Jan 17
AndrewSports COlts, NFL, Pats
Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning plead in an interview to ask the Indianapolis community to not resell their tickets to Patriots fans. Manning and the Indianapolis Colts face quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on Sunday evening in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, IN.
Manning said that there was "way too many" Kansas City Chiefs fans in the stands at the RCA Dome last weekend for a divisional playoff game. Home field advantage is considered a huge benefit, but only if your own fans show up. “We need that stadium packed in blue,” Manning told a reporter in Indianapolis. “No Patriots.”
To that end, the Colts organization kept ticket sales strictly at the box office, avoiding any sales by phone or over the internet. 1,000 tickets went on sale to the general public on Monday at regional Ticketmaster outlets and at the RCA Dome box office, where fans lined up for a numbered wristband. Tickets sold out in minutes.
The San Diego Chargers tried the same ploy, but lost to the New England Patriots last Sunday anyway. Indianapolis has already faced Brady and the Pats in an AFC title game in 2003. They lost to the Pats in the postseason then, and also the following year in the divisional round.
Jan 15
AndrewSports Chargers, NFL
After listening to a round of interviews today of the San Diego Chargers, the thought that struck me the hardest was that the players have no intention of taking responsibility for the loss to the New England Patriots.
It was understandable that the Chargers players were upset at a stunning loss. Understandable that New England, a team that really had no chance against San Diego, was relieved and excited at pulling out an improbable win at best. Some of the Pats celebrated midfield, mimicking a dance of Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, and the Chargers were understandably upset to have to witness it.
But let’s face it, the Patriots didn’t win this game. The Chargers lost it with sloppy play, poor decisions, and bad turnovers. They lost it when quarterback Philip Rivers fumbled in the first quarter on a fourth-and-11 play, one that should have been a long field goal try, recovered by New England linebacker Tully Banta-Cain. The Pats scored a field goal on the next possession. Eric Parker muffed a catch on a fourth-and-6 punt, twice really, he tried to pick it up, and the ball was recovered by New England. During the Patriots continued march down the field, Chargers cornerback Drayton Florence head-butted tight end Daniel Graham and drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, turning a Patriots third-and-13 into a first-and-ten at the San Diego 18. The Pats scored a field goal on the next possession. The Chargers lost the game on 7 penalties for 64 yards to New England’s 3 penalties.
Despite all that, the Chargers didn’t really start to fall apart until the fourth quarter. A Patriots fourth-and-5 pass was intercepted by Chargers free safety Marlon McCree, who, in an attempt to return the ball for a touchdown, lost the ball when Troy Brown ripped it from his possession. It was recovered by New England. Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer blew a time-out on a useless challenge on the same play, and Brady had to take the offense only 32 yards for a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the game.
The Patriots weren’t great, but they turned it on like they always do. With authority, they marched down the field in a two-minute drill to end the first half with a touchdown. And again with 8:28 to go in the fourth quarter (with the assist from McCree to keep the drive alive.) Even though the Patriots did not match up well with the Chargers, their defense made enough stops to keep the game close. In the end, New England pulled off an astonishing win.
Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson was upset immediately following the game, he says, because the Patriots were celebrating mid-field. In the post-game interview, he said that, “They showed no class, and maybe that comes from the head coach,” taking a cheap shot at Patriots coach Bill Belichick that was as unbecoming as the actions he was supposedly decrying. Hey look, it was emotion talking, absolutely. But LT and the rest of the Chargers need to blame themselves for giving this game away.
The Chargers can talk all they want about the Pats post-game behavior, but it would be nice if they could take a little responsibility for having put themselves into a position to lose. Schottenheimer will undoubtedly take the brunt of the blame, coaches usually do, especially when the expectations are so high for a team. But Tomlinson’s public disparagement of Belichick aside, this game was really about the players. The players on the Chargers lost this game, and the players on the Patriots did just enough to win it.
So now the Chargers go home and have a long off-season to think about their loss, and the Patriots have to face their AFC rivals, the Indianapolis Colts, for the right to play in the Super Bowl. The Chargers miss out on the opportunity to play in the AFC Championship game next week because of their performance. When all the interviews are done and the complaining has wound down, maybe then, the players will take responsibility for the outcome.
Nov 12
AndrewSports Jets, NFL, Pats
The New England Patriots lost to the New York Jets today, marking the first time the team lost back-to-back games since they lost to the Jets on Dec 12, 2002. The Patriots fell to the Indianapolis Colts last week.
The Patriots brought the game score to within three in the fourth quarter but used all of their second half time-outs in an attempt to halt the Jets for a punt. Their last drive ended with a quarterback fumble as expired time.
Jets 17, Patriots 14 (Final)
Oct 24
AndrewBusiness, Sports Football, NFL
The National Football League has approved one or two regular seasons games to be played outside the United States each season beginning next year.
The NFL offered a trial game in Mexico City during the 2005 season, a game that featured the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers. In part because both teams were facing losing seasons, staging the game out of the country was seen to have minimal impact on the teams’ standings.
The concern has always been the possible disadvantage to the team who has to give up a regular season home game. The hometown crowd is considered a distinct advantage for most teams in terms of emotional support and certainly in terms of overall revenue for the season.
The current proposal calls for each team in the league to play outside the country twice in a 16 year period, once as the home team and once as the visiting team. Additionally, the NFL will continue to schedule pre-season games overseas.
Oct 17
AndrewSports Bears, Cardinals, Football, NFL
The Chicago Bears were undefeated going into tonight’s Monday Night Football game. The Arizona Cardinals marched into the game with a record of 1 and 4, and promptly marched right over the Chicago Bears in the first half. It was stunning, unexpected and unpredictable. Arizona had hoped for a turn around of fortunes and installed rookie Matt Leinart (Heisman Trophy Winner, played for USC during their record 19-game winning streak) as their starting quarterback last week.
There were moments where the game could go either way. The Cardinals had three Bears’ turnovers to capitalize on in the first half, and only managed two field goals. They could easily have made it a four-possession game before the Bears even scored, and probably could have used every point to secure their confidence. To put it mildly, this was not a team with a history of success.
The second half was a better story for Chicago. Tackle Mark Anderson knocked the ball from Leinart’s hands with :08 seconds left on the third quarter, and Mike Brown picked it up for the touchdown. Chicago got possession of the ball with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, needing two touchdowns to steal the game back from the Cardinals.
The Chicago Bears came into the game undefeated this season. They flirted with respectability last season, but emerged this year as solid team on both sides of the ball under coach Lovie Smith. Quarterback Rex Grossman came back from successive injuries to lead the offense with solid play and a rocket throwing arm.
In the fourth quarter, unbelievably, Bears quarterback Rex Grossman gave up the ball again. His third interception of the game. And then, unbelievably, Bears quarterback Rex Grossman gave up the ball again. His fourth interception of the game. Bad decisions, turnovers, and lack of composure killed the Bears. But still not out of the game with five minutes to go as the Bears scored another defensive touchdown.
The Cardinals sole goal with three and a half minutes left was to extend the drive long enough to kill the clock. That didn’t work, spectacularly, as Bears punt returner Devin Hester carried the punt back for another touchdown, tying the score before the extra point. The Bears launched an unbelievable comeback down from twenty points, and now the Cards had a little less than three minutes to drive down the field and score, hopefully without leaving any time on the clock to give the Bears hope.
It looked good on the last drive. The Cardinals’ game hinged on Matt Leinart’s composure from start to finish. He came through, but his kicker shanked the field goal with one minute to go, giving the ball back to the Bears to run out the clock. A completely devasting ending for Arizona.
Bears 24, Cardinals 23 (Final)
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