Your 2008 Colts thoughts and ramblings....

by masonzbt on Jan 7, 2009 8:29 PM EST Comment 10 comments

Sports talk radio is driving my insane with the plethora of callers who embarass me as a fan, and who keep our city becoming a "football town". We lost. We didn't execute they way we normally do, and we lost to a hot team who had our number. We still have talent, does ANYONE remember sucking so bad you could barely watch a game? Be thankful for 10 years of class football. You may never see anything like it again.

I am thankful to watch a class organization play football every year. Not only did they win 12 games, their home games might as well been away games. I have seen more energy watching the Colts at an old folks home. Get with the program people, this team was good. They just were not good at the right time.

Here's what needs to happen for 2009 (in my humble opinion):

1. Colts fans - get our sh*t together and get Lucas Oil rockin' and loud, and fuel this team on for home wins. I say we FAILED at this in 2008. No excuses, people sat on their hands, and felt very disconnected. I think the Colts marketing department could use some help firing up this place. Time to start developing traditions!

2. Run game improvement/O-Line improvement. I think it may simply be a matter of new guys on the line, maybe in year two those gaps are a bit wider. If not, we could use a power back. Bottom line is, there was no confidence in the run game. None. Zero.

3. Marvin. Wow. Hard to say, I am not certain if he would be back next year. I do not want this handled like Favre and the Packers. This man has earned his spot in the ring of honor and Hall of Fame. They better treat this situation like professionals and my preference is he just retire a Colt. I do not think I will get my wish. Pay him to retire then. He's just as valuable from a marketing standpoint if he never plays for another team. Think down the road.....

4. Tony Dungy. That man commands respect. He should have earned yours by now. The man should leave on his own terms when he is ready. He is not the reason the Colts lost, nor do we need a change in "culture". There is not a player in that locker room who wouldn't do anything in their power to earn this man's respect and praise. I truly hope he stays as long as Peyton does.

5. Special Teams. Hunter is a good punter. A good punter. Not a great one. Return game hasn't been good for a long time. We need better field position to take some of the pressure off the defense, because short fields for Peyton and Co equal easy points. That gives the Cover 2 the opportunity to be more effective. I am still good with Vinatieri, he is still money.

6. Defense. We certainly know how to defend the pass. It was back luck D line this year. Who predicted Pitcock would flake out and Ed Johnson to toke out? I say we did rather well considering the circumstances. Stopping the running game could make this defense just scary. Freeney and Mathis were just flat out cheated/raped on nearly everydown. Hello Competition committee, time to pay attention.

7. We had some good young talent emerge and get better this year. Imagine with draft, guys coming back of IR (Hart, Lilja) how hard it could be to make this team next year.

Just some random thoughts I thought I would share. Consider it my therapy for the loss. I still love this team, how they represent our city, and I still believe under Peyton we have at least one more Super Bowl run in them.

Comments appreciated. Here's to training camp 2009!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.

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Issure on the O-line

The Colts do not need new players on the O-line in my opinion. The already drafted 4 players in the last 2 drafts to add depth. Ryan Lilja should come back fresh next year and the young rookies this year will get another year wiser.

by ColtsFanNChiTown on Jan 7, 2009 8:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

If we lose Saturday,

I then would be for one more on the line. Good read, by the way.

by coltsfanawalt on Jan 8, 2009 12:04 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

12-4

If anyone thinks that Manning pulling off a 12-4 season with what he had to go through, showing up in the playoffs and putting forth a very good effort in the best game of the weekend is a failure then it’s just as bad as saying he choked. Because he didn’t. With everything going wrong on the team, the Colts finished 12-4. 12-4, that’s pretty good. I was not upset with the effort or grit the Colts showed in that game. With everything that went against us, it would’ve been easy for the Chargers to beat us 31-17 but we led the entire game until the very end. Can’t be upset with that at all. We’ll be healthy, have the draft, and be able to go into next season thinking “well we went 12-4 last year, I think I’m feeling pretty good about a healthy Colts team with time to tweak”. I know I am. This season was very promising considering the circumstances.

by monstersbox on Jan 8, 2009 1:47 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

12-4???

SCREW THAT CRAP

we can go 12-4 every season… im sick of seeing us go 10 wins and up and cant play the big game…

than u got wild card teams mopping the floor with us.. who cares about the stats in regular season.. its post that matters…

Bellicheck and Brady will always look better than Manning and Dungy simple fact is rings…

GOOD SIDE OF THINGS: we got beat up, Peyton will start training camp regularly, and the rest of the team will realize how much effort he puts in, and how freakin STUPID and DUMB he looks for making MVP for the 3rd freakin time and being one and done for the 100th time. maybe they will come back and play harder and appreciate numbero 18 a lil more.

