Brian Billick gay for Rodney Harrison?

by BigBlueShoe on Dec 4, 2007 4:04 PM EST in Analysis

I nearly fell out of my seat when I saw this I was laughing so hard.
Don Banks at SI needs a history lesson:
The Colts of two seasons ago had their own struggles dealing with the possibility of perfection. Tony Dungy and his players never got a handle on how to think of their potential date with destiny, getting caught up in the issue of when, and how much, to rest the starters for the playoffs, and sending conflicting signals over the significance of going undefeated. After the Chargers beat them at home in Week 15, the Colts seemed drained and unable to recover the aura of invincibility that had been theirs in the season's first 13 games.
Indianapolis, of course, hadn't won a Super Bowl at that point, and protecting the viability of that quest meant everything for Dungy and the rest of the organization. The perfect-season talk wound up being a distraction of sorts for the Colts, and focusing on it served only to siphon away energy that could have been used toward the goal of winning that elusive championship.

No Don. What siphoned away a lot of energy from the Colts in late 2005 wasn't all the stupid "undefeated" crap. It was the death of Tony Dungy's son, James. 18-year-old kids dying of suicide have a way of draining people's will more so than talk by sports writers of an potential undefeated season. And, in any case, prior to the San Diego game and the death of James Dungy, the Colts made the decision to rest injured players (like Cato June and Corey Simon) rather than try and win meaningless games. Sports writers like Banks didn't like that decision, because it was boring. This decision didn't factor into Indy losing to Pittsburgh, despite what some say. Yes, Dungy and the team were drained by the playoffs. Death has a way of doing that. See the Redskins. The reason the Colts lost to the Steelers is because Pittsburgh was, quite simply, the best team in football in 2005. We just didn't know it until Super Bowl 40. Undefeated or not, Indy was not as good as the Steelers in 2005. Simple as that.
Tony Dungy talked with Bob Costas on his HBO Show about Bill Belichick:
When you said prior to the game that you thought that the Spygate thing was a black mark for the league, I think you said, more so than for Belichick or the Patriots, did you hear from him, either directly or indirectly?
"I did not. But what I meant was you had so many people looking at this team and this organization. They've won three Super Bowls. We're talking about them as maybe the best team ever. This is the, they're the franchise in the NFL. And to have something like that happen, it just lets people say, `Oh, you know, this is how you win.' Or, `This is okay, as long as you win.' And I didn't think it was good for the NFL. In my opinion, a tough day for the NFL, and something you just wish didn't happen."
Do you think he resented that, and carries that resentment forward?
"I don't know. I hope not. And I hope there's no one out there that would think it was a good thing, or an okay thing. It was very unfortunate."

Look for Patriots fans everywhere to use this as fodder because Pats fans look for ANYTHING that sounds like disrespect. Dungy's words are accurate and reflect what most fans felt about Belichick's cheating. If Pats fans don't like that, and see it as disrespect, then fine. No one really cares what they think anyway save those of us (me! me! me!) that take amusement in listening to them whine and complain about anything.
David J. Warner seems to suggest the Colts don't need Marvin Harrison in order to repeat as World Champions. Big B. Shoe seems to suggest that David J. Warner should get his Big F. Head examined for making such a silly suggestion.
18 to 88 illustrates that throwing 49 TDs ain't such an easy thing, and Tom Brady breaking Manning's TD record is not guaranteed.
Chris at BCC has a great write-up on the game this past Sunday.

0 recs | Comment 11 comments

Comments

Colts and Pittsburgh 2005

Agree with a lot of your points, but the Colts did beat Pittsburgh 26-7 in the regular season that year. That doesn't necessarily mean they were better than Pittsburgh, but I do believe the unfortunate situation with James Dungy did impact the game. The Banks explanation just shows how out of touch these sportswriters are with past history of the game and why games are won or lost. They tend to look at results and don't look at other factors causing the result. By the way, Patriot fans were already on top of the Dungy interview last night, and you are right about how they perceived his comments. Funny thing, Costas was asking if this affected Dungy's relationship with Belicheck, but Belicheck brushed Dungy off after the title game last year, just like he did after the game this year. However, Costas didn't mention that. Makes me wonder how Belicheck was to Dungy in the playoff games the Colts lost?

Deep down, the Colt players know they didn't have a "fair" shot at the Pats this year. Your not going to hear any excuses from the Colts, which is the way it should be. But I'm betting they would love to have another shot at the Pats, and if the Colts lose, you won't hear any excuses then either. I, for one, believe that the result will be different if we see them again.

by Blueisgood on Dec 4, 2007 5:07 PM EST 0 recs

Do we need Harrison?

From the AOL article:

Are Wayne, Gonzalez, and two highly reliable targets at tight end enough to get the Colts over the hump?

Who is our other reliable TE? Dallas is one, please don't tell me they actually think Utecht is another one. That's like saying Tiki Barber was a reliable player to run down the clock at the end of a game. You know he's going to fumble sooner or later.

/rant

Colts fan in Chicagoland. Go Colts!

by Kyle321N on Dec 4, 2007 5:13 PM EST 0 recs

it's Joseph

It took me a second to think of it though

I'm a blogger now http://shakennbaken.blogspot.com/

by shake n bake on Dec 4, 2007 5:59 PM EST up 0 recs

Response

#1) Do we need Harrison?
Response: Of course we f&$king do you f%#king moron! The h*&l kind of stupid f*@king question is that? "Durrrrrr, does Tom Brady need Randy Moss? Does Carson Palmer need Chad Johnson? Does Philip Rivers need umm... Anyone?"

