For the first time in the Dungy/Manning era, the Colts have been hit hard with some pretty significant injuries. I've had some harsh words for safety Mike Doss. I was glad he lost his starting job to rookie Antoine Bethea. However, since Bob Sanders went down for a few weeks with a knee injury, Mike Doss has filled in brilliantly. He was the difference in the Jacksonville win, and he has been a beast tackling and getting turnovers. It's very sad his season is over. Mike is in a contract year, and that game against Washington might be his last in a Colts uniform. For the first time, I'm actually a bit sad Doss is gone.
The other injury of note is Montae Reagor. He is still recovering from the head injuries suffered in a car accident this past Sunday. He is out for the Denver game.
Can you imagine how HORRIBLE this team would be if Polian had not traded for Booger McFarland?
Now, the normal, dumb, idiotic, on-the-surface hater fan (i.e., New England fans) will say that booger had no impact on the Colts run defense. They were giving up 5.2 a carry, and now they are giving up 4.8. Obviously, these fans, who think they actually know something about football, didn't watch them game. This photo sums up the Washington running attack all day Sunday:
If you look closer, that's Mike Doss's helmet going square into Clinton Portis's NUTS:
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A picture tells a thousand words. Portis was stuffed (literally!) all game long. He got a long run on a delayed draw in the third quarter. Every other carry was either a loss or a minimal gain. Washington gained a many of their rushing yards on trick wide receiver plays. If you actually WATCHED THE F'ING GAME, you saw a drastically improved run defense. If you didn't, then you are either blind or a Patriots fan, which in many cases is the same thing.
So, the Colts are 6-0 and improving. The defense does indeed look better, and Manning is killing teams. He is the league MVP right now. No question about it. Joseph Addai continues to impress, getting the ROY attention he deserves over lesser caliber running backs like Reggie Bush.
Yes, I said it.
Joseph Addai is a better NFL running back now than Reggie Bush. In fact, both New England's Laurence Maroney and Addai are better than Bush. There is no debate there. If you think different you either work for ESPN or you're stupid. Sorry, but Addai and Maroney are clearly better right now. Bush has 196 yards on 65 attempts for a 3.0 yards per carry average.
Boo-yah. That... that just stinks.
Yes, I know he has 38 receptions. So what? Running backs drafted #2 overall are not there to catch the football. They are there to run and score TDs. Hence the job title: Running back. I know he splits carries. Again, so what? Addai and Maroney split carries, and both have looked more impressive than Bush.
Now the real tough games begin. The Colts have two road games coming up: at Denver and at (cure scary music) New England. Denver and New England are up there with Indy as the best teams in football, let alone the AFC. Chicago over in the NFC is very good, but no one else over there is on par with Indy, Denver, and NE. So, if the Colts can win these two road games, that will serve notice to the rest of the league. Denver is up first, and they are much improved over the teams the Colts hosed in the playoffs in 2003 and 2004.
(Oh, and I am kidding regarding my New England fan comments).