Indianapolis-New England never really struck me as a rivalry like CBS Sports tried to claim on Saturday night. It was more like Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning, an individualistic rivalry, with the two teams being caught in the middle of it. But as individual rivalries can spring up overnight, ask any PGA golfer, meaning that if Andrew Luck could beat Brady in Foxboro on a wet, windy night, we could have a new NFL rivalry. Yet that did not happen as New England used their newfound power running game along with Luck's inconsistent performance to win this football game in blowout fashion.New England really uses three running backs, and it seems to be a flavor of the week sort of thing like you might see at a Baskin Robbins or if you catch yourself listening to American Hi-Fi. Usually the flavor happened when the other two running backs find themselves in Bill Belichick's doghouse. LaGarrette Blount has been the bees knees in the last month for New England, and he delivered one of the best performances of his career with a physical rushing style the Patriots have not had on their team in a quite some time. It is hard to remember a game where Tom Brady really had no hand in the game. Blount rolled Indianapolis' defense for 166 yards and four touchdowns on only 24 carries for nearly seven yards a game.
Given Blount's recent explosion, is New England the 'hot' team in the playoffs? This team is completely different than some of the previous Patriots teams who rely on Brady to push them ahead. They actually have a running game where New England can control the clock and dominate time of possession. This is something the Patriots have not been able to do since the days of Corey Dillon. Brady threw for under 200 yards, did not throw a touchdown and granted he did not turn the ball over, but this team still scored 43 points. That should scare the remaining three teams in the playoffs. This team might have more injuries than anyone else, but they are the most dangerous team left.
While he is one of the better young players in the league, Luck really did look like a young quarterback on Saturday night. He threw four interceptions albeit two were receiver issues; Luck made critical mistakes setting up New England in the best possible field possession. He also made some unreal passes especially the 38 yard touchdown to LaVon Brazill where you can see a Most Valuable Player award in his future. Inconsistency in a big game should be an expectation for a quarterback playing in only his third playoff game in his second full season. Indianapolis will definitely have another chance to make it in the coming years. The future is bright with this team, and Luck will only get better.
New England now heads to Denver where the reason people thought Indianapolis-New England was a rivalry, is why this is a rivalry game. These two teams have also met countless times in the playoffs adding more meaning to it. New England came back to win their first matchup where Blount only carried the ball two times for 13 yards. I have a feeling it will be a lot different this time around.
Charlie.
Post a Comment