Manning Returns to Earth... Congrats Patriots!

[Aristotle]

Wow... Manning really screwed the pooch. I give him a lot of credit, however, for continuing to play hard despite the picks. I really feel like the Pats got away with 2 eggregious defensive holding penalties on the Colts final drive, and that is a real shame because that very well might have tied things up and made an otherwise boring game REALLY exciting.

The Pats looked excellent, but I have to wonder about a team that gets +5 turnovers and is still fighting for its life in the final minutes. More on that in the Super Bowl thread.

The question is, however, who was to blame for the loss. Did Manning choke? Did the Pats defense just play great? A little of both?

[Aristotle]

I know this poll is sorta whacko and has a ton of options, but I thought it might be fun.

At the last minute I added the last 2 possibilities just to see what people thought.

I went with Both (50/50) mainly because despite 4 picks Manning kept the team in the game and darn close to sending the game to OT (as I mentioned).

I was tempted by the Marvin Harrison answer because he really didn't show up to play. That was very disappointing. The fact that Stokley didn't really have his head in the game because of his sick child didn't help either.

I don't want to take anything about from the Pats. Their defense played great.

I think the Colts much maligned defense deserves some props as well. Holding the Pats to 6 points off 5 turnovers, and forcing them to kick 5 field goals was pretty impressive.

[Aristotle]

I'm glad to see folks voting on the poll but lets hear some explanations for the votes!

[Damieux]

This was my opinion before the game, and its still my opinion about what happened:

Originally posted by Damieux
Peyton Manning is on fire in the playoffs. His aerial attack looked astounding in those two dome games. Glancing over the Colt’s schedule, though, they don’t appear to have had to face adverse conditions all season, except for their game at Buffalo in November when they barely beat a Bills team that fell apart this year. Plus their ground game has been less than impressive this season; they finished 19th in the league in total yards rushing. You could attribute that low number to a side effect of their stellar passing game, except they finished 26th in yards per attempt with an average of only 3.7. Given that this game will be played at Foxboro in mid-January, I think you have to like the Patriot’s chances.

I just wish my other prediction had been correct.

[Aristotle]

I really don't think the weather was a factor at all though.

When Manning wasn't throwing picks and when Harrison wasn't fumbling to kill drives, they were moving the ball.

The problem was the defense made some great picks, Harrison didn't show up, and Manning was letting himself get confused by the defense.

I expected the weather to be a factor but it seemed to be irrelevant.

[Damieux]

I think the picks and the fumbles can be attributed to the weather, which must have made the ball slick and hard as a rock and certainly impacted visibility. Basically, I think the Colts simply weren't accustomed to playing in adverse weather conditions (because they haven't had to do so all year), and I think that heavily impacted their game.

Of course, the weather can only possibly be one factor. They also faced a much better defense than they had previously met in the playoffs. The Patriots are a very good team, and I find it hard not to like Tom Brady.

[Isaviel]

I really think Manning tried. Though I think he also got discouraged when Ty Law kept intercepting his passes. Nevertheless he kept trying and I give him credit. There were a couple questionable calls but I have to say that the Pats did great in offense and defense. They had their shit going on. The game I found boring was the Eagles and the Panthers. The Pat's game was just amazing. But I'm a Pats fan!

I still say we need a football smiley

[Gadiantor]

I started explaining mine last night but my computer froze on me, and I was too lazy to re-write it :P

I went with 60/40 in favor of the D being the reason. The one handed interception by Ty Law was 100% great defense. The four sacks were all the defense; Manning didn't have anyone to throw to because the coverage was amazing. Manning didn't play up to expectations, but I think the AWESOME defensive display had a little more to do with it than he did.

[Gadiantor]

Originally posted by Aristotle
I expected the weather to be a factor but it seemed to be irrelevant.

I agree completely. Manning didn't have a problem with the weather, he had a problem reading the defense. It may have been a factor in the Harrison fumble, but that's about it.

[Sebboe]

I thought that Manning had 2 picks that were just great plays by the defense.

What hurt the Colts a lot was the safety they gave up and the defense had no ability to stop the Patriots.

If the D had held them to punts just twice and take the safety off the board and despite all the picks, the Colts could have been up 14-13... granted, if those things happened the Pats could have done things differently.

Manning definitely was part of the problem but Marvin didn't show, the defense didn't show and the Patriots D made great plays.

I think the lack of holding calls hurt them as well and some of them were pretty blatant.

I agree that the weather had no impact on the Colts losing.

I think sometimes a sloppy field favors the offense because defenders can't keep up with the cuts and the O-line has an advantage in they can just lock in place and make the D slip and slide.

At the end of the day, the Patriots were the better team. They beat the Colts twice this year, once in Indy, once in Foxboro. They had the best record in the league.

I'm not a Manning apologist. I don't even like Manning. I think he's a great QB but I often root against him.