The Chargers are in Indianapolis to take on the Colts in the Divisional Round of the AFC Playoffs. The winner will head to New England for the AFC Championship.
Injuries: The Colts should be at or near full strength for the first time in about three months. Marvin Harrison is set to return to the lineup. His return might be key the taking the Indy Offense from good to great. Also set to return are Robert Mathis, Raheem Brock, Ryan Diem, and Antione Bethea. The Chargers figure to be without All-Pro TE, Antonio Gates.
Weather: None. It's in a dome. For the last time.
Prediction: The Colts are 16-1 in meaningful games at the RCA Dome over the past two seasons. The home crowd figures to give the dome an emotional send off. How loud will it be? I shudder to think. When you add to that Marvin's return and the challange that awaits in New England, I think you'll see everyone at the top of their game. I think the Chargers may have some early success because that has been a recent trend, but the defense will settle down (much as they eventually did against Pittsburgh in 2005). The offense will benefit from having both tackles healthy. This means Charlie Johnson should be nowhere in sight. Colts 31 - Chargers 21.
31 comments:
ESPN say Gates will start, but Neal is inactive.
Im gonna laugh my ass off when the Colts lose to LT not the Chargers but LT!
There is no way that a tackle around the knees should force a fumble that way. I guess we can chalk it up to lack of game time, but Marvin has to secure the ball. In a way, you'd almost think he'd be squeezing it tighter after being out so long.
That was just terrible.
S
What is 21 doing? Stupid taunting penalty.
It was very dumb, but the teammates at Iowa thing explains why he thought it was remotely acceptable.
Second half has started and we have problems. We can't get a pass rush, we're struggling against the run, and SD has receivers open every time they throw. On offense, we can't run block at all and we are barely managing to hang together with our pass pro. With no run threat, play action isn't going to be worth much. Anyone notice how much closer they are covering us than we are them?
We're getting outplayed at the vast majority of positions. And SD just took the lead. Got to turn it up several notches.
I've seen this poor tackling style Indy defense before.
Bye guys.
You really entertained me this year.
But you were, apparently, paper tigers.
Have nice lives, and watch out for Jim Leyritz.
Awwwwwwwwwww ... That's a shame.
We should have known better. Unreal.
at least you guys still have last season, where you beat the heavily injured patriots, without any safteys or wideouts, with the help of the refs... the worst pats team in years.
this isn't a rivalry, look at the post season numbers, it's laughable. One and done like usual.
i feel sick.
just a few thoughts:
1) congrats to the chargers who just played their game better than we played ours. it was painful to see such silly miscues give way to such a difference, but that's bound to happen with an ungelled first team i suppose.
2) phillip rivers has joined the scoff list. wish you guys still had brees
3) as could have been expected from SD fans if the colts had won, we all will be pulling for you in a week.
i'm not going to read any sports related material for a week. manning has two receivers miscue tips into ints and we're down for another year of manning 'choking' talk. sometimes i wonder why i even bother with sports journalism anymore when they all take the same talking points and run with them to the ground, outside of a few key writers.
Cue: insufferably predictable and unoriginal Pats fans.
Well,well,well...
The 'OLD' Colts show up again. Where was your improved 'D'? Peyton throwing to his favorite receiver again, Antonio Cromartie! Over-the-hill Marvin... nice fumble. Bob Sanders, defensive player of the year, showing what lack of toughness he has, as well as lack of brains with that unsportmanlike conduct penalty... dumbass! And once again, Peyton comes up short when it's on his shoulders to come through. In the end, the Colts and all you Colts fans were put in your place. which is HOME!
Z.
To Pats fans....let's play a game. It's called, "swallow the stuff under the sink." You go first.
Indy played hard, hats off to the Colts.
Strange game, LT and Harrison both were basically non-factors, but Sproles and Cromartie were big again.
I hope we beat the Pats next week, but somehow I don't think it will happen. Favre may end up being the last hope to beat them.
Classy fans you got there in Indy - booing a little girl.
For shame.
