Super Blown

Let's get this story in perspective right off the top. Despite the admission by the NFL that they completely blew an interference call on Ellis Hobbs leading to a third quarter Colts TD, there is no guarantee that Manning would not have punctured our porous defense on third down for a another score. Also, if the Patriots defense had played beyond Pop Warner level on the final Colts' scoring drive, we would all be finalizing our chili recipes right now.

So, having said all of this, it still raises serious questions about the state of defensive interference rules and (most importantly) the ability of officials to immediately reverse a blown call on the field—while the teams themselves can still decide the outcome.

This missed call will go down in Pats history next to many other unlucky quirks that kept us from victory in the past. In the last five years, we have become used to playing with a horseshoe in our collective pockets. In the AFC Championship game we received the horseshoe (fittingly by the Colts) in the same general spot on our anatomy.

Bottom line: the zebras screwed us out of a victory—but none of us is certain that the Pats (on that day) were up to the challenge of pulling off a victory anyway.

12 Men Out

With another trip to the Super Bowl in sight, the New England Patriots fell into unfamiliar behavior: namely, stupid penalties. The most crushing came in a fourth-quarter drive that might have—had it been sustained—salted away the win. However, the zebras noticed an odd configuration in the Pats huddle—too many Flying Elvises. Heath Evans—the RB who had played so well all season—was not in the right spot and at just the wrong time. Flag. Five yards. And, a stalled drive.

An uncharacteristic Troy Brown offensive interference call negated another first down—and, all of this—along with the fatigue of a sickly (literally) defense, led to a devastating end to a hopeful post-season. Despite never trailing for 59 minutes, they lost 38-34.

Give him his due, Peyton Manning finally exorcised his New England demons. He willed his offense down the field time after time, knifing through our flu-ridden defenders like like a 6 foot 5 inch bottle of NyQuil.

The dreams of further dynasty are now on hold until July.

Bolts, Now Colts

Midway through this season, it did not seem very likely that your New England Patriots would be one win away from another Super Bowl appearance. But, then, why does anyone doubt the tenacity and resolve of this franchise—be they fans, media, or opponents?

You know that those pesky little demons will be rattling around inside Peyton's helmet come Sunday night. For all his prowess and talent, he is like a bedeviled character in a Hitchcock film—unavoidably hurtling toward disaster. Again, we don't normally do predictions here, but since we were so successful with our Charger game pick, we will go out on another limb.

Get ready for Miami, folks: Pats 28, Colts 24.

Celebration Nation?

Come on, admit it. All things being equal you would like to think that your New England Patriots are a notch above the average trash-taunting dolts who populate most other NFL teams. And you would be right to feel that way. So, when LT (somehow fitting for "losing team") rails against the celebrating pack of Pats after their divisional round win over the Chargers, you did cringe a bit.

But LT, please. Think about what you're saying. Ellis Hobbs and the gang were mocking a dance—not the lovely city of San Diego, not the Bolts, not even MartyBall—a dance for God sakes! An inane, vapid dance at that—carried out by a steroid-addled linebacker who somehow forgot to show up on game day. Far more troubling were certain slanderous comments about Boston made by certain local San Diego sports yakkers on the Friday before the game. LT, and San Diego, heal thyself!

Bolting To Indy

Perhaps the fandom in sunny San Diego can console themselves over the long period of 70 degree weather before next July by telling themselves they were better "on paper". Yeah, so what, the Egyptians were better on papyrus, but how did that turn out for the Pharaoh?

In typical championship fashion, the New England Patriots were better on the all-important field, in dispatching the bumbling San Diego Chargers 24-21. Tom Brady overcame 3 interceptions (one of which resulted in a drive-sustaining first down) to engineer an 11-point 4th Quarter outburst in a staggering 3 minutes and 26 seconds. League MVP LaDainian Tomlinson rumbled for an impressive 123 yards and 2 TDs—while netting another 64 yards through the air. But, the Pats let him get his yards and still were able to hold the Chargers to three touchdowns.

A lot of this game came down to a simple paradigm: championship teams make championship plays in crunch time; losers don't. Simple. Also, championship teams adjust to adverse conditions. After being frustrated on offense for most of the first half, Coach B shifted gears from a run-based plan to an all-out passing game. Result: a key TD before the half and an energized Brady in the second half.

Troy Brown, of course, made the "play of the game" with the aforementioned strip of a potentially game-killing interception. The man played both sides of the ball on one play. He is a legend. As pictured above, the true killer was a 49-yard bomb to former Charger Reche Caldwell to set up the game-winning field goal by ice-veined rookie Stephen Gostkowski.

But really, the whole contest came down to one overriding impression: the Pats have been there before, the Bolts (still) have not. Peyton, we're baaaaaaaaaaaack!

The Naval "Base"

While we are not in the business of predictions here at FoxboroNation, it's hard to avoid the talk show/newspaper/general fan hype surrounding this Sunday's match up with the Bolts. The most disgusting part of the whole week was the Left Coast talk show slander that emanated from San Diego. At one point, the rocket scientists who blather from something called XX Sports Radio took it upon themselves to smear everyone in Boston as not only racist, but anti-Semitic. It's tempting to fire back with equally base rhetoric, but we will simply say that were it not for the perfect weather, San Diego would be just another naval station.

Anyway, I predict a very close, very hard-fought game, where the Patriots emerge as 30-28 victors. It doesn't really matter to San Diegans anyway, so let 'em lose.

"DRIVE"-ing Home Their Point

Your New England Patriot's first playoff win of 2007 was defined by three extended, precise drives: the one to start the game, one to end the second quarter, and one in the middle of a very dominant fourth quarter.

The frenzied pace put on by both teams also played to the Pat's advantage, as Coach B schemed a way around the punishing Jets blitz that embarrassed the silver and blue in November. Spreading the field, beefing up the backfield and making offensive lineman pause and and gauge before blocking all contributed to a much healthier Tom Brady.

And, predictably, Brady delivered. Going 22 of 34 for 212 yards and two touchdowns, Brady chose an unlikely target most of the game: Jabar Gaffney. The receiver, who didn't join the team until October, connected 8 times with the two-time Super Bowl MVP.

Oh, and did we mention the pictured hulk whose hustle and guile created the momentum shifter that truly sealed the deal? The suddenly swift Vince Wilfork scooped a tipped lateral and rumbled to the Jets' 15—setting up another field goal that made it a two-score game.

Assante Samuel added to this 2008 price tag with a game-sealing interception/TD run and, of course, Troy Brown made two clutch third down catches at critical junctures (does anyone even notice this anymore?). The score, a closer than it appears 37-16 dubbing.

Bottom line: the swagger is back, the offense is in synch, and the only team to win playoff games in each of the last four years is on its way.