The REAL Week Sixteen Quick Recap: Colts 31, Raiders 26
by Brad Wells on Dec 26, 2010 8:04 PM EST
in 2010 Colts Game Recaps
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PrintThe last post was more of a thank you letter to Peyton Manning for being, you know, kind of a cool dude. Sure, fantasy football owners aren't pleased with him giving up a gimme TD late in the fourth quarter, but whatever. It's kind of nice to see good sportsmanship on display, especially in a place that pretty much defines thug football: Oakland Coliseum.
This game, just like the previous two, was a playoff game for both these teams. The Raiders, 5-0 in the AFC West, needed to win and have the Chiefs lose to keep hope alive for their fledgling playoff hopes. The Colts, who had just watched the Jaguars lose at home to the Redskins on an overtime field goal, needed a win to gain one game on the Jaguars.
As we saw at Tennessee against the Titans and last week at home against the Jags, the Colts and Peyton Manning know how to respond when pressure is on. With their 31-26 win today over the Raiders in Oakland, the Colts have a full game lead over the Jaguars for the AFC South crown. The win also gave the Chiefs the AFC West title and (with their loss earlier in the day to the Bengals) knocked the Chargers out of the playoffs.
For those of you stuck in doors, or in airports, as the East Coast is slammed with a nasty blizzard, consider this recap a nice, warm, fuzzy comfort blanket on this harsh winter's night.
Like last week, for me this game starts with the Colts' defense. We saw them shutdown the Jaguars at home in Week Fifteen, and then today they held the Raiders offense to 19 points (4 FGs, 1 garbage TD late). Oakland, with Darren McFadden, had the second best rushing offense in football (157 yards a game).
The Colts held them to 80 today.
On the flip side, for the second week in a row, the Colts rushing attack took it to the opponent. Indy had 191 yards on an inspiring 39 carries (4.9 a rush). The ground game was led by the two 'old' vets that, for so many years, have keyed the Colts to franchise-defining victories. I'm speaking of Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes. Addai returned this game after missing half the season with a shoulder injury. He had 12 rushes for 45 yards a TD. Rhodes, who once played for the Raiders and, recently, took some shots at former-teammate and Raiders first overall pick JaMarcus Russell, had 98 yards on 17 carries.
Hell, even Peyton had a long run.
Despite all the impressive rushing numbers, this wasn't a day where the Colts offense dominated. They were less than stellar on third down, and started the game with two short drives that resulted in punts. But, it was the Colts defense that set the tone, holding the Raiders to three consecutive three-and-outs on offense to start the game. The first score Oakland's offense got was on a 59-yard FG. If not for Jacoby Ford's opening game 99-yard kick return for a touchdown, the Colts likely blow out the Raiders.
Hats off to the defense and the offensive line this game. With all the injuries this team has sustained all season long, the two areas that needed to step up and be counted were the o-line and D. These last two games, they've done that.
Share you thoughts in the comments. One more win, and the Colts are in.
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I don't think
Peyton didn’t score, just to be ‘nice’. He was in real threat of being tackled and possibly injured. He realized that by sliding down, he would be able to preserve his body and preserve the win. Smart.
Agreed that it wasn't because of "sportsmanship"
But it was also not because he was about to be tackled. He didn’t want to give the ball back with 1:30 left on the clock. He knew if he went down he could just kneel the ball down two times and end the game.
Brian Westbrook did the same thing to the Cowboys a couple of years ago. It was just another example of Manning being football smart.
He could have scored, and the Raiders would have had a chance to score and kick an on-side kick to go for another posession. Just go down, give up the TD, take two knees, and have a win.
by the_iowa_hawkeye on Dec 26, 2010 8:30 PM EST up reply actions
Yes to this
Watched in slo-mo and it would have been 50-50 of him scoring and he was going to take a big hit, so safer to slide.
Nonsense.
