Now that I’ve cried amply in my adult beverage, it’s time to begin my annual game of trying to correctly predict what the hell Bill Polian will do with his draft picks.
I buy two draft publications, sharpen up a bunch of pencils, and use up at least one complete yellow legal pad.
Great fun! Besides, 2008 really was a season to be proud of. It’s time to move on.
And BBS, nice post. Couldn’t agree with you more, and I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you. Nice.

First, I’m quite calm and level-headed about my take on the Colts’ team, and its not far off from what I felt the other night, so if you don’t like what I have to say, realize that its not out of anger or some other out of control emotion, but just out of a different perspective and opinion than the majority of people on this board seem to have.

Second, I haven’t read the Bob Kravitz article that seems to have anyone up in arms, but, like most other Kravtiz articles, I’m guessing some people are attacking him for no reason. Did he say that you have to question the legacy of Dungy and Manning? Did he mention that while 6 years of 12 wins is impressive, that a ton of one and dones is as equally bad? If so, nothing Kravitz said is false. Please don’t feed me, ‘well, the Colts won a super bowl, or ’the colts arent the lions’‘. Thats nice. I don’t care about them not being the Lions. I care about them being the Colts.

Third, you and 18to88 aren’t ‘local media’. You’re a blog. You’re not a news service; you arent newspaper/print, television or radio. You’re a fansite. You have a completely bias and skewed view of one specific team. There is nothing wrong with that, I’m not attacking you for that, thats why its so popular, because you are bias and skewed towards the Colts, but please don’t make a leap and call yourselves media, because you aren’t.

Fourth, while it is somewhat the job of blogs to be bias and skewed toward the topic of that blog, I think there is a general disservice being done carrying the Colts banner loud and proud. Much like I (and I’m sure I handled it the wrong way and should have apologized) had an issue with BBS proclaiming that Addai was back and anyone that doubted that was a moron after the Houston game (Hows that looking, now?), I have an issue with people proclaiming that the Colts’ have a good team. That the Colts are OK. That all these one and dones don’t matter, just look at what they’ve done! Don’t even count the Jets loss, that was ages ago and not representative of this current team. The Pittsburgh, San Diego, and San Diego games, however, are this coaching staff, their players, their scheme, their MO. You can’t just cast a net over it and say ‘it doesn’t matter, they’ve had success’. It DOES matter. Name another great team that has gone one and done 3 out of 4 years in the playoffs? To me, I’m not expecting Super Bowl every year, but I am expecting atleast one win against a .500 team. If you don’t expect that, if you think its okay to lose to the chargers, you accept failure, no ifs ands or buts about it, and you should expect more from a team that, according to many Colts fans, has hall of famers all over the place.

Fifth, to continue my point: This Colts’ team isn’t great. It may border on being ‘average’. I said this Saturday night, and the more I think about it, the more I feel its correct: This team has a lot of areas of concern: Line backers are clearly better in one area than the other, the DL isn’t getting it done against the run, the OL needs about 6 new starters (I understand how many people are on the offensive line, but can you name one OL you want back next year? I can’t. And given that there are only 7 rounds and the last 3-4 are usually developmental players and given that the Colts don’t sign a lot of FAs and given that the Colts don’t have a lot of cap space, I don’t see how you fix the OL in one off season), and you need some WR depth. The problem with all of this is Peyton Manning. Manning continues to do a disservice to the Colts organization and their fans by being the best player in the history of the NFL. When healthy, he continues to cover up every blemish, bad mark, and flaw in the regular season, only to have one of the flaws become so hideous and unmaskable in the post season that not even he can fix it (there were 3 in the chargers game: Special Teams, Running the ball, stopping the run). Some of this is said in tongue-in-cheek. Obviously I want Peyton to be the best. But Continuing to make the playoffs only to be one and done doesn’t help the team at all. Does it help you, the fans? I can’t see how. What would have been worse, getting off to a bad start because of injuries, pulling it together and missing the playoffs or another one and done? I’m honestly not sure how I would answer that from a fan’s emotional standpoint, but from the teams standpoint, drafting #15 for one year would be a lot better than an endless string of 25-30s.

