The Colts take on the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay tonight. It's a return to the place where, eight years ago, the Colts truly started on their dominant run of seven straight seasons of twelve wins or more. Of course, that number is tainted, somewhat, by the fact that the franchise has only one Super Bowl, but that seven season run really began in October of 2003 against the Bucs in what many consider the greatest comeback in NFL history.

Now, it's the Bucs who are the up-and-coming team with the hotshot young QB while the aging Colts limp in minus Peyton Manning. Crazy how things change, isn't it?

Speaking of crazy, flashback to, say, late July of this year. If I told you then that after the first quarter of NFL regular season play that:

• The Lions would be 4-0
• The Bills would lead the AFC East
• The Titans would start 3-1
• The Eagles would be 1-3

If I told you all that, most of you would have thought I was nuts. Such is the wonderfully unpredictable craziness that is the NFL.

That said, they don't hand out trophies for September awesomeness. If they did, the Colts would have a gaggle. Starting hot is important, but it means nothing if you fold in December and January.