NFL–Pro Football Player or PPA—Part 2—The 2016 Playoffs

For every olde school NFL Pro football fan, the past few weekends have been a ‘blessing’. A return to the real meaning of professional football was put on display for the most part.

Not all the games were entertaining, but the ones that were, resembled video games being played by the ‘football gods’. During the past few NFL playoff seasons, I have witnessed scenarios, spectacular plays, ‘bolts of injuries’ and ‘bolts of stupidity’ unlike ever before.

When you think you have seen it all in a football game, it amazes one to discover, that one has not.

ESPN.com writes:
“The NFL has confirmed that referee Clete Blakeman made his own decision to repeat the coin toss before overtime in Saturday night’s divisional playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals. Although there is no rule requiring the coin to flip in the air during a legal coin toss, the league said Blakeman acted out of “basic fairness” rather than a misinterpretation of protocol.

“There is nothing in the rulebook that specifies [a required flip],” NFL spokesman Michael Signora said in a statement. “But the referee used his judgment to determine that basic fairness dictated that the coin should flip for the toss to be valid. That is why he retossed the coin.”

The event occurred with captains from both teams gathered at midfield at University of Phoenix Stadium. Packers quarterback and captain Aaron Rodgers called tails, and Blakeman tossed the coin in the air. It did not flip in the air and landed on heads, presumably making the Cardinals the winner.

Blakeman, however, called off the toss, telling both teams that the coin hadn’t flipped. He did not give Rodgers the opportunity to change his call. This time, the coin did flip and landed on heads again.

The Cardinals won, chose to receive the kickoff and promptly won the game on a 5-yard touchdown reception by receiver Larry Fitzgerald on the third play of overtime. In the process, the NFL avoided a larger controversy had the coin landed on tails the second time.

Rodgers was dismayed after the game because he said he makes his calls based on which way the referee is holding the coin.

“Clete had it on heads,” Rodgers said. “He was showing heads, so I called tails, and it didn’t flip. It just tossed up in the air and did not turn over at all. It landed in the ground. So we obviously thought that was not right.

“He picked the coin up and flipped it to tails, and then he flipped it without giving me a chance to make a recall there. It was confusing.” Rodgers indicated he would have called “heads” on the second toss if given the chance.”I think he was trying to avoid the embarrassment of what just happened,” Rodgers said. “He flipped it quickly.”

Packers linebacker Clay Matthews theorized that “there was a little protective case that might have been weighted in the heads’ favor.” Added Matthews: “The first one, it didn’t turn. It just sat there like a saucer. They still won the second one. I’m sure that would have been a little bit of controversy if we had won.”

The most impressive display of the NFL Playoffs is the passion, and intensity of play. Unlike most of the regular season, which lacks such passion and intensity, the question is “WHY”. Perhaps you the reader can assist in answering my question.

For the rest of the story, I will present facts and opinions and let you my reader draw your own conclusion.

If you have not read my previous story found in the PPA, section titled “NFL—Pro Football Player or PPA”, I invite you to do so before you continue on.

As I observed and analyzed the 2016 NFL playoff games, the team that usually won was more detail orientated, and made fewer mistakes. The blocking and tackling was performed at a higher level than during the regular season. It brought back memories. Images of 1937 NFL Championship Game.

Being an olde school fan of the pro game, as the games played out, I found myself wondering why cannot the regular season games match the level of play as the playoffs.

Could it be that more money can be won during the post-season games than during the regular season games? When questioned, all the players said it was about the ‘Ring’. So how valuable is this ‘Ring’?

Intrinsically, only the players, coaches and others within the organization can answer that question. Extrinsically, the facts and figures can speak for themselves. Each round of the NFL playoffs, a predetermined amount of money has been agreed upon to be awarded to each participating team.

Before proceeding, a look at the average, median and minimum salaries of the regular season is warranted. http://moneynation.com/how-much-money-do-nfl-players writes:

How Much Money NFL Players Make in 2015

In 2015, the average NFL player made $2.1 million. That doesn’t mean that most NFL players make that much though. See below for our explanation on the best measure of NFL player earnings.

