2007-01-22 - 9:42 a.m.
What a great football game we saw last night in Indianapolis. Peyton Manning was surrounded by his demons, the monkey was squarely on his back and Ben Watson just got a first down near the Colts 20 from another great Tom Brady pass.
The score was 21-3 and the Pats were looking to really pour it on. A yellow flag saved the day for the Colts. Troy Brown threw a block in his route and that is how Watson got so open. The first down was washed away, the Pats eventually punted and the Colts scored the next 18 points to tie their bitter rival in the middle of the third quarter.
A great kick return by Hobbs, who was all over the field on defense, gave the Patriots a chance to take the lead and they did at 28-21. The Patriots are champions (on the field during the game)(off the field and sometimes on the field after the game they seem like jerks). They kept the lead and made the Colts have to tie them until there was only a minute left in the game.
In the end it wasn't a poetic 50 yarder from Adam Vinitieri that won it (thank goodness for him because who knows what Belichek would do to him) rather a rookie running back named Joseph Addai, who has never lost to the Patriots, that went right down the middle of a worn out defense.
The turning point was not the flag, even though I pimped it hard up there, but when the Colts cut the game to 8 points. Peyton Manning put his head down, he poered through the demons, he dragged that monkey on his back and he led his team to their first touchdown.
It wasn't as dramatic as the John Elway dive against Green Bay but any time your field general, who usually dictates the attack from behind the line of scrimmage, goes into enemy territory, there just isn't anyone on the team that won't be 100% ready to follow. And that play led the team for the rest of the game. The Colts followed Manning into the end zone to make it 21-13 and Peyton Manning led the Colts to the Super Bowl.
Other than a special teams hiccup, the Colts dominated the AFC Championship from 5 minutes left in the second quarter until the end of the game.
Oh, and the Bears waxed the Saints. I can't wait for Super Bowl XXXXI (the Romans got it all wrong)(XLI? eXtra Large I can see but give me 4 X's and I'll show you a very dirty movie)(or a very big t-shirt).
I want to give the Bears much respect because I din't go out of my way to respect Florida and I think they just scored another touchdown on that porous defense on the team they played whom I hope you have forgotten.
Try to remember this category though.
