When you give up 38 points, you do not have any right to expect a win.

The Pats defense was horrible in many respects although the deep pass defense was terrific.

The officiating in this game left a lot to be desired. It seemed as if the interference call against Troy Brown and the roughing the passer calls were bogus.

The pass interference call in the end zone - was it face guarding? The defender did not appear to touch the Colts receiver.

The Pats should have known better than to commit the breaking the huddle penalty -- this negated running on first down as an option and led to loss of clock control.

Caldwell dropped easy (?) passes.

Colts defenders made two great game saving plays - both on Troy Brown, one to knock the pass away, another to intercept at the end.

In the final analysis, the Pats had the game and gave it away.

However, without making this an excuse, the officiating did seem terrible.

Do you have any thoughts from a perhaps more objective view? I am trying not to be biased but wonder if I am seeing demons.

So we're going to have a black head coach winning the superbowl. Honestly, does anyone care what race the coach is? And if they do, does that rightly make them a bigot?. Dungy and Smith are both top tier coaches, and very stand-up guys as well. They are role models to be emulated by black kids, white kids, red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and violet kids too. Honestly, who gives a damn what color they are?

Maybe now we can get rid of the asinine "Rooney rule." Lovie Smith wins Coach Of The Year last year and Dungy was a top tier coach at Tampa before coming to Indy. Herman Edwards has done well with the Chiefs and the Rooney's are about to hire Tomlin. Rivera would have been a hot commodity had the Bears been out earlier. It's kinda obvious now that the race of the person doesn't equate to their skill as a coach, so must we maintain the institutional quotas? Race will always be something that people see, but it must stop being something that people consider, and the Rooney rule is direct consideration of race. While it may have been needed well before it ever actually existed, it certainly isn't needed now. The Old Dogs can learned new tricks, even when the old dogs are wealthy NFL owners. The lesson has been learned, now get rid of the rule before the good it has brought gets replaced with animosity. Originally it brought people to the table who may have been left behind, but now the table is welcoming for men of any race. The playing field is now level; let the content of a person's character now determine their worth, not the color of their skin.

The pass interference call was definitely face guarding. The Patriots defender never even looked at the ball. That was a good call. I agree that some of the other officiating was pretty weak though, IMO, and I'm a Colts fan.

To Pats Fan:

That was most definitely pass interference in the end zone. The DB was face guarding - playing against the man and not playing the ball. That has been interference for years.

Maybe now the Pats will start keeping the players they develop instead of picking up the cast-offs from other teams. Everybody can see why the Bolts let Calwell go as a free agent last year.

The Redskins need an additional reciever for next year: pay Caldwell $10 mill a year and bring him to DC!

Anyone who truly believes that the playing field is now level is SO blind to reality. The playing field is much better but it's not equal.

For so many other guys who could have led NFL teams and were never given the opportunity because they weren't a aprt of the old boys network. I'm happy for Dungy and Smith. Good men, good coaches. I hope the rest of the NFL is watching. There are so many guys could could coach in the league, if given the chance. Stop trotting out these old retreads. I like and respect Gibbs, Parcells, Marty, etc. But lets see what some new blood can do, no matter the color of their skin! Pittsburg is taking a chance on another youg coordinator...just like 'The Chin' 15 years ago!

In response to the comment about the Rooney Rulemust go.The Rooney Rule does not guarantee that a minority will be hired!!! It is used to at least get the person an interview.. This rule was created not out of the goodness of someones heart but by the threat of a discrimination lawsuit by the late Johnnie Cochran and a few others. The rule is still needed to ensure EQUALITY in the "hiring process".. It is not a quota mandate!!! Progress is not the same as success....

In a perfect America, having two African-American coaches wouldn't even be news. However, this isn't a perfect America. The fact having Dungy and Smith as Superbowl coaches will be one of the biggest news sidelines in the hype-machine for the next two weeks just shows, that while progress has been made, the system is still flawed.

One can hope that this Superbowl will open peoples eyes to the availability of coaches of all races and eventually make NFL front offices and coaching staffs more representative of America itself.

I googled this, its dated december 2006, written by an NFL referee Jerry Markbreit or something like that

Can you call pass interference on a defender if he is turned toward the wide receiver, not looking at the ball, waves his arms, but doesn't touch the wide receiver at all? Say the ball is in the air and hits the defender in the arm because he deflects the pass. Again, he doesn't touch the WR, but isn't looking at the ball either. --Dawn Polomsky, Phoenix, Ariz.

Many years ago, there was a penalty on pass plays for "face guarding." What you describe is face guarding. There is no penalty under current NFL rules for this act, unless there is physical contact. If the ball hits the defender, as you describe, the play would be legal. It is dangerous for a defender to turn his back on the direction that the ball is coming from. If he contacts the intended receiver, it would be pass interference because the defender is not playing the ball. You seldom see what you describe, but it would not be a foul.

BoltsFan - According to Mike Pereia the head of NFL officiating - "There is no such as thing as face-guarding in the NFL. It is legal to face-guard a receiver. In order to have pass interference you must have contact. Any act without contac is not considered a foul."

There was no contact - So the Ref blew the call. That's OK though, all it cost the Patriots was the game and another apperance in the Super Bowl.

Rule man is right on the money-the pass interference/face guarding call was bogus. Let's not also forget to mention the bogus roughing the passer call, or the missed pass interference call when the game was tied 28/28 and the Patriots were on the 10-even the announcers commented on that one. The bottom line is that the league wanted Manning/Dungee to get their game and they did. The Colts could not beat the Patriots-the refs did. Well, at least we did not have to hear the Colts crying protests to the league this year. Does anyone remember how they cried after their 04 loss -that their receivers were being hit too hard from New England. Isn't this the NFL? The Colts are not worthy....