BAD SIDE: THE COLTS WONT CHANGE SHIT!!! there gonna stick to that bullshit running game. Put the ball in Peytons hands and hope he wills them through EVERY GAME… teams are catching on to Tom Moores Offense… can we run a no huddle 4 wideoouts?

I feel sooo bad for Brackett… He put his heart and soul on the line and had to watch us crumble…

I feel soo bad for Freeney, he watched us crumble this year playing next to a very underated Mathis…

Im the biggest Manning fan but sorry to say… Hes a CHOKE artist… and im glad the media is frying his ass alive so he can atleast get a lil angry and play with a lil more pissed off… i wanna see a manning with fire in his eyes and smoke coming out his ears…

LETS THROW PEYTON UNDER THE BUS AND SEE IF HE CAN PICK THE BUS UP AND THROW IT BACK… CAUSE I GAVE THIS GUY TOO MANY PASSES AND EXCUSES… HES GONNA BE BRETT FAVRE SOON JUST PLAYING TO BREAK RECORDS AND ELI WILL SURPASS HIM

by reggie in the slot on Jan 8, 2009 11:28 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I agree with most of what you said

with exception of blaming Peyton. Choke artist? I’m sorry, didn’t you realize there were 10 other guys on the field WITH him and 11 other guys on the field while he sat on the sidelines?

I’m frustrated too. But I’ll tell you what. Comparing Peyton to Favre is crossing the line.

"I throw, you catch. It's NOT that hard!"
Peyton Manning, SNL, 2007

by peytonsthebest on Jan 8, 2009 11:47 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i agree BUT!

lets put it this way…. Hes an M.V.P.

I was very frustrated when we were getting punt returns inside the 10…. I think Peyt went a good 4-6 drives with NOTHING… 3 and out… Now i understand.. recievers, o-line, running game… all that factored into why we couldnt move the chains… BUT! its situations like that, that makes medioctre/good players diffrent from GREAT PLAYERS I believed Manning could of gotten us out that whole single handely, I seen him Shred the Pats secondary single handely when they were running like 6 dbs….

i was scared of San Diego, but Peyton said one thing to cheer me up he said THESE ARE THE KIND OF GAMES YOU WANT TO PLAY, AWAY, WITH ALL THE PRESSURE, YOU WANNA PLAY GAMES LIKE THAT UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS

THAN HE CHOKED LOL

by reggie in the slot on Jan 8, 2009 1:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Indianapolis Colts’ 23-17 overtime loss to the San Diego Chargers last Sunday – the second consecutive season in which the Colts have been eliminated by the underdog Chargers — has triggered yet another round of "Peyton Manning can’t win the big game" accusations. Let’s review:

Manning outpassed his San Diego counterpart, Philip Rivers, 310 yards (on 42 throws) to 217 yards (on 36 tosses). The Colts frittered away this domination by getting outrushed 167 yards to 64, being out-returned on punts 72 yards to 42, and allowing the Chargers a net punt return average of 51.7 yards, a whopping 20-yard difference between what the Colts averaged on their returns. And did I mention that Indianapolis committed six penalties on defense to San Diego’s none – three, including two rare defensive holding calls, during the Chargers’ game-ending overtime possession.

Now what exactly is it that Peyton Manning is supposed to do to overcome this kind of sloppy play? Is he supposed to double up by playing on defense and special teams?

This time last year, Manning threw for 402 yards in the Colts’ 28-24 playoff loss to the Chargers. In that game, Colts receivers tipped two passes into the air into the hands of San Diego defenders; Marvin Harrison, after a first down catch, fumbled the ball away at the San Deigo 22 to kill yet another scoring opportunity; and defensive back Marlon Jackson got caught with a senseless face mask penalty on San Diego’s go-ahead drive. Someone on the Indianapolis Colts can’t win the big game, but it isn’t their quarterback, and coach Tony Dungy, perhaps the most respected head man in the league, has to take the responsibility for this repeated sloppiness in big games.

Link

I swear, everytime I hear the “choker” comment I want to rip somebody a new one!

"I throw, you catch. It's NOT that hard!"
Peyton Manning, SNL, 2007

by peytonsthebest on Jan 8, 2009 5:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs