The Colts are PISSED about the fourth down call
“Total disrespect,” said linebacker Clint Session. “They disrespected us and got what they deserved. They fought hard throughout the game, but they disrespected us at the end and they got what they deserved.”
The Colts leaned hard on the disrespect card after the win as their prideful defense, which gave up a season-high 34 points despite entering the game as the best scoring defense in the league, came up with a critical stop. Defensive back Melvin Bullitt tackled Kevin Faulk a yard shy of the first-down marker, forcing a turnover on downs at the two-minute warning.
The AFC East blog says the players still trust BB
ESPN Stats & Information dug through the archives and found that entering Sunday’s game, the Patriots had converted a fourth-and-2 or shorter 33 out of 52 times (63.5 percent) since 2001, Brady’s first year as a starter.
“I don’t ever second-guess coach Belichick,” Brady said. “He makes the right decision out there a lot of the time. We as players have to go out there and do our jobs and execute the plays that are called. He’s not responsible for turnovers or penalties or missed throws. We had our offense out there, and we’re one of the best offenses in the league. We have a chance to go out there and make the play to win.”
“In Bill We Trust” is a popular slogan among diehards. Even their devotion will be tested.
Belichick has built up a lot of faith equity over the years. He runs one of the NFL’s dominant franchises, the team of the decade. He has three Super Bowl rings and four AFC championships.
That doesn’t make him infallible.
Kuharsky reacts, rapidly.
Once the euphoria dies down, the Colts will dive into a big pile of work.
Jim Caldwell has been selling his team on the idea that, despite the record, it was far from perfect, and players — led by perfectionist quarterback Manning — were clearly buying it.
Even with the miracle finish made possible by Belichick’s call, it’s an easy-to-renew theme from here, with a tough trip to Baltimore next week before a divisional rematch on the road in Houston.
Colts say it was like a video game.
“I was thinking, ‘Man, they’re going to try us like that? They’re going to disrespect us like that?’ ” linebacker Philip Wheeler said. “We’ve got to stop them. We’ve got to man up. And we did that. Maybe it wasn’t disrespectful, maybe it was the smartest thing they could think of to do. I think we handled our business when they did it.”
“We just felt as though, that was a slap in the face,” free safety Antoine Bethea said. “Fourth down, in their territory? That was just a smack in the face. But the defense, we stood up and made a big play
Dilfer goes nuts. He’s right about Manning being the reason. He’s flat wrong about everything else he said.
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