Madden Sums Up Colts Versus Patriots Perfectly

I was watching the end of the Sunday Night Football game between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts.  I was trying to figure out what to take from the game about the two teams, then John Madden said it perfectly.

He was referring specifically to the Patriots and their situation at the end of the game when he said there comes a time when you have to stop taking what they give you and start taking what you want.  The funny thing is, his comment fit the Colts to perfection as well as the Patriots.

The Colts/ Patriots match up has been such a good one over recent years that we have all become accustomed to seeing close, hard faught games with each team and each coaching staff stressed and stretched to their wits end, trying to squeak out a victory. 

While tonight offered us the usual close contest, it lacked the aggressiveness we usually see from the two teams.  Whether it was on defense of offense, both teams played things extremely close to the vest and basically took what the other teams gave them.

They played a nice clean game with only three penalties between the two teams.  The two turnovers made by the Patriots didn't come until the end of the game when they were finally forced to go for something desperate. 

Like two boxers just throwing little jabs at one another and dancing around the ring, or perhaps two golfers just keeping their ball out of trouble all day, waiting for their opponent to screw things up, the Patriots and Colts showed us tonight that neither of them have what it takes to win a really tough game against a tough opponent.

At some point, these teams are going to be truly tested by a team that takes what they want and drives the ball down their throat.  When that point comes, both the Patriots and Colts will fold.

Come to think of it, we may have already seen the Colts face one or two such opponents.  Is it coincidence that the Colts hung with the Titans last week, and the Packers the week before, well into the second half then folded when crunch time hit and their hand was forced? 

There will be a lot of talk about how the Colts have saved their season for the time being and how the Patriots have a great chance to win a weak division and make a run in the playoffs, but I won't be buying that idea for one second.  Neither of these teams have what it takes to get it done in the playoffs.  If either of them make the playoffs, it will be because of the ineptitude of other teams and not because of their own abilities.

Both the Colts and Patriots are well coached and have a core of smart, veteran players that won't make stupid mistakes.  That equates to being able to take advantage of other teams mistakes.  It does not mean they can actually go out and beat a team into the ground. 

The Colts and Patriots had a good run in the NFL the past decade or so, but tonight signifies the end of that run, or at least the beginning of the end.  Tonight we saw two teams that played careful, almost scared football; the Colts may have won the game, but they didn't really go out and take it.  They merely let the Patriots give it to them.