Now THAT looked like the Colts. Manning was as good as he gets. The defense stopped Jones-Drew, one of the top Backs in the AFC. Mathis and Freeney drove Garrard nuts. And we got the W, which keeps playoff hopes alive if we can find a way to beat Oakland next week and the Titans after that.
I'm glad we were able to beat out hated rival, the Zebras. Oh, you thought the Colts were playing Jacksonville? So did I, until the game started. There were so many, I wrote them down.
To start, Jacksonville ran a third down play and the Colts stopped them cold. Then the referee walks out and says, "There is no penalty. Repeat down." Uh... what? Where the heck does that come from. "I have money on Jacksonville, so repeat down." That seems more likely. Jacksonville got a Field Goal from that. Then, they call pass interference, because a corner looked at the receiver before the ball was throw ten yards out of bounds. Yep, that sounds like the corner's fault to me. Third, a guy hugs then trips Reggie Wayne, and there was no call (as happened multiple weeks in a row this season, proving why we hate playing the Zebras). That was followed by perhaps the most irritating. A punt returner waved his hand in what is traditionally called a "fair catch." They decided that he didn't wave hard enough, so when he ran to the endzone, it was called a touchdown. (If you're keeping score, that means the first 10 scored by Jacksonville were with help by the refs). And this was the first half. In the second half, they added an intentional grounding, no wait, we take it back. Freaking refs.
Let's talk about some big players who deserve a mention. Austin Collie came back and lit up Jacksonville the first half with 2 TD and like 100 yards until he took a bad hit and got knocked out with a concussion. It looked like the Philly game all over again. The difference being it wasn't helmet-to-helmet so no penalty and it didn't look as bad. I don't think this one was as bad. The other difference is the Colts fans have class and didn't boo why they were working on him, nor did Jacksonville. Because Philly fans are nasty people. In the mean time, I hope the Colts take the "Collie-dives-for-the-ball-and-gets-hit-in-the-head-and-knocked-out" play out of the playbook.
Donald Brown and the Colts' O-Line deserve a mention because they Colts had more yards in the first half then they averaged this season. Brown also broke the largest run since 04, which is only 49 yards because they Colts largely run only in the red zone. And if that run wasn't enough, he did it again in the second half.
Bethea also deserves a mention, because he was mentioned on nearly every defensive play, including a pick or two with help from the pass rush of Mathis and Freeney rushing balls.
Tyjuan Hagler (pronounced Ti-wan, unless you are Terry Bradshaw) scooped up the attempted onside kick and ran it in for a TD.
And Cox deserves a mention. He's a Jacksonville player who on a punt shoved a Colt player into the returner who had waved for a fair catch. The ball bounced off the returner and the Colts recovered. It was the one play that the refs didn't screw us by acknowledging the block in the back causing the contact, and gave Manning the ball in the red zone. So thanks Cox.
Rest of the League:
Cowboys-Redskins. Rex Grossman? Seriously? Did Caughlin have a stroke this season? The only surprise in this game was that the Cowboys Defense was bad enough to let them come back. Grossman maybe the new Brett Farve, as his constant turnovers and sacks in the early game was a reminder of the Geezer.
Panthers-Cards. Yep, no one cares.
Bengals-Browns. Yet another crushingly close loss for the Browns, despite the return of Colt McCoy.
Chiefs-Rams. Rams lose, no surprise.
Ravens-Saints. Game of the week. These two great teams when at it. I gotta say, the deciding factor of this game was probably home field advantage. Ray Rice ran rugged for the Ravens. I just wish I could have watched this game, but Indy played at the same time.
Eagles-Giants. This was the game to watch after the Ravens-Saints game ended. The Giants had this game won. They did. Until 8 minutes left. Then suddenly the Eagles poured it on. They game back 28 points to win, one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history (the Colts did the same amount in four minutes against Tampa Bay in 03). The last play was the best/worst. High snap, punt away. But instead of kicking it out of bounds, he kicked it right to DeSean Jackson, who fumbled it, then took it to the house for the game winning score.
Falcons-Seahawks. Aw, that's just mean making them play Hotlanta.
Pats-Packers. Wow. The Packers almost toppled the Pats, WITHOUT Aaron Rodgers, who was out injured. In fact, if he was running that 2 minute drill, I bet Green Bay would have won. Even Tom "We Suck" Brady basically admitted that they got lucky in the post game interview.
My throat hurts from yelling at the refs. Next week I'm visiting my parents. I'll post if I have time, but don't hold your breath. In the mean time, you all have a Merry Christmas. And if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a nice Dec 25th anyway.
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