The Patriots' Asante Samuel hits Colts WR Brandon Stokley in New England's 20-3 win on Sunday. Simon Bruty/SI

In the wake of the Indianapolis Colts' demise, I wanted to correct one thing that I'm hearing far too often. I keep hearing Indianapolis general manager Bill Polian pushed through a rule to clean up the five-yard bump zone this year. The inference is clear. Polian's offense is a finesse offense. Polian's receivers got a few muggings past the permitted five-yard bump zone in the AFC Championship Game last year against New England. Polian's a feisty, no-nonsense, old-school, rules-are-rules guy. Polian's a key league guy. So Polian forced in the clarification of the five-yard bump zone, so if you breathe on the receivers past the five-yard zone, you'd get flagged for illegal contact. It all makes sense.

Except it didn't happen that way.

"It's totally untrue," Rich McKay, the Atlanta Falcons GM and co-chair of the NFL Competition Committee, told me yesterday. "I keep hearing that and I just shake my head. The AFC Championship Game last year may have been the straw that broke the camel's back, but the camel was already well-saddled-up. We were going to do something about it already."

During the 2003 season, McKay said, there were several complaints about the lax enforcement of the rules regarding contact beyond five yards of the line of scrimmage. "[Competition Committee co-chair and Tennessee coach] Jeff Fisher complained, and he's a defensive guy," said McKay. "It started before last year, actually. In our last three [annual] reports to the teams, we said we had to do something about the illegal contact. There was just getting to be too much of it. And as we went through last season, I don't want to use the term 'death threat,' but there was going to be a clear emphasis made on clarifying the rule after the season. By the end of last year, it was well on our radar screen."

In New England's 20-3 win over the Colts, there was one defensive pass interference penalty -- and that was on Indy's Nick Harper. For the Patriots, there was one defensive holding (by newcomer dime back Hank Poteat) and one illegal-contact call that was declined. One accepted penalty on each side. No epidemic. And no real meaning to the game. It's absolutely nuts to me that Peyton Manning didn't test this patchwork secondary with some deep shots, particularly with all eyes on the officiating crew to police the clarified rules. Manning just didn't do it, and I'll never figure that one out.

FROM THE E-MAIL BAG

Lots of topics, beginning with the Afroed one:

MOSS ON THE MARKET. From Patrick Armitage of Chicago: "We were throwing this around the office today: If you were Baltimore, would you trade Ed Reed for Randy Moss?"

	MAILBAG Peter King will answer your questions each week in Monday Morning Quarterback: Tuesday Edition. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Absolutely not. Is there some Grey Goose in the water cooler there, Patrick? Reed's the heir to Ray Lewis' leadership and All-Pro throne with the Ravens. I'd rather trade a lesser starter plus this year's first-round pick for Moss. Say a guy like linebacker Adalius Thomas.

THE PATRIOTS ARE A TEAM FOR THE AGES. From Glenn Rifkin of Acton, Mass.: "Whether I agree with you or not, you are hands-down the most fun NFL read since Will McDonough passed on. I have told my sons -- ages 23 and 15 -- to pay close attention to this Patriots team because we are not likely to see anything like this again for a long time. It is reminiscent of the 1980s Celtics -- the Bird/McHale/Parish team that gave us a sense of invincibility every time they took the court. The Pats are just an amazing TEAM with no real superstars (other than Tom Brady, who is the best QB in football today) but an aggregate will to win that is intoxicating to watch."

What a nice thing for you to say, Glenn. I am honored. I agree about the Pats. The people on my side of the business can't write enough laudable words about these players, because they embody everything that is right and team-oriented about sports.

MONK AND THE PATS. From Paul Malovich of Watertown, Mass.: "Just wanted to make a comment on your Hall of Fame explanation about Art Monk. One of the reasons you say you do not vote for him is because of his few Pro Bowl appearances. However, isn't the Pro Bowl more of a popularity contest than a true measure of a player's value? Look at how few Patriots made the Pro Bowl this year. Don't hold it against Tedy Bruschi because Ray Lewis is in his conference."

Paul, there is never one reason why I'd eliminate a guy from consideration for the Hall. If you add up the reasons for me voting against Monk, which I elucidated in MMQB this week, there's a collection of reasons. To your point, I would say the toughest position at which to make the Pro Bowl right now is AFC inside linebacker. Ray Lewis, James Farrior, Donnie Edwards, Jonathan Vilma, Tedy Bruschi, with Zach Thomas still in lots of memory banks ... It's a great position, and only two guys get picked.

A VOTE FOR TINGLEHOFF, THANKFULLY. From Dan Eaton of Blair, Neb.: "Amen to your Hall of Fame comments. How come Mick Tinglehoff can't even get a sniff of the Hall of Fame? His career longevity speaks volumes, along with his individual honors. He was easily on the same level as Jim Otto and Jim Ringo of his generation. Also, how does Will Shields stack up for future Hall of Fame consideration?"

I hope we can ratchet up some support for Mick. He does deserve it. Regarding Shields, he has a chance. He's helped by the fact that the Chiefs' line has been consistently dominant. He's hurt, as are Russ Grimm and Joe Jacoby, by the fact that there's not one single lineman identified as the reason for the Chiefs' greatness, and he's hurt by the fact they haven't won many big games.

DON'T BE TOO HARD ON BIG BEN. From Jeff Bryant of Hagerstown, Md.: "I agree with your assessment of Ben Roethlisberger showing his rookie side Saturday, but don't you think he tempered that somewhat by keeping his head and moving the Steelers upfield for the winning field goal? I'm not even a Steelers fan, but it seems to me that every sportswriter outside of western Pennsylvania is dancing with glee that he played poorly."

I can't dance, Jeff, and I take no glee in anyone's misfortune. And Roethlisberger's is barely misfortune. To me, the kid played poorly, and though he was three of four for 32 yards when the Steelers marched for the winning score, that was Duce Staley's drive to me. I simply tried to comment on the fact that I don't know what kind of game we'll see out of Roethlisberger, and I feel sure we'll get a pretty good one out of Tom Brady.

THREE QUESTIONS WITH ...

Pittsburgh wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who is sure to test the Patriots secondary in the AFC Championship Game Sunday at Heinz Field:

MMQBTE: As one of the Ben Roethlisberger's best friends, how do you think he'll rebound from the game against the Jets?

Burress: I'm not worried about him at all. Late in the game [against the Jets] he got in the huddle, looked at us all, and said, 'C'mon, Jerome [Bettis]. C'mon, line. Let's go. It's all up to us.' He's going to come out fine."

MMQBTE: You're pretty confident in him.

Burress: He's shown all year he responds to pressure pretty well. I don't remember a game when he didn't make the big play when we really needed it.

MMQBTE: What kind of game do you expect out of the offense Sunday?

Burress: That's going to be an emotional game for us. But it's a game we've been building toward the whole season. You'll see a good game out of us.

TWO THINGS (FOR TUESDAY) I THINK I THINK

1. I think the most emotional guy left over from the weekend had to be Curtis Martin, who will take a long time to get over the loss to Pittsburgh. "There is no end to my anger," he said. Gee, I hope there's an end. Martin's a nice guy. Wouldn't want him to get an ulcer.

2. I think one NFL coach spoke for many when he told me last night: "New England's by far the tougher team than Indianapolis, mentally and physically. It showed in their game. The Patriots have about five guys who will take you by the throat, throttle you and absolutely not accept losing. I don't think the Colts have one. They better find a few of those, or they'll always lose those kind of games."

Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com. Monday Morning Quarterback appears in this space every week.