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We all know the Colts stunk on Sunday, and up until this afternoon their owner, Jim Irsay, had been quiet about the game. But this afternoon, things got back to normal with Irsay tweeting his thoughts on the game. Let's look at what the Colts owner had to say.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>7-4,2 game lead,5 to go with our injurIes n schedule is something we'd take 3 months ago/But the play n last 10 out of 12 quarters-ALARMING</p>— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimIrsay/statuses/405423298629992448">November 26, 2013</a></blockquote>
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This was perfect. He mentions how, before the season started, if you had told people that the Colts would lose Dwayne Allen, Vick Ballard, Ahmad Bradshaw, Donald Thomas, and Reggie Wayne to season ending injuries but that the Colts would still be 7-4 with 5 games left, everyone would have taken it in a heartbeat. I love that Irsay adds perspective here. But at the same time, he lets everyone know his feelings by saying that the past three weeks have been "ALARMING."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>In Golf you're allowed 14 clubs..but if you're playing with 9 clubs..U got to hood a 8 iron n hIt It like a 4 iron! Improvise n find a way!</p>— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimIrsay/statuses/405425401695989761">November 26, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Irsay is saying that in golf, if you don't have all of your clubs you have to make the most of it and sometimes use clubs in roles they weren't necessarily designed to be used in - Irsