Pats

Going for it on Fourth and 2 Didn't cost them the game!

If you have been living under a rock for the past three days, you may not know that your New England Patriots blew a 17 point lead in the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts. You may also know that Bill Bellichek went for it on Fourth and 2 from his own 28 yard line, failed to convert and Peyton Manning subsequently drove his team 30 yards for the winning score. Most experts and pundits have been bashing William for his call in the fourth quarter but it was not that play that lost them the game. For all intents and purposed the Patriots should have won that game by more than 20 points, beating the spread, covering the over and making the whole Northeast corner of the United States happy as a clam. What lost them the game wasn't the going for it on fourth and two, it was the whole fourth quarter. In the last six meetings between these two teams (playoffs included) the Colts have won 5 of them. The Colts also have not lost a game since week 8 of last year to the Tennessee Titans. The following week they defeated the Patriots at the Oil Rig 18-15 under the tutalige of the one and only Matt Cassel. That's (count them) 18 games straight that they've won. Now, what better scenario would it have been if 3 games away from the Colts tying the Patriots streak, the Pats could go into the Horshoes and beat them before they could sniff the record. Bellichek is a student of the game, he knows what's going on (see: Vinny Testaverde, Doug Flutie) at all times. Do you think it crossed his mind as this game was slipping through their fingertips that they were losing more than just one game? Look, every other significant team (minus the Bengals) on Sunday. The Jets, Dolphins, Steelers, all of them. It wasn't a loss that was going to push them out of the playoffs or take them out of the division race. They're still going to win the division and believing that the Bungles will lose their steam will probably end up as the 2 seed in the AFC with 11 wins. At that point in the game, they had way more to gain by going for it on fourth and two and ending it, than punting it with two minutes to go. Now, should they have punted? Yes, in most scenarios. But I can see the reasoning behind not punting. Peyton Manning on consecutive drives had torched the Pats D for 80 yards for two TD's in less than two minutes. Say they punt them down to the 20, it's another 80 yard drive in less than two minutes and they Colts had 2 TIMEOUTS. Granted, with more play calls there are more opportunities for mistakes but with the way things were playing out nothing was stopping Manning at that point. He's a Hall of Fame player who has come up in the last 5 years in big situations and performed, something Mr. Brady has not done since the Super Bowl against the Giants (yes I know about the injury/missed season). Brady played great, played like it was 2007 and put his team in a position to win the game, but he also (along with the rest of the team) completely failed the fourth quarter. Coming off an interception that should've ended the game, the wrong personnel was on the field and they were forced to call a timeout, their 2nd of the half. When it came down to fourth and two they wasted their last timeout and were not able to challenge the spot on the field on the Faulk reception. Complete and utter debauchery of how football is supposed to be managed and played. Earlier in the quarter Brady threw into double coverage in the endzone and was picked off. If they were really concerned about Manning and the Colts O-fense then they should have started running then. But oh wait, the pride of Minnesota Laurence Maroney decided to caugh up the ball as he fell into the endzone (again, which would have effectively ended the game) oh and by the way, only his 2nd or 3rd career fumble. The guy choked, he doesn't give up the ball often and he choked. Bellichek made a mistake but I don't fault him for the situation he was in and the call he made. It was the performance of the team in the 10 minutes before that play that cost him the game. It will in all likelihood be the Pats and Colts in Lucas Oil come late December, and I guarantee that the outcome will be different. Don't be surprised if the Pats rattle off 6 in a row after this game, beat the Saints and be the #2 seed in the East.