Let's get one thing straight:

I'm a Homer with a capital H. In my mind, there has never been a better quarterback than Peyton Manning, and every year the Colts are the best team in football, and the only thing keeping them from the Lombardi Trophy is a conspiracy of bad trainers and corrupt officials, and possibly a jealous Zeus. So this ain't gonna be an unbiased FanPost. But I think you'll forgive me the indulgence when I say this year's Colts team is the best team in a LONG time, and only a hurricane or other supernatural intervention will deny them the Super Bowl. After the jump, I'll give you the rundown.

"But slash196" I can hear you saying, "training camp hasn't even started. There are a million different variables that will affect this season, and it's impossible to predict a Super Bowl winner before the season even starts. Why make such a prediction so early"

To that I say, first: turn in your Colts fan badge. A true fan BELIEVES; the Colts are my religion. As I've said before, I'm a homer and the Colts are by definition the best team ever.

Secondly, prestige. WHEN the Colts go all the way this year, I'll get to point to this post and say  "I called it". You will all have to bow to my powers of prognostication.

But more important than these points is the simple fact that the Colts are STACKED this year. They have the best team in years and they are gonna surprise a lot of people. Let's run it all down:

1. Depth

It is a common lament in Indy that the Colts have been RAVAGED by injuries. Injuries kept us from beating the Chargers in 07; the lack of Freeney and Mathis cost us the game, as Billy Volek can attest. 08 was a litany of injuries, from Sanders to Peyton to Addai and the O-Line. The difference is, this year Polian has built this team to withstand injury. Every unit has been stocked against injury, from safety to WR to LB to DT and beyond. I will come back to this point, but it bears stressing: unlike previous years, when our starters were solid but our backups were a dropoff, Polian has made great moves and shored our team against the inevitable.

One example: The linebackers. Last year, our backers had proven talent but no depth. When the inevitable happened, we were forced to play one Buster Davis at MIKE and were almost embarrassed by the 0-16 Detroit Lions. With the addition of Adam Seward and the fortuitous re-signings of Keiaho and Hagler, we now have proven starting talent as BACKUPS behind the projected LB starters. When (and I do mean "when") we lost a starting LB to injury, we will have a baller to be the next man up. The importance of this cannot be understated.

2. D-Line

I almost don't need to write anything here; we are all kissing the ground Polian walks on for drafting a starting-caliber nose tackle AND under tackle, not to mention the intelligent re-signing of Ed "I keep my stash in my Escalade" Johnson. Less-heralded, however, are the additions at DE, Marcus Howard and Curtis Johnson. These two got almost no snaps last season, but still managed to embarrass Vince Young and the Titans, and Howard accumulated 1.5 sacks in VERY limited playing time. Besides the obvious strengths at DT, and the talent of the Pro-Bowl pair of Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, there's enough depth and talent in this unit to withstand injury, something that wasn't true in past seasons.

One last point regarding Dwight Freeney. Some people may be thinking that after injury, and after 7 seasons in the league, Dwight Freeney might be on the downside of his career. I just feel obligated to mention that Michael Strahan broke the sack record at the age of 30. Freeney turns 29 this year.

Look for a BIG year from the great number 93.

3. WR

Again, much has been said about this unit. Wayne is Wayne. Gonzo is a stud and anyone who might disagree doesn't know jack. But there's another point that I want to make, and it's this: In 07, Gonzo was fairly productive as the #2 WR after the legendary Marv went down (a moment of silence for our fallen hero). The important difference between now and 07 is that in 07, Gonzo was 3rd on the depth chart. This season, he's the #2, and that means the guy behind him isn't Aaron "Oh, so THAT'S where the sideline is" Moorehead. We haven't seen much of The Waiter, but Pierre Garcon has impressed in camp, and so has Austin Collie. WR is deeper and more talented than it has been since the Super Bowl, period. This will be a strong point this season.

(PS: Get Gonzo in your fantasy league. He's going for 1100 yards this year, count on it).