Median NFL Salary: The Best Measurement of NFL Pay. To really answer the NFL player money question, median salary is best. Why? Because median gives the best picture of what a typical NFL player makes.

Median NFL Salary– $860,000

Look at it this way. Take a group of ten people. One is Ben Roethlisberger ($17.2 million per year). The other nine are programmers who make $50,000. The average salary is $1.8 million. The median is $50,000. In other words, median means “typical” and average gets thrown off by the Peyton Mannings and Ben Roethlisbergers of the world.

The median NFL player earns $860,000 per year. That means for any given player, the chances are good that they make about that amount of money

Average NFL Pay: A Misleading Money Measure. The average NFL salary is $2,150,000 in 2015. That just means there is about $3.6 billion in total NFL salary money. $3.6464 billion to be exact. That money is split across 1,696 players. $3.6464 billion divided by 1,696 players is $2.15 million each.

The trouble with that math is, the money isn’t divided evenly like that, nor should it be. Players like Calvin Johnson ($20.6 million) and Matt Ryan ($19.5 million) obviously deserve more pay than a rookie with no chops to his name. With a very few players earning $15 million or more and most earning a lot less, the “average” NFL salary doesn’t mean much

The Lowest Paid NFL Players: What’s the NFL minimum wage? In 2015 it’s $435,000. That’s the minimum money a rookie NFL player is allowed to make. That number is set to increase to $480,000 by 2018. The table below shows the minimum salary allowed by the NFL for each year. There’s a different minimum pay level for rookies, 2nd season players, 3rd season and so on.

Season Min NFL Pay 2015-  2016 Min      2017 Min    2018 Min
1st                       $435,000      $450,000      $465,000     $480,000
2nd                      $510,000      $525,000      $540,000     $555,000
3rd                      $585,000      $600,000      $615,000     $630,000
4th                       $660,000      $675,000      $690,000     $705,000
5th and 6th          $745,000      $760,000       $775,000     $790,000
7th, 8th, 9th         $870,000      $885,000       $900,000     $915,000
10th +                 $970,000       $985,000      $1,000,000   $1,015,000

Using the above info the following can be assumed for each game check over a 16 game schedule. ROOKIE MINIMUM–$27,187.50 a game; AVERAGE NFL PAY–$134,375 a game; MEDIAN NFL PAY–$53,750 a game.

Listed next is info from: http://www.totalsportek.com/money/super-bowl-players-bonuses/
Players Bonuses For Winning The Super Bowl 2016: NFL announced that every player in both rosters will receive bonus checks after the Super Bowl 2016. Every Player of the winning team roster will take home as much as $97,000 while losing team players will get $49,000 each.

For most of the top players this bonus is not much significant because they already have professional contracts with their respective teams. Last year’s finalists Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots average squad salary was around $2.1 million a year so for top players this bonus is no big deal.

But since every player on the roster gets $97,000 or $49,000 depending on the outcome of Super Bowl some of the fringe and young players on the roster with minimum NFL wage of $420,000 a year must be happy with these bonuses.

These are not the only bonuses, players of teams reaching Super Bowl have already notched up couple of healthy bonus checks in post-season runs. NFL has the pre-determined pool of money which they distribute among eligible players of all playoff, conference and super bowl team. Here is a list on how players get compensated from NFL in the post season runs.

NFL Post-Season 2016 – Player Bonus Distribution

POST-Season Stage Bonuses (Every Eligible Player in 53-man Roster)

Wild-Card Round Division Winners: $24,000 (each), Wild Cards: $22,000 (each). This is less than the ROOKIE MINIMUM of $27,187.50 each regular season game.

Divisional Playoff Game: $24,000 (each). Again less than ROOKIE MINIMUM of $27,187.50

Conference Championship Game: $44,000 (each). Less than MEDIAN NFL PAY–$53,750 regular season game.

Super Bowl Winning team players: $97,000 (each), Losing Team players: $49,000 (each). Compare with others.

Pro Bowl Winning team players: $55,000 (each), Losing Team players: $28,000 (each). Winning team earns more than losing Super Bowl team.

