Found it interesting that Mr. Polian was so outspoken on his teams effort and lack of execution.......I say let it go, it's over .... be a good sportsman.... :grin::metal: http://http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4904544 Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian is pointing fingers after his team's 31-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl. The offensive line and special teams are to blame for the loss, Polian told the Colts' Web site on Wednesday. "Our offensive line, by our standards, did not have a good game," Polian told NFL.com. "They were outplayed by the Saints' defensive line. Our special teams, in terms of handing the ball -- both in the return game and on the onside kick -- were outplayed by the Saints. Therein lies the result. It had nothing to do with strategy or preparedness or toughness or effort." The Colts' offensive line has been criticized after a playoff loss in the past. Quarterback Peyton Manning said there were "problems in protection" after a loss to the Steelers in the 2005 AFC divisional round. Polian said the Super Bowl simply came down to execution. "There were certain situations throughout the game where we didn't execute -- most notably, the failure to get the first down and run the clock out at the end of the first half after a magnificent goal-line stand and then, of course, the failure to handle the onside kick," Polian told NFL.com. "We had four things we could have done positively on that play. We didn't do any of them. That absolutely changed the game. It went from our getting the ball on their 40-yard line to having them march down for a touchdown. Then, our inability to punch it in from first-and-goal on the 3. Those situations, we did not execute."
Can you really pin this lose on Peyton? How about Hank Baskett not dropping an onside kick that came right towards him? How about the pass defense getting shredded? How about the 6 combined drops of Collie, Garcon, and Wayne? Peyton isn't as pure as undriven snow and certainly deserves some blame for that interception, but he would have lead them right back down the field to a TD if Wayne catches that last pass. Regardless of your own feelings towards Peyton, you can't put this game squarely on his shoulders.
of course it's not all on him but w/ the game on the line he looked lost out there and in his panic he threw the INT that ended his teams chances. That's just a fact. Baskett catching that OS kick was much more difficult than peyton leading a TD drive on that drive he threw the INT. He almost threw an INT moments earlier and finished the job w/ the INT for TD. obviously Polian isn't going to blast Manning but why blast the OL? whenever they win it's all manning, whenever they lose the excuses pile up for Manning even when he blows it like he did Sunday.
Bill Polian gets far too much credit and this whole article is just his sour grapes. The defense is why they lost. Peyton wasn't sacked, they ran the ball decently and Peyton played fine until they were down with 5 minutes to go. Brees had 7 incomplete passes out of 39, and that is why they lost
Reggie Wayne fucked up the route. That's why it was picked. But I forgot...in your immortal words...."Peyton holds the Colts back."
No is not a fact. It wasn't panic. It was a shitty route and well jumped by Porter. He sat on that route perfectly. It was a thing of defensive beauty. It almost looked staged. That kick isn't more difficult than anything. He's a WR. Catch the fucking thing. Peyton's best game was against the Jets. There is no doubt about that. That Saints pass rush needs to be lauded over too - they are almost all Saints draftees too.
They ran the exact same play in the same situation in he 2nd Quarter. Porter knew exactly what was coming.
Do you really think hauling in an onside kick that bounces right to you is easier than leading your team on a TD drive from behind in the Super Bowl all while knowing full well your mediocre at best defense will probably let up more points if you give the opposing offense a chance? If you think that, I'm not really sure what else to say to you; I couldn't disagree more strongly. QBs get treated with kid gloves all the time. Why shouldn't Peyton, arguably the best in football right now and one of the greatest of all time, get that same treatment?
It has to be Wayne's fault, it cannot be peyton's. Peyton never gets the blame. Was it peyton's fault for throwing that near pick moments earlier? The man had the deer in the headlights look(you know the Peyton in a big spot look) on that drive. He failed on that drive and he failed to lead his team to the win. Peyton gets so much credit for outsmarting defenses- Porter doesn't get credit for outsmarting Peyton? W/ 9 guys right on top of you yes that was harder than leading the team to a TD on that INT drive. Why couldn't Peyton lead his O to more than 7 pts in the final 3 qtrs? whose fault was that?
Good job Polian... put the blame everywhere except where it belongs... Manning... That O line gave Manning all day to throw the entire game... There were some dropped passes as well but to blame the line? If I was Jeff Saturday I'd walk into Polian's office and grab him by his chicken neck
I'm sorry, did Bill Polian give any credit to the other team? The Colts did not play a bad game, the Saints just played better than them and that will usually win the game.
Manning was the biggest reason for the loss, but not the only one. I don't know anyone who hasn't placed at least some of the blame on Manning for that loss. I think the reason people are reluctant to bash him is because he's the vast majority of the reason they made it there to begin with. Let's be honest, that team is in trouble without him. But he makes mistakes too and they certainly looked to be tying it up there at the end if he didn't throw the INT.
That's a damn difficult ball to scoop up in that situation, he could have had it but the sauints player garbs him the second he got his hand on the ball. That was not easy.
I would say that was a combination of a great play and risk by the Saints special teams, a missed FG by the Colts and a dropped third down pass by Garcon, coupled with a ton of long consistent drives by the Saints to keep the ball out of Mannings hands. The Colts first possession of the second quarter Garcon dropped a third down pass that would have been a first down and had 20 plus written all over it. The next time they got the ball there was 1:49 left and they were at their own 1 yard line and basically tried to run the clock out. 1st possession of the third quarter TD. 2nd possession missed FG. Third possession INT. The fact is the drop by Garcon, the take over at their own 1 with less than 2 minutes and the successful onside kick greatly reduced the chances Manning had to put points on the board. No question the INT was a bad pass and fairly should be labeled a choke. The fact is the Saints had the better team, dominated the TOP, had a great onside play which gave them an extra possession and took one away from Manning and Manning lost a possession on a big drop on an uncovered WR on third down.
I had the same reaction. Manning had all day to throw on most of his drop-backs. Those big uglies up front cannot be pleased with their GM's comments...
The reality of that game is the Colts are a 1 dimensional team the Saints aren't. With 2 weeks to prepare the Saints come up with a great over all game plan to keep Manning on the sidelines and put enough points on the board to win. That's not very different than what the Giants did to the Pats one dimensional team 2 years ago. The Colts have had enough times to build a more balanced team around Manning and they just haven't done it. They also haven't taken the play calling or the basic OC responsibilities from him. It's clear a one dimensional O can be gamed planned against in the playoffs and the real blame for the lack of the Colts playoff success probably should be laid out Polian?s feet. The NFL is a league of adjustments and the Colts really haven?t done that over the years.
Now lets see, how can Mr Polian fix this. Hmmmm, he could hire better quality players to support Payton. Umm, wait, the real problem is that he overpays Manning by so much that he cannot bring in enough quality players and stay under the salary cap. Maybe this is why the NFL is going to a cap-less season next year. :wink:
