Not what you think… or is it?

      Last night we witnessed another chapter in the rivalry of the decade between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. It did not disappoint. Down by 17 early in the fourth quarter, quarterback Peyton Manning led his team down the field on two touchdown scoring drives to bring the score within six points. After the ensuing kickoff, the Colts defense forces a fourth down with two yards to go on New England’s own 28 yard line. In a daring (and regretful) move with just over two minutes to play, Head Coach Bill Belichick decided to go for it. The Patriots ran a pass play that ended up short, allowing Manning to throw for his fourth touchdown of the night, with slivers of time left on the time clock. Game over, Colts win.
     Belichick is taking some heat this morning from fans and media. The Boston Globe has written across their sports page “Loss of words,” with a picture of Kevin Faulk just inches away from the first down line. I will admit that even I was stunned. My common football knowledge would say, “On fourth down, on your own side of the field, late in the game with a lead, punt the ball deep and let your defense play.”
     We all know that Belichick is one of a kind, winning three Super Bowls and taking a team to the very first 16-0 regular season record in NFL history. However, what would cause a man to risk giving the ball to arguably the greatest active quarterback, Peyton Manning, on the 28 yard line? Because he didn’t want to give the ball back to Manning period.
      Belichick saw no difference in giving the Colts the ball deep in the field or at the Patriot’s own 28 yard line; because he knew Manning could and would make the plays needed to go down the field. If the Patriots pick up the first down on that crucial play, they beat the Colts without having to get Manning back out on the field. Furthermore, if you give the Colts the ball on the 28 yard line, they can score quick enough to get the potent Patriots offense back onto the field. If the quarterback on the sideline was not named “Peyton Manning,” Belichick would’ve punted the ball, shaken hands at midfield, and packed his bags with one more notch in the win column for his Patriots. But make no doubt about it, this will be one of the most argued calls of the next few years.

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1 comments

Clayton

Thu Nov 19 2009 23:41

True, Belichick could have thought the Colts would score either way with Manning on the field, whether it be from the Pats' 28 or the Colts' 30; but recall that Belichick called a timeout on first down of that sequence AND before the 4th down play, which gave them only one timeout remaining (if I remeber right. It may have been 0.) If they really thought the Colts would score regardless, that 4th down timeout wouldn't have been called. It would've been saved and used on defense so the Pats' would have more time on the clock to score on the final drive.

In other words, Belichick is still as arrogant as he's always been. Just this time it actually backfired on him.

Here's my exact word-for-word twitter post after that game: "Yes, it was a dumb idea. Colts' defense may be vulnerable, but you never leave the chance to give Peyton Manning the ball [with the game on the line] at the 30. Ever."

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