Max Bonus in Post-season Run So players of teams who made it through divisional leaders to Super Bowl champions can earn as much as $165,000 in post season run

A Wild Card winner of the Super Bowl can earn a total of $187,000-$189,000 or $46,750-$47,250 per game. A Divisional winner can earn $165,000 or $55,000 per game.

Do the math: A player earning MEDIAN NFL PAY makes $53,750 per regular-season game. So, per game, he’s either taking a pay cut to play in the postseason, or he is earning about the same.

COULD IT BE THE RING? Wikipedia writes: “The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the winners of the league’s annual championship game, the Super Bowl.

Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itself, the Super Bowl ring offers a collectible memento for the actual players and team members to keep for themselves to symbolize the victory.

A recent trend over the last 15–20 years has been lesser rings awarded to front office staff. These are commonly called “B” and “C” level rings and are smaller and contain fewer diamonds or contain faux diamonds”.

Jimmy Boyd of http://www.boydsbets.com/super-bowl-rings/ writes the following:

“The Super Bowl ring is the most recognizable ring in the world of sports championship jewelry. From the time every football player steps into the NFL, winning a Super Bowl championship and donning a Super Bowl ring is the ultimate goal.

Few people ever have the opportunity to earn one of these collectible rings which only adds to their mystique. The ring that the Green Bay Packers were presented after winning Super Bowl I in 1967 appears primitive compared to the ornate designs we are seeing today.Most people don’t know that the NFL pays for 150 rings for the Super Bowl winner and puts limits on what can be spent on them. If a team desires more than the 150 rings, they are responsible for paying for the extras.

Now spending limits don’t really affect the quality of the rings as companies lower prices significantly to be competitive, as having the Super Bowl ring on your company’s repertoire makes quite the statement about the company.

The Jostens company has designed many of the Super Bowl rings. You might recognize this company as one that designed your class ring or another sports championship ring that you might have.

As far as a dollar and cents figure goes, the league pays up to $5000 per ring plus adjustments for increases in gold and diamonds. You probably didn’t know that the NFL also pays for 150 pieces of jewelry for the losing team. These pieces of jewelry can only cost up to one-half the price of the Super Bowl ring.

All Super Bowl rings are adorned with gold and diamonds and the design of the ring is often used to symbolize something about the team that earned it.”

247sports.com reported:
“Two days after the New England Patriots received their Super Bowl XLIX rings in a private ceremony at Robert Kraft’s home, it was learned how much the team owner spent on them.

ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio reported on SportsCenter Tuesday that each ring cost $36,500, marking the most expensive ones ever produced by Jostens. And, in all, Kraft purchased 150 for the players, coaches, staff and various members of the organization, which adds up to a total investment of $5.475 million.

The rings stand as the largest in Super Bowl history, and each features 205 diamonds and 4.85 karats.”

Below are pics of other Super Bowl Rings

With all that being said, the question is WHY? Why are not the regular NFL season games played at the level of the NFL playoffs? Is it the extra money? Is it the ‘Ring’? Is it both?

My solution to raise the level of regular season play from a PPA status to a Pro Status is simple. A new pay structure has to be developed for the regular season.

This new pay structure has to include the current or modified NFL–NFL Players Association Collective bargaining agreement. For more info go to: Collective Bargaining Agreement – NFL Communications https://nfllabor.files.wordpress.com/…/collective-bargaining-agreement-2..

Plenty of cash bonuses can be earned as found in;

Section 3.
Payment: Each player shall receive at least the following amounts per day for any workouts or classroom instruction in which he participates pursuant to a Club’s voluntary offseason workout program, provided the player fulfills the Club’s reasonable offseason workout requirements:

$155 (2011-12 League Years), $175 (2013–14 League Years), $195 (2015–16 League Years), $215(2017–18 League Years), and $235(2019–20 League Years), respectively.

Players are required to complete three out of four scheduled workouts, including any scheduled OTAs, per week in order to be paid for any workout the player completes in that week, except that if there are less than four (4) scheduled workouts in a week the player will be paid for each workout in which he participates.

A player can only be paid for offseason workouts pursuant to the terms of an executed offseason workout addendum, which shall be part of the player’s NFL Player Contract.

