Well, in the wake of arguably the best game of the year in the National Football League the only thing that anyone can talk about is "The Hoodie's" decision to go for broke on a 4th down and 2 inside the Patriots' own 30 yard line. Well, I think this was the right call, no matter the outcome.
First Belichick is a veteran of this rivalry, he knows what Peyton Manning has done to them in the past. He knows from the past few years Manning is fully capable of going at least 80 yards to score a winning touchdown. He has seen this movie before and knows how it ends. Time and again the Patriots defense was gassed when Peyton initiates his 2 minute drill and the Colts run right through them. So in Belichick's mind the difference between the 30 yard line and the opposing 20 is minimal.
Secondly, this is not that shocking of a decision considering Belichick's track record. He is a risk taker, this is a classic call from this head coach. He knows that this decision and its proper execution can ice the game for the Patriots. We should come to expect no less from this coach. When you make your living this way you must expect that it is going to come back and bite you at some point. You live by the sword you die by the sword.
Thirdly, this should not be put all on Belichick. The number one myth in sports is the opinion that coaches make all the difference in games. This couldn't be further from the truth. Coaches and managers always get too much credit when things are going well and things pan out and way too much blame when teams lose. This is exactly what is going on here. Tom Brady and the Patriots still had to convert that down, it wasn't "The Hoodie" under center or bobbling that ball. At the end of the day it comes down to execution, and the Patriots really did not execute.
However, this is not a complete apology for the Patriots disaster on Sunday night. There are some things that the Patriots and Bill Belichick did mismanage against the Colts. First, the Patriots were careless with clock management. They wasted their time outs which is something they rarely do. This came back to bite them in the end because not only could they not stop the clock when the Colts were driving to the eventual game winning touchdown, but it also cost them on the 4th and 2 play. If Belichick and the Patriots didn't squander their time outs they could have challenged the spot of the ball. The spot was questionable to begin with and I think that if it was challenged the video evidence would have shown that Kevin Faulk indeed did make that yard and this whole post would be a mute point.
Secondly, the Patriots should have just let Joseph Addai score on the second play of the drive. If they had done this the Patriots would have had more time to develop a little bit of a drive to set up Stephen Gostkowski for a last second field goal. With the Patriots' explosive offense this would have been more than attainable with more time. Why didn't they do this? To me, this shows a complete contradiction on Belichick's part. He had no confidence in his defense when they would have been given 80 yards to stop Manning and the Colts but he thinks that they can stop the Colts when it is 1st and goal from the 1 yard line. Why not just tell your players that if the Colts are close just to let them in?
But as Phil Jackson says, "give them some (expletive) credit." The Colts played a great game. They still had to punch the ball in from the 30 yard line. The Colts hung in there and did not lose hope. They fought hard and won the game. Peyton Manning has ice water in his veins and is a proven leader in the NFL. The Colts are a complete team and have shown that they can win games in many different ways. Watch out for these guys in the playoffs.
I get the call. I do not know if I would have had the guts to make it, but I completely understand where Bill was coming from. My only doubt is field position. Anyway...
ReplyDeleteThe reason they didn't get the first down spot was because the ball was being bobbled, hence no possession at the spot of the catch.
Anyway, Peyton is the best QB in the NFL. The Pats did a great job stopping him most of the night, but he adapts throughout the game. He will rip and tear through a defense little by little until he finds their flaws. Once he does, goodnight. Brady is good at this as well, but not as good, and he has much more talent surrounding him. That is probably why they went for it on 4th.
It was a great game, and this is what the NFL should be about.