Angry?
Yes. Bitter? Yes. In denial? Sadly, yes. The Miami Dolphins and the
Indianapolis Colts made the playoffs and the New England Patriots
didn't. After watching this set of AFC playoff games, one has to wonder
what could have been.
Now, do I think the Patriots would have
beaten the Baltimore Ravens or the San Diego Chargers? I can't say for
certain. Would they have provided the NFL a better playoff game than
the Phins and Colts, which was aided by a San Diego team that
continually shot itself in the foot only to limp off with a victory? I
think so. Miami has gotten by all season with smoke and mirrors on the
offensive side of the ball. From a gimmick offense, to the weak-armed
Chad Pennington (look at his turnovers, faster defenders managed to
catch up to his change-up), the Dolphins scraped by week after week.
The Colts made it this far because of one guy (gulp) a much-deserved
MVP performance of Peyton Manning (you could argue that Sage Rosenfels
helped them too).
Look at the Dolphins. They beat the Pats early
and that made their season, no question about it. They worked harder
then they did last season and should be applauded for it, but to throw
that stinker, in the playoffs, suggests that they really weren't ready
to take the next step. Look at how the Pats and the Fins ended the
season and say which team looked playoff ready to you.
As for
the Colts, well, Manning just ran out of gas. He had willed that team
this far, but in the end, they couldn't muster enough for a back up
running back and an 8 - 8 team. Did you really think we were heading
toward another Super Bowl season for Manning and company? They held
tough, but no where near tough enough to beat an 8 - 8 team that was on
onside kick away from being eliminated three weeks ago at Arrowhead
Stadium.
Now I'm not calling for an overhaul of the playoff
structure, I'm not calling for the NFL to add a team to the playoffs,
to adopt the BCS, or anything like that. The Dolphins just didn't look
like a playoff team down the stretch. Does just barely getting by the
Raiders, 49ers, Seahawks and KC make you playoff worthy? Hmm, well, no!
Indy was the beneficiary of some bone-headed opponent plays through out
the season (looking at you David Thomas and Jabar Gaffney) The best
part is the Dolphins got in on a tie-breaker based on conference
record, and the difference was a 17-10 win over San Diego in week 2,
while the Pats got blown out in San Diego on a Sunday night. Every game
matters folks, in case you had forgotten.
The
Patriots had control of their own destiny and blew it, make no mistake.
A Pats win at Indy, against the Steelers, the Jets, game one against
the Dolphins, or Chargers and this is a VERY different playoff story.
When the ability to take control was there, the Patriots failed, end of
story.
What could have been...what could have been...
Original Story:
http://www.centralmainesportsblog.com...
