Some thoughts on last night's season opener-

[OpIv37]

1. The refs only made a few defensive holding calls and none of them had a real impact on the game- but rest assured, when Buffalo takes the field the yellow will be flying left and right.

2. If John Madden compares Brady to Montana one more time, I'm gonna punch him in his fat head. As much as it pains me to admit it, Brady's good- but let him break at least ONE record before you start comparing him to arguably the best QB in history.

3. I'm already sick of hearing the words "Super Bowl Champs" and "dynasty" in reference to the Patriots. 2 SB's is not a dynasty (3 out of 4, maybe, but we're not there yet). The Chicago Bulls winning 6 of 8, the Bruins and Celtics in the 60's and 70's- those constituted dynasties.

4. John Madden had a few insightful moments at the beginning of the game, but by the 3rd quarter he was back to his "state the obvious to sound smart" commentary. My favorite was this little gem (more of a paraphrase than an exact quote): "The Colts are running the ball well because first they are blocking the nose tackle, then they are taking the linebackers out of the play". Really? You mean they're running well because they're blocking? Who would have thought those two things go together?

[Pride]

Good post, I only disagree with #1.

I thought the Refs made about 6-8 defensive holding calls. Some of which DID effect the outcome or the game, or at least should have. How about the call in the endzone that put the colts on the 1 yard line. 99 out of 100 times, that team scores, too bad Edge fumbled.

I am not complaining, as I think it was necessary, but yes, the calls DID influence the game. You could tell by how the DB's would play the next few plays after being called. Why do you think some WR's were so open?

[OpIv37]

Good post, I only disagree with #1.

I thought the Refs made about 6-8 defensive holding calls. Some of which DID effect the outcome or the game, or at least should have. How about the call in the endzone that put the colts on the 1 yard line. 99 out of 100 times, that team scores, too bad Edge fumbled.

I am not complaining, as I think it was necessary, but yes, the calls DID influence the game. You could tell by how the DB's would play the next few plays after being called. Why do you think some WR's were so open?

Well, maybe I missed a few things- I was working out during the game and had a little incident last night that distracted me (I may post about it in the TZ). The call in the endzone- I thought that was more of the traditional pass interference than related to the new rule, er... "new teeth in the old rule".

I did notice that recievers were wide open several times- probably should have made the connection....