My novel idea to increase the level of regular season play is to include a cash bonus to the winner of each regular season game. Without knowing the financial impact, $5,000 will be starting point.

For each game your team wins, all participating 53 players on the active roster will earn the bonus of $5,000. 12 wins equals a $60,000 bonus which is more than the 2016 Super Bowl cash bonus to the losing team.

Ten wins equals a $50,000 bonus which is about equal to an extra game MEDIAN NFL PAY of $53,750 per regular-season game.

This current pay structure only rewards the regular season with a ‘pledge’ by the players to do their best. A copy of section 2 is posted below.

2. EMPLOYMENT AND SERVICES. Club employs Player as a skilled football player. Player accepts such employment. He agrees to give his best efforts and loyalty to the Club, and to conduct himself on and off the field with appropriate recognition of the fact that the success of professional football depends largely on public respect for and approval of those associated with the game.

There is no ‘pledge’ to win. This is the hypocrisy of the NFL. It pays a cash bonus for wins in the post season, including the Pro-Bowl Game, but no such bonus during the regular season.

If winning during the NFL regular season is such a ‘high priority’, then why is it not emphasized and rewarded each week, and not just with the current playoff structure.

I along with many others have lamented over the poor to average NFL play during the regular season. Here are some snippets:

By BARRY WILNER, Associated Press Dec. 25, 2015 2:18 PM ET

“The NFL likes to call it parity. This season, it looks closer to mediocrity. From the porous offensive lines to the suspect quarterbacking and poor tackling, from the inconsistent officiating to the multitude of key injuries, the 2015 season has been filled with the unwatchable.

Most disturbing, even laughable, has been the level of play and coaching throughout the NFC East and AFC South. It’s still possible both wretched divisions will be won by teams without winning records, who then deservedly will be underdogs as hosts to a wild card in the playoffs.

BLOCKING AND TACKLING Shield your eyes. These basic skills appear to have gone the way of the chip shot extra point (one of the good things about this season, incidentally).

One reason quarterbacking has been so spotty is the inability of linemen, tight ends and running backs to provide protection. No area requires bonding more than the O-line, but even some units that enjoy that continuity have underperformed.

On the other side, it might be difficult to find a dozen fundamentally strong tacklers in the entire NFL. In their, uh, defense, the rules about what’s a legal hit have made some of them gun-shy or confused. But the very basics of wrapping up and keeping the head out of the play have been.”

David Steele; http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl-news/4662496-nfl-terrible-season-losing-teams-injuries-backup-quarterbacks-concussions-officiating-quality-of-play, Published on Dec. 1, 2015

“That Ravens-Browns game Monday night wasn’t rock bottom for a terrible NFL season. The quality of play in America’s dominant sports league can’t go any lower, no matter how much evidence those two teams presented to a national audience.

It was just another bad game between two bad teams led by backup quarterbacks, climaxed by another inept display that drove its loyal, long-suffering, big-paying fans to madness . And, of course, assisted by another blown officials’ call

That’s the NFL in 2015. The public hasn’t stopped watching, but it’s long past time to stop judging the health of the game by how many are still tuning in, buying and buzzing about it.”

Richard Deitsch writes; http://www.si.com/more-sports/2016/01/10/media-circus-nfl-playoff-ratings-espn-nbc-cbs

“Fox, CBS, NBC report year-over-year increase in average per-game NFL viewership
Despite growing controversies surrounding concussions, domestic violence and player discipline, more people watched Sunday NFL broadcasts in 2015 than they did in 2014.”

FACTS ARE IN. NFL POOR PLAY EQUALS HIGHER TV RATINGS. The question is, for how long? With the Fantasy Football Betting Websites now under legal challenges in key states, their results will have a direct impact on the future of the game as it currently exists.

If these web sites collapse under legal scrutiny, how will this impact the owners of the NFL who have invested heavily in these websites along with their TV partners? (A future topic?)

MOVING ON TO OTHER THINGS.

I do not know if it just me or not, but I swear that some of the other things I witness while watching the NFL playoffs are under the direction of the ‘football gods’.

Starting with the ‘spectacular plays’ it is like a Hollywood script. If one tried to explain them to another, the another would say, you are making this up. Try explaining Steelers’ Martavis Bryant’s TD Catch against the Bengals.

More tales could be told about ‘spectacular plays’ including ones of your own.

What also amazes me is the ‘injury bolt’. Without notice, this ‘bolt’, like a bolt of lightning, strikes players. The landscape is altered momentarily and sometimes permanently.

Then there are the ‘bolts of stupidity’. Those are best represented when a player or coach does something ‘stupid’. Examples include: penalties of offside, motion, illegal formations, too many men on the field, personal foul, and the list goes on.

As I watch, I think to myself, these men are supposed to be professionals. Pros should know better. In defending their actions, I coined the phrase ‘bolt of stupidity’.

Examples are many. The three that I want to share are:

1. Seattle Seahawks play calling in the 2015 Super Bowl that led to the disastrous interception resulting in their loss. That ‘bolt’ was so powerful it numbed the entire Seahawk coaching staff and QB rational thought process.

All rational, knowledgeable fans would have given the ball to Marshall Lynch. He led the NFL in rushing TDs that season.

2. Adam (Pacman) Jones for pushing an official during the final moments of the 2016 Steeler-Bengal Playoff Game. His ‘stupidity’ helped set the game winning Field Goal for the Steelers.

3. Coach Mike Zimmerman’s decision to let his running back Adrian Peterson run from the right hash to the left hash to set up the spot for the game winning field goal against Seattle. Would it have not been prudent to ask your kicker for his desired spot?

Kicking from the left hash mark, he missed his kick a few feet wide to the left. Theoretically, if the kicker had preferred the ball in the middle of the field, he would have made the same kick with room to spare.

NFL OFFICIATING IS ANOTHER STORY. On any given game, you will see a similar action of a player being interpreted differently by a different official. It is not the rules per say, but the interpretation of the rules that perplexes me.

Without going too deep into it, here is just one example. Could someone explain to me “When does a QB exactly gives himself up”? This is what I know.

1. He can take a snap from the center and kneel down.2. He can run out of bounds.3. He can slide on his knee(s) once he crosses the line of scrimmage.

I witnessed the following:
1. Russell Wilson, QB of the Seattle Seahawks, during the Vikings’ game, slid down on two knees to retrieve a football that was centered over his head.

Cradling the ball, while momentarily laying there, the Viking players and myself appeared to assume that Russell Wilson had given himself up.

Apparently, the officials did not see it the same way. Russell Wilson got up resulting in a big gain for the Seahawks, instead of a big loss.

2. Peyton Manning, QB of the Denver Broncos, during the Steelers’ game, went down on two knees in the pocket to avoid a sack. Myself and other Steelers assumed he gave himself up.

Rising to his feet, he completed a pass for a big gain, instead of a loss of yardage.

SIMPLE SOLUTION TO FIX PROBLEM. The NFL wants to protect their QBs. If that is the case, then any time the QB Knee(s) touch the ground, then he is down. There will be no need to determine ‘intent’.

This interpretation of ‘intent’ is what affects the outcome of the games.

I leave you with one final scenario and question. “Why were the Colts penalized for using the proper equipment during the 2015 AFC Championship Game against the Patriots”?

Most of you, who are familiar with that situation, are probably thinking that the Patriots were the team that was penalized for using under inflated footballs. But, were they? A closer examination may say otherwise.

Question: “How many of you reading this have ever played with a wet, slimy, slippery, heavy, saturated with water, leather football? Try to envision this.

Personally, I have played with such a football. The results are challenging. This was the challenge that the Colts were penalized with during the second half of the 2015 AFC Championship Game against the Patriots.

By playing by the rules, the Colts were penalized by having to play the second half with a wet, slimy, slippery, heavy, saturated with water, leather football.

The Patriots were awarded for their penalty, by having their entire wet, slimy, slippery, heavy, saturated with water, leather football game ball set replaced with dry, clean footballs.

Think about it. One team was awarded for breaking the rules and another team was penalized for following the rules. I will let the box score speak for itself. The score at halftime was Colts 21-Patriots 20. This is the start of the second half.

Touchdown7 plays, 80 yards, 4:04
NE27-IND21

• (15:00 – 3rd) P.McAfee kicks 65 yards from IND 35 to end zone, Touchback.

• 1st and 10 at NE 20(15:00 – 3rd) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to D.Amendola pushed ob at NE 31 for 11 yards (T.Cole)

• 1st and 10 at NE 31(14:25 – 3rd) (Run formation) T.Brady pass deep middle to S.Chandler to IND 44 for 25 yards (C.Anderson)

• 1st and 10 at IND 44(13:43 – 3rd) (Run formation) L.Blount left tackle to IND 43 for 1 yard (D.Jackson; H.Anderson)

• 2nd and 9 at IND 43(13:05 – 3rd) (Run formation) D.Lewis right guard to IND 40 for 3 yards (E.Walden)

* 3rd and 6 at IND 40(12:25 – 3rd) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to R.Gronkowski to IND 30 for 10 yards (D.Lowery)

• 1st and 10 at IND 30(11:38 – 3rd) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short middle to D.Lewis to IND 25 for 5 yards (J.Freeman)

2nd and 5 at IND 25(10:56 – 3rd) Rob Gronkowski Pass From Tom Brady for 25 Yrds S.Gostkowski extra point is GOOD, Center-J.Cardona, Holder-R.Allen

Punt3 plays, 9 yards, 0:36
NE27-IND21

• (10:56 – 3rd) S.Gostkowski kicks 65 yards from NE 35 to end zone, Touchback.

• 1st and 10 at IND 20(10:56 – 3rd) A.Luck pass incomplete short left to D.Moncrief (J.Collins)

• 2nd and 10 at IND 20(10:52 – 3rd) (Shotgun) A.Luck pass incomplete short right to T.Hilton

• 3rd and 10 at IND 20(10:47 – 3rd) (Shotgun) A.Luck pass short right to D.Moncrief pushed ob at IND 29 for 9 yards (M.Butler)

• 4th and 1 at IND 29(10:31 – 3rd) P.McAfee punts 45 yards to NE 26, Center-M.Overton, fair catch by J.Edelman

Punt4 plays, 18 yards, 1:33
NE27-IND21

• 1st and 10 at NE 26(10:20 – 3rd) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short left to R.Gronkowski to NE 41 for 15 yards (D.Lowery; C.Anderson)

• 1st and 10 at NE 41(9:42 – 3rd) (Run formation) D.Lewis up the middle to NE 44 for 3 yards (J.Freeman; D.Jackson)

• 2nd and 7 at NE 44(9:04 – 3rd) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short left to D.Lewis (T.Cole)

• 3rd and 7 at NE 44(8:58 – 3rd) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short middle to S.Chandler (G.Toler)

• 4th and 7 at NE 44(8:54 – 3rd) R.Allen punts 32 yards to IND 24, Center-J.Cardona, out of bounds

Punt6 plays, 14 yards, 3:45
NE27-IND21

• 1st and 10 at IND 24(8:47 – 3rd) F.Gore right tackle to IND 35 for 11 yards (P.Chung). PENALTY on IND-A.Castonzo, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at IND 26

• 1st and 18 at IND 16(8:23 – 3rd) (Shotgun) F.Gore up the middle to IND 22 for 6 yards (D.McCourty)

• 2nd and 12 at IND 22(7:44 – 3rd) (Shotgun) A.Luck pass deep left to T.Hilton to IND 42 for 20 yards (J.Freeny)

• 1st and 10 at IND 42(7:13 – 3rd) (Run formation) A.Luck pass short right to A.Bradshaw to IND 49 for 7 yards (L.Ryan). PENALTY on NE-P.Chung, Illegal Contact, 5 yards, enforced at IND 42 – No Play

• 1st and 10 at IND 47(6:44 – 3rd) (Shotgun) A.Bradshaw left guard to IND 49 for 2 yards (J.Freeny; D.McCourty)

• 2nd and 8 at IND 49(6:03 – 3rd) (Shotgun) A.Luck pass incomplete deep left to A.Johnson (L.Ryan)

