Are you ready for some Football?!? (NFL)

[kenobi65]

And the Curse of Marty continues....

Yup, though this time, I'm not sure you can fault his playcalling.

If the game swung on one play, it was the fourth-down interception that then got fumbled back to the Patriots. If the Chargers DB was thinking straight, he just slams the ball to the turf, rather than try to take it and run with it (but, in that situation, I imagine it's hard to keep thinking straight).

Though, as I type this, the one thing I can fault Marty for is calling for a review on that play. It cost him a timeout, and, as it turned out, they could have used another timeout.

 

[John Crichton]

If the game swung on one play, it was the fourth-down interception that then got fumbled back to the Patriots. If the Chargers DB was thinking straight, he just slams the ball to the turf, rather than try to take it and run with it (but, in that situation, I imagine it's hard to keep thinking straight).

Though, as I type this, the one thing I can fault Marty for is calling for a review on that play. It cost him a timeout, and, as it turned out, they could have used another timeout.

Spot on. Marty added insult to injury with the challenge.

I can't exactly recall, but they wasted another timeout after not running a play. Those two wasted timeouts, plus River's inexperience at the end (20+ seconds to setup a play at the end?) cost them at the least a decent FG chance and overtime, if not a TD. I may have even tried a sideline pass with 8 seconds left to try for 10 more yards, but that is beside the point. I really felt that Rivers could have done more with an extra 30 seconds.

And that's not even counting the poor use of the last timeout with 15 seconds until the 2-minute warning. They should have saved the timeout and called it after a play was run past the 2MW.

 

[John Crichton]

Ya, it will make for a more interesting game to talk about since they have their history. And the Colts have to bbe happy to get the home game.

Yup. I will be cheering heavily for Manning and the Colts.

Funny thing, as a Giants fan - It's a carryover from my fantasy team this year. I had Manning, Wayne, Clark & Addai so I was already watching almost all their games and hoping they did well. I gotta say that it's really added alot to this season for me as I get still have a team when my team is out. Sports Bigamy? No, as if the two teams play again the Colts will be the hated enemy.

 

[drothgery]

Okay, does anyone know when Belicheck's pact with Satan runs out? I mean, really, this is getting absurd ...

 

[DaveMage]

Okay, does anyone know when Belicheck's pact with Satan runs out? I mean, really, this is getting absurd ...

The Colts are hoping it's before next Sunday's game....

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

And the Curse of Marty continues....

It's not a curse when it's self-inflicted

 

[drothgery]

It's not a curse when it's self-inflicted

The major reason why the Chargers lost was a fumble after an interception. I'm not sure what Marty could have done about that one.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

The major reason why the Chargers lost was a fumble after an interception. I'm not sure what Marty could have done about that one.

Marty decided this year that he was going to be a hands-off coach, leaving all the nitty-gritty to the coordinators (notice he didn't even have a headset on?) and he was going to be responsible for strategic decisions and game management. So, if you're going to turn over the bulk of your job to subordinates (and you can bet it's those guys that will lose their jobs), then you'd damn sure be bang-up job on clock management, challenges, etc. Which Marty didn't do.

But the damning series wasn't the turnover -- that stuff happens -- it was the next drive where instead of just letting LT run the ball twice to try and pick up five yards (and he was *averaging* five yards a carry), they called two short Rivers dump passes, failing to get the first down, and not burning any clock or forcing the Pats to burn some timeouts.

But hey, my hat of Marty knows no bounds for years now, so I'm just as happy. Not that I like the Pats much, but there is some residual love for Belichick from his days with the Giants.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Both teams played well enough to win, IMHO. At least, most of the time.

Considering how clean that game was, one of the big turning points in the game has to be the Personal Foul for the headbutt after the Patriots fumble. No other foul in the game showed such an alarming lack (or lapse) of discipline.

As for the Fumbleception? That was just freaky. And, just like he's supposed to, Tom Brady showed that he has liquid nitrogen for blood & a killer instinct.

Marty's Challenge? I think at that point his inner self was going "Oh no, not again!" and he panicked- tossing the laundry was all he could do.

Ah, well- Colts vs Patriots. Can Peyton win the BIG game? Can he beat the Pats when it REALLY matters?

Or does Tom still own the Colts like they were his private collection of My Little Ponies?

 

[DaveMage]

If I ever had any thoughts that I wanted Marty Schottenheimer as my coach (which I probably didn't anyway), this quote confirms I don't (article here):

"Right now, the only thing I'm interested in is making sure that the group of young men in the locker room and the coaching staff understand that, while we didn't go anywhere in these playoffs, we had a darned good football season,'' Schottenheimer said.

"At this point, I'll take some comfort in that. It kind of balances the disappointment of today.''

True champion teams believe there is no such thing as a "darned good football season" unless you walk away as Super Bowl champions. Anything else is a disappointment that can't be offset by a nice regular season record.