In all seriousness…

Ok, we’ve all had our fun, let’s look at what this game really means for the Colts (the only thing that really matters to any of us):

1. Labels are for morons. A year ago, Manning was a “choker”; Eli was “a bust”; Brady was “clutch”. Now after watching Tom Brady fail in the playoffs with the ball, less than two minutes to play, and a chance to force OT or win the game, we know that these tags are for simpletons. Brady didn’t play well last night for sure; no reasonable person can say he did. His one TD pass was to a wide open Moss when a defender fell down (the same Moss that was wide open two plays earlier when Tommy yanked a throw). All that being said, it wasn’t his fault they only scored 14 points (unless you call it karmic payback for his ahole laughing at the Plaxico saying they’d only put up 17-sorry I just can’t stop being snide). He had protection problems. No QB can function when under pressure. So now that we’ve seen Brady fail repeatedly in the clutch, what are we to assume? He’s lost it? He never had it? No, those conclusions are for people that don’t like to think. In a close game, there is always a lot of luck. He’s had a golden rabbit’s foot rammed up his ass for years now (don’t ask me how it got there, but my money’s on the goats), and now the luck ran out. Brady took a step back last night for sure. He’s now back in Troy Aikman/Terry Bradshaw territory.

2. This game proved what we knew three weeks ago. D-line pressure is how you beat the Pats. In the second quarter of the Chargers’ game, we knew we weren’t going to win the Super Bowl. Indy had no prayer of beating NE without a healthy Freeney. Watching what the Giants did confirmed it.

3. Randy Moss’s vanishing act proved how important he was to the Pats offense. By far the weakest D the Pats played in the post-season was Jacksonville, and they managed to handle the Kitties without serious contributions from Moss. Again, that last TD aside, he brought little to the table in the last three games, and the Pats ‘greatest offense ever’ looked pretty freaking normal.

4. I wish that I had written it down (I checked, I didn’t), but I said it to enough people: Eli Manning was never the problem the Giants. You could see that in week one. The Minnesota game where he threw all the picks wasn’t even all his fault. Jeremey Shockey played one of the worst, most gutless games ever by a tight end that day, failing to run hard or even run the right routes. He sold out his QB that day, and his injury was the best thing to ever happen to that team. And yes, I’m aware of the FO article that says Manning actually threw more picks when going to Burress than Shockey. I think that kind of gutless performance pollutes the whole team.

5. I’m 100% serious about the things I wrote about Spy Gate 2. I think BB is in serious trouble. The Pac-Man and Mike Vick incidents are going to make it impossible for Goodell do anything less than give BB a one year ban if the allegations of walk-through taping are true…and honestly, does anyone really doubt them?

6. Next year will be fascinating, and the Colts are going to be in a prime position. As long as Freeney can come back healthy, I see no reason why this team won’t be back in the Super Bowl. I think we are all worried about Marvin’s health, but AG showed that he was very much worth a first round pick. This team has a SERIOUS need for one more competant corner (he may already be on the roster), one more pass rusher, and depth at WR. We’ll probably need another guard too. But here’s what we WON’T have to do next year: Replace two linebackers, rebuild the interior of the D-line, and train a new left tackle. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

7. Call it the curse of AV. The Pats play a Super Bowl without him and get a kickoff out of bounds, and BB opts out of a 48 yards FG in a dome. Bet you wish had those three points back, Bill. That call was positively Marty-esque.

8. No group of fans in history ever deserved what they got more than the Pats fans. At the end of the day, THEY are the reason everyone hates their team. There isn’t anyone in the world who feels sorry for you. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, as they say.

Links worth reading:
This one freaking made my day. They are wrong though. The NE offense didn’t choke. They got outplayed. It’s not the same thing.

The FO guys go ’round the table. Just another example of why they are the best read on the web. There’s no idiot finger pointing and labeling and using stupid words like ‘choke’. They take a serious look at what happened and find historical correlations. I love this article.

My good friend Brian, who is a Browns fan (yet I still talk to him), sends this semi-delusional piece about the Browns chances at a title. It basically focuses on the importance of D-line pressure. If you can get it, you win most of the time. If you can’t, you lose. Morons like Jeremy Green mocked Dwight Freeney’s sack totals and scoffed at his insane number of pressures. No one is doing that anymore, except maybe Jeremy Green (who’s too stupid for me to listen to anymore).

Note the subtext for this John Clayton article. Maybe I’m misreading it, but I don’t think so. That last line was a bit nasty wasn’t it?

DJ Gallo empathizes with Pats fans.

Friend of 18to88, Jessi, sends us this T shirt.

Demond Sanders: Yeah, it doesn’t suck having the tables turned on Brady. He’s a very good player, but no player in the history of sports was as due to lose a game by three points. His teams have lived on the edge for years, and especially this season. He started his playoff career with something like a 12 game winning streak. Amazing. As Jerry Seinfeld would say, things have a way of evening out. Tommy’s had tough playoff exits in three consecutive seasons. Reminds me a lot of Jeter. Not a precipitous fall, just a once-untouchable career slowly becoming more vulnerable. Welcome to the world of losing Mr. Brady.

The Bill Simmons mea culpa article isn’t as sweet as last years’, but it’s pretty flipping close. HE WAS PLANNING TO PARTY WITH BRADY AFTER THE GAME. That little nugget just made my year. I repeat: He was planning to party with Brady after the game. “I kept seeing Brady sitting in a chair with his right ankle encased in ice, quietly sipping a bottle of champagne with a satisfied smile on his face, and Gisele would be there, and everyone would be recapping 19-0 and remembering the incredible season. I liked the thought of a famous person celebrating a historic night in such a totally normal and relatable way.”

Really Bill? Partying with your Victoria’s Secret super model girlfriend after you’ve just won your fourth Super Bowl is relatable? You’re so out of touch it’s scary. You need to quit hanging out with your famous friends out in Los Angeles. (By the way, how funny is it that BS’s celebrity friends are Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Corolla? He would pick two of the biggest losers ever to become famous.) Yes, I voted for BS in our poll. His smugness capsulizes everything America hates about New England. Rant over.

Dent. Buckner. Boone. Tyree. These are words I like to say.