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Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — Indianapolis tight end Marcus Pollard spoke the truth when he said that if the Colts kept playing like they have been, "they might as well just hand us the rings."
After all, the Colts had two nearly perfect playoff games to advance to the AFC Championship against New England. And even the Patriots know that they will probably need to force a punt to beat Indianapolis.
Even so, Patriots safety Rodney Harrison didn't like the sound of it.
"Nobody is picking us to do anything," Harrison said. "I mean like Marcus Pollard said, you might as well give them the ring."
The Colts have two more games to win before they start sizing their fingers for Super Bowl rings, and the first one is Sunday against the Patriots. However difficult their task was before, it didn't get any easier when Pollard angered some New England players with his comments.
"I don't think you'll ever hear that come out of our locker room," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said Friday. "Not only don't we say anything stupid, we don't think anything stupid. We don't need to go out there and talk. We let 13 games in a row say it for us."
The Colts dismissed the back-and-forth as irrelevant.
"Who cares? What does it mean? What does it matter?" quarterback Peyton Manning said. "I think the Patriots were pretty fired up to play anyway against us because it's a chance to go to the Super Bowl."
Manning has enough to worry about facing the Patriots, who beat Indianapolis 38-34 in the regular season after stopping them on the 1 at the end of the game. Few opposing coaches have figured out how to stop the Colts' offense, but Bill Belichick might have a better chance than most.
"His preparation is second to none," Brady said. "Sometimes we come in on Wednesday morning to get the game plan and it doesn't even look like our playbook. We say, 'OK, we've got a whole bunch of new things to learn."'
Colts coach Tony Dungy trusts Manning to call the plays at the line of scrimmage, or change the play when he gets there. Of course, sometimes Manning is just pretending to change the play when he makes a series of audibles that are nothing but a decoy.
"Whatever is called, whatever he runs, you just have to stop it," New England defensive end Willie McGinest said. "You can't play the chess match. You can't play the guessing game with him. You have to believe in your defense and your system."
That's where Belichick comes in.
Although he has softened some since his days in Cleveland, when he was known to show up in public disheveled and irritable, Belichick is still unlikely to allow anything to catch him unprepared. Players say Belichick weeds through the hours of game tape on an opponent so they can focus on the few things that could decide the game.
"He breaks it down simply," Brady said. "He says, 'These are the things we need to do to win. These are some things, if you do them, we're going to lose.' He doesn't really overwhelm you with stuff."
The Patriots have won 13 consecutive games, including last weekend's 17-14 playoff victory over the Tennessee Titans. Indianapolis has played two playoff games and hasn't punted yet - scoring 79 points to beat Denver and Kansas City.
What will matter more is whether the New England defense, which has allowed the fewest points in the NFL this year, can do better against Manning than Denver or Kansas City did. With Belichick devising the schemes, the Patriots are confident they can.
After all, they've seen it before: In the Super Bowl season two years ago and in 13 straight wins, so far.
"You could be a little mind-boggled at first because there's so many different things to know," cornerback Ty Law said. "You have to be pretty intelligent. They expect you to play hard. But if you buy into it, you can be a winner.
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AIM story
Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — Indianapolis tight end Marcus Pollard spoke the truth when he said that if the Colts kept playing like they have been, "they might as well just hand us the rings."
After all, the Colts had two nearly perfect playoff games to advance to the AFC Championship against New England. And even the Patriots know that they will probably need to force a punt to beat Indianapolis.
Even so, Patriots safety Rodney Harrison didn't like the sound of it.
"Nobody is picking us to do anything," Harrison said. "I mean like Marcus Pollard said, you might as well give them the ring."
The Colts have two more games to win before they start sizing their fingers for Super Bowl rings, and the first one is Sunday against the Patriots. However difficult their task was before, it didn't get any easier when Pollard angered some New England players with his comments.
"I don't think you'll ever hear that come out of our locker room," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said Friday. "Not only don't we say anything stupid, we don't think anything stupid. We don't need to go out there and talk. We let 13 games in a row say it for us."
The Colts dismissed the back-and-forth as irrelevant.
"Who cares? What does it mean? What does it matter?" quarterback Peyton Manning said. "I think the Patriots were pretty fired up to play anyway against us because it's a chance to go to the Super Bowl."
Manning has enough to worry about facing the Patriots, who beat Indianapolis 38-34 in the regular season after stopping them on the 1 at the end of the game. Few opposing coaches have figured out how to stop the Colts' offense, but Bill Belichick might have a better chance than most.
"His preparation is second to none," Brady said. "Sometimes we come in on Wednesday morning to get the game plan and it doesn't even look like our playbook. We say, 'OK, we've got a whole bunch of new things to learn."'
Colts coach Tony Dungy trusts Manning to call the plays at the line of scrimmage, or change the play when he gets there. Of course, sometimes Manning is just pretending to change the play when he makes a series of audibles that are nothing but a decoy.
"Whatever is called, whatever he runs, you just have to stop it," New England defensive end Willie McGinest said. "You can't play the chess match. You can't play the guessing game with him. You have to believe in your defense and your system."
That's where Belichick comes in.
Although he has softened some since his days in Cleveland, when he was known to show up in public disheveled and irritable, Belichick is still unlikely to allow anything to catch him unprepared. Players say Belichick weeds through the hours of game tape on an opponent so they can focus on the few things that could decide the game.
"He breaks it down simply," Brady said. "He says, 'These are the things we need to do to win. These are some things, if you do them, we're going to lose.' He doesn't really overwhelm you with stuff."
The Patriots have won 13 consecutive games, including last weekend's 17-14 playoff victory over the Tennessee Titans. Indianapolis has played two playoff games and hasn't punted yet - scoring 79 points to beat Denver and Kansas City.
What will matter more is whether the New England defense, which has allowed the fewest points in the NFL this year, can do better against Manning than Denver or Kansas City did. With Belichick devising the schemes, the Patriots are confident they can.
After all, they've seen it before: In the Super Bowl season two years ago and in 13 straight wins, so far.
"You could be a little mind-boggled at first because there's so many different things to know," cornerback Ty Law said. "You have to be pretty intelligent. They expect you to play hard. But if you buy into it, you can be a winner.