There was little to no chance he would be tackled before he made it to the endzone. Manning went down INTENTIONALLY to keep the ball. He had no intention of scoring and giving the ball back to Oakland.
by the_iowa_hawkeye on Dec 27, 2010 1:20 AM EST up reply actions
I disagree
You watch the replay and he’s visibly frustrated that he had to go down (he slams the ball into the ground after his run). I think he took the safe route and didn’t want to take the hit.
by UnofficialPants on Dec 27, 2010 2:57 AM EST up reply actions
I found a YouTube clip
Manning certainly did not “slam” the ball to the ground. He seemed really pretty happy:
by the_iowa_hawkeye on Dec 27, 2010 4:10 PM EST up reply actions
This was a great win.
Good to see D. Rhodes tearing it up.
Tamme played well.
Manning’s run was great.
The defense – particularly Freeney/Mathis – were huge throughout.
-We will beat the Titans next week and win the AFC South.
If the Colts win next week
which I expect them too. They make the playoffs and will get the Ravens at the Luke for game 1. The defense will go no breaks as far as rushing teams go even into the playoffs.
Try to kick me while I'm down...I'll break your leg
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Tiebreaker against Kansas City
If Kansas City loses next week and Indy wins, Colts are 3 seed likely against the Jets.
Even if Indy ends up at 4, there’s no guarantee it’s the Ravens. They can still win the division. So we could be looking at the Steelers in the Wild Card.
But it’s all speculation until the win is wrapped up against Tennessee. Today’s game was completely meaningless as far as making the playoffs.
Off subject, but I really feel sorry
for the Texans’ fans. I’ve never seen a team find more ways to lose games that them. They could write a book.
They drink a lot of bleach
there’s no doubt there. In Texas, bleach comes in a 6 pack.
Try to kick me while I'm down...I'll break your leg
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Seriously?
Did you read some of the comments here after the Week One loss from Texans fans? Never feel sorry for that fanbase. Their owner is a boob, and they deserve all the losing they get.
SB Nation's Indianapolis Colts blogger at Stampede Blue and editor of SB Nation Indiana.
I will politely disagree
I’ve talked to many Texans fans, and most are very humble and good people. You can’t judge them as a whole off what some fans say. There are PLENTY of Colts fans who suck something awful, but that doesn’t mean all are. All teams have douche fans. It comes with the sport.
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by coltsfan723 on Dec 26, 2010 8:24 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I'm jaded I guess
The only Texans fans I’ve ever encountered are douches. Also, I can’t stand their owner. Oh, and Bernard Pollard. He sucks too. :)
SB Nation's Indianapolis Colts blogger at Stampede Blue and editor of SB Nation Indiana.
Well, sure
Pollard is a douchenozzle. Hate away on that dude.
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I agree.....
there’s good and bad in every fanbase. And, for the nice, genuine Texans fans, I DO feel for them. It really just seems that the Texans find more ways to ‘melt down’ at the end of games than any team I’ve ever seen. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s my perception. ‘Rosencopter’ was just one of many.
That is a coaching problem
Frank Bush is horrid. He will and should lose his job at the end of this season.
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Indianapolis Colts News and Updates
He probably will.
And, it seems that ‘Kubes’ will probably be gone too.
Kubiak
honestly, is a pretty good coach. Might not be a great head coach, but he does a good job. I wouldnt be surprised if they stick with him one more year.
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I went over and read
a few of the comments at BRB, and it seems that most of the regulars there are calling for his head.
Its natural
they thought this might just be their season to make the playoffs. If you ask, they’d rather have Frank Bush so they could gouge out his eyes in front of his loved ones.
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LOL. I know they had high hopes for this season.
Especially starting out so ‘hot’ with their win over us…..only to see things spiral out of control ….yet again.
One coach I would LOVE to have on staff here
Jeff Fischer. With a shaky future in Tennessee, look for A LOT of teams to jump to try to get him.
Try to kick me while I'm down...I'll break your leg
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You want him...
as head coach, or just on staff. Because, I don’t think he’d settle for anything less than being a head coach.
Oh no..
he wouldn’t settle for less. I’d take him over Caldwell. While I think Caldwell needs more time, Fischer is good NOW. Caldwell could be good later. But we need a more intense face at HC and Caldwell isn’t that.
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On this I definitely agree.
And, that’s what I thought you meant. While I like Caldwell on a personal level and am sure he’s a great guy, I do think the team needs a bit more intensity at the head coach position.
ST still looked horrible.....
for crying out loud, how ‘bout a little lane discipline? More stupid penalties and the resulting crappy field position. If the Colts want to go deep into the playoffs they’d better address the nightmare that is the special teams.
"There was some talk: do they take me or Ryan Leaf and I said: 'Look, here's the deal. If you don't take me, I'm gonna kick your butt for the next fifteen years'."- #18
Except for the opening kickoff
I thought this was one of the better ST performances, all around. And I’ve been very hard on our ST coach for two years now.
We have to remember a lot of the guys on STs weren’t even on an NFL roster at the start of the season.
Still some route running issues, I think -
Blair and Garcon looked like they were still off on routes. And Manning floated a few, true. Tamme looked pretty good. Still, can you imagine if we had had Collie? Ah well – hopefully good enough is good enough.
Would be nice to see the Colts not keep it close next week, and just win decisively, along with the Jags getting spanked by Houston (less chance of that). Both games are at 1pm so, being in Orlando, they’ll televise the glitter cats. Ugh.
Agreed
And my nickname for Dom is “thumper” as in, near the end of his run, he lowers his head and THUMP! Man, talk about aggressive! Like it!
Hopefully they Flex us to SNF.
of course that means we have to endure Collinsworth :-X
by sandtiger812 on Dec 26, 2010 8:36 PM EST up reply actions
play off football....
wow, colts are playing play off caliber football and seem to be the sleeper in the afc! Running the ball effectively, stuffing the run ( Kevel Connor!) … who are these guys?
Rodney Harrison said we're the team no one wants to see in the playoffs
he qualified it as ‘a team flying under the radar’, but that’s still a complement from a Colts hater.
While Harrison is a punk
I’ve always enjoyed him as an analyst. The guy for the most part calls it pretty straight and if he says we’re under the radar, then it’s a literal compliment.
by DevilsReject on Dec 26, 2010 10:21 PM EST up reply actions
Donald Brown?
Was he hurt? Weird that he did not play after the 1st period. Any word on what happened?
Brown
Colts seem to be rotating backs now. Plus, Dom was motivated as hell to stick it to the Raiders. Thus, he got a lot of carries.
SB Nation's Indianapolis Colts blogger at Stampede Blue and editor of SB Nation Indiana.
Dom looked great
The only thing I didn’t like is when they put Joe in at the end of the game. The Raiders were selling out on the run and I was worried he would get hurt again.
Speaking of that – did we have any injuries in the game? I know Bathea came back in, he’s one tough mother.
Bethea looked like he
just had the wind knocked out of him, from the guy’s foot.
No injury
Addai and Rhodes were playing out of their minds. Why not keep the hot guys in there?
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Again, off subject,
but who would have suspected that the Chargers would be blown out by the Bengals? Wow, today, the football Gods were smiling on us.
My only concern...
(and I’ll probably write about this) is that the Colts’ defense is not sealing games. They’re playing great defense for most of the game, but they’re letting teams drive at the end and finish in the red zone. The red zone defense has not been good going back to the Cowboys game. They’re going way too soft between the 20s and not buckling down in the red zone. Some of these recent games shouldn’t have ever come down to onsides kicks or positions where teams could win the game. But the Colts’ defense is allowing these late-game touchdowns that, for me, are a notable concern, and that’s largely due to the same conservative defensive playcalling that hasn’t worked the past four weeks to close games.
Writer for Stampede Blue.
by Collin McCollough on Dec 26, 2010 9:08 PM EST reply actions
Actually it has worked the last 4 weeks
Since we won 3 and the Cowboy loss wasn’t on the D.
But I agree with you, I hate that game ending prevent. I know the intention is to make them chew up the clock, but it’s totally frustrating.
Worked in spite of itself...
Defense could have sealed the Cowboys, Titans, Jags and Raiders games. They obviously didn’t seal the Cowboys game and I would argue that they missed key opportunities to seal the other three too.
Just the difference between this year and the last few years though. In the past, the defense makes a strip-sack or interception to seal these games. This year, minus playmakers like Melvin Bullitt (who was a game-clincher) and Jerraud Powers, the defense doesn’t have those plays in their arsenal it seems.
Writer for Stampede Blue.
by Collin McCollough on Dec 26, 2010 9:41 PM EST up reply actions
Considering...
