Colts wanted to keep the Steelers out of the playoffs by letting the Jets in.”
The only people that think other teams want to keep the Steelers out of the playoffs are members of the Steelers organization. Like any playoff team wouldn’t want to face a team that recently lost to the Cheifs, Raiders and Browns. None of the other teams are afraid of Pittsburgh.
Oh… and Bruschi knew they were stealing signals. What a hypocrite. Cheat your way to 16-0 … then brag. Priceless.
And why no mention of the fact they Bruschi is in no way objective here???? He is Patriot all the way and any chance he has to stick it to the Colts he will take………Tell me Teddy, would you rather have your 2007 season with the Super Bowl Choke or a Colts 2009 season with 1 regular season loss and a Super Bowl victory?
It is all about winning the Super Bowl not going undefeated in the regular season! People here would be rosting Caldwell if Manning got hurt late in the Jets game. There is no risk of injury to Manning this week as my Bills are pathetic, at best, and will certainly do him no harm!
I can’t stand the Patriots, but Bruschi is absolutely right.
Polian did a great job with the Panthers but, now I see why they kicked him to the curb.
“When you compare the ’09 Colts to the ’07 Patriots, I am going to say something that a lot of people are thinking but aren’t saying: At least the ’07 Patriots had the guts to go for it. That’s what they did, that’s what the Indianapolis Colts didn’t do, and that’s their problem.” – Bruschi
Oh I can think of another difference between the Colts and Pats = SPYGATE??? PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS (Rodney Harrison)???
I can’t believe all these former Pats are getting on TV. Most obnoxious individuals in Sports.
The Colts will prove this to be a master move. Keeping the Steelers out of the playoffs is huge-they might get Troy P back in time. when he plays, the Steelers don’t lose.
Who would you rather play in the playoffs: Jets or Steelers?
please.
Well MAYBE if they hadn’t “gone for it” they would have had enough in the tank to win it all!
I think it’s an excellent point. He’s saying that the Colts got the starters out of the game because the Jets were a bad matchup for them and the Colts had a very good chance at losing that game with their starters playing. Pulling them keeps the confidence of the starters high but makes the Colts management and coaching staff cowardly for pulling Manning and co.
Better to not try and lose than to try and lose. We’ll see how the Colts do when they see the Patriots or Chargers again. My guess, not so good.
Way to go Tedy.
Some teams have guts and will do whatever it takes for the glory.
Others are cowards who run scared, afraid to deal with potential adversity.
@ Krow:
The Pats cheated during the 07 season during the “spygate” investigation? Don’t quit your day job, if you have one.
“Tedy’s just upset that a team might have an 18-1 record and not be a laughing stock because of it.”
^^^^
Not a frickin chance. 14-3 is more likely than 18-1.
It dose not make sense that the Colts LET the Jets win. They may have to face their defense again in the play offs. As I remember it, they were not doing so well against it with their starters. They could be in for a real surprise. Note:I am not a Jets fan. Just an observer.
He’s right – 100% right. The Patriots got beaten, on the day, by a better team. The Colts simply gave up.
I’d love to see an undefeated season – I’m a fan of the game. I can’t imagine what its like, this week, for Colts fans. Two games against weak teams, and leading when they pulled the plug, at home. They *have* to be the favorites to win the SB at this stage, so the chances of going undefeated were much better than even. Management let their fans down.
It aint going to be historic if you go 16-0, lose starters and then dont win the superbowl. I mean how historic was the Pats 2007? What do people remember about that playoff run? Manning to Tyree.
The Colts CAN’T win on this one.
If they DON’T go to the Superbowl, their strategy looks like a stupid stunt
If they LOSE the Superbowl, they look foolish AGAIN for ‘resting’ their starters…never learn
If they WIN the Superbowl, EVERYONE will say ‘see, they should’ve gone for it’
No win, No guts, No glory.
but i do agree with Brushi saying they had the sack to go for 16-0. But you saw how awful the Colts are with no manning. They’d lose every game! Not worth the risk of injury. rest the players so they don’t get worn out, like a certain patriots team did in 07. their play quality declined every game since they did 16-0.
I remember Brushi celebrating the 16-0 after the giants game. They had a camera in the locker room. He was pumped about it. Sorry Teddy, you lost the one that counted, and that’s what people remember most. that year will always be remembered as being 18-1
Tedy – It wasn’t the Colt’s et.al….it was the coach of the Colts. Manning and the rest of the players looked thoroughly disgusted the entire second half at what happened on the field. Place the blame where it should go. I know the Colt’s fan sure have just by reading the message boards. Your piling on serves no purpose. Oh and the ’07 team was really good. I agree. Not great though — you did lose in the end. Remember?
Wow yet again the haters show complete ignorance. What Bruschi said was completely right. 19-0 trumps every other team record, ever. Polian’s lame explanations have no merit unless you simply do not care about greatness. The Colts leadership has taken away what could have been legendary greatness for this team. Shameful.
I also heard Bruschi two weeks ago say the worst thing his Patriots did in 2007 was go undefeated. He said they couldn’t handle that “gorilla on thier back” and that’s why they lost the super bowl. So which one is it Ted?
Hosstyle- the name Tampa in your monicker says it all. Whah, Whah, Whah. Enjoy Cowher.
Krow – The Pats perfect regular season was after your beloved controversy. How tired this whine has become.
Don’t hate us because we’re great. Love us for leaving it all on the field, EVERY game, win or lose… and not taking games off…. well except for Randy Moss.
People have it backwards:
If he Colts win the Super Bowl – then it will be WHAT IF – 19-0.
If the Colts lose it will all be forgotten.
I guess if you’re Bill Polian, you simply have to pick your poison- either play all out, and if it doesn’t work out, then you’re remembered like those 16-0 patriots (as not quite perfect), or you can do what he did, and hope to win it all. If he doesn’t, it’s not remembered the way the Pats team is remembered. But if the Colts go all the way, he thinks he’ll be able to claim it was the right decision. I think, like Merrill hoge and others said, it’s a chance to go 19-0, and a Good Chance, at that. Go for it, with no looking back and no regrets. Either you make history or not, but don’t be wishy-washy about it. Live life with gusto!!!! It’s only football….
WOW… Seriously TEDY, the 07 Patriots went 18-1, and what did it get you? NO ONE mentions them as one of the best teams of all time… the Colts have to do what they think is in the best interest of their team, …how many people would CRUCIFY the Colts IF Manninmg got hurt in one of those meaningless games?
How was losing a game because of a dropped interception and a guy catching a football off his helmet “running out of gas”? You people are f’n retarded. No other modern team has sh*t on New England, except the Steelers.
After reading the comments of Colts fans I know why they are perennial underachievers. They enable it. They allow it. Like their team, they have no heart. They think the Lombardi trophy should be handed to them every year. They don’t realize it has to be taken. You have to fight tooth-and-nail for it.
If you put the Colts in any tough sports town the Colts you have a lot more rings because the fans would never have put up with all the quitting over the years.
What the Colts did was the greatest assault on the integrity of the game ever. People know it viscerally which is why it is caused such a firestorm. The only people who don’t are the management of the Colts and their fans which explains why the Colts have fallen short so often.
I seriously thought he was going to cry…..ESPN has went way down hill.
Bruschi sucks, Schelerth is a slep and the guy that owns me keeps talking about how he almost died….
Talk football for once…
could one of the haters please explain to me what the in game benefit is from having a college kid taping something in plain view of 70,000 people? i mean, its pretty easy to see the benefit of pumping in fake crowd noise (colts) or cheating the salary cap (broncos, 49ers) or taking steroids (steelers, panthers)…. but what exactly is taping going to do? anything that was taped, could be seen with the naked eye by scouts and coaches anyway…..
Bruschi is dead on……Didn’t the colts rest all sorts of players just to lose at home after the bye in the division round against the Steelers???
Hey Ted, where can I get one of those 19-0 Patriot’s tee shirts?
The Patriots might have had the guts, but karma doesn’t allow cheating teams to win the big one.
The Colts have a trophy….they should be playing with house money now….all or nothing. Being one of 44 teams to win a trophy is meaningless when compared to being the only 19-0….EVER. Bruschi is right, the Colts are afraid to be great…so they won’t be.
# Krow says: December 31, 2009 10:10 AM
Oh… and Bruschi knew they were stealing signals. What a hypocrite. Cheat your way to 16-0 … then brag. Priceless.
******
You do know they went 16-0 after it stopped right? Are you people so retarded that you don’t even know the timeline? Are you so jealous you can’t admit what they did happened before that? And admit that what they did was tape something that is done in the open, and disguised for that very reason? Are you so mentally handicapped that you don’t know that at worst, all they can be blamed for is being lazy by not using a pen and paper like every other team or tape from the stands where it’s not against the rules?
You have a problem taping something that is done in the open but no problem with a team intentionally throwing a game to let a team into the playoffs. That’s why your team has 1 ring in the decade. Because you morons have no problem with not playing to win – no problem with quitting. No problem with your team doing things that blatantly affect the integrity of the game. Again, I now understand why the Colts are the underachievers they are. They can get away with it with it with the bootlicking fans they have in Indy. Put that team in Philly, Pittsburgh or Boston and they’d probably have 5 or 6 rings.
