2 posts tagged “indianapolis colts”
This video is for a certain unnamed friend, and no it's not Ron! I'd be posting another type of video for him but I will refrain ;-).
To others who pass by this post, if you don't know anything about football this video is still fun to watch, if only to see the cameo reactions of this girl named Shannon.
In fact, you may even identify with her.
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- The Indianapolis Colts charged back from an 18-point second-quarter deficit to beat the New England Patriots 38-34 on Sunday, and set up a Super Bowl showdown against the Chicago Bears.
Quarterback Peyton Manning led Indianapolis on a fierce comeback which brought them level at 21-21 in the third quarter before they caught up twice more when the three-times Super Bowl champion Patriots regained the lead.
With the Colts trailing 34-31 with just over two minutes remaining, Manning steered them on an 80-yard, game-winning drive that ended with rookie running back Joseph Addai bursting up the middle for a three-yard touchdown dash that gave Indianapolis their first lead with a minute on the clock.
The victory put the Colts into their first Super Bowl since the 1970 season, when they called Baltimore their home.
The Bears reached their first Super Bowl in 21 years by beating the New Orleans Saints 39-14 in the NFC title game in Chicago earlier on Sunday.
Colts coach Tony Dungy and Chicago's Lovie Smith will become the first African-Americans to lead teams to the Super Bowl at the title showdown in Miami on February 4.
In executing the biggest comeback in the history of NFL conference championship play, Manning shook a monkey off his back.
Despite being the league's most prolific thrower, the perennial Pro-Bowl quarterback and twice NFL MVP has struggled in the playoffs.
Manning carried a career 5-6 postseason mark into the contest, and twice his Colts had been eliminated by the Patriots and their star quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady, who boasted a playoff record of 12-1 coming into the game, tried to rally New England for a last ditch touchdown but Indianapolis cornerback Marlin Jackson picked off his pass at the Colts' 35 yard line to end the threat.
"I was really happy for Peyton," Tony Dungy told reporters. "He was very, very calm. He had to bring us back three, four times and took us on a great drive to win."
New England coach Bill Belichick, who was trying to guide his team to their fourth Super Bowl title in six years, felt there was very little between the teams.
"The Colts just did a little more than we did," he said.
Indianapolis came out of the locker room with a sense of urgency after New England took a 21-6 lead into intermission.
Manning directed a hurry-up offense and used intermediate passes to pace the Colts on four successive scoring drives, including one that ended with a two-point conversion pass to tackle Dan Klecko, who was an eligible receiver, that made it 21-21.
Both teams attacked frenetically, trading scores as the tension mounted.
Controversial
The Pats scored on a controversial call that made it 28-21 when Jabar Gaffney came down with a leaping touchdown catch after tip-toeing along the back line of the endzone.
Indianapolis tied it 28-28 early in the fourth quarter when center Jeff Saturday recovered running back Dominic Rhodes's fumble in the endzone for a touchdown.
That score matched a first-half Patriots TD by beefy guard Logan Mankins, who fell on a ball in the endzone that had been fumbled by back Laurence Maroney.
A Pats field goal by rookie Stephen Gostkowski was followed by a similar effort from former New England hero Adam Vinatieri that made it 31-31 with 5:35 remaining.
New England edged in front one last time after a 41-yard kickoff return by Ellis Hobbs set up another Gostkowski field goal from 43 yards for a 34-31 lead with 3:53 to play.
Both teams stalled on their next drives before Manning raced the Colts 80 yards in 1:17 for the thrilling victory.
"I just told them we had to keep our poise and take it one drive at a time," Dungy said.
© 2007 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
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The above article I've included in this post just to capture the moment on my blog. For an Indianapolis Colts fan this is a big deal! :-)
The owner of the Colts is a Christian man and at the post-game award ceremony said he was a humble leader and gives God the glory first off. The coach of the team, Tony Dungy, is also a Christian. He and his family have been through much grief this past year in the loss of their son. At the post-game award ceremony, He said the Lord gave them the strength and also said it had to be the Lord for them to make a comeback the way they did. They had the greatest comeback in a conference game in NFL history. That statement reminds me of the battle in the Old Testament where the Lord wouldn't allow a large number of men to enter a battle. The reason is because the Lord wanted them to see it was Him that gave the victory and not by their number or by their own might (where is this in the O.T.?)
Back to the Colts, at the press conference Peyton was asked if he was praying with a minute to go as it was seen he was sitting with his head bowed. He said I don't know if it's right to pray about stuff like that but , sheepishly, he admitted he was praying. The team members that were later being interviewed included the words 'blessing' and 'blessed'. Many said what a blessing to have Dungy as their coach. It appears Dungy's influence and his faith has impacted and rubbed off on the team.
The Colts have had difficult losses over the last several years in the playoffs. And throughout it all, both losses and wins Coach Dungy has always spoken of how proud he was of his team and of their character.
It's nice to win but I do believe in the saying it's not that you win or lose but how you play the game. In a sport and in life I whole-heartedly agree. I am proud of this team and it is nice to enjoy victories along the way in both sport and life.
I did not pray for our team to win (though I was hoping they would, of course! ::smile::). But I prayed for The Colts to play their best. I'm sure the other team and their fans prayed also. It was a hard game to watch and one of the more exciting comebacks I've ever seen. It seemed like an unformidible task to comeback after being down 21-6 at half-time, but they did it
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!!!! We are Super Bowl Bound, Baby !!!!
