Colts Corners Annoyed At Their Critics

I get it.

Jerraud Powers doesn't like it that people are saying the Colts secondary might be the worst in football. Doesn't matter that this opinion is back up by some pretty credible statistics. According to Mike Chappell, opposing quarterbacks last season posted a 103.9 rating against the Colts secondary, which is apparently a club record in terms of ineptness. It's also the fifth-highest rating allowed in NFL history.

Oh, and just in case that was enough to get the point across, QBs also completed 71% of their passes against the Indy secondary last year, which is an all-time NFL record! Peyton Manning or no Peyton Manning, that's just bad defense.

Yet, Jerraud Powers (the only corner on the Colts roster I would categorize as good) doesn't like how his guys are taking heat.

Just like the coach speak stuff, I get it. I don't like it, and I think it's silly, but I get why it's said. So does ESPN's Paul Kuharsky:

It’s understandable that Jerraud Powers has tired of the negative talk regarding the Colts’ cornerbacks.

I’ve been among those banging that drum, though I’ve tried to consistently say that my concerns are about who will play corner beyond Powers, who is a quality player and leader.

...

The spot is a concern. Powers is reacting the way you’d want the leader of a group under fire to react.

Agreed. Powers is the leader, and he wants to rally his guys and get them to play above and beyond themselves. I'll also make it clear (one again) that my concerns with Powers have nothing to do with his ability to lead or his talent. Powers is a good corner, no doubt. No question.

However, let's just be honest here, Powers is also incredibly injury prone, and (like it or not) injury prone players are unreliable. You've got to stay on the field, and if you can't, the team doesn't have much use for you. Just ask guys like Michael Coe, Freddy Keiaho, and Anthony Gonzalez. It's the harsh reality of the NFL, and if Powers lands on IR in 2012 (he has not played a full season, ever), this could be his last year in a Colts uniform.

I applaud Powers for standing up and being a leader, but it is beyond obvious that Colts management has little to no faith in their corners, save Powers. In the past two months, they reportedly tried to draft Casey Hayward and Jamell Fleming (but failed to land both players). They traded for Cassius Vaughn, and they have practically gotten down on their knees and begged Jerry Jones to send Mike Jenkins to them.

A front office who thinks their corners are good doesn't attempt these sorts of moves.

So, like the coach speak stuff, this is yet another example if the "critics" being 100% right. The Colts secondary stinks, and everyone and their momma knows it. As fans, we have to accept that, and if I hear anyone tell me, "Our corners are fine because Jerraud Powers said so," I'm going to slap you upside the head with my dirty shoe. Powers is saying that bunk (bunk that he very likely knows is bunk) because leaders aren't leaders when they say the people they are leading suck.

Powers is trying to inspire his teammates, using valid criticism to motivate them.

"I kind of get pissed off every time I see an article or someone talking that the Colts' secondary is this or that," [Powers] said after the Colts concluded their ninth of 10 organized team activities (OTAs) Wednesday. "(Critics) aren't in the building every day seeing how these guys work at their craft or how they conduct themselves.

"Going into this year, we're definitely going to have that chip on our shoulder. I feel like that every year. But this year as a group, guys are eager to go out there and show people what we can do and what we're all about in the secondary."

Yes, yes, yes. Critics aren't in the building. We don't see how hard the guys work. Blah, blah, blah.

Again, I get it.

It's the kind of stuff I personally roll my eyes at because, at the end of the day, no one cares how hard football players work. If players work really hard, but set NFL records for defensive ineptness (as the 2011 Colts did), those players will lose their jobs just as quickly than talented guys who are lazy malcontents. It's a bottom line business, and really, at the end of the day, players like Kevin Thomas, Chris Rucker, and the other holdovers from last season should just be happy they still have jobs.

Had the Colts landed Hayward or Fleming, or had they somehow managed to pry Mike Jenkins away from Jones' oily grasp, Rucker and Thomas likely would not be Colts for much longer. The man who drafted both Rucker and Thomas came out recently and said neither of them are suited to play man-to-man coverage, a skill that is essential in this new defensive scheme.

Even current head coach Chuck Pagano has admitted that, outside of Powers, "We'd love to have someone separate from the pack.'' Speaking of coach speak, that phrase translated into English means, Our corners suck, except for Powers.

Thus, if articles written by critics like me upset Jerraud Powers, motivating him and the other corners to play well, then they should take these next few sentences for what they are:

You guys suck eggs! Koy Detmer could throw for 400 yards and four TDs on this pathetic crew even if he had a broken arm. Hell, my landlord's mother could complete passes against these sad rejects, and she's 86 with bad knees! Just 8 INTs last year? How the hell do you schmucks call yourselves professionals? We had Colt McCoy, Blaine Gabbert, Matt Hasselbeck, and Matt friggin Cassel on our schedule last year, and you guys only managed 8? GTFOH with that weak sh*t! Ryan Grigson should just cut all of you wannabes right now and order Pagano to never punt the ball. You stink! You're an embarrassment!

Somewhere, the ghost of Eugene Daniel is crying, AND HE ISN'T EVEN DEAD YET!

You are maggots. You are pukes. You are not even human f*cking beings. You play football the way old people f*ck!

There. Hope that motivates you, Colts corners. If it doesn't, I'm sure you'll find something else that will (and for the sake of your job security, I hope you do).