Quit whining you Pat fanboys. You cheated and we all know it. You stopped when you got caught in mid-2007. Justify it all you like, but no one believes you… well, except yourselves. In fact your entire so-called dynasty is built on cheating. Congratulations…
First of all, I’m not a pats fan, but it seriousy crackes me up when people say that the Pats choked in the superbowl.
The Pats had that game in the bag, but Eli somewhow stayed on his feet in that pass rush, then heaved up a prayer, and was bailed out by a miracle catch from a guy who isn’t even on the team anymore.
That game was won by the Giants with the most absurdly lucky catch in the history of the NFL, not lost by the Patriots choking.
With that being said, the Colts not going for perfection is undertstandable,but they better be damn sure to win it all or this will never die.
Way to own yourself Krow!
Interesting that Patri*t players and fans are talking about integrity. What a joke!
Just when i started to feel ok about cheering for the Colts again (I was in Baltimore when they left) they do something like this. As much as I hate the Stillers and didn’t want them in the playoffs I respect them. If the Colts really did lose to the J-E-T-S jets jets jets, to keep the stillers out I hope the Jets come back around and knock them out….Only if the ravens do not do it first…..
Those that keep saying what would happen if Manning would’ve went down, that’s part of football. That’s just extra evidence that the Colts were scared to go for it. When the Pats were 14-0, everyone said, the Pats would suck without Brady but they went for it anyway. Bruschi’s right, the Colts are scared of life without Manning-and rightly so-but didn’t have the trust in their backup/coaches to go for it anyway.
Has anyone told Ted, that he is no longer with the Pats?
JimmySmith says: December 31, 2009 10:43 AM
Hey Ted, where can I get one of those 19-0 Patriot’s tee shirts?
****
The same place you can get your “Colts most regular season wins in the decade” and “Colts regular season winning streak – interrupted by another 1-and-done playoff loss, champs” shirts.
Don’t leave out the league itself, which is bending over backwards to get the Jets into the playoffs. Wouldn’t be surprised if they “suggested” the Colts play their JV the second half. I mean, switching game times to make sure the Bengals have as little to play for as possible? Gimme a break.
“it was the coach of the Colts. Manning and the rest of the players looked thoroughly disgusted the entire second half at what happened on the field.”
Actually Manning did nothing but pout and give up. As I’ve posted in other threads, did Manning put the headset on and try and help the rookie so his team could still win ? Did he work with the kid on the sidelines after he got hammered ?
No, he sat and paced around pouting like the little bitch he is. Blame it on the coach and Polian, but like a bunch of small children told they couldn’t have their candy until after they ate their vegetables, he just whined.
If he was really that concerned he would have been all over Painter helping him do better than he did.
Best part of the 07 Super Bowl is when the camera showed Bruschi hugging Junior Seau on the sidelines right before their defense got burned on the game winning drive. It was so beautiful you just couldn’t make it up if you tried. I’m weeping right now just thinking about it.
I don’t understand how it is such a big deal for the Colts to rest the players. It is pointless to put your bread and butter out there in such a physical game if you don’t have to. People like Bruschi or Patriots fans seem to care more about legacy, and what people say down the road, than they do about the actual act of winning.
My gardener wants to know if Bruschi will sign the 19-0 shirts the red cross donated to his village.
“The other is facing a major controversy with one regular-season game to play, and four days after the fact the storm has still not disspated.”
Controversy stirred by drama oreinted sites like this one who have nothing at stake in the isse. Peyton goes down in the final game, Dallas Clark breaks a leg, Wayne rips up a knee- PFT says aww, that’s too bad, now let me make fun for you for the next few months.
“First of all, I’m not a pats fan, but it seriously crackes me up when people say that the Pats choked in the superbowl. ”
Yeah the Pats didn’t choke, they got STOMPED OUT…..
Not sure which game you watched, but yeah Brady wasn’t on his back at all in that game…..
Not even when Jay Alford launched him 5 yards in the air backwards onto his ass with 20seconds to go…..
How many points did the Pats have? What was their average a game for ’07. Which game did the pats score the LOWEST points in ’07?
Oh yeah it was in the game that mattered.
You know the one where the Pats offensive line gave up the most sacks in ’07.
What the Pats did was about as far from courageous as you can get. They got caught cheating and then ran up scores against crappy teams. Then they proceeded to give the NFL one of the worst choke jobs in history. Bruschi should shut his mouth. That team was an embarrassment.
