Paul Kuharsky gets chippy when discussing Colts top brass
I get the sense ole Paul is a bit irked by Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell post-Super Bowl:
"I'm through that. I'm looking ahead."
Jim Caldwell is a stand-up guy. But when he finally talked to a reporter for the first time since the night of Feb. 7, he pulled that looking-ahead-not-back card, one of the weakest in the game. Here’s Mike Chappell’s story and another from John Oehser.
It’s the same thing Bill Polian did when he met with the press late the week after the Super Bowl, insisting when asked about the game that "past is prologue," butchering the meaning of the line as he declined to talk about the Colts’ failures against the Saints. (If past is prologue, than you HAVE to talk about the past if you’re talking about the future.)Call me crazy, but I firmly believe fans are entitled to hear from the coach and the team president one time after they’ve had some time to soak in the Super Bowl, to ponder what happened and to look at film.
If you talk for 30 minutes after the game and never take questions about it from the media again, aren’t you hiding from it? It's hiding or it's contempt for fans and either way it's unbecoming from a classy organization and two highly respected guys.
It’s no war crime, and I’ll get over it.
But for a team that preaches next man up, it didn’t feel like the top guys manned up.
Polian's press conference after the Super Bowl was indeed a farce. But, then again, Polian has suffered from an extra severe case of "bitter-old-man syndrome" since Tony Dungy left. Dungy was good with the media, smoothing over rough edges. Polian IS the rough edge.
Also, Caldwell pathetically parroting Polian's opinion continues to reinforce the notion that he is nothing more than Bill's poodle. Again, I don't agree with that opinion, but perception means a lot in coaching. Right now, if you go to any Colts message board, or if you ask Colts fans in your nearby sports bar, Caldwell is perceived by many to be nothing more than an extension of Polian and not his own man.
Paul Kuharsky is a pretty fun guy and he cares about what he does. So, when you see him taking veiled shots at people (and yes Paul, you are calling out Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell in this piece), it means they've done something that he will likely later log in his primary complaints.
The Colts did some serious PR damage in 2009. Media and fans are still stinging from how they handled Week Sixteen and other events throughout the season. I still have not received confirmation as to whether Polian attended Media Day. I certainly did not see him, and I saw everyone. There just seems to be an extra element of edge added that was not there when Tony Dungy was the front man. I still think Jim Irsay needs to step in and relegate Polian to the background. Bill has a nasty habit of sticking his foot in his mouth whenever he talks. I mean, just ask Howard Mudd (who retired as o-line coach) how he feels after Polian took shots at his guys after the Super Bowl.
"What did you think when Bill Polian said on his radio show that the offensive line was largely responsible for the loss to the Saints in the Super Bowl?'
Here's what Polian said the Monday after the Super Bowl:
"Our offensive line, by our standards, did not have a good game," the team president said. "They were outplayed by the Saints defensive line . . .''
So here was Mudd nearly two weeks later, contemplating the question. He began to talk. Then he stopped, went silent. Finally, after a pregnant pause, he said, "I don't think I want to weigh into that.''
I love Bill Polian as a personnel guy, but he really needs to stop pissing off people. It just makes the entire organization look bad.
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i agree bbs
the colts will always be a super-bowl type with polian and manning polian needs to treat peopie better that is a fact but he is what he is
okay i have cerebral palsy arthris and chronic fatigue as well i have a great life and loveing folks some days are better than other days i got a make-a-wish in 2001 and saw my favorite team the broncos it was the trip of a lifetime i wish everyone couild have gotten to enjoy that with me i know some of u hate the broncos and that okay but i bleed organ and bule for my mnr fans but i bleed orange and blue denver will rise again resident broncos fan for every blog resident broncos for stampede bule thanks shvd98z24
A different perspective
As for Caldwell, I suspect he’s spent some painful weeks focusing on “what ifs” and what went wrong. He’s probably watched more replays of the game that shall go unnamed than anyone not named Peyton Manning. And he probably avoided the media hoping (rightly or wrongly) that in the past few weeks, the media would wear out its stories of the media darling Saints and finally turn its attention to the 2010 season. It has been a mental challenge for ME to get over the loss, and it doesn’t impact my life at all… this is Caldwell’s livelihood for goodness’ sake. It probably took an enormous amount of soul-searching and finally resolve to get up and move on. He’s over it, and just because the media wasn’t there to document the process of his getting over it, they’re pissed. Too bad.
As for Mudd, I also have a different thought. If he had spelled out his reaction to Polian’s comments in that moment, he may well have revealed their offseason talent acquisition strategy. Yes, we can all speculate and declare where they MUST and/or WILL go with improving the O-Line, but until the season opener, we won’t know who will fill what role, and for what purpose. Even then we know they will continue to tweak. But this is a particularly sensitive period – the draft, free agency – during which key pieces will be added (and consequently removed from other teams’ possibilities). Better to keep the trap shut.
Finally a comment on Polian overall. I’ve now listened to a number of the interviews that were available for the listening, and – as any man who is with a woman knows – what is said often matters less than HOW it is said. In some of these cases, he came off like a jerk. But in many other cases, what I have noticed is that the words on paper sound far worse than HOW they were spoken. A great example is Polian saying nothing is imminent with Brackett… taken on paper, I’m afraid the sky is falling and they’re far apart… but listening to the sound bite, it’s just a matter-of-fact statement that doesn’t ACTUALLY indicate when the deal will come together.
How can you not love a team that does this?
by LovinBlue on Mar 1, 2010 5:21 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
Rec'd a million times if I could!
