Rick wrote:They could have beaten the Patriots. So could the Colts. The Cowboys beat the Colts last year with a worse team. The Patriots played bad yesterday. If they'd brought that to Dallas, they would have lost. Don't forget, the Cowboys were in the lead at one point in the game, and the Colts were in the lead more than the Patriots. They can lose, and they will.
As far as Phillips comment goes, it makes perfect sense. If you take away the running game, then they'll have to throw the ball more. Dallas' defense has caught it's share of interceptions. You aren't going to beat the Patriots straight up. You have to have help in every aspect of the game.
Rick...
With all due respect, if you truly believe Philips' comment "makes perfect sense", then you're as big of a buffoon as that jackass is! Like I've already said, the Patriots have ZERO running game, so taking away something that already doesn't exist tells me that he spent ZERO time on his game plan! You don't game plan against something that a team simply can't and doesn't do!
As far as the Cowboys and Colts go...Sure they could have beat the Patriots, but guess what...they didn't!!!!! You hit the nail on the head...The Patriots played badly, and I agree with you, but they still won the game, in spite of what I thought was a horrendous performance by them. As far as the Cowboys being in the lead and the Colts being in the lead "more than the Patriots", I'm not sure I even understand your point! I've been watching football for 30 years, and as far as I know, the only time the score matters is when the clock is showing 0:00!
One final point...I certainly never once claimed the Patriots couldn't be beat. I've been watching football long enough to understand that ALL teams can be, and probably will lose games. In fact, I would be stunned if the Patriots didn't lose a game, as they still have the Giants and the Steelers on the schedule. Fortunately for we New England fans, we really don't care about an undefeated season, anywhere near as much as we care about another championship. I'll gladly give up a loss or three for another Lombardi trophy! I know this...If the Colts are the team playing the Patriots in the AFC Championship game, it looks like that game will be played in Foxboro, and the Colts have ZERO shot of winning a game in mid-January with the weather conditions they'll have to deal with in New England, in the middle of the winter! That's the only reason that game was even remotely important to me yesterday...It's all about home field in January!
John from Boston