Krow says: December 31, 2009 10:50 AM
Quit whining you Pat fanboys. You cheated and we all know it. You stopped when you got caught in mid-2007. Justify it all you like, but no one believes you… well, except yourselves. In fact your entire so-called dynasty is built on cheating. Congratulations…
***
Hey, at least they never threw a game with playoff implications. They laid down like the dogs they are. hard to have any respect for a team and organization like that. Your avergae Colts fans could care less I guess. They are used to it by now.
Maybe Polian bet the House on the Jets. That would be more believable than the every changing explinations coming from the Colts Front Office.
As for the Pats and Spygate, again, It was the first half of the first game of 2007, not the middle of 2007. Are all Colts fan as ignorant as you about basic facts? No wonder the Colts can get away with murder.
not surprising the league is helping the jets now, they covered up when they were caught taping at foxboro in the playoff game vs the Pats.
The irony here is that Polian thought he was REMOVING pressure by letting the team lose.
If he thought there was pressure to win the Super Bowl before he hasn’t seen ANYTHING yet.
could one of the haters please explain to me what the in game benefit is from having a college kid taping something in plain view of 70,000 people? i mean, its pretty easy to see the benefit of pumping in fake crowd noise (colts) or cheating the salary cap (broncos, 49ers) or taking steroids (steelers, panthers)…. but what exactly is taping going to do? anything that was taped, could be seen with the naked eye by scouts and coaches anyway…..
still no one?? bueller?
Krow says:
December 31, 2009 10:10 AM
Oh… and Bruschi knew they were stealing signals. What a hypocrite. Cheat your way to 16-0 … then brag. Priceless.
ARE YOU STUPID.. REALLY ARE YOU STUPID??? The pats won 15 straight regular season games after the spygate came out…. you idiot…
Since Spy Gate, the Patriots are 39-11. That includes an 11-5 with a back-up QB for a whole season. Maybe their success has more to do with the coach, the QB, etc.
Totally agree with Bruschi and the BS excuse the Colts owner gave for not pursuing the perfect record is down right pathetic!…..based on his comments he doesn’t expect his team to win the superbowl…..what a lame ass excuse it was….
Since Spy Gate, the Patriots are 39-11. That includes an 11-5 with a back-up QB for a whole season. Maybe their success has more to do with the coach, the QB, etc.
—————-
only a fool would think the Pats success had anything to do with taping. other teams have admitted to doing it and havent had the same success as the Pats. this is just something the haters try to use to justify “their team” losing. not one of them has ever been able to explain the benefit…. still waiting……
“……this is just something the haters try to use to justify “their team” losing. ”
No, the hilarious and rightful loss to the Giants in the Super Bowl was more than enough benefit for Patriot haters – and fans of the game , in general.
Bruschi should shut his mouth, and so should Harrison. Go Colts – here’s hoping they drop 46 on the Jets if they see them in the playoffs.
The Colts and the Pats have a great deal in common. They had (past tense) the greatest rivalry in football.
It would have been nice to rekindle that by the Colts besting the Patriots attempt at undefeated.
But the Colts chose to be good rather than attempt to be great.
# oh the usual says: December 31, 2009 11:05 AM
I don’t understand how it is such a big deal for the Colts to rest the players. It is pointless to put your bread and butter out there in such a physical game if you don’t have to. People like Bruschi or Patriots fans seem to care more about legacy, and what people say down the road, than they do about the actual act of winning.
__________________________________
After reading the comments on here, I am willing to bet that the fans of 31 other teams are more focused on legacy. No Pats fan brags about going 16-0 and then getting beat by the Giants. The only people that bring it up, are the fans of the other 31 teams……..So to say Pats fans are focused on legac, is a little foolish, like I said, Pats fans dont brag about the 18-1 season……
Hey haters and losers (generally the same):
Pats are the team of the decade and one of the greatest ever. Deal with it. Nothing you bitch and whine about will change anything. You’re jealous. When Dallas won in the 90′s they were “South America’s Team”, Jimmy taped other teams, and there were haters. Hey, I was jealous too because the Pats had done nothing as a franchise until then. I get it. But to say or even imply that the Pats won because of cheating is really old, ignorant, and the words of a whiny jealous bitch.
The Pats may suck this upcoming decade, who knows, but the haters will just move on to the next winning team and whine some more because it isn’t their team.
Bruschi when you say 18-1 don’t forget your asterisk. 18-1*
Well MAYBE if they hadn’t “gone for it” they would have had enough in the tank to win it all!
If you’re oblivious to the inherent flaws in that, I pity your stupid ass.
123456 says:
December 31, 2009 11:06 AM
My gardener wants to know if Bruschi will sign the 19-0 shirts the red cross donated to his village.
________________________________
lol.
