Freeney's done/Colts are done!

[Mr Handicapable]

Reports are saying Dwight Freeney is going to have surgery which would put him out for the season! Add this to the laundry list of injuries and the Colts shot at repeating is over!
It's a shame because I think at full strength they could beat New England! The defense is faster and more sound than any defense the Colts have fielded since they got here in 1984. They may still win 13-14 games but even if they get alot of people back they don't matchup w/the Pats or even Pittsburgh? Can't count on Vinatieri for a big kick anymore either? Atleast they're still a young team primarily (except Marvin) and should be ready to roll next year. Injuries are part of the game but it's still a shame! Indy was the biggest threat for the Pats so it weakens their accomplishments as well! New England seems to be very healthy for the most part and maybe injuries will catch up to them? At full strength, I doubt the Steelers or a Super Bowl opponent will slow them down much?

[mgcolby]

Polian rolled the dice by paying Freeney big money this year. The Colts have been relatively healthy over the past 4-5 years and he let half of his defense walk to free up the cap space for Freeney which really hurt their depth. The same on the offensive side of the Ball he has so much money wrapped up in 3 players that it again limited his ability to provide depth. Polian is as good as anyone in finding talent through the draft and Dungy is as good at coaching up replacements as anyone. But you can only squeeze so much out.

Again they rolled the dice hoping they would remain healthy, to possibly repeat or at least compete at an elite level and then restock via the draft and FA after moving some cap space around this offseason. And based on their injury history it was a calculated risk, unfortunately for the Colts the majority of their big money players are hurt.

You really have an unhealthy hatred for the Patriots. How does an injury riddled Colts team lessen the Pats accomplishments? The Pats have the record for different starters in one season by a SB champion in 2004. They had 42different starters that season. The Pats have had injuries this season as well. Seymour missed 7 games, Maroney missed 3 games, Morris went on the IR, Ben Watson missed 2 games, Stephen Neal has missed a game, Mike Wright has missed 4 games (the Pats best rotational lineman, when Seymour was out) and Harrison missed 4 games due to his suspension. The difference is depth. By the way, did the fact that the majority of the Pats defense was out/playing hurt or with the Flu in the AFCC game, especially in the 2nd half, weaken the Colts accomplishments last year?

[Mr Handicapable]

Colby,

I've already went round-n-round w/you and you're a bigger Pats homer than I am w/the Colts by far! All you could do was moan about the officiating in the Colts/Pats game and never acknowledged how the score ends up w/o Moss and Todd Light? Still waiting on a answer on that one?? How long has it been...2 weeks now? You know the end result..COLTS ROLL!! If you say anything else...you're delusional and clueless about the NFL! Moss was the difference in that game...PERIOD!! Marvin at 35 is no Moss but still KEY to our offense! If the Colts were injury free and beat the Pats in the playoffs w/o Moss by 4 points....I guess the Pat fans wouldn't say a word....lol...RIGHT!! I guess you forgot that I checked the box score for the AFC Championship last year and all the Pats played except Harrison? Just keep ignoring the truth? You're a real piece of work? Do you work for the Bush administration by chance? The Pats have injuries...everyone has injuries...but my point is we're being robbed of seeing a matchup where both teams are close to their best. I bet even the Pat players wish they could have that! They're going to expose Pitt as a fraud here shortly and there won't be anyone worthy left? I won't respond to you again since you disregard facts and its not a honest debate!

[mgcolby]

You are simply impossible to talk to. Instead of responding with a coherent response, you come back with some incoherent diatribe of excuses and meaningless garbage.

Keep living in your own little world. I mean after all without Brady playing the Colts would have rolled!


Here you go:

COMMISH TOOK KEEN INTEREST IN PATS-COLTS OFFICIATING

Jay Glazer of FOX reports that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had a closed-door one-on-one with NFL director of officiating Mike Pereira to review all of the calls from last weekend's greatest . . . game . . . ever.

The Patriots-Colts contest featured numerous bad calls against New England. Curiously, however, there has been little mention of the horrendous calls in the media. (Some Internet hack who also writes for SportingNews.com mentioned it last Sunday.)

Among other things, Pats receiver Randy Moss was called for offensive pass interference on a play in which he apparently didn't even touch the defender. Also, New England cornerback Ellis Hobbs was flagged for defensive pass interference after he was tackled by Colts wideout Reggie Wayne.

League insiders have attributed the phenomenon to one of three dynamics. First, the zebras simply got the calls wrong. Second, the officials were subconsciously influenced by the reputation of Colts G.M. Bill Polian for going bonkos when calls don't go his team's way. Third, the guys in black and white were subconsciously influenced by all of the criticism of the Pats for cheating and running up the score.

If the real explanation is the last one, the Pats might want to be ready for more bad calls moving forward. Their recent actions and decisions are making the Patriots into a team that is perceived by some as "bad guys," and the end result could be a chronic case of some of the same bad calls that teams like the Raiders have seen over the years.