#2) Pats fans are morons. Collectively. It's like some kind of moron virus has infected everyone that claims allegiance to the Evil Empire. Therefore, disregarding everything they say is no longer an option, it's a necessity.

#3) I think, at this point, we need to accept that Brady will take the single season touchdown crown. The fact is that he's 8 back with four to play, and he's still got Pitt, Miami, NYJ, and NYG. He could concievably throw none against Pitt and the Giants, but it's certainly not unquestionable or unreasonable for him to throw 4 each against Jets and Dolphins. Especially the Jets. Manning took off the gas for his last four games, including a 0 TD performance in week 17. Somehow, I can't see Belichick telling Brady "We've got it locked up, let's just chill out".

#4) The Pats have become a combination of the '04 and '05 Colts. Great passing game, iffy defense, falls apart in bad weather. This is a team that's going to get annihilated in the playoffs by a team like, for example, the Steelers or Jags.

#5) I can't decide which would be sweeter: seeing Tom Brady get carted off the field after a defensive player takes offense to having the score run up on, or seeing the Pats go undefeated and lose in the AFC Championship game to a Colts team built for January football.

"Hey, if you want me to come here, I want to come here. But if you don't, I'm going to beat your butt for 15 years playing in the AFC." -Peyton Manning-

by MonkeyBusiness on Dec 4, 2007 6:01 PM EST 0 recs

Don't know...

what a couple of these comments mean:
1)"Deep down, the Colt players know they didn't have a "fair" shot at the Pats this year. Your not going to hear any excuses from the Colts, which is the way it should be. But I'm betting they would love to have another shot at the Pats, and if the Colts lose, you won't hear any excuses then either. I, for one, believe that the result will be different if we see them again."
Please explain that "fair" statement -- really doesn't make sense. Please don't suggest they lost for some inane reason.
2)"Pats fans are morons. Collectively. It's like some kind of moron virus has infected everyone that claims allegiance to the Evil Empire."
Thanks pal...I'm a Pats fan which I guess makes me a moron, I try to stay away from name calling though -- funny how now -- like the Yankees of the late 90s, early 2000s, the Pats are labeled the "Evil Empire" - I guess it goes with the territory, being that good and all..
3)"I can't decide which would be sweeter: seeing Tom Brady get carted off the field after a defensive player takes offense to having the score run up on .." Pats fans are morons huh?? Wishing a potential career ending injury on a great player is pure baby-ish bullshit..I dislike Manning, not because I know him -- he probably is a good guy, but because of the way he can totally stymie the Pats, and like Brady , keep his sh*t together when the going gets tough -- I do not however, wish him to break a leg or injure his throwing arm...I'd rather beat Indy with him at the helm not Sorgi...sure, if Manning went down with an injury I wouldn't cry, but I don't wish it upon him..that's crap...

4)"the Pats fall apart in bad weather..." ummmm,
one bad weather game and they "fall apart"..sh*t, Kraft better build a dome in Foxboro reaaaaaalllll quick...I mean, really, do you even watch football??? The Pats play in "bad weather" from November thru Jan when they are at home..What is bad weather to a dome team?? The air re-circulator isn't pumping fast enough or a light bulb blows???

by OneMore on Dec 5, 2007 9:14 AM EST 0 recs

I did find the comment

that the Colts are built better for January really funny, considering the Colts strength is their team speed, which would be absolutely negated on a snowy and frozen field during the AFC Championship game.

by Terry on Dec 5, 2007 11:28 AM EST up 0 recs

Super Bowl

funny, because the Bears thought the run and mud in Super Bowl 41 would negate that speed. What was the score of that game again?

Please make an account and post a diary, add some comments, and make some noise. Accounts are free, and only require an email address.

by BigBlueShoe on Dec 5, 2007 11:49 AM EST up 0 recs

BBS

The rain and sloppy conditions did negate your team speed, Rex Grossman is the reason you guys won the game in a convincing manner.

Guarantee if there was a NFL caliber qb playing for the Bears that day, the game would have been much closer, much closer.

by Terry on Dec 5, 2007 3:54 PM EST up 0 recs

Terry

The Colts ran for almost 200 yards against the Bears. Grossman's bad play contributed, but the Colts running game and Manning's efficiency with the ball were the reasons they blew out the Bears, not Grossman.

Speed is the Colts' game, but when they need to they can play tough smash mouth with anyone. Therefore, winterly conditions or rain don't really affect the Colts too much.

Please make an account and post a diary, add some comments, and make some noise. Accounts are free, and only require an email address.

by BigBlueShoe on Dec 6, 2007 10:47 AM EST up 0 recs

we'll see BBS, we'll see

by Terry on Dec 6, 2007 1:35 PM EST up 0 recs

bad weather game

run and stop the run...if you ignore this last jags game.. seems the colts do this pretty well this year... hard to air the ball out in a snowstorm in foxboro in jan... don't think randy moss is going to like that weather... let's see how much he dogs it in those conditions... this isn't a dome in minnesota or the sunny oakland...

by bluegirl on Dec 5, 2007 3:41 PM EST up 0 recs