tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6812670776373470303.post9100033707777113345..comments2024-03-11T15:46:13.155-04:00Comments on In The Arena: Ruminations About Competition: Patriots Are One Win Away From ImmortalityDavid Friedmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08444347475303187373noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6812670776373470303.post-78853964941867704182008-01-21T03:12:00.000-05:002008-01-21T03:12:00.000-05:00After watching Tom Brady stand back and do whateve...After watching Tom Brady stand back and do whatever he wanted against the Jaguars, it was refreshing to see the Pats matched up with a defense which actually attempted to rush their QB. The fact that the Chargers' attempts were fairly successful made things even more interesting. The Chargers' defense played NE as well as could reasonably have been expected. They got in Brady's face, sacked him a few times, gave up no long completions, and came up with a whopping three interceptions. <BR/><BR/>The SD offense failed them though. They could not capitalize on their opportunities and keep Brady and co. off the field. There's only so many times you can force a NE drive to end with a punt or interception. To be fair, the SD offense really didn't have the horses. Rivers put up a gutsy performance, but you could tell he was a bit off. LT was sorely missed. It is too bad the Chargers' offensive stars weren't healthy, or we would have seen a hell of a game and SD may have been able to pull off the upset.<BR/><BR/>It is interesting to note that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning pretty much had the same amount of success against the Chargers. They had similar completion percentages, and led their team to put up about the same number of points (Colts had 24, Pats had 21 though it could easily have been 24). Manning actually had one more touchdown, one less interception, and more passing yardage. The difference? The Pats' defense was able to hold SD to field goals. Despite that, Manning's performance will go down looking like a big choke job, while Brady's will likely be part of a perfect season.vednamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08144638228173993116noreply@blogger.com