Ponch is 100% correct and even if the Colts win the Super Bowl, he’s 100% correct and they made the wrong decision.
Oh and yes the Patriots 3 rings are tainted.
TheBigOldDog says:
December 31, 2009 10:59 AM
JimmySmith says: December 31, 2009 10:43 AM
Hey Ted, where can I get one of those 19-0 Patriot’s tee shirts?
****
The same place you can get your “Colts most regular season wins in the decade” and “Colts regular season winning streak – interrupted by another 1-and-done playoff loss, champs” shirts.
__________________________________
BAM…roasted.
Gotta love someone sticking up for the Colts the way JS did and not realizing how completely LAME AFC finalist banners and the like that they have displayed in their stadium are.
And FTR, Schlereth a NON Patriot and in fact one of their biggest critics at cameragate time agreed with Bruschi’s opinion about this topic.
The whole issue of what the Colts did and what other teams might do is based on an analysis of each team. The Colts’ roster is not especially deep. The Colts’ ability to win is based on their offense outscoring the opposition. The ability to outscore the opposition is based on Peyton Manning’s ability to read a defense quickly and choose (from a limited relatively unchanging menu of stock options) a play that will leave the other team’s defense undermanned at his area of attack.
In removing Manning, Clark, and Wayne, all that abillity is gone, so the basis of outscoring the opposition is gone with it. It’s a white flag of surrender in terms of offensive production.
Obviously the Bengals and/or Patriots will lose quite a bit if they make similar moves, but I don’t believe the conclusion is a foregone as it is with the Colts.
“Others believe that the Colts had different motivations for laying down against the Jets, including the possibility that the Colts wanted to keep the Steelers out of the playoffs by letting the Jets in.”
——————————————————
The only people that believe this nonsense, are Steelers fans. The Colts aren’t scared of anyone. Why would they be, or should they be? Right now they’re the best team in the NFL. If there is a team to fear right now in the AFC, it damn sure isn’t the Steelers. I would say it would be a toss up between the Chargers and the Patriots. I’m sure that any team would rather play the Steelers over those two right now.
A team has a chance every year to win the Super Bowl but only one chance a decade to win “Team of the Decade.” I could see a team like Seattle laying down to the pressure or the Texans because they have no history behind them and a SB is making history for those clubs. But a historic team like the Colts owes it to their fans to try and improve on the history of the franchise. A SB will add to the history but not improve their historic standing. That is where the Colts failed; They failed their fans!
# Phyxsius says: December 31, 2009 11:10 AM
Then they proceeded to give the NFL one of the worst choke jobs in history. Bruschi should shut his mouth. That team was an embarrassment.
****
One thing is for sure. Colt fans are eminently qualified to comment on choke jobs given how many they’ve seen over the years. Even the NFL doing everything they could on the field and in the boardroom couldn’t keep hem from choking every year but one.
I still remember how the NFL, desperate to get the Colts over the hump, took away a game winning interception by Troy Polamalu in the divisional round. The cheating by the refs in favor of the Colts in that game was so blatant, they didn’t even fine Joey Porter for calling them out on it after the game.
Here’s your Team of the decade (ROFLMAO!)
• Jan. 3, 2009 – AFC Divisional – San Diego 23, Indianapolis 17
• Jan. 13, 2008 – AFC Divisional – San Diego 28, Indianapolis 24
• Feb. 4, 2007 – Super Bowl XLI – Indianapolis 29, Chicago 17
• Jan. 13, 2007 – AFC Divisional – Indianapolis 15, Baltimore 6
• Jan. 6, 2007 – AFC Wildcard – Indianapolis 23, Kansas City 8
• Jan. 15, 2006 – AFC Divisional – Pittsburgh 21, Indianapolis 18
• Jan. 16, 2005 – AFC Divisional – New England 20, Indianapolis 3
• Jan. 9, 2005 – AFC Wild Card – Indianapolis 49, Denver 24
• Jan. 18, 2004 – AFC Championship – New England 24, Indianapolis 14
• Jan. 4, 2003 – AFC Wild Card – Jets 41, Indianapolis 0
• Dec. 30, 2000 – AFC Wild Card – Miami 23, Indianapolis 17 (OT)
• Jan. 16, 2000 – AFC Divisional – Tennessee 19, Indianapolis 16
Teddy,
does it really take ‘guts’ for a team to try for a perfect REGULAR season?
*18-1
Then he has a stroke.
18-1* is correct…
b/c if the refs had called holding on Richard Seymour on the tyree play, the Pats would have rightfully won. instead, we are left with another championship game tainted with the ugly taste of a referee cheating scandal.