Sixth, Dungy should be allowed to go on his own terms, he should be allowed to retire and leave when he wants, however, the organization should also be allowed to conduct a coaching search for someone else. I’m not convinced that Jim Caldwell is the right guy. Of course, no one really gives a crap what I think, but ask yourselves, are you convinced? And if so, why? What have you ever seen him do as a coach? This is not to say he would be a BAD coach, but it is to say that he would have been there after Dungy retired, to interview and see if he was a right fit. And if it was just done to keep continuity, anyone on the staff, hell, on the roster could do that. Just give Peyton the title, cut his player salary down to the vet minimum, pay him $21.2 to be head coach, and then have Tom Moore run the offense and Ron Meeks run the defense. Now, again, this is exaggeration (I have to point this out so that people don’t come here and say how dumb my post is (even though I’m sure it IS dumb, I want it being called dumb for the right reasons)). In a year when Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan, and ROMEO CRENNEL are available, I don’t think it would have been a negative thing to actually make him interview against other people that are qualified for the job. One last thing on this point: Keeping the status quo isn’t always a good thing. The voice will get stale eventually, moreso on the COlts than any other team, imo, because the colts DONT have a lot of roster turnover, perse. They don’t bring in FAs, they keep their own players. Its a good thing, but eventually the message will just go numb, it happens, and its no fault of anyone, just human nature.

Seventh, I have a beef with people saying officiating wasn’t a problem. I have to go to my normal bullet point type post here, because there are a lot of issues:

1) Ron Winters crew called the most penalties in the league this year. How does he make the playoffs? Here’s what I’m getting at: The league continues to tell us that their officials are 98% accurate! Okay… then how is Ron Winters’ crew calling so many more penalties than everyone else? Are players just more undisciplined when Winters is around? Do you see what I’m getting at? If Ron Winters’ crew is so good that they are top 8, then clearly more penalties should be called every game. You can’t be both accure and have such a disparity.

2) I agree with most calls against the Colts Saturday night except the Tim Jennings call in OT. Much like the GB game where they roughed up the Colts receivers, Winters crew sent a message: We’re letting you play the game like this. The Colts receivers were jammed, tugged, held, roughed up, and only one call in the first quarter to show for it. Then, in OT, hand fighting on both sides gets a PI call. Okay… Way to be inconsistent.

3) My beef with officiating is almost never the calls that go against the Colts. Its almost always the calls that DON’T go against their opponents. The Colts played a winless team, a crappy browns team, a crappy bengals team, a mugging GB team, a thuggish Jax team (twice) and the Colts had the FEWEST PENALTIES IN THEIR FAVOR IN THE LEAGUE. I would dare an unbias person to watch that Colts v Chargers game and tell me that the game was called consistently. There were multiple hands to the face on freeney uncalled (I’ve given up on holding, because apparently it NEVER affects a play, but hands to the face is cut and dry), there was a blatant trip against the chargers (he reached out and grabbed clint session’s ankle on a big Sproles run) that went uncalled, but Saturday losing body control was snap-called. There was mugging int he secondary all night, uncalled. Call the penatlies that are there. ALL OF THEM.

8) I think Harrison, Hunter Smith, Diem, and definitely one of, if not both, of Saturday and Hayden are gone next year.

I actually think, and this will be sacrilegious in a way, that the defense is easier to fix than the offense. I think, with Manning getting older (he’s still the best, but please, he’s getting older, its okay to preserve his arm some) its time to shift the offense a little. It became clear (or it should have) last year, when Manning has a good offensive line, he can make Aaron Moorehead and a cast of other people I can’t remember (Devin Aroshamadou?) look decent. Well, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Anthony Gonzalez are better than those guys, now its time to build a group of big uglies that can make the running game what it was in the the super bowl year. Its time to go to the time old tradition: Run the ball and stop the run. If anything (i could say that this cab was rare, but I thought ‘nah forget it, yo holmes to bellair!’) having an offense that can run the ball effectively all year will keep Manning fresher longer (sounds like a feminine product commercial).

