Who says the Bolts don't belong in the playoffs?

[Upton]

The Colts, their MVP and their 9 game winning streak is history...as the Chargers move on.

[hughee99]

1. Congrats to the Bolts...

Is it just me or does LT seem to spend a lot of time on the sidelines in the playoffs? He has 35 carries in his last 4 post season games which includes 21 against the Titans in the WC round last year. Sproles looked good though.

[underpants]

2. Rivers need some counseling

He is either the dumbest SOB to be around the football world
OR
he is throwing at demons....and missing.

They got lucky. I despise the Colts but the Chargers got lucky.

[Upton]

3. He led the league with 34 TD passes

and was tops in QB rating. If you are referring to that bad interception in the end zone..that happens. He also threw the ball away a lot when the play wasn't there...heck, it was a playoff game.. better safe than sorry.

As for the Chargers getting "lucky" remember they ended the Colt's season in Indianapolis last year.

[underpants]

4. Yes it was a great game

the int. in the end zone was laughably bad-he should have never thought about throwing that ball
Rivers seems to be really talented at not getting a grounding ruling
Yes he is a good QB but he is good, he is not great
that wild flip to the WR that got the defensive holding call was luck. Please don't tell me that Rivers saw all that happen and threw it to get the call.

Sproules made up for a really bone headed move too (that fumble) by playing a huge game and getting the final win...which may not have been necessary if he hadn't fumbled the ball on the 1.

[joeybee12]

5. Hey Peyton! Where you gonna put that MVP trophy?

Oh wait, you've now got lots of time to decide! God, how I hate him. Congrats to San Diego!

[DaveinMD]

6. why do you hate him

I'm really curious.

[DaveinMD]

7. I do

regardless of what happened tonight, an 8-8 team should not be in the playoffs.

[Auggie]

11. Not me.

San Diego won their last five games. Teams adjust and improve throughout a season, and they earned a spot. I'd much rather watch a hot team in post season like San Diego than one in a funk, say, like the Cowboys. San Diego gave us a very fun game to watch.

[DaveinMD]

13. Well.

Dallas is pretty irrelevant since they aren't in either. San Diego is in the playoffs because their division is awful. New England was much more deserving than they are. Its pretty pathetic that they are in the playoffs.

[Auggie]

16. No one said life -- or sports -- is fair...

[DaveinMD]

21. that is true

but if my Giants were in the same spot, I'd be pissed.

[AsahinaKimi]

8. what a great game!

I listened to it on the radio (Does anyone do that anymore?) and was biting my nails to the end. When Sproles fumbled that ball near the 2 yard line and the Colts recovered, I was like screaming! But when the Bolts won the coin toss I knew they could put it away.. Way to go San Diego .. (from a 49er fan)!!

[Condem]

9. Nice job, Upton. That field goal kicker of yours.....

Hew looks vaguely familiar. Where's he from?

[MaineDem]

10. Great game!

I'm glad they won.

[chelsea0011]

12. 8-8 and the home advantage. Nice.

The Pats were in a crummy division when they went undefeated by clobbering the division. What's the Bolts reason for 8-8 in a crummy division? And Rivers? You haven't won anything yet, so tone it down a bit, will ya? The Chargers will in the end be considered the best team that couldn't win.

[Elwood P Dowd]

14. That's the serious flaw in the NFL's playoff system.

An 8-8 team not only makes the playoffs over an 11-5 team, but they get home field advantage over a 12-4 team. The regular season is meaningless - just slop through the season with an 8-8 record and get home field advantage in the playoffs over better and more deserving teams.

[BulletproofLandshark]

15. This is the first time in 23 years this has happened.

The '85 Browns were the last team to win their division with an 8-8 record. That kind of thing is an aberration rather than a systemic flaw in the playoff system. The only way to prevent this would be to get rid of divisions altogether, which would kill some of the better division rivalries.

[fishwax]

17. not really a flaw

Win your division and you get a home game. Settle for the wild card and you have to hit the road. Seems fair to me.

[trotsky]

18. Exactly.

More than any other teams in the league, the teams within the division play a schedule most similar to yours. Winning your division means something, whether you're 8-8 or 16-0.

[chelsea0011]

20. Couldn't disagree more.

Winning your division should only get you in the playoffs. It's about time that the playoffs be fair to teams like the Colts and their 12-4 record. Playoffs require the better records get the better deal. San Diego crawled inot the division title and get a home advcantage. It's silly on the face.

[trotsky]

22. Are you saying the Colts weren't as good as their 12-4 record?

Because if a 12-4 team can't go on the road and beat an 8-8 team, were they really that good to begin with?

[BulletproofLandshark]

23. Bingo!

We can't just give up on the idea of divisions just because of one fluke year. If the Colts didn't want to go out west, then maybe they should've taken care of business early in the season.

[Elwood P Dowd]

26. Hey Tinman

The Bolts didn't take care of business and finished 8-8 but were rewarded with a home playoff game. What if they and Denver had both finished 7-9, yet the Bolts still won the playoff spot? Would you say the Bolts took care of business with a losing record and the Colts didn't with a 12-4 record? I don't like the Colts, but sorry teams like the Bolts during the regular season have no business getting home field advantage.

Now to more important matters; What are Danny Boy and Vinny going to do in the off season to screw up our Redskins. The Skins need offensive linemen and a pass rusher. They will probably draft a running back and some more wide receivers knowing those two clowns.

[BulletproofLandshark]

27. The Chargers did everything the rules require them to do to win their division.

And division winners get to host playoff games. If you want to take that right away simply because the road team has a better record, then you may as well eliminate division play forever. Not only would that seriously diminish rivalries, but it would make the playoff races in the last month a lot less interesting.

As for the sorry state of our Skins, nothing's going to get better until Snyder gets rid of Vinny Cerrato. I don't know what kind of incriminating pictures he has of Danny Boy, but the man has no business being employed by an NFL franchise. The more successful teams of the league have figured out that you build a team around your offensive and defensive lines, not by drafting 3 receivers in the second round and other boneheaded moves of that sort. Every starter on the O-Line is over 30. Given that we gave up a 2nd rounder for Taylor, that's going to set back rebuilding the line. And don't even get me started on the D-line. I question the sanity of any GM that see how few sacks the defense gets and then decides that you don't need to draft a DE in the early rounds. It's like he wants the Skins to fail.

[frylock]

24. rec'd

[frylock]

25. the chargers lost one game against their division opponents this year..

and that one game was the hochuli screw job.

[dakota_democrat]

19. Many people thought the Bolts were SB-bound when the season started.

Just because they underperformed on an almost legendary scale, doesn't mean their talent just disappeared.