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The Morning After Tragedy: Why the Pats Are Super-Bowl Bound November 16, 2009 -- Following last night's debacle in Indy, the feeling that remained left fans as well as myself utterly sick. The nauseating numbness was comparable in recent memory only to the sight of Grady Little sulking in the visiting Yankees dugout following Aaron Boone's moonshot into the early hours of the New York skyline.
But twenty-four hours have passed and although the pain from a difficult defeat still lingers, I am beginning to see a clearer picture. Unlike 2003 Red Sox, the anguish felt from another heartbreaking loss at the hands of the Peyton Manning and the Colts will not last an entire off-season. In fact, in the long run the loss may prove to be the turning point in the season. It sounds crazy, but hear me out.
The 2009 Patriots are currently 6-3 and are still very capable of grasping a 2nd or 3rd seed, which would ultimately line up the Pats for a rematch in Indy for the AFC Title---assuming all goes to plan for Pats' fans, Manning lovers, and those behind-the-scenes of the NFL (a rematch of last night's game in the AFC Championship would draw record ratings).
Heading into last night's game, I was certain the Pats weren't capable of beating Indy. Call me crazy, but there was something about the way average quarterbacks like Kyle Orton and Chad Henne had repeatedly attacked the secondary of the Patriots for eight-yard curls, outs and ins. I thought if these two had success, then what would Peyton Manning do at home to this young and inexperienced defense. But then something happened, something I didn't expect.
What Belichick was seen on NFL Films preaching the week prior, the 09' Pats returned to a style of defense they hadn't played since they forced the Colts to change the rules of how defenders are allowed to play receivers. Patriots' cornerbacks suddenly began jamming receivers at the line while their safeties and linebackers repeatedly slapped away any timing or rhythm the league's most deadly tight-end Dallas Clark had hoped for heading into the night's contest.
 And then there was Colts punter Pat McAfee, who brought back more recollections of 03' and 04' when former Colts' punter Hunter Smith---who was rarely used throughout those year---trotted out onto the field against a Belichick-led defense time and time again. The Pats were thoroughly slapping around the NFL's top team in their own house.
Had someone told me before the game, that the Pats were capable of making the Colts look absolutely pedestrian for a majority of the game, I would have certainly thought they were outrageously optimistic. But they did and regardless of the outcome, if the Indianapolis Colts are the measuring stick of AFC, well then the Patriots just became the odds-on-favorite to be in the Super Bowl.
How do we go from a brutal, heart-breaking one-point loss to a 9-0 Indy team, to Super Bowl participants? Again, hear me out.
 Despite putting up 34 points on the first-ranked scoring defense in the league yesterday, the current roster of active running backs Kevin Faulk, Lawrence Maroney and BenJarvis Green-Ellis are certainly not capable of keeping the chains moving and running out the clock when the Pats have a lead. But with Sammy Morris due back before November's end and the Pats holding refusing to put Fred Taylor on the IR, the running game will certainly improve very soon.
This defense, as young as it is, is growing week-to-week which will only enable Belichick and Co. to become more and more aggressive with their defensive play-calling. And if you hadn't noticed, BRADY IS BACK, with four-300 yard games in a row including 13 touchdowns and only 4 picks in that span. And I'm telling you, this team will only get better as it gets healthier (Ty Warren, Jarvis Green, Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris and Shawn Springs).
But for anyone who questioned the legitimacy of this 2009 Patriots' team before Indy (like myself), the Pats proved that they have the ability to dominate even the best of the AFC. So forget about a 4th-and-2 on the Colts 28 yard-line. It wasn't the end of the season or the loss of a family member. It was a regular season game that didn't end well. But the road ahead gets better.
 Come January, a healthy, young and feisty New England team will be closing out these games. Pats 09', Miami-bound (SuperBowl 44 host). Last night I became a believer. Soon, you will be too.
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