JUST THROW THE BALL, THEY'LL MAKE THE PLAYS:

Reche play a hit (Albert Breer, January 16, 2007, Boston Herald)

Despite being held to two catches for 12 yards in the first half, Caldwell made an impact with a 9-yard catch on a third-and-5 with 17 seconds left in the second quarter. The reception, which moved the ball down to the Chargers 18, provided the difference between kicking a field goal and scoring a touchdown, which the Patriots did three plays later to close the deficit to 14-10 at the half.

Caldwell was hardly done making a contribution to the victory.

First, after wideout Troy Brown [stats] breathed new life into the Patriots with his strip on Marlon McCree's interception of a Tom Brady [stats] pass, Caldwell worked to get open for a 4-yard touchdown in the back corner of the end zone with 4:36 remaining in the fourth quarter, setting up a two-point conversion that tied the game at 21-all. Then came Caldwell's biggest play of all, with the Pats facing third-and-10 at their own 34-yard line. The receiver came off press coverage from cornerback Quentin Jammer and beat his former teammate down the sideline for a 49-yard catch that set up Stephen Gostkowski's game-winning 31-yard field goal.

"(Brady) told me to run a 'go' route and I froze (Jammer) at the line," said Caldwell, who was unable to stay inbounds along the right sideline. "I should've scored."

The play represented what the Patriots have been working on for weeks, developing the long-absent downfield passing game. The catch was Caldwell's third of 49 or more yards in the last three weeks.

"We hit the deep ball to Reche," Brady said. "(That's) something we haven't done a lot this year."

Bill Belichick is undoubtedly an uber-genius, but the way he's used his receivers this year suggests he may have bought into his own press clippings. Everyone writes about how decimated the receiving corps is, so they haven't thrown the deep ball much, even though Reche Caldwell and Chad Johnson are more than capable and it would open the field tremendously for Brady and Moroney.

MORE:
Colts look Super (Gary Myers, January 15th, 2007, NY Daily News)

The Colts are the best team this decade, maybe the best in two decades, that's failed to break through and get to the Super Bowl. That's about to change.

No team is more resourceful this time of the year than the Patriots. Tom Brady didn't play well in San Diego until it mattered most, preserving his reputation as the best two-minute playoff quarterback of his generation, and right up there with Joe Montana and John Elway. And it seems the Pats are always on the receiving end of a team imploding, as the Chargers did Sunday.

But this finally is the time the bully gets bullied.

All these years, when a playoff matchup with New England seemed inevitable, the Colts' goal has been to make sure that when they meet in January they get them indoors in Indy.

Now, after losing in Foxborough in the 2003 AFC title game and the 2004 divisional round, it's finally happened. This is the best chance Manning ever has had to get to the Super Bowl, even if his performance in the playoff victories over the Chiefs and Ravens - one TD, five INTs - could have ended Indy's season.

The Colts master plan was to get Brady infdoors where he's undefeated, including two upset Super Bowl wins? Okay....

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 16, 2007 12:03 AM