Tony Dungy didn't mince any words when describing Indy's performance against the Bears:
"Looking at tape, usually on Monday you come in and you say, ‘Well, it wasn’t as bad after we looked at the tape – it wasn’t as bad as we thought."This was one of those exceptions."
On his radio show Bill Polian did not refute Dungy's observations. This game was as bad as the regular season loss to Jacksonville in 2006. Physically, the Bears attacked the Colts and beat them down. And even Bill Polian admitted that one of the reasons the Bears were able to wear Indy down was because their front 7 was bigger and more physical. Polian also went on to state that the Bears game planned extremely well for this game, and had done so for weeks.
Dungy, meanwhile, spent all of three days game planning the Bears. Boy, did it show.
Polian then contradicted himself by saying the team was not "rusty," but that the timing was just "a little off." Um, Bill, isn't that what being rusty means? As stated over and over again, the Bears won because they were more physical, executed better, and were better coached. In Super Bowl 41, the Colts battered, beat up, and out-coached the Bears. This time around, Chicago returned the favor. Bully for them.
BTW, we still got the rings. Just saying.
What is disheartening is how totally unprepared the Colts were to open their $720 million dollar stadium, and right now their PR department is in damage control mode. The Colts now head to Minnesota for Week Two, and both teams should treat this game as a must win now. Like us, their fans are pissed off. Starting 0-2 puts any team in a big, massive, gapping hole. The Vikes have a more talented roster than the Bears. Their running game is better. Their defense is just as good. They have better receivers. If Indy is not ready for this game, the Colts will return to The Lube with a black eye and a chorus of boos. I mean, no offense Colts marketing department, but fans do not shell out hundreds of dollars to attend games in a stadium they paid hundreds of millions to build just to watch a team that isn't ready to play.
There's just no excuse for that. None.
Obviously, people will blow things out of proportion, saying this is yet another sign that the Colts are done. And obviously, when they are proven wrong, they will retreat into their shells ala Bill Simmons after the 2006 AFC Championship Game. I always find it amazing that people think we are "done" when our roster is one of the youngest in the league. The simple fact of the matter is the Colts are very good and very young. Their roster is outstanding. They should show up ready and they should beat the Vikings because they are, top to bottom, better than the Vikings. But, then again, they were susppoed to be better than the Bears too.
the positives are the Colts know what they did wrong. Contrary to what Deshawn Zombie thinks, going for it on fourth down in that way late in the game was a dumb idea. Dungy apologized for it. He made the call and even called the offensive play. It was shuffed for a two yeard loss.
This next game is absolutely huge for the Colts, even though it is against a non-division, non-conference opponent. There is turmoil all throughout our division. The AFC is in total chaos. Now is the time to take advantage. We will learn very quickly just what kind of team we have when they travel to Minnesota.