3 of the starting 4 DBs are out, and 2 starting LBs, down to a 4th string S, etc., it’s pretty remarkable the D is doing this well.
I agree, the prevent is frustrating and always seems to put us in a position where we have to stop an onside kick to win the game. But I was referring to percentage wise, it has worked since we won 3 games. I’m getting more grey hairs by the week.
Please don't forget...
To remark on the ST and since the beginning of the year just how horrible they’ve been. I forget who is coaching them but, they may need to look in another direction next year. Last week there was an article pointing out the major flaws in players picking up their guys. I couldn’t imagine going through next year without a couple of changes in the coaching staff.
NeXt Man Up
by Dann Giszewski on Dec 26, 2010 10:17 PM EST up reply actions
The conservative playcalling has been an issue with me too,...
not just the conservative defensive play-calling that you mention, but the conservative offensive play-calling too……like running three times in a row to burn clock. Again, this is just an opinion, but I think that sometimes the Colts go into the ‘preserve the lead and burn clock mode’, when they should continue to do the things that got them the lead in the first place. Then, maybe things wouldn’t come down to an onside kick…..which we always have a possibility of not recovering.
This team just needs to play defense the whole game
Throw that end of the game prevent defense right out of the window. You might as well just give them 7 and take 2 min off the clock, because it’s the same every week.
by strandedincarolina on Dec 26, 2010 9:21 PM EST up reply actions
My main concern...
is the Colts offense without Collie seems like it takes some time to heatup and this forces the defense to bail the offense out in the beginning of games until they start clicking. If we are playing more explosive offenses (Patriots, Ravens, Steelers) this could force us to be playing from big deficits and this is where Peyton starts having to force things. Also, considering how good the run game has become recently, the last thing we want to do come playoff time is become one dimensional as we are playing from behind. But overall, this was a very impressive win and our team appears to be answering all critics regarding the inability to stop the run and run the ball….GO COLTS.
"I’m very fast. I’m like Forest Gump except... I am not an idiot." - Michael Scott
I agree Colin....
Please do write about it!! Coyer sees us up by two scores and decides it’s time to go softer than toliet paper! We back off and keep the other side from scoring quickly, but there is NO ugency to STOP THEM FROM SCORING!!!! THAT’S what a defense should do. We have success ALL GAME long doing one thing and then expect the same success when we switch to something totally different! NUTS I tell you!
Bleedin' Blue for as long as I can remember. Can you believe we get to be fans while our team has the greatest QB of all time?!?!?!
i liked
mookie and fili, thought they played strong, nice complement to freeney and mathis. thought that pollak and saturday teamed up nicely too…developing some chemistry perhaps? and dominic really is good for us. something positive about him, which rubs off. passing game wasnt sharp though. maybe it was the turf…our routes seem sharper on synthetic turf.
GO COLTS!
We got it done once again. We did everything we needed to do to win, but we definitely made it closer than it should have been. The D played awesome again, which is a relief. We need this one next week but you better believe that we’re going to be a force in the playoffs once we get there. I hope we get to see the Jets at home and end their pre-season dynasty once and for all
Three down. Five to go!
GO COLTS!!!
Go COLTS!
Definitely not a playoff game, In fact someone should ask Polian why the starters weren't rested
This game, just like the previous two, was a playoff game for both these teams.
This game oddly meant nothing to the Colts. Once the Jags and Titans lost early, this game became meaningless. I know it sounds hard to believe but look into the scenarios and tiebreakers and you’ll see what I’m saying is true.
Win or lose vs Oakland, the Colts would advance next week (and be the #4 seed) with a win next week or a Jacksonville loss.
No matter what happened in the Colts-Oakland game, the Jags only route to the playoffs is a week 17 win vs the Texans and a Colts loss against TEN.
Considering the Colts threw away a perfect season in the name of rest and health last year, someone should really ask Polian why the starters played to the bitter end in this game, especially in light of the staggering amount of injuries the Colts already have.
Seeding means something
If we could squeak into the 3 seed, we certainly have less change of having to play NE until the conference championship game. I like that more than playing them in the divisional round.
by ColtsFanatic07 on Dec 27, 2010 8:28 AM EST up reply actions
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