To Pollian and all you Colts fans that couldn’t wait to change the rules, pump in crowd noise and have your golden boy Manning admit to stealing every defensive signal he could, just remember this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV2OhvyeH7M&feature=PlayList&p=4405B140430D486A&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2
“You want to change the rules?”
Classic
If the Colts lose the first playoff game, it’ll be ‘because they took their foot off the gas’.
If the Colts win the Superbowl, it’ll be criticised because they could have done so with a perfect season.
The only way this DOESN’T blow up in their faces is if they lose in the AFC Championship game or Superbowl, and that’s still a disappointment. Point is, there’s no way for this to end happily ever after.
If Manning got hurt in a valiant attempt at greatness, it’s better than sitting on the sidelines “being careful”. Play to win, instead of Playing-not-to-lose.
Teddy is absolutely right. The Colts management doesn’t have the nuts to go for it. Too much pressure, scrutiny and stress. Management wasn’t up to it and was afraid of it.
“Phyxsius says: December 31, 2009 11:10 AM
Then they proceeded to give the NFL one of the worst choke jobs in history. Bruschi should shut his mouth. That team was an embarrassment.
”
Yeah it soo embarassing to win every game of the regular season, playoffs, and then lose by one play in the Superbowl…a play that should have been called a penalty by the refs. If thats an embarassment then you must be one hell of a successful freak.
Ask Jerry West about always coming up short
when meaured against the Celts .Ask any Red Sox fan or player how it felt when they crushed the Yankees in 2004 and eneded 86 years of envy.
Like it or not no matter how the Colts season ends
they will be for all time branded as soft and not realy tough enough to go for it .What the Colts organization /fan base dosen’t understand is that
The Steelers and Pats were tougher when it counted .How else can you explain the Colts post season performance .The greatest QB of all time
(as measured by stats) has one ring when Brady has 3 and Big Ben has two .Repeat until everybody in Indy turns Colts blue that the Pats cheated but how do you explain the Steelers .
The regular season winning record does not wipe
away the 3 early post season depatures in fact it
makes the Colts brass look silly .Kinda of like counting Championships won by Johny U .
As a life long resident of Red Sox nation ,growing up watching Bill vrs Wilt ,Bobby Orr vrs Ken Dryden ,Larry Vrs Magic and now Brady vrs Manning never have I seen a team quit on history llike this years Colts .The Lakers will always be measured by the Celts ,the Sox by the Yankees ,the Bruins by the Canadians and the Pats by the Steelers not by the Indy Colts. It is crazy but by kneeling down the Colts elevatated the Pats and deminshed themselves .Lose on the field ,fall on your sword don’t let history judge you a coward .Peyton deserved more ,the team deserved more and the Indy fan base certainly deserved more.
Can’t stand the Pats but always like Bruschi. Any great competitor–especially one who fought back from the kind of personal challenges Bruschi faced–would be offended by the Colts’ laydown. And people who think this will go away IF the Colts win the Super Bowl are delusional. That would only intensify the woulda/coulda/shoulda arguments.
And whatever else I may think about the Pats, at least they didn’t quit.
JimmySmith says:
December 31, 2009 10:43 AM
Hey Ted, where can I get one of those 19-0 Patriot’s tee shirts?
The Patriots might have had the guts, but karma doesn’t allow cheating teams to win the big one.
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So what you’re saying then is different from what you usually say Jimmy…I thought the Pats only won their three Lombardi’s by cheating, isn’t that what you’ve been saying?
So DO cheating teams win, or did the Pats not cheat when they won their titles? Which is it, you’re contradicting yourself here.
I’m surprised that people are so up in arms about this decision. It’s all about the politics of management. How people can be offended when they see this in sports but let it slide everywhere else is ridiculously hypocritical.
If the Colts win straight out and then fail to get to the Superbowl that will be what, the millionth time they’ve done that? You don’t think the criticisms that have been lobbed at Colts management and coaching and players year after year for being the Ottawa Senators of football hasn’t taken its toll? Do this enough times and heads start to roll.
The most pressing goal for the Colts is to win the Superbowl. It’s not about going undefeated.
So they use the opportunity in letting the Jets win to rest some players, avoid injury, and help get the seeds they want. Big deal. Apparently it’s the last item in that list that pisses people off. Well hey, hate to break it to ya, but the Colts have earned the right to play in the post season. If they want to game the seeds more power to them. That’s part of the competition. If a team is upset that they’re being left out of the playoffs by this type of gamesmanship then they should have won more games. Simple as that.
