Colts Post-Mortem

Well here we are, January 8th and it's already time for the Colts post mortem. Damn, what can I, or anyone else say. A 41-0 blowout loss to the fucking Jets. Guess they were hot! Well I'm not gonna bash the Jets, they simply outplayed the Colts in every phase of the game.

No, this is about the Dolts, er Colts.

The Colts finished the regular season with a respectable, at least from the surface, 10-6 record. It's when you delve a little deeper into it that you realize how disturbing it is and why the 41-0 blowout isn't as surprising as it seems.

Let me start at the end. The 41-0 loss to the Jets was a complete team letdown. Peyton sucked, Marvin looked disinterested, I don't think the defense ever got off the airplane in NJ and special teams sucked. There really isn't any good reason to dissect that game very much further. I'll only say this, unless Irsay is just paying lip service about staying in Indianapolis, then he is going to have to field a team that plays better than that or he will have about 2500 people cheering for the Colts in the dome next year.

The team got off to a decent start in Jacksonville against an enigmatic Jaguar team. Their triple threat of Brunnell, Smith and Taylor had okay days but nothing spectacular. On the other hand Manning, James and Harrison didn't exactly light it up either. The defense bothered though and would continue to do so well into the season.

An ugly loss to the Dolphins brought out the simple fact the defense stunk. Ricky Williams and Edge put on a show though. Both ran hard and well and both caught the ball. Unfortunately a trend that would haunt us all season reared it's ugly head. The Colts let the Phins have a big halftime lead which we simply could not overcome. Games against Pittsburgh, Washington, Tennessee twice, the NY Giants and the Jets all were the same story.

Wins against Houston, Baltimore and Cincinnati brought the Colts to 4-1. However, the team was not impressive in any of the three. In fact the Ravens and Bengal games outcomes could have easily gone the other way.
This is where the wheels of the team truly fell off. A brutal Monday night showing in Pittsburgh wiped the optimism out of my eyes. Couple that with an equally abysmal effort at the Redskins and the Colts were back to 4-3. The next week at home against the Titans we saw in person what will really be remembered about this season: A soft team with little or no heart. They lost to the Titans after spotting them a big lead. 4-4 and heading to Philadelphia to face the Eagles.

The Eagles were riding high ever since their opening day loss to the Titans which spelled trouble for the Colts who seemed to be packing it in. But something strange and wonderful happened that day, the Colts showed heart and skill with a thrashing of the vaunted Eagles. They ran, they threw, they tackled and they gave hope. Hope that all was not lost for the season.

Subsequent wins against the Cowboys, a big Sunday night game at the Broncos and back home against the Texans had the Colts in the proverbial catbird seat in the AFC South at 8-4. That set up the big showdown for what most likely would be for the division title. Needless to say the Colts once again failed to compete and were essentially knocked out of contention for the division crown.

The next week at Cleveland against the Browns the Colts were up to their old tricks of giving up a shitload of points and digging themselves a hole. Amazingly to me they dug out and actually won the game. At a time when Cleveland was garnering notoriety as a team that won in the last minute the Colts held and won the game. The Colts were 9-5 and still clinging to hope of a Titans loss, which would never come, to win the division.
Any thoughts of that were extinguished early in the Giants game at the dome. The Colts had been Jekyll and Hyde all season but this was all bad. An ego bruising, momentum killing, hope spoiling, ass kicking at the hands of the Giants left me numb. Finally, in a game that by kickoff meant absolutely nothing, the Colts got by the Brunnelless Jaguars for an ugly 20-13 win whose outcome was not decided until the last minute. Meanwhile, some 600 miles east of here in the Meadowlands our next opponent as it turned out was pummeling a pretty decent Packer squad.

Well I've been over the outcome of that game so I won't dwell on it anymore. The Colts did manage to go from a 6-10 team to a 10-6 regular season record, but I think it's pretty obvious that we could have lost 3 more games easily.

Were there improvements? Yes! The defense, while disappearing again late in the season, did show signs of life and aggressiveness. They moved all the way from the 29th best D to the 8th best. Are they the 8th best defense in the NFL? No, but they do seem to be improved. Rob Morris played about the way he always had for about the first 6 games then made a miraculous recovery and really finished the season strong. Dwight Freeney made the GM look like a genius when he finally got to start and ended with numbers that should have earned him NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. There are cap issues which will need to be addressed so we will see if this group continues to improve.

Edge showed good form early but was hampered by nagging injuries a lot this season. It was apparent he didn't have the stop and start moves he had in the past, but he was there. There was something going around that Bill Polian had said the plan was not to even run Edge until the end of October to make sure he was 100%. Unfortunately, preseason injuries took out most of the running back corps including 1000 yard rusher Dominic ‘Rocky' Rhodes. We were left with an 80% edge, some clown named Ricky Williams (not that one) and James Mungro. Of course Mungro's heroics in the Philly game made him the toast of the town and Edge the goat. To those who think Mungro is “it”, get a clue. Williams also had a taste of that when he scored a late touch against Washington.

The O line never really got it together. We lost Steve McKinney and Ken Dilger in the off season and you would think we lost the two greatest blockers in history. The replacements were not as good and even though we still didn't give up many sacks the running game suffered tremendously.

Marvin Harrison was always there. He caught 143 balls this year, a new NFL record. Typically he was given no consideration for NFL MVP. A travesty in my mind. As for the rest of the receiving crew, Qadry Ismail looked like a keeper early, but faded into the woodwork after a midseason slump. Reggie Wayne played well, when he played. But Harrison, as has been the case in the past, was the go to guy.

Then there's the quarterback. Peyton's a great guy. Seems like a real student of the game. But for all his preparation he had a crappy season. Sure he threw for more than 4000 yards…again, but he simply folds when the going gets tough. His three INT's against the Titans when the game meant so much were a microcosm of his season. The Colts are getting ready to pay Peyton unbelievable amounts of money. Probably the biggest contract in NFL history and after this season I am starting to question that rationale. I'm just not sure we need that high of a priced QB when we have so many glaring needs. Having Peyton may be a luxury we simply can not afford.

In a previous article I talked about the Colts moving. I still think they need to put a better product on the field game in and game out to get more fans on board. If they do not, people will stay away. I get the impression from Polian and Irsay that this is the NFL and we should be blessed just to have it. I am grateful every year that we have the Colts. I never liked how we got them, but what is done is done. 19 years of mediocrity though is wearing thin and from what I read on the forums and message boards I am not alone. We brought in a new coach this year. I wanted Gruden, but when he was not available I was glad to have Tony Dungy. I'm going to reserve comment on coach until after next year. He inherited a 6-10 team with some real issues and went 10-6 and the D is improved.

Ultimately the stamp on this season will be the inconsistency and the rumors of the team bolting for the coast. The first is true, stay tuned about the second.