4. Peyton effing Manning

Manning may have had the quietest MVP season in NFL history last year. There aren't enough superlatives to heap on this guy, so I'll make it quick. Anyone who says a QB coming off an MVP season is on the downslope of his career is huffing glue. With a full offseason to prepare, Manning will be even better this season, a prospect which is both exciting and terrifying.

5. The D

With the addition of some big boys at DT, the previously-mentioned strengthening of the LB corps, and the re-signing of Kelvin "Screw you Rex Grossman" Hayden, the D is looking scary. The last time the D was this good, they won a Super Bowl. The loss of Dungy does hurt this unit, but the addition of Larry Coyer is unquestionably an asset. Dungy, as good a coach as he was (and he is a Hall of Famer, with a ring as both a player and a coach), was predictable. Stop the DEs and you stop the Colts D. Coyer is looking to bring pressure from non-obvious places, and he's a great coach to boot. The D will be unpredictable and fierce, and the players are behind him (which might be the most important fact of all). Add the presence of that guy who was Defensive Player of the Year in 07 (more on him below) and this D is gonna turn some heads.

6. The Running Backs

I don't know about you, but I keep forgetting about Donald Brown. I think about the draft, Moala, Collie, Taylor, even Jaimie Thomas, and somehow Brown falls through the cracks. But this should not be overlooked. BBS has said it, the boys at 18to88 have said it: the days of the "feature back" are OVER. The game is too punishing, the hits are too fierce. Joe Addai is no pansy, his running style is aggressive. But he can't take 350 carries in a season and be fresh in the playoffs; even Purple Jesus can't work that miracle. So having two first-round talents in the backfield is huge. HUGE. I can't think of many other teams that have two top talents to split carries, and Minnesota is one of them. And lets not forget the "backups": Hart and Ball have both shown great skills. In short, this is a unit that can and will make it work in the postseason.

7. The Schedule

The Colts schedule, outside of the (very strong) AFC South is as follows:

Miami Dolphins

Arizona Cardinals

Seattle Seahawks

St. Louis Rams

San Francisco 49ers

New England Patriots

Baltimore Ravens

Denver Broncos

New York Jets

Buffalo Bills

Enough said.

8. The Zombie

For those of you who have forgotten, Bob Sanders was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2007. He hungers for brains, and he will not be stopped. You may also have noticed that, unlike last year, he did NOT have arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason. Also, like Star Trek in reverse, the odd-numbered years are Sanders’ years to dominate. With bigger bodies and more depth on the D-Line to keep the guards and tackles off him, look for Sanders to dominate again.

9. The O-line (???)

I know we’re all freaking out about the O-Line this year, and such fear is warranted. But it is also misguided. Jeff Saturday has been resigned and will be back to cue the defense. Lilja claimed he would be ready on day one LAST year, and was MIA the whole season; nevertheless, he looks to be back and in playing form (fingers crossed). Tony Ugoh will be playing healthy, with a huge chip on his shoulder, and frankly has not been as bad as his rep. Charlie Johnson won’t have to start. Jaimie Thomas provides the physical talent for another late-round Mudd masterpiece. And Mike Pollak and Jamie Richard will be making the sophomore leap, building on promising rookie seasons (Pollak did well given the crappy circumstances and Richard shone despite the adversity). It’s safe to say that the O-line is deeper, stronger, and just plain better than last-year’s unit.

By the way, it should be noted that the Steelers had one of the worst O-Lines in the league last year. I can’t remember how it worked out for them.

10. The Gods

Yes, Tony Dungy is gone. He was a fantastic coach, and I don’t want to sound like I don’t appreciate what he did for the players and this team. But Jim Caldwell has the Dungy stamp of approval, and other Dungy coaches *coughcoughMikeTomlincough* have done pretty well in their careers. But let’s talk some astrology. Can anyone remember how the last team to lose Dungy as a coach did in the following season? And can anyone remember how the Colts did the last time they took a RB in the first round?

Oh yeah, Zeus is on our side too.

(Disclaimer: If Peyton goes to IR, this FanPost is rendered null and void. Keep those fingers crossed)