Typical Patriots

john1981cr · Joined: 16 Aug 2006 Posts: 111

By Tim Sullivan
Inspin.com/WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

No one is truly surprised, right? Sure, they were the underdogs. They were the road team. They were going up against the AFC's No. 1 seed.
But, remember, we're talking about the Patriots here. And short of a still-unexplained hiccup at Denver last season, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Co. win postseason games. Period.
Many, many teams knew that before the weekend. And the Chargers know it now.
"We lost to a better team."
Those words were uttered by the severely disappointed LaDainian Tomlinson after his Chargers dropped a 24-21 divisional-round heartbreaker to the Patriots Sunday in San Diego. It was New England's 12th playoff victory, opposed by one loss, in the Belichick Era.
It wasn't easy, of course. But the bottom line is that this team is one win away from its fourth Super Bowl appearance in six years and two wins away from its fourth Super Bowl title. The next step is a date with an old friend, Peyton Manning and the Colts on Sunday. Indianapolis is -3 (47.5) on WagerWeb.com.
"That was one of the toughest games," Brady said, "I can ever remember playing."
Brady, of course, was referring to the battle waged by the Chargers, that high-octane home team that led 14-3 in the second quarter and 21-13 in the fourth quarter before eventually folding.
"Everyone in San Diego had their plane flight to the Super Bowl already planned," Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "But we knew it was a game we had to win."
And it showed, via Brady's calm, cool and collected touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, Kevin Faulk's direct-snap, two-point conversion run and, obviously, Stephen Gostkowski's game-winning kick. Remember, he's just a rookie.
So, it's on to -- where else? -- the AFC title game for the Patriots against a suddenly stifling Indianapolis team that has allowed one whole touchdown in two playoff games. The Colts defeated the Patriots, 27-20, in New England on Nov. 5.
"It's that time of year. There's two teams left in the AFC," Brady said. "It'll be our toughest game of the year."
Somehow, some way, here's thinking Brady's club will be ready, no matter how imposing those Colts are these days.

END OF THE LINE: The Eagles had quite a run. Even when their impressive six-game winning streak came to an end -- along with their season -- Saturday night in New Orleans, they still made bettors happy by sneaking out one last cover.
Coach Andy Reid saw a lot in his team during that two-month run. And while they're not moving on to the final four, the Eagles do have a division title and a postseason victory to hang their hat on.
"They showed a lot of grit. When it wasn't looking too good, when Donovan McNabb went down they were able to bounce back and take their game up a notch, coaches and players included," Reid said. "They really took their game up a notch and really did a nice job down the stretch. It was too bad we came up short. We, on the other hand, thought we had a good plan going in and things just didn't quite bounce the way that we needed them to bounce."
And so the miracle stretch orchestrated by backup quarterback Jeff Garcia is now over. But the rewards, well, they're just beginning, as Garcia will draw much interest on the free-agent market this offseason.

EXTRA POINTS: Teams looking for a bargain-basement wideout next season may want to take a glance at Keenan McCardell, who fell out of favor in San Diego. McCardell did not have a catch in the Chargers' loss to the Patriots and may get cut long before next training camp. ... Maybe they were all fueled by Florida's national championship, but three former Gator receivers stood out on Sunday: Seattle's Darrell Jackson had four catches for 49 yards; New England's Reche Caldwell had seven for 80 and a touchdown; and Patriots teammate Jabar Gaffney 10 for 103 and another score.

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