I'm not going to lie or sugarcoat. I think Curtis Painter stinks as a quarterback.
This isn't about giving Curtis 'his chance.' He's had plenty of those, and he's failed... miserably. Better, more stable quarterback prospects have outplayed him in preseason the last two years, and yet Curtis still remains on this team mainly because Bill Polian has lost his ability to objectively evaluate talent. He's more interested in 'sticking it' to critics these days than making intelligent moves that help the franchise win championships.
Only in Indianapolis can a front office sign a 38-year-old veteran quarterback like Kerry Collins out of retirement to a two-year, $14 million dollar deal, start 0-3, and not take any serious flak for it. It's for passes like these that everyone calls our market 'backwater.' Front office stupidity of this kind usually costs someone their job in other markets. In Indy, when this kind of idiocy happens, most people clam up or start falling all over each other with excuses.
However...
Despite Curtis Painter effectively being told by his front office 'You suck, but we're keeping you anyway just to stick it to people who questioned us for drafting your sorry ass,' after they handed Collins $4 million in guaranteed money two weeks prior to the start of the regular season, CP7 is going to get his first start tonight of his career. If he plays well, that $4 mill the Colts gave Collins will be money utterly wasted, and this front office (which has bungled and blundered its way through the first two months of this league year) will look even more inept and foolish.
For this reason alone, I'm rooting hard for Curtis Painter tonight.
For those that senselessly yap that criticism of Painter is 'hating' him, please note that many 'haters' (like me, I guess) have met Curtis and interviewed him before. Nice guy. Seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Cares about the team.
However, this is NFL football, and winning is the only attribute anyone cares about.
Nice guys are 'bums' if they suck at their job in the NFL while 'jerks' sometimes get Hall of Fame busts in Canton if they amaze in their sport. Example: Ben Roethlisberger pretty much raped a girl in a bathroom stall, got away with it, and took his team to another Super Bowl. Heck, Roethlisberger got praised for his character by none other than Bill Polian last week on his radio show. It doesn't matter that Big Ben's track record of being a colossal prick is a mile long. He's won two Super Bowls. He's a 'winner.' Winning excuses everything.
So, when people like me say that Curtis Painter stinks and isn't an NFL quarterback, it is nothing personal. I like Curtis. I think he's gotten a raw deal in Indy, and I think the people who drafted him put him in impossible situations that set him up for failure. But, when it comes to the basic tenants of being a true big league quarterback (throwing accurately from the pocket, awareness, courage, ability to see the entire field), Curtis hasn't shown many of these ever, let alone on a consistent basis necessary to succeed in this league.
However, just like with Kerry Collins (another guy I root for because he's a good person who works like a dog to win), I'm rooting for Curtis because it would make me feel good if he got a little success. I like seeing good people do well, and I'll admit that I enjoy seeing assh*les look incompetent for the assh*le decisions they make. Thus, I'm rooting for Curtis tonight because A) It will be good for him and the Colts team, and B) it will 'stick it' to the redheaded troll currently running this franchise who, after giving his first round draft pick in 1995 $14 million, basically told Curtis to screw off.
Maybe some Colts fans want Curtis to fail tonight because it gives the team a better chance to draft Andrew Luck. I just want to see him get a little success because I like seeing good people do well. Seeing Curtis do well would put a smile on my face.
With that in mind, Go CP7!