I, as a fan, don’t feel “slighted” in the least. Kuharsky needs to let the SB go.
"I throw, you catch. It's NOT that hard!"
Peyton Manning, SNL, 2007
by peytonsthebest on Mar 1, 2010 7:14 PM EST up reply actions
Agreed. As far as I'm concerned, it's all about the new season now.
I’m excited for August. The Colts could make it to the big game again——easily.
"You can't defend the perfect throw, what can I say?" Peyton quoting Marino
"As I grow older, the list of people who can kiss my ass grows longer"-Ancient Hoosier Proverb.
I understand the concrens about Polian
But do you think that the Colts o-line deserved no criticism after the game?
Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.
Napoleon Bonaparte
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"[T]he Steelers have been evil pieces of crap for a long time who play dirty and seek to injure their opponents, and one day there will be a reckoning."
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Can't you just feel the love?
Not really
When looking at the breakdowns in that game the O-Line is pretty far down the list.
by the_iowa_hawkeye on Mar 1, 2010 5:36 PM EST up reply actions
Play calling sucked in the SB
"Fans are the only ones who really care. There are no free-agent fans." - Dick Young
Movie Quote of the Week: "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented."
Yep
"I throw, you catch. It's NOT that hard!"
Peyton Manning, SNL, 2007
by peytonsthebest on Mar 1, 2010 7:14 PM EST up reply actions
Me too.
And I agree with Kuharsky about Polian using it incorrectly. Prologue has to be discussed, because it informs. If prologue wasn’t important, it’d just be in the regular logue. It makes me wonder if that’s something he picked up from Marv Levy; I’d think Marv would use that phrase with an artful amount of subtext to it.
Anonymity breeds inhumanity. In simpler terms, don't be a troll.
Anytime Polian quotes Shakespeare, it cracks me up!
"You can't defend the perfect throw, what can I say?" Peyton quoting Marino
"As I grow older, the list of people who can kiss my ass grows longer"-Ancient Hoosier Proverb.
When you lose, you can't win with the press
by indymike on Mar 1, 2010 6:55 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
This is true.
"I am in favor of censorship ‐ not against what is supposed to be sexy or dirty, but against what is idiotic." -Jean Renoir
Random fact of the week from the empty void that is my mind: In an exothermic reaction, heat is a product.
Thank you, Chem 116, for teaching me stuff I already learned in high school chemistry. I always enjoy having my time wasted.
Amen
"I throw, you catch. It's NOT that hard!"
Peyton Manning, SNL, 2007
by peytonsthebest on Mar 1, 2010 7:15 PM EST up reply actions
Rec'd.
I’d like to have a t-shirt with that on it.
"You can't defend the perfect throw, what can I say?" Peyton quoting Marino
"As I grow older, the list of people who can kiss my ass grows longer"-Ancient Hoosier Proverb.
Well
The press is like a French woman: If she flatters you, it means she thinks you are a chump but the flavor of the month, but if she’s indifferent or hates you, it means that she has found something she can love more than her own reflection :D
"Winning is not everything;the desire to win is" - Vince Lombardi
"Lomu's the Brent Spar with attitude. A figure who inspires hero worship among even those who think a fly-half is a glass of beer consumed when 'er indoors is looking the other way." - Robert Philip Daily
by rangerover76 on Mar 2, 2010 2:24 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
um a joke
why cant the colts play every game every team like denver
okay i have cerebral palsy arthris and chronic fatigue as well i have a great life and loveing folks some days are better than other days i got a make-a-wish in 2001 and saw my favorite team the broncos it was the trip of a lifetime i wish everyone couild have gotten to enjoy that with me i know some of u hate the broncos and that okay but i bleed organ and bule for my mnr fans but i bleed orange and blue denver will rise again resident broncos fan for every blog resident broncos for stampede bule thanks shvd98z24
You know, as old as Bill is, I'm afraid he's simply never going to change
I don’t say this to defend him – I, too, agree he can be a “I know better than you” type jerk. Phil B noticed that himself, and Phil’s a pretty easygoing guy. But, a man as old and set in his ways as Polian is will simply not change. This is just a statement of fact, and yes, I’m not pleased with it. It’s just truth.
But at least he’s a jerk who puts together a good team. I’ve lived watching IU basketball since the mid eighties, so I’m used to brilliant but abrasive personalities in charge of teams I love.
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"How can a pickup truck contain enough mass to unfold into a towering machine? I say if Ringling Brothers can get 15 clowns into a Volkswagen, anything is possible."
Insert foot in mouth
but perception means a lot in coaching
Perception means NOTHING in coaching. Don’t you have a mirror to lovingly gaze into?
by zilla1126 on Mar 1, 2010 11:33 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Summary: Bill Polian is completely tone deaf when it comes to dealing with the media. That being said, he’s taken 6 teams to the Super Bowl. In terms of media savvy versus football savvy, I’d rather have a GM/President that’s football savvy.
We rise. They fall.
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http://monkeybiziu.deviantart.com
This
"It's the greatest job in the world until Peyton comes off the field and you think his thumb might be broken and there's three minutes left in the AFC Championship Game and you're down by three to New England and you haven't taken a snap all year. Yeah, it's a great job until that point." - Jim Sorgi
Polian is just following Dungy's lead
“The only way to erase disappointment is to move forward” – Tony Dungy
Frankly, if all Polian said about the Super Bowl was “I don’t want to talk about it”, I’d be fine with that. I don’t want to talk about it either. If you want to heal, you can’t keep staring in the rearview mirror, especially with the draft on its way.

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