It's strange to see the Patriots giving playoff games away but now we've seen that happen twice in the past two years. I'm not particularly angry about it. After all, the Patriots have still won three Superbowls and five division titles in six years. They hobbled into San Diego last week and beat a red hot 14-2 team that most everyone had agreed was the front runner to win Superbowl XLI. All things considered, Patriots fans should be very happy with their football team but that does not change the fact that the Pats absolutely gave one away today.

Let's start with the good news. Despite not having a legitimate starting receiver, losing both starting safeties for most of the season, suffering injuries at virtually every position and having much of the team getting sick the week of the AFC Championship Game, the Pats were a couple of minutes away from returning to the Superbowl. The physical effort today (and last week) was outstanding. No one can argue that the Patriots did not leave all they had on the field. It was a gutsy effort, as usual.

On the down side, today's mistakes were mindboggling. The Patriots were, well, very un-Patriotlike. Essentially, New England for the Colts did what the Chargers did for them last weekend.

• The Patriots committed eight penalties and most of them proved to be very costly. The first came late in the second quarter. The Patriots were ahead 21-3 and had just gained a first down in the Colts redzone when Troy Brown was flagged for offensive interference. The Pats committed another penalty on the next play which was followed by a sack (and no points). The Colts were able to get on the board with a field goal on the next drive. I believe that a touchdown on that drive probably would have been the knockout punch. The Colts were reeling at that point and another score, certainly the TD, would have completely broken their spirit. If not for the Brown penalty, not only would the Pats have won, but they may have won by 20-plus points. By the way, that was a ridiculous call. Offensive interference away from the ball is called about once every six weeks in the NFL.



• Reche Caldwell dropped two of the easy receptions that you will ever see. On the first, Jabar Gaffney bailed out Caldwell with a great touchdown catch on the next play. The second drop, however, probably cost the Patriots four points. They had to settle for a field goal. Incidentally, later on the same on the drive, the referees failed to call an OBVIOUS interference by a Colts defended on Caldwell in the endzone. I will not blame the officials for this loss. But, they helped the Colts a lot today. A lot. I think it is safe to say that we will never see Reche Caldwell in a Patriots uniform again.



• Bill Belichick, for some reason, did not use his first timeout right away when the Colts marched to the Patriots 11 yard line with just under two minutes left in the game. The Colts ran the ball on first down but Belichick allowed the clock to run (he called timeout after the second down run). This cost the Patriots about 35 seconds. Just before the Brady interception, the Pats had 24 seconds to work with and one timeout. If Belichick had used his timeouts properly, New England would have had on timeouts but about 59 seconds to work with. You tell me which is more favorable. It only takes five or six seconds to spike the ball.



• Tom Brady also uncharacteristically made mistakes down the stretch. He played a pretty solid game overall but airmailed a wide open Jabar Gaffney when the score was 31-31. The Pats settled for a field goal but may have scored a crucial touchdown if Brady had been on target (I still think Brady has an arm injury of some sort). Brady nearly threw a "pick six" to the Colts defense on third down as the Patriots were trying to run out the clock with just over two minutes left. Then, of course, there was the interception to end the game (for all intents and purposes). I can't really rip Brady for this. With 24 seconds left and 40-plus yards to cover, he had to try to make a play.



• The biggest mistake, and the one that will haunt me until the Patriots win their next Superbowl, was the "12 men in the huddle" penalty assessed to the Patriots just as they started the drive with about three minutes left, ahead 34-31. Instead of 1st and 10, the penalty made it 1st and 15. The Patriots gained about ten yards on their first two plays then were forced to punt to the Colts (you know the rest). There is no guarantee that New England would have gained those same ten yards had they started out 1st and 10, but I believe they would have gone to the same first down play (a seven yard gain) then would have picked up the necessary three yards on the next two plays. That first down would have essentially ended the game. There is never an excuse for 12 men in the huddle, but it is a particularly horrendous mistake when it happens after a change of possession.

Peyton Manning is the luckiest man alive right now. If not for the "12 men" penalty, chances are the Patriots would have run out the clock. The Colts would have lost, Manning's last drive would have been an ugly three and out and most of the post game talk would have been about Peyton's pick six to Samuel and his poor clock management (play clock and two minute warning blunders in the first half). He would still be "the guy who can't win the big one." To his credit, the Patriots gave him a second life (or was it a third, fourth of fifth life?) and he did the job.

We will find out next season if Bob Kraft is still committed to winning. This season, the Patriots were about $8 million under the salary cap. Had that money been spent on a legitimate wide receiver, the Pats would be heading to Miami. I will not bash Bob Kraft for not spending the money this season. He has given Patriots fans so much. But, he should remain fully committed to winning and that means spending the money that the salary cap allows.

A note on last week's game -- I have great respect for LaDainian Tomlinson as both a player and a person, which is why I cannot believe his little crybaby act at the end of the game last Sunday. LT complained about the Patriots dancing at midfield at the end of the game and mocking Shawne "Sterioids" Merriman. He called the Patriots classless. If LT wants to complain about lack of class, he should be talking to his teammates. Not only did they show a lack of class in the week leading up the game and during the game but their personal fouls cost the Chargers the game. LT may be classy but he's a giant hypocrite. A true team leader does not blame the opponent when his teammates are at fault.

All things considered, it was a great year. In spite of the injuries, the Patriots won 14 games, beat a 14-2 team on the road in the playoffs and if not for silly mistakes, bad officiating and bad luck (admittedly, a rarity for the Patriots this decade), they would be playing Da Bears and be favored to win their fourth Superbowl in two weeks. Not bad for what could be called a "rebuilding year."