• 3rd and 8 at IND 49(5:57 – 3rd) (Shotgun) A.Luck sacked at IND 38 for -11 yards (sack split by C.Jones and D.Easley)

• 4th and 19 at IND 38(5:11 – 3rd) P.McAfee punts 52 yards to NE 10, Center-M.Overton, fair catch by D.Amendola

Punt3 plays, 7 yards, 1:06
NE27-IND21

• 1st and 10 at NE 10(5:02 – 3rd) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short right to J.White (G.Toler)

• 2nd and 10 at NE 10(4:55 – 3rd) (Run formation) T.Brady pass incomplete deep left to K.Martin [T.McGill]

• 3rd and 10 at NE 10(4:50 – 3rd) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to D.Amendola to NE 17 for 7 yards (C.Anderson)

• 4th and 3 at NE 17(4:08 – 3rd) R.Allen punts 56 yards to IND 27, Center-J.Cardona. G.Whalen to IND 35 for 8 yards (N.Ebner). PENALTY on IND-W.Guy, Illegal Block Above the Waist, 10 yards, enforced at IND 29

Downs6 plays, 17 yards, 2:44
NE27-IND21

• 1st and 10 at IND 19(3:56 – 3rd) F.Gore left guard to IND 25 for 6 yards (M.Brown)

• 2nd and 4 at IND 25(3:21 – 3rd) F.Gore left guard to IND 30 for 5 yards (M.Brown; D.McCourty)

• 1st and 10 at IND 30(2:42 – 3rd) (Run formation) F.Gore left guard to IND 36 for 6 yards (R.Ninkovich)

• 2nd and 4 at IND 36(2:03 – 3rd) (Shotgun) A.Bradshaw up the middle to IND 37 for 1 yard (M.Brown; S.Siliga)

• 3rd and 3 at IND 37(1:21 – 3rd) (Shotgun) A.Luck pass incomplete deep middle to D.Moncrief

• 4th and 3 at IND 37(1:14 – 3rd) (Punt formation) C.Anderson up the middle to IND 36 for -1 yards (B.Bolden). Penalty on IND, Illegal Formation, declined

Touchdown6 plays, 35 yards, 3:24
NE34-IND21

• 1st and 10 at IND 35(1:12 – 3rd) L.Blount right tackle to IND 24 for 11 yards (E.Walden)

• 1st and 10 at IND 24(0:44 – 3rd) (Run formation) L.Blount up the middle to IND 23 for 1 yard (D.Jackson; D.Lowery)

• END QUARTER 3

• 2nd and 9 at IND 23(15:00 – 4th) (Run formation) L.Blount up the middle to IND 20 for 3 yards (J.Freeman)

• 3rd and 6 at IND 20(14:16 – 4th) (Shotgun) D.Lewis up the middle to IND 13 for 7 yards (C.Anderson; D.Jackson)

• 1st and 10 at IND 13(13:38 – 4th) (Run formation) T.Brady pass short right to J.Edelman to IND 11 for 2 yards (G.Toler)
•
• 2nd and 8 at IND 11(12:48 – 4th) LeGarrette Blount Pass From Tom Brady for 11 Yrds S.Gostkowski extra point is GOOD, Center-J.Cardona, Holder-R.Allen

At this point, essentially the game is over. Final score Patriots 34-Colts 27.(Rumor has it, Patriots shared their dry footballs on the last meaningless score by the Colts.) New rumors swirl in 2016.The Belicheats once again prevailed in 2015. Just check out the size of their Super Bowl Rings. It was Kraft’s way of saying “Thank you for another ‘Tainted Super Bowl Victory.’

Besides the Patriots, can you name me another winner of the Super Bowl that has the word “TAINTED” attached to it?

Hopefully, the NFL will have more for me to write about in the future.

Remember to bookmark us and tell your friends about the ‘insanity’ of Fox-Feather @ playinyourdreams.com

The next topic at the beginning of February will be “Wellness—“Take 5” Game-Plan for Life/Sports—Lesson #3 (its cooking)

Until our paths cross again, remember to keep PLAYIN YOUR DREAMS.