She was in the oldest age category. I'm sure she would be fair game in NE.
What's wrong with booing a Pats fan? hehehe
I won't deny that the booing for the little girl wasn't cool; it should never have happened (and I was ashamed), but it's the pot calling the kettle black for an F-Pats fan to say that Colts fans aren't classy.
I was also very disappointed in Sanders' penalty. Being former teammates doesn't excuse it. That's just not acceptable. It may be how they play in the J-Hole and Foxboro, but that's not how we play here. It was stupid.
There was another penalty I was really upset about, but it's done, and I'm tired.
San Diego played tough, solid football, and we just didn't play well enough to win. That's the story. It sucks, but there it is. I'll be pulling for them next week.
Well good to see Peyton revert back to his old playoff form of sucktitude. Further cementing his place in history behind Brady. I hope you guys keep on crying it is very very entertaining.
C'mon Bolts fans, we can't talk really talk shit on Peyton until our team wins the Super Bowl.
Chargers sure as hell can't beat the Patriots with LT on the exercise bike for 3 quarters.
Somehow, the Cahrgers basically own the Colts, can't really say why...
Wow. I am utterly stunned. Where was the D? Why can't receivers catch passes? Where was the pass rush? Did they even rush the QBs today? I do love at the end how Philip Rivers showed tons of class by yelling at the fans in a victory where he watched the go ahead points scored from the sidelines. What do you think the spread will be next week? 14 or so?
Yeesh. I'm a lifetime Pats fan and for the life of me I don't understand why claiming the Colts suck (or choke, or whatever) makes any sense. Beyond just being factually stupid, isn't what the Patriots have accomplished even more impressive because they've done it while playing in the same conference with a superb team on a historically great run? Do Larry Bird fans delude themeleves into thinking think Magic Johnson sucked? Or vice versa? Of course not. It's absurd. To the folks who run this site thanks for a smart, spirted season, see you next year.
PS What's your mailing address? Maybe I'll send you a postcard from Arizona
I would never actually advocate a strategy for it, but i really think the bye hit us again. Getting to have a home game against a five or six seed* to tune up our playoff roster I feel has really allowed our teams to take it farther in the playoffs on the good years we have.
Glad to hear from a level headed pats fan--I'm sure there are idiotic colts fan that would have flooded similar blogs if the patriots had lost, so its nice to see sanity on all ends. For such a team-oriented system as new england, it's bizarre that our lovely trolls take such simple cause-effect reasons why team lose. but that would give them the credit of trying to argue insead of just riling our depleted spirits.
Months before march madness and months more until baseball starts--it's going to be a long few months.
* - granted, facing a five seed like jacksonville completely squashes the faint logic this argument stands on.
I think that, at some point, you have to say that the Colts just aren't good after a bye week, and you have to plan for it. Tank games. Pull Manning out of some contests. Whatever it takes, just don't give the Colts a bye week.
On the upside, we could see one Manning in the Super Bowl.
The bye killed us again, plus the whole, "put it in the shop."
D played like it had never defended the Pass before.
Maybe "resting guys" like DZ chided the Patriots for NOT doing is a bad idea.
Maybe??
Wow, not much to say here but how shocked I am at the result. Especially when the Colts had EVERYTHING in their favor going into this game.
And losing to a bunch of backups is bizarre. Even the most ardent Colts supporter would have to admit what a colossal choke this was..
With all due respect to the Manning defenders but the blame is squarely on him with this one. He is now 7-7 in the playoffs and earned another loss with big interceptions. When his team needed him, he caved under the pressure. At home no less. The over throws are just unacceptable and trying to force it to Addai.
It's too bad b/c I really wanted to see the Colts march into Foxborough next Sunday. Now we'll just have to see the Rivers and Merrimen, etc. By the way, River is simply a punk (slightly more so than Rodney Harrison). Been saying that for weeks now watching his performance, yelling all the time at anyone and everyone. He sucks.
-Mosi
Mosi,
You can't possibly be that stupid. Unless you are a sportswriter, perhaps.
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