You know, like the tuck rule play, from the game that arguably spawned the Patriots' dynasty.

Still, the point here is that the Commish seems to be intent on keeping factors like that from influencing the outcome of games.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

[Doc JS]

Losing Freeney would be a serious blow to the Colts...but let's remember that everyone had written them off last year when Jacksonville ran for 375 yards against them. And we all know how last year turned out, don't we?

The moral is there is a lot of football left to be played. And it's not how you're playing in November that counts. It's how you're playing in January that counts.

[Mr Handicapable]

Bottom line is they're the 2 best teams and both would like to beat the other at their best! It won't happen this year and thats a shame for everyone! Good news is...the good guys are much younger than BeleCheat and Co. on defense! It was funny how the Pats LBs looked like me trying to chase Addai on that swing pass. You can't fight aging in football! You can't buy class either which is why I gave up on Bobby Knight way before he got ran out of town! If I..god forbid...was a Pats fan I would be ashamed of Belichick whether he wins or not!

[Mr Handicapable]

I'm not disputing the interference calls in that game but the Pats got a TD right after the Moss call anyway so it had NO bearing on the outcome. As far as Moss goes...the week before he had a obvious pushoff for a meaningless TD late in the Redskins game and the announcer (Phil Simms?) correctly stated "If you let him get away with that then he's unstoppable because he's already bigger, taller, and faster than the guy guarding him!" You can be sure that Polian and Dungy were in the officials ear to look for that and the refs are only human. Dungy teams are always among the least penalized every year and I'm sure the refs know that in the back of their minds as well. The Colts almost stole the playoff game from the Steelers on a horrible call the year before where a Polamolu INT got overturned incorrectly? It happens? The 1995 Miracle Colt team under Jimmy Harbaugh was kept out of the Super Bowl by a illegal TD by Kordell Stewart. He was at WR and ran out of bounds and came back in for the TD catch! Replays showed it clearly! You just hope those bad calls don't cost someone the game? If the Pats get a Raider reputation and the refs starting looking for stuff then maybe you don't play cheap shot artists like Rodney Harrison and muggers like Ty Law!

[Peyton2MarvinN06]

Handicap,

If you are saying that your own team is done for the season just because of Freeney then you obviously need to support another team man... I live and die with the Colts each weekend, every play, every TD, every turnover man... Simeon Rice is going to come in a do a bang up job for us! Everyone thinks that he is washed up, but everyone just wait! He knows the Cover 2 system probably better than anyone on the team already... He WILL MAKE AN IMPACT! I can't wait to see him demolish Brody Croyle on Sunday! The poor Chiefs really are in for a beating! The line being 14.5 is too much to lay for me, but I really believe that the Colts will win by 17-20 pts on Sunday!

Keep the faith in your team man! I have been through thick and thin with this team... Sat through every game, every season when we were 3-13 4-12 5-11... I saw a lot of losses and now I can't believe how much the tables have turned! The Colts still have a lot of good football in them... I'm not saying that we will beat the Pats on January 20th with Freeney out now, but we sure as hell will give them a run for their money! BET THAT!

[Patrick McIrish]

I agree with the above poster. Rice has some left in the tank, he's played for Dungy and loves the hell out of the guy too. I'd compare it to Booger a little last year, everyone said he sucked in Tampa but he came in and made some big plays for the Colts in their playoff run. Watched Rice closely for the last few years, he can and will disappear at times but he will also singlehandedly win a few games for you as well. He's a monster to pass block against and was a great addition for the Colts IMO. He will bring pressure and is a good fit for that type of speed defense.

[Mr Handicapable]

I live and die with every Colts game as much as anyone but I'm also a realist! Just too many injuries this year and too many holes with the special teams. I agree there is alot of football to be played and I think the Colts have a good shot to go 14-2 or 13-3 with their remaining schedule. One other factor though, I heard from a reliable source that knows the Colts players/wives that Marvin will probably be shut down for the year also. If we can get Reggie/Marvin/Dallas, Bob Sanders, Brock, etc. healthy for the playoffs then who knows? It just looks like one of those "wait til next year" seasons to me?

[Mr Handicapable]

As far as Rice goes....if he has anything left and can help then we'll see? He's the same idiot that said that "Pat Tillman really wasn't that good anyway and just wants to be like Rambo" when Tillman left the Cards and joined the Army. We got rid of Vanderjagt and really don't need to fill out dumbshit quota do we??

[Rollins08]

There never done when they can put up 40 points on any given day. When Marvin gets back there O will be as dangerous as ever. Still the 2nd best team even without Freeney.

[slacker00]

There never done when they can put up 40 points on any given day. When Marvin gets back there O will be as dangerous as ever. Still the 2nd best team even without Freeney.

Marvin? I think he's washed up.