Bruschi has the luxury of talking about what the Pats tried to do after already winning 3 superbowls and generally being the most dominant team in the decade. The legacy of the Pats had already been established. They could risk making a run at perfection even if it didn’t give them the best chance at a Superbowl along the way. The Colts don’t have that same luxury. Not only do they not have a dominant team like the 07 Pats, they have a team that has struggled THIS YEAR. Maybe, ya know, applying some strategy isn’t such a bad idea, compared to a blindfolded berserker charge into the unknown. And last time I checked, the 07 Pats GOT BEAT BY A LESSER TEAM THAT USED GAMESMANSHIP TO WIN. Uhoh. Argument Done. Yall need to whine about something else now.
A couple of facts for people…since the rhetoric gets old:
1) Spygate came to light after the first game of the 18-1 season. So technically, the guy is correct, it was part of that season.
2) There has never been any crowd noise pumped into the RCA Dome…and NBC admited it was a technical glitch on their own end of the broadcast.
3) There were no rules changes after the Colts/Pats playoffs games. It has been a rule for a lot of years that the defender can’t bump the receiver after 5 yards. It has always been illegal contact or pass interference (if the ball is in the air.) For some reason, that snowy day in Foxboro, they chose not to throw the flag.
4) I am a Colts fan and every Colts fan I talked to is pissed about the Jets game. I don’t know where you get this idea that we are okay with it or rationalizing it. The only people okay with it is Bill Polian, Jim Irsay and Jim Caldwell.
5) I would hope this would put to an end the belief that Peyton is the real coach of the team. If it was, he would’ve played and they’d be 15-0.
6) Watch the sidelines between series, Peyton was talking and working with Curtis Painter. But if it makes you feel better to say Peyton is a whinner, go right ahead. I didn’t see Tom Brady on the headset when he was pulled from the New Orleans game.
Now you can all go back to your hyperbole and insane comments.
Wow Florio, this really is your Super Bowl isn’t it?
I’m a huge Colts fan, but do not forget what is really at stake here–MONEY. You get paid for a Superbowl win. You do not get paid to go perfect during the season and lose the Superbowl. If you think any of this has anything to do with anything other than money–you are wrong.
Some of you guys really crack me up.
The reason the Colts took out their starters was to give the 2nd & 3rd stringer playing time? Give me a break. When did the NFL become a “feel good” HS football league where both teams decide to let the disabled kid who sat
on the bench for the whole season run for a TD on the final play of the season?
You know damned well that if it was Brady and the Pats were losing the GAME, along with an undefeated season on the line he would have demanded to be back in! And no doubt Belichek would have complied. He’s got the cajones and mental acuity that Manning doesn’t and never will.
I’m not a gambler but just for kicks ad giggles,
just what was the line on that game?
Oh, yeah… NFL football betting odds have the Colts listed as 6-point favorites over the Jets in week 16.
Jeepers, you think there was any monkey business going on here?
Just follow the money boys, just follow the money.
Kenneth: That “dropped interception” was an impossible catch along the sideline. Take a look at the replay. It was not a catchable ball even in stop action.
But, were I a Colts fan, I would be furious. Playing losing football carries over. Just watch.
The Colts might have not went for it but at least they won’t be remembered as the biggist gaggers of all time( Pats 18-1)
jersey73 says:
December 31, 2009 2:31 PM
“But if it makes you feel better to say Peyton is a whinner, go right ahead. I didn’t see Tom Brady on the headset when he was pulled from the New Orleans game.”
Pal, New Orleans was kicking the Pats ass. Brees was killing them. But ya know what, if Brady wasn’t on the horn to Hoyer it was because he already knew the game was lost, it was late in the 4th and there wasn’t any undefeated season on the line. Hoyer needed to have real time game experience with the coach and staff.
Brady had done his work in practice. He had faith in Hoyer to learn.
It boggles my mind to hear Pats fans crying about a non-call that cost them the SB in 2007. Take a good look at your 1st Superbowl run and tell me the call on field regarding Brady’s fumble against the Raiders should have been overturned?
Do you think its a coincidence that a team named the Patriots won the SB in 2001 right after 911
Dave, so it’s a conspiracy?
Same as what happen when the 1980 US Olympic hockey team beat the Soviets?
Yeah, yeah, that was because the Russians were in Afghanistan and they wanted to make sure the Americans came to the 1980 Moscow Games.
The fix was in, huh?
BTW, Thank you Jimmy Carter for abandoning our athletes who trained so hard for so many years and telling them they will not go.
Hello…Michael Moore…here’s another for you!
SuzyKolberIsAwesome says:
WOW… Seriously TEDY, the 07 Patriots went 18-1, and what did it get you? NO ONE mentions them as one of the best teams of all time
————————————————
You CAN’T be freaking serious!