I understand that this post will be seen as negative ninny stuff to a lot of you, but I think its closer to reality than ‘everything is great’. Obviously I love the Colts, I think its clear that all of us do, otherwise we wouldn’t be so passionate, and we are all on the same side, but I think I can love someone/something and still be able to criticize it.

One last thing: I don’t know Bob Kravitz, I’ve never met him, he’s not my nom de plume, but lay off of him. He’s just doing his job. His job is NOT to be a Colts’ homer. Its not to tell you how great everyone is. Its not to tell you that the sky is never falling. And its not his job to ballwash the Colts organization endlessly. His job is to provide an OPINION on sports. Much like bluestampede and 18to88 provide OPINIONS on the Colts. The fact that its his job and get gets paid does open him to criticism, but there are better ways to do it. Lots of anger on the intergoogle, lets try to get along and have discussions without the hatred and name calling (and yes, I’m guilty of this, too).

Like I said Saturday, have a great off-season!

It will be amusing if the Giants win the SB again this year and BBS and others will say how Indy is the “gold standard”

It is funny how this place differs from ColtFreaks. There, people accept Indy has some flaws that have not been fixed each season while here you’d think Indy was the perfect football team. Admitting your favourite team or something you like has flaws does not make you any less a man or any less a “fan.” I want the team to win as much as anyone but I accept they have flaws that have been there for years and i am tired of nobody in the organization caring about fixing them because they have faith things will magically change the way they want them to.

Hey, if people wish to ignore that the same flaws that cost them the playoff game were there all season and that Dungy got out-coached yet again by Norv Turner (you know the guy you all make fun of) then cool. I’ll accept reality and that is that this is a team at the doorstep of greatness but refuses to make the adjustments to get there.

Funny BBS brings up the Pats to try and back up the Indy propaganda. Umm, sorry but New England is the gold standard when it comes to success as seen by their 3 Sb wins, most wins this decade, another SB appearance, another AFC final appearance AND the fact they were able to go 11-5 this season despite their best player and tons of other guys being on IR.

I have tried to rationalize things away and argue the Colts are the “gold standard” but reality says otherwise. Oh and trying to say Colts/pats injuries this year were equal is hilarious. If Indy had the same injuries the Pats had (you know, to their best player, best defensive back, and 15 other guys IRed) Indy would have gone 4-12. That you even imply Indy has superior management shows how much you see things through rose coloured glasses.

Flat out, Indy is a team that needs a good deal of help to truly be great. It isn’t a total rebuild but more a change in philosophy and a few key guys. Other teams are passing them by and you guys can spew forth about the regular season record or compare them to teams like Denver or something silly but so what? Two years the Chargers have beaten Indy in the playoffs because both times the Chargers came in better prepared and had adjustments in place so what does that say? Who cares if the Colts have done better than them in the regular season. I could name other teams that are passing Indy but there is probably no point to it here.

I just do not see them winning another SB during Manning’s career if they keep with the same philosophy and don’t change anything up. They seem to rely too much on him like the Dolphins did with Marino and it bugs me that lesser QBs will win more SBs than he does or have better playoff success simply because they play on better teams that have been built to go all the way (aka with great defenses and solid RUN GAMES) not be flashy in the regular season.

Again, if people wish to turn a blind eye to this and get all rah rah over the team acting like it needs to not change a thing then cool. I will take the different approach and accept they have issues and want them to fix them so they actually will do well in the playoffs and become the “gold standard” in the NFL. It seems pretty simple to me that their 3 “One and done” outings in 3 of the last 4 seasons shows there is something fundamentally wrong with the team so it’d be nice to have that fixed.