Sorry New England, No Dynasty For Now
Coming into the 2004 season, our New England Patriots were not only the reigning Super Bowl Champions, but also the favorite to repeat as Champs. As the season prolonged, the Patriots gave us hope that they would not only run the table, going 16-0, but they would also dominate any team in their way en route to their third Lomardi Trophy in four seasons. Then Week 8 came...our season ripped away.
Week 8 matched the Patriots up with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not only did the Patriots lose this game 34-20, they also lost All-Pro cornerback Ty Law. Even after this devastating lose at the halfway point of the season, there was still hope. Once the season finally concluded with a 21-7 victory over the lowely San Francisco Forty-Niners, the now 14-2 Patriots headed into the playoffs with a first round bye, and some bad news.
Originally it was believed that Ty Law's injury would keep him inactive for 6-8 weeks; thus, allowing him to return anywhere from Week 14 to Week 17. This would have allowed for the much depleted New England secondary received a needed boost. Unfortunately Law didn't return Week 14, or 15, 16, or 17. Then the news came. Ty Law would miss the entire postseason. What hope did the Patriots have now? NONE! As we know now, the Patriots will be facing the Indianapolis Colts in the second round. The Colts boast not only the most explosive offense in football, but a quarterback in Peyton Manning who set new NFL records all season. Manning, a lifetime 0-5 versus the Patriots, has always had trouble against the Belichick/Crennel defenses. Ty Law was a huge part of Manning's struggles. To add insult to injury, the Patriots other starting corner, Tyrone Pool has been injured for most of the season and will also be out of the Patriots. This has the all the makings of Peyton Manning's against New England.
The Patriots started the season with a thrilling win against the Colts 27-24. The New England secondary consisted of Ty Law and Tyrone Poole starting at the corners with both Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson starting at Safety with nickelback corner Asanta Samuel coming in. In the upcoming playoff matchup between the Patriots and the Colts, the Pats secondary will start Asante Samuel and Randell Gay(undrafted Rookie) starting at corners with Troy Brown( WR by trade) and Earthwind Moreland (practice squad corner) coming in for nickel and dime defenses. Eugene Wilson and Rodney Harrison will both start at Safety, but Wilson has been banged up lately and will be replaced by backup LB Don Davis when Wilson needs a breather.
So let us recap: The Patriots will be using their 3rd,4th, and 5th corners as well as a WR as their Cornerbacks and their a backup LB and 2 regular starters as their Safeties. Wow this should work out well for the Patriots who will be facing a Colts offense that has three WR with over 10 touchdowns and over 1,000 receiving yards each in Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Brandon Stokely. Nevermind the exceptional TE Marcus Pollard. That passing attack mixed with the a runningback who ran for over 1,500 yards in Edgarrin James could equate into a very long and depressing game for New England players and fans.
My Final Prediction: Indianapolis Colts 45 New England Patriots 24
This is one prediction I hope to get drastically wrong!
-S-
Week 8 matched the Patriots up with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not only did the Patriots lose this game 34-20, they also lost All-Pro cornerback Ty Law. Even after this devastating lose at the halfway point of the season, there was still hope. Once the season finally concluded with a 21-7 victory over the lowely San Francisco Forty-Niners, the now 14-2 Patriots headed into the playoffs with a first round bye, and some bad news.
Originally it was believed that Ty Law's injury would keep him inactive for 6-8 weeks; thus, allowing him to return anywhere from Week 14 to Week 17. This would have allowed for the much depleted New England secondary received a needed boost. Unfortunately Law didn't return Week 14, or 15, 16, or 17. Then the news came. Ty Law would miss the entire postseason. What hope did the Patriots have now? NONE! As we know now, the Patriots will be facing the Indianapolis Colts in the second round. The Colts boast not only the most explosive offense in football, but a quarterback in Peyton Manning who set new NFL records all season. Manning, a lifetime 0-5 versus the Patriots, has always had trouble against the Belichick/Crennel defenses. Ty Law was a huge part of Manning's struggles. To add insult to injury, the Patriots other starting corner, Tyrone Pool has been injured for most of the season and will also be out of the Patriots. This has the all the makings of Peyton Manning's against New England.
The Patriots started the season with a thrilling win against the Colts 27-24. The New England secondary consisted of Ty Law and Tyrone Poole starting at the corners with both Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson starting at Safety with nickelback corner Asanta Samuel coming in. In the upcoming playoff matchup between the Patriots and the Colts, the Pats secondary will start Asante Samuel and Randell Gay(undrafted Rookie) starting at corners with Troy Brown( WR by trade) and Earthwind Moreland (practice squad corner) coming in for nickel and dime defenses. Eugene Wilson and Rodney Harrison will both start at Safety, but Wilson has been banged up lately and will be replaced by backup LB Don Davis when Wilson needs a breather.
So let us recap: The Patriots will be using their 3rd,4th, and 5th corners as well as a WR as their Cornerbacks and their a backup LB and 2 regular starters as their Safeties. Wow this should work out well for the Patriots who will be facing a Colts offense that has three WR with over 10 touchdowns and over 1,000 receiving yards each in Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Brandon Stokely. Nevermind the exceptional TE Marcus Pollard. That passing attack mixed with the a runningback who ran for over 1,500 yards in Edgarrin James could equate into a very long and depressing game for New England players and fans.
My Final Prediction: Indianapolis Colts 45 New England Patriots 24
This is one prediction I hope to get drastically wrong!
-S-
posted by Nick at 3:39 PM
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