EVERYBODY respects that ’07 team as one of the best teams of all time. You’re the only idiot that thinks an 18-1 record-setting team sucked.
Thanks for the laugh, I almost took you seriously, moron.
The Colts might have not went for it but at least they won’t be remembered as the biggist gaggers of all time( Pats 18-1)
How about, “only team to ever go 16-0″
I like that better.
That Super Bowl was a great game, nobody gagged.
Shame you missed it.
@TheWizard …
The Dolphins went 17-0.
Of course, that included the post season.
Just sayin’ …
It was a great game.
The Pats lost in the final minutes of the AFC championship game ,lost in the final minutes in the Super Bowl and lost in the las few minutes in
this years Colts game.What do the have in common ?.They were in it but lost .They lost on the field to the better team that day .Giants were better that day .Eli’s throw was one for the books
so it stands at 18-1 .If this years Colts go 18-1 the
team will forever be known as the team that could have been the best of all time but chose not to face history but to fold under its weight.The greatest QB of all time was forced to take a dive.
It is like the scene out of Rocky when he is on the beach with Adrian .She asked whats wrong and he cant’t explain the feeling that he has knowing he was proped up by Mickey .He said something like -So I wouldn’t be champ for so long but atleast it would be real .This will stay with the Colts for ever and sorry to say with Manning .
Complain all you want about Spy gate but the real
asterix will be when and if the Colts win it all.
Even holding the Lombardi will no wipe the slate clean and that is what the Colt’s brass has to face.
“As I’ve posted in other threads, did Manning put the headset on and try and help the rookie so his team could still win ?”
C’mon! How many starting QB’s put on headsets when they are pulled? Honest to God, I cannot remember a single times its happened. And that includes when Brady was pulled in NO with lots of time left on the clock. He looked on the field and watched. He did not interact. Just stared.
Manning is a great competitor as is Brady, Favre, Rivers and Romo, etc… The guy (Manning) does more with less than anyone in the game. Calling him or any of the others a bitch because of their expressions or lack of sideline gear is stupid and wrong.
“Brady had done his work in practice. He had faith in Hoyer to learn.”
Sounds hypocritical to me to question one guy for doing something that your own guy did. Yet in your world what your guy did was ok? Very hard to follow that logic.
Why can’t you believe that Manning had the same faith in Painter?
Well Tedy you better hope the Colts don’t win the Super bowl because if they do you will look like an idiot.
Having the “Guts” to try for it means nothing because you didn’t accomplish the primary goal you set in the off-season and if the Colts do that their a better and obviously smarter team then the 07 patriots.
You never know, maybe if the Patriots would have lost a game going into the playoffs they might have won the Super Bowl which is what every team is striving for.
“What the Colts did was the greatest assault on the integrity of the game ever. People know it viscerally which is why it is caused such a firestorm. The only people who don’t are the management of the Colts and their fans which explains why the Colts have fallen short so often.”
What rock are you living under? Most Colts fans are really upset that the Colts (management) gave that game away. Did you watch the game? Did you hear the boos? The idiot announcers think they were booing Curtis Painter, but we all know they were booing the decision to take Manning out of the game. There’s a big difference. Otherwise, I agree with you in part.
The Colt’s have remained consistently very good over the past 8-9 seasons b/c the organization is smart and level-headed and the team is always well-prepared. However, it seems that heart and passion are needed to go all the way. I think the players have it, but management has let them down time after time by ignoring the importance of “heart” in winning championships. The team was on a roll. Despite playing below average sometimes, they always managed to pull out a win. It was a spark, a kind of magic, that the players wouldn’t except defeat. That spark was lost in that game to the Jets.
I will be prepared to eat my words if the Colts win the Superbowl. I am still prepared to root for them all the way, but I fear that history will repeat itself because management stubbornly refuses to see that you can’t hold back if you want to achieve greatness. I fear that they will never learn. The Colts could lose the SB, go 14-0 next year, and still mgmt will rest the starters next year. As a fan of the game, and being witness to the greatness that is Peyton Manning, I’m extremely frustrated.
The Colts are rolling in what might be best decribed as an adolesent angst where they don’t want to try because they are afraid they might fail.
I last heard that mantra from a 15 year old sulking in her room.
I feel for the players and their having been betrayed of their pride by thier spineless management and ownership.
The fans and the entire NFL deserves an apology!
manning does more with less than anybody? poor baby he only has reggie wayne and dallas clark to throw too. please.
To all the Pats fans whining about the Colts “quitting”-it wasn’t that long ago when “the hooded genius” himself did the exact same thing against the Saints. Pulled his starters with over 5 minutes left in the game.
How is that different than what the Colts did?