NY Times Blog: "Same old powerhouse Colts"

He believes Garcon will start over Gonzalez OPENING DAY:

The ancillary wideouts – Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie and Anthony Gonzalez – benefit greatly from Wayne and Clark. Garcon has made monumental progress in terms of mechanics and football IQ. He should be the No. 2 receiver on opening day. He has the speed to stretch the field, though his greatest asset is the raw strength that makes him difficult to corral when running after the catch. Collie is as polished as any second-year pro can be. Gonzalez, back from an ’09 knee injury, is a former first-round pick who has good hands and catch-and-run abilities.

I don’t recall anyone here every saying otherwise.

Link

I loved Andy’s Benoit’s analysis, which IMO is more thorough, insightful and just plain enjoyable to read than the vast majority of what’s out there. Then again, my favorable opinion is probably baised by the fact that Benoit happens to be telling me what I want to hear: namely, that he thinks the Colts are and will continue to be very, very good.

One point he made that really resonated with me is how anything less than a SB championship will be deemed a disappointment. That’s the difficult part of being a fan of this team: yes, we’re spoiled by unprecedented regular season success, but that raises our hopes and expectations so high that there’s that inevitable heartbreak when we fail in the postseason. In some ways, I think it would be easier on my poor fragile heart to be a fan of a team so consistently awful that a five win season is deemed a triumph! (Don’t get me wrong: I’m grateful for all the success…mostly ;) But such phenomenal regular season success DOES make postseason failure so crushingly hard to deal with).

I swear that I can spell…sadly, though, I type about as well as Jamarcus Russell quarterbacks. I’m new here, so if anyone could clue me in as to how to edit our posts, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks and, as always, GO COLTS!

“and that will most likely be forever unless he turns into a moron….”

He’s no moron, but for a complicated blend of reasons most of us can’t fully understand, Peyton just doesn’t play as well in the postseason. It’s not merely about his ‘passer rating’ being lower; it’s that his usual jaw-dropping clutch ability to pull victory out of the jaws of defeat somehow fades once the postseason begins. He’s not the ‘choker’ some make him out to be, but nor is he the masterful genius we get to see throughout the regular season.

Pat McAfee is almost irrelevant because he punts for Peyton Manning’s team. With this offense, the Colts have no need to prioritize the return game. Whoever can be counted on to return a punt or kick without fumbling will earn the job. Expect Jamie Silva to get the first crack.

Patty Mac is most definitely NOT irrelevant otherwise we would have just kept Hunter Smith. The dude kicks ass. And he kicks it far.
And Jamie Silva? WTF? Dude, did you actually watch him return any punts last season? No? Yeah, well me neither.

“It’s okay to have a few misspellings at first, but if you keep it up you will be flogged, then banned, then hit upon by Spazmo”

Ah, yes, that’s a comforting scenario…and to think I was nervous about finally starting to post here ;)

“Patty Mac is most definitely NOT irrelevant”

Agreed. Besides, his tweets are just so darn cheerful and amusing. And we all know it’s essential that the team entertains me over Twitter ;)

As I noted, Benoit’s analysis was easily one of the most insightful and comprehensive I’ve come across, though I DID cringe to see him unearth that tired, worn out ‘Atlanta Braves’ comparison due to our astounding regular season success and postseasons characterized by…heartbreaking mediocrity. Come on, Andy…you’re a talented writer who can come up with more creative and original parallels than that one!

..that picture is a fair representation of what you look like in real life, Teej813, then consider me smitten ;) Seriously, thanks to everyone for the warm welcome. I’m actually writing a piece for a different site re. my experience as a female football fanatic, so suffice it to say that I’m very used to being among the only women in a cyber-sea of testosterone!

I must say, though, that if Whoopi worship is the norm around here, I might not fit in too well ;) (Love those photos, by the way!)

And…oh, yeah, the article. Do you guys agree with Benoit’s contention that we SHOULDN’T make significant alterations to the offensive line? Do you think the Texans will finish second in our division? I tend to feel the hype around the Texans is vastly unwarranted. A solid but wholly unspectacular 9-7 record. An embarrassingly bad 1-5 within the division…1-5! I’d actually be shocked if either of this year’s Wild Card teams hailed from the AFC South.