2007 NFL Playoffs

[Red Baron 0]

One big stat:

 

Charger turnovers forced: 4

Points scored off TOs: NADA

 

Fuck "breaks", fuck "luck", THAT'S why SD couldn't get it done when they had ample opportunity to. If I was LT I'd be pissed too if I worked my ass off and got my job done but the rest of the team failed to do theirs (that challenge on Brown's strip was inexcusable and screwed them out of a timeout).

 

 

Couldn't agree more.

[KingPK 0]

That kick was 52 yards. Not exactly a chipshot. SD lollygagging around and burning off like 25 seconds between plays with no timeouts on that last drive was another bonehead move. Get your asses over there and get the play off.

[Guest]

Nah, he was mad because he was trying to get off the field (obviously because they lost and he didn't want to spend any time shaking hands), and he bumped into Cedric Cobbs on accident. After that, Cobbs grabbed him and there was a small gathering where the Patriots were trying to get LT to "show some respect".

 

So there you have it.

[The Man in Blak 0]

One big stat:

 

Charger turnovers forced: 4

Points scored off TOs: NADA

 

Fuck "breaks", fuck "luck", THAT'S why SD couldn't get it done when they had ample opportunity to. If I was LT I'd be pissed too if I worked my ass off and got my job done but the rest of the team failed to do theirs (that challenge on Brown's strip was inexcusable and screwed them out of a timeout).

 

 

Couldn't agree more.

 

So you admit that the Chargers basically gave the game away, then?

[Red Baron 0]

Yes.

 

Hell the fucking Lions would have scored a field goal or two at least. I don't see why SD just kept using LT for most of the game if Rivers wasn't in the groove.

[KingPK 0]

A little, but Troy Brown made just a humongously smart play stripping the ball after that last INT. I'll have to look up the numbers, but that defense (NE's) absolutely clamped down on everything after the first quarter and a half or so.

[2GOLD 0]

Yes.

 

Hell the fucking Lions would have scored a field goal or two at least. I don't see why SD just kept using LT for most of the game if Rivers wasn't in the groove.

 

MARTYBALL BABY!

LT was dominating that game, I really don't understand why he wasn't used more.

[KingPK 0]

NFL.com doesn't have the total 2nd half stats in their statbook, but my calculations say that they halved SD's rushing yards (something like 96-52). Wether or not that was the result of Marty shying away from LT in the second half (HIGHLY doubtful given the circumstances) or the D tightening up is something to look at later, but all I know is that the Pats were down 11 and came back while SD had chances to put the game away and failed.

 

Whether you call it NE getting it done or SD giving it away is based on interpretation. I'd say it's more NE nutting up and making the plays when they were needed (Brady's bomb to Caldwell and the TD to Caldwell as examples).

[snuffbox 0]

Nah, he was mad because he was trying to get off the field (obviously because they lost and he didn't want to spend any time shaking hands), and he bumped into Cedric Cobbs on accident. After that, Cobbs grabbed him and there was a small gathering where the Patriots were trying to get LT to "show some respect".

 

So there you have it.

 

"We get constant positive coverage then act like the Oakland Raiders winning their first game of the season...where's the respect?"

[UZI Suicide 0]

He gets pissy because the Pats did the "lights out" dance? Big fuckin deal. Everytime a QB gets sacked by Shawn Merriman he does it, and you don't see them pouting and whining about how he's classless for doing it.

 

Tomlinson needs to grow a pair. It's amazing how a guy gets more pissed about another guy dancing on his team's logo than he does about team choking the game away.

[Boon 0]

Nah, he was mad because he was trying to get off the field (obviously because they lost and he didn't want to spend any time shaking hands), and he bumped into Cedric Cobbs on accident. After that, Cobbs grabbed him and there was a small gathering where the Patriots were trying to get LT to "show some respect".

 

So there you have it.

 

"We get constant positive coverage then act like the Oakland Raiders winning their first game of the season...where's the respect?"

They base that shit off of expert's picks b/c they use the motivation of being underdogs to win. Whatever works, baby.

[NoCalMike 0]

I hope the Colts win next week, not that I care about Indy or Manning, but I don't want to witness another Superbowl featuring Tom Brady driving for that winning field goal position......

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Aside from the Horrible Ravens offensive choke job..

 

The Patriots are going to beat the Colts..AGAIN.

 

And uh..the Bears will win.

 

Hope you all like that Horrible Super Bowl rematch 21 years in the making, and you might as well hand Tom Brady the MVP trophy and call him the best QB ever to play the game of professional football

[Boon 0]

I don't understand how people who claim to be football fans don't appreciate drives like that.

With the exception of Chargers fans, there's no reason to be hating. That last drive was great football.

[KingPK 0]

How about the TD drive at the end of the first half and the one that tied the game at 21? If they just need a FG, they'll just play for the FG. If Brady threw a stupid pass that got picked instead of running the clock down, he'd rightfully be CRUCIFIED by everyone.

Edited January 15, 2007 by KingPK

[Boon 0]

How about the TD drive at the end of the first half and the one that tied the game at 21? If they just need a FG, they'll just play for the FG. If Brady threw a stupid pass that got picked instead of running the clock down, he'd rightfully be CRUCIFIED by everyone.

I'll be first in line to say that Brady played pretty shitty at times today. 3 INTs is 3 INTs no matter what way you look at it.

Props to the Pats offensive line, the Chargers secondary and LT- all had great games.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

It would be great to see the Colts get beat by the Patriots again. It isn't the Packers going all the way, but it would be so funny that the postseason will be worth it no matter what else happens.

