American Football: THE PATRIOTS R TAKIN IT AGAIN

Originally posted by Gibbs Baby!!!
Good question, but David Gerrard has been filling in quite well.

I just read that Leftwich may start on Sunday, though. I think that the Jags could take the Pats even without him, though. The Patriots are just that thin this year.

Gerrard is one of the better backups around, and covered for me more than once when Leftwich went down with the kind of injuries that huge, physical QB's like him get. But he is a far cry from Leftwich, and if Leftwich is not able to play like himself, you've got to downgrade substantially Jacksonville's prospects. And I would make them about a 7.5 dog at Foxborough in the playoffs, if Leftwich weren't healthy--except that I am not, and never have been (even for one second) a bookie.

That said, you are certainly right that this is the one playoff team with a good record about whom very few of us know much. Me included. I also don't know how much New England knows about them, and if they are looking ahead to Indi or Denver (as the case may be), they might need to cancel that flight.

B.H.N.

There are a lot of scary teams in the AFC and I think it's up for grabs. The Colts have to be the odds-on favorite, but the recent tragedy in the Dungy family will take a toll. How much, remains to be seen. At this point, we dont even know when Tony will be back (or even "if", but I think he will). I'd guess there isn't a coach in the NFL that commands more respect and love from his players than Dungy does. He's just a great guy and nobody ever has a bad word to say about him.

The assistant coaches are more than capable and barring significant distraction from the personal issues, I think the Colts will be in Detroit for SB XL. My dream opponent would be the Bears. I've always been a Bears fan and I'd like to see what the Indy "O" can do against the Bears "D".