Talking NFL

“No, we can’t run up the score, Peyton.  The game’s over.  Honest.  You can take your helmet off now…”

Make no mistake about it; the Patriots and Colts cannot stand each other, at least from a front office standpoint.  Michael Silver highlighted some of the “gamesmanship” between the two teams in this article last week, and less than 24 hours after the Patriots 24-20 victory in Indianapolis, they’re at it again.  Specifically, the Patriots are lodging a complaint with the NFL regarding some perceived shenanigans at the RCA Dome.

Just after the game, Patriots President Jonathan Kraft asked NFL Vice President of Security Milt Ahlerich to investigate the possibility that the Colts piped in or played additional crowd noise during the game.  In the Patriots defense, they are not the first team to accuse the Colts of this ridiculous sounding violation of league rules.  Having said that, it’s a damn good thing they won the game; otherwise that would sound a lot like whining to many fans…

Earlier today, the internets were all abuzz with this story, especially since you can actually HEAR a weird artificial sound emanating from the crowd at the 2:25 mark of this NFL highlight video.  My initial reaction was to jump in and post an extremely professional headline; something like, “COLTS CHEAT! COLTS CHEAT!  Cough up that 1st Round pick you @#$&-ers!”  (You know, something to rival my mature headlines from the past) Fortunately, I’m learning that sometimes it pays of to wait on a story like this, and see if there’s a reasonable explanation behind it.  

In this case, there is, as Boston.com’s Mike Reiss reports:

Following up on the crowd noise issue in the RCA Dome, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello passes along the following:

“CBS has informed us that the unusual audio moment heard by fans during the Patriots-Colts telecast was the result of tape feedback in the CBS production truck and was isolated to the CBS broadcast. It was in no way related to any sound within the stadium and could not be heard in the stadium.”

So it appears that the Colts fans are simply very good at cheering on their team.  And for you Patriots fans that were storming the Colts fan forums and message boards trumpeting these accusations, well, now might be a good time to change your screen name & avatar.

However, the Colts still have another controversy on their hands.  During a routine search of the stadium grounds during the game, Ahlerich found head referee John Parry’s duffel bag with the following contents and note:

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Before we get to the prediction (almost certain to be way off) and the importance of Sunday’s epic contest, some late breaking injury news, which includes a stunner:

First, a report from ESPN indicates that Marvin Harrison has been medically cleared to play Sunday against New England.  However, the All-Pro wideout has been told his knee pain could last throughout his remaining career.  Harrison is a consummate professional and one of the all-time greats, but it does appear that father time is catching up with the 35 year old.  Should he play, it will be interesting to see just how effective he is.

One the other side of the field, a bit of a shocker; Mike Reiss from Boston.com is reporting that the Patriots have placed veteran running back Sammy Morris on injured reserve, ending his season.  When Morris was hurt in the chest against the Cowboys just under three weeks ago, it was thought at the time he might be out for only a month.  Apparently, the injury was more serious that the Patriots let on (wait, the Patriots weren’t completely forthcoming with an injury report?  Get out!).

As Mike reports, this opens the door for the Patriots to activate WR Chad Jackson or CB Eddie Jackson from the PUP list.  We’ll see what happens…

Regarding the game itself, it’s safe to say there’s been just a tad of hype surrounding this contest.  And while there’s no question that it promises to be an epic battle, one has to wonder just how important it is in relation to the rest of the season.  Past the two undefeated teams aspect, most experts and not-so-experts agree that the winner of this game should lock down home field advantage for the inevitable AFC Championship game rematch (at this point, the only thing that could prevent these 2 teams meeting again would be some unforeseen disaster, like an injury or meteor shower).

So how important is home field advantage?  Really, not that big a deal.

During this ongoing feud between the modern day Hatfield’s and McCoy’s, both teams have won on the opponents soil (the Colts have won the last 2 regular season games in Foxboro, and the Patriots won in the RCA Dome back in ‘03).  In addition, both teams proved last season that they can win a big playoff game in a hostile environment on the road (the Pats in San Diego, and the Colts in their old home town Baltimore).

More importantly, the teams styles have changed dramatically within the last year; so much so that they both almost seem better suited for their opponent’s field.  The Patriots have the #1 passing offense in the league, with Moss, Stallworth and Welker ready to sprint all over an indoor playing surface.  Meanwhile, the Colts have turned into a bit more of a ball control offense, preferring shorter passes and the run game, which could come in handy during the cold weather.

Bottom line; this thing will be fun, but it’s only setting the table for the real showdown.

So here’s the call on the final score.  I think the Colts are really miffed that the Patriots are grabbing all the headlines even though they’re the defending champs, and are itching for a fight.  The guy that scares me the most?  Bob Sanders - the new Ronnie Lott.  He’s making at least one big play in this game & I just pray it’s not a back-breaker.

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“I am not a choke artist!”

When the Colts performed a 29-7 disembowelment of the once feisty Jaguars on Monday night, yet another second tier AFC team fell by the wayside.  More importantly, it meant there’s less than two weeks left to wait for true Armageddon - Pats vs Colts at the RCA Dome!

Pats vs Cowboys?  Foreplay.  Colts vs Jags?  Sloppy foreplay between two old people with dentures.  November 4th is the real deal, folks.  Break out the clean sheets and the KY, because it is going to get nasty!

Ironically, if both teams have a weakness, it’s the same one - run defense.  On Sunday, the Dolphins put up a whopping 179 rushing yards on the Pats, while the Jags ran for 117 on the Colts.  This despite the fact that both those passing offenses weren’t exactly fearsome:  QB Cleo Lemon was consistently throwing to the spot where his Dolphins wide receivers used to be, while Jacksonville replacement QB Quinn Gray was absolutely horrific.  Seriously, if this football thing doesn’t work out for Gray, the U.S Postal Service is ready to grab him.  AIR MAIL!

(thank you, thank you, I’ll be in Vegas on the 15th!)

Having said that, both teams go into this weekend as big favorites. So barring any upset by Carolina or Washington this weekend, the Patriots and Colts should square off the following week as the last two unbeatens in the league.  And because of the growing chasm between these two teams and the rest of the league, it almost assures that they will be playing for home field advantage in the AFC Championship Game.

(AP Photo - Phil Coale)

New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, November 4th, jacked and pumped