[The Man in Blak 0]

1. The Patriots did get flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on the GW FG. Apparently, Tomlinson wasn't the only one who felt they were being a little excessive.

 

2. New England got plenty of breaks in this game.

• San Diego pissed away two of their timeouts, one of which came on an mind-numbingly stupid challenge call.
• The Chargers went for it on 4th-and-11 when the game wasn't even out of the first quarter, giving away a 47-yard field goal attempt.
• An unnecessary roughness penalty gave the Patriots a crucial third-down conversion deep in Chargers territory that eventually led to a field goal.
• The Chargers lost all three of their fumbles, one of which came off of a back-breaking interception of Tom Brady, while the Patriots maintained possession on both of their fumbles. (Keep in mind that, while forcing fumbles is certainly a credit to the defense/Troy Smith, the recovery of those fumbles is basically random chance.)

(Hell, I'm not even going to count the potential OPI on Caldwell's TD catch, because that's always up for interpretation anyway.)

 

The fact of the matter is that the Chargers made a ton of crucial mistakes that the Patriots capitalized on, just like in seemingly every other Patriots playoff game during the Belichick era. As always, you have to give New England credit for being disciplined and reducing the amount of stupid mistakes that they have, but I don't think I'd go so far to say that the Patriots "nutted up" or outplayed the Chargers, by any stretch of the imagination.

[Betty Houle 0]

I can't believe I have to cheer for the Colts again...

but that's my only option next week!

[Matt Young 0]

Fuck, man... that was a heartbreaker.

 

But hey, at least the Chargers beat the Pats 21-17 in my post-game Madden 07 recreation.

[Boon 0]

...Yeah. At least there's that...

[Slayer 0]

Interesting fact: This is the second consecutive season, and third in four years, where two road teams won on division weekend. Before '03, you'd have to go back to '95, and then before that, '87

 

Incidentally, '87 was also the last time that the top two seeds of a conference lost on division weekend

[Guest Vitamin X]

Slayer's point is that homefield advantage is pointless nowadays, which has been more and more of a recurring trend recently.

 

But the two teams with homefield that won were the NFC seeds, as opposed to the two AFC squads (one of which got spanked at home by a team many thought would be one and done).

[AboveAverage484 0]

LT was probably pissed because they only got the ball in his hands like one time on the next to last drive when they still had time. I kept waiting for them to hand it off to him but they never did. If their is one guy that can win a game single handedly with a play it's LT.

[Boon 0]

After the field goal to put the Pats ahead, I still had visions of LT just breaking one loose and it all being a moot point.

I'd be pissy if I were him too. But I wouldn't call out the opposing coach, especially after making such a big deal in pregame interviews about how the game is played by the players and not the coaches.

[KingPK 0]

Thinking back, I DO remember LT walking off the field with a limp and taking himself out of the game for like a play at some point in the 3rd(?). Maybe he tweaked something that slowed him down and scared off the OC from using him too much?

[Boon 0]

Yeah. LT, Merriman and Phillips all got banged up a bit in-game.

[Precious Roy 0]

1. The Patriots did get flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on the GW FG. Apparently, Tomlinson wasn't the only one who felt they were being a little excessive.

 

2. New England got plenty of breaks in this game.

• San Diego pissed away two of their timeouts, one of which came on an mind-numbingly stupid challenge call.
• The Chargers went for it on 4th-and-11 when the game wasn't even out of the first quarter, giving away a 47-yard field goal attempt.
• An unnecessary roughness penalty gave the Patriots a crucial third-down conversion deep in Chargers territory that eventually led to a field goal.
• The Chargers lost all three of their fumbles, one of which came off of a back-breaking interception of Tom Brady, while the Patriots maintained possession on both of their fumbles. (Keep in mind that, while forcing fumbles is certainly a credit to the defense/Troy Smith, the recovery of those fumbles is basically random chance.)

(Hell, I'm not even going to count the potential OPI on Caldwell's TD catch, because that's always up for interpretation anyway.)

 

The fact of the matter is that the Chargers made a ton of crucial mistakes that the Patriots capitalized on, just like in seemingly every other Patriots playoff game during the Belichick era. As always, you have to give New England credit for being disciplined and reducing the amount of stupid mistakes that they have, but I don't think I'd go so far to say that the Patriots "nutted up" or outplayed the Chargers, by any stretch of the imagination.

 

And Brady threw three picks. Both teams made their share of mistakes, neither played their "best" football, but that's just a credit to the effort from both teams. It was a hard fought game, both defenses performed well (the Chargers had breakdowns in the secondary that may have ultimately cost them, but they had great coverage downfield most of the game and helped force those bad throws by Brady). The Pats showed had a little more grit/poise/moxy, whatever you want to call it, they did what they do, took advantage of more opportunities than San Diego, and that's all there is to it. Scoreboard.

 

All the Patriots haters say the Chargers blew it and the Pats got lucky, but how many times do the Pats have to win games like this before people realize that it's the Patriots' play that creates these situations? They've made a habit of "winning ugly" against good teams. It's not like these "crucial mistakes" by the Chargers happened in a vaccum, they happened as a direct result of their opponent. The Chargers went 14-2 this season, they're a very good football team. The Pats beat them fair and square. Give credit where credit is due.

[Red Baron 0]

Hey, its the four most bandwagon teams in the NFL.

 

I'm sure there's only a combine 25% of true loyalty to the combining four teams left. The rest are either band wagoners, current trend fans, feel pitty fans, Playoffs...Superbowl fan.

[Hawk 34 0]

Are you supposed to stop watching football once your team is eliminated?