The 2000s were a great decade for the Colts. During that time, they put a stamp on NFL history and developed into one of the NFL powerhouses. Prior to the start of the playoffs this year, we did some polling around here for Greatest Colts of the Decade. The categories ranged from great players at specific positions to great moments that we will all remember fondly for years to come. These categories received thousands of votes, and overall they seem to reflect what a majority of Colts fans view as "The Greatest" of last decade.

After the jump, check out the results along with a few funny comments pulled from the voting threads. Enjoy.

Go Colts!

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He will likely go down as the greatest quarterback ever to play the game. So, when it comes to great moments in Colts history from 2000-2009, Peyton Manning gets a category all his own. Even now, when he is supposed to be on the decline, Manning will likely lock up his NFL record fourth MVP. A big reason he has won this award is because of recent amazing moments that re-define what a QB can do for a team in the clutch.

For some of you, a great Manning moment might be how he handled himself when his team struggled, or when he himself was struggling. I've often said his 6 INT performance against the Chargers in the 2007 regular season was one of his finest games. Obviously, people look at that on the surface, laugh it off, and continue on with their vapid existence. They rest of us know that despite a depleted team featuring starting wide receivers named Craphonso Thorpe and Aaron Morehead, Peyton drove the team into chip-shot FG range to win the game in the final seconds. Adam Vinatieri missed the FG, a miss fans still hate him for to this day.

There are so many Manning moments we could fill an encyclopedia. For this one, we'll pick the five best of Stampede Blue. If you feel one is missing, by all means ask that it be added.

We are wrapping up the "Great Colts of the Decade" this week. Again, the focus here is from 2000-2009, and for this one it involves the greatest individual performance by a player in one game. The game itself could be a playoff game, or a game that helped the Colts reach the playoffs. The game could be a "coming out party" type of game or the type of clutch, money performance that makes the player and the team seem invincible.

Obviously, everyone is going to have their own favorite moment. Some might not be listed here. For the ones listed, I thought back to games where certain individuals did something that, for the Colts at that time, we fans had never seen before. Thus, the performance was made special.

Feel free to make suggestions and, if they meet our criteria, we'll update the poll. Enjoy voting.

This category was suggested by readers. A no-name player is someone who seemed to come out of no where and capture the attention and hearts of fans. In some cases, these were rookie free agents that made WOW! plays at the right moment. Others are "lunch pale" kind of guys who were consistent at their job, no matter the position: Blocking, long-snapping, run-stuffing, special teams tackling, etc.

They may not be household names, but they are names any Colts fan would recognize.

I made on exception from the list: Luke Lawton. While we all loved to cheer "Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuke" every time he got a carry, or that one time he scored a TD late in the 2007 season, it seems Luke might have been doping at that time. Luke was recently suspended by the NFL for violating the banned performance enhancements policy, which essentially labels Luke a cheater. We maintain a strict and consistent edict here at Stampede Blue that once a player or coach is caught for cheating, it taints everything the player or coach did prior to the penalty. Thus, he is no longer worthy of being a great no-name player. I hope all of you agree with me on this point, sad as it is.

Obviously, with this category, I assume we will have a lot of write-ins. Feel free to do so in the comments.

OK, enough about Bill Polian. Now, we are back to talking about players.

In 2001, the Colts set an NFL for defensive ineptness, allowing roughly 30 points a game. Part of the reason for this was Indy's absolutely dreadful secondary, which consisted of players like Jeff Burris, Chad Cota, and David Macklin. However, after the Colts hired Tony Dungy, the play of the cornerbacks steadily improved, culminating the defense setting an NFL record in 2008 (this time, for greatness). The 2008 Colts secondary allowed only 6 TDs passes all season and held opponents to throw for 188 yards a game. 

Since the hiring of Dungy and the implementation of the Tampa-2 style of defense, some very fine corners have come and gone through this organization. Today, we will vote on the best of them. Again, when voting, it is important to focus on how these guys played when they were with the Colts. The Nick Harper we see today with the Titans is not the Nick Harper who was the starting CB for the Super Bowl champion Colts in 2006. The seemingly confused and often-burnt Jason David of the Saints was not that kind of player with the Colts.

Vote below on the cornerback that you think was the best for the Colts this decade. If a player you liked is not listed, write his name in the comments.

This category was suggested by readers, and I agree that it is excellent. More so than any other teams this decade, the Colts consistently are able to find quality players that are not drafted. Arguably one of the greatest players ever to go undrafted is Jeff Saturday. But, he was brought to the Colts in 1999. So, Jeff is off this list. 

However, defensive captain Gary Brackett, special teams co-captain and starting safety Melvin Bullitt, and longtime Colts running back Dominic Rhodes have all made significant contributions to this team this decade while not being undrafted by the Colts. Also, a special shoutout is in order for Nick Harper, who now plays for the Titans. While the Colts have used high draft picks in recent years on corners like Tim Jennings and Jerraud Powers, Harper has had a very distinguished career as a corner despite going undrafted in 2001. Actually, you could possibly make a strong argument that Harper was the best, most consistent starting corner the Colts had this decade.

Obviously, if we did a poll of best coach of the decade, Tony Dungy would (and should) will it unanimously. I say this not to slight or disrespect Jim Mora, who coached the Colts from 1998-2001. While we oftentimes laugh and chuckle at Jim Mora's now famous "PLAYOFFS!" line from 2001, the fact of the matter is he was one of the most important coaches this franchise has ever had.

Prior to Mora, under both the Lindy Infante and Ted Marchabroda coaching tenures, it was evident that effort and dedication to the team were not high priorities of all the players on the roster. We would see players dog it Randy Moss-style on a consistent basis, but not see any accountability.

That changed with Jim Mora.

The tone and attitude of the team changed dramatically from 1998-2001. Gone were lazy players who only worked for their paycheck. Gone was inconsistent effort and a lack of accountability. There was no better example of Mora's emphasis on accountability than the benching of Marshall Faulk in 1998.

Mired in a terrible season featuring a then-rookie Peyton Manning, Jim Mora had serious discipline issues occurring within a very fractured Colts team that year. No one player optimized this than Marshall Faulk, a guy who would routinely call out players to the media without having seemingly any accountability for himself. One day, Faulk showed up 5 minutes late to a meeting. He was pulled aside by Mora, who informed him he was going to be fined for being late and would be benched to start the game that week. Faulk was livid, but the message was loud and clear.

No one is above the team. Players made sure to show up on time to meetings in the future. Team focus and accountability stopped being internal issues with the Colts organization.

While Tony Dungy is very much a first ballot Hall of Famer, and arguably the greatest overall NFL coach of this decade (aka, he won games without needing to cheat), Dungy is always quick to point out that (unlike his tenure with the Buccaneers) the Colts team he inherited in 2002 did not lack focus or desire to win. And Dungy attributed that to the coaching of Jim Mora. 

We do indeed love ya, Jim. Thanks for helping make our team a winner.

So, while we will not vote on coach of the decade (because it is so obviously Tony Dungy), we give a shout out to Jim Mora, who is also responsible for many of the assistant coaches were are voting on in this category: Best Assistant Coach of the Decade.

The Colts have had remarkable consistency in their assistant coaches this decade. Coaches like Howard Mudd and Tom Moore have been assistants with this team since 1998, brought in by then-head coach Jim Mora. Other assistants, like John Teerlick and Mike Murphy, have been coaching in Indy since 2002, helping to turn a porous defense into a contender. There are also assistants like Ron Meeks, who was partly responsible for Indy's defensive turn around. Players like Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne thrived under Clyde Christenson's coaching. Peyton Manning won three MVPs with now-current Colts head coach Jim Caldwell as his QB coach. The best running backs coach this league has ever seen might be Gene Huey. He has turned Marshall Faulk and Edgerrin James into stars, and took players like Dominic Rhodes and turned them into 1,000 yard rushers.

Bottom line is this voting will be tough. Indy has a stable of great assistant coaches.

The philosophy of Bill Polian and the front office is to have a revolving door at linebacker. Because of the existing salary cap, emphasis and investment in certain key positions is vital to maintaining the core of your team. For a Tampa-2 style defense, safety and defensive line are much more important than linebacker. Thus, players like Bob Sanders, Dwight Freeney, and even Anthony McFarland were considerably invested in (aka, paid more money) over Colts linebackers.

Still, despite the revolving door, some very impressive linebackers have made their way through the Colts over the last decade. Many of these players played well in Indy, and then went on to play even better at other destinations. However, the focus here is on players who played well while in Indy. This includes a player like Marcus Washington, who went on to play in Pro Bowls for the Redskins. However, before his Redskins days, Washington was a vital player in Indy's AFC Championship run in 2003. Polian still refers to Washington, and later David Thornton, as linebackers that "got away."

Then there are the "solid" players; guys who gave consistent effort and dedication for long stretches. Players like Gary Brackett, Rob Morris, and Thornton fit this. Big play guys, like Cato June, were less consistent, but were often part of several HUGE plays that helped win football games for the Colts. I've also included Clint Session because he has been very impressive in his three years, moving from back-up to starter very quickly.

Whatever your criteria, the voting is below. Use the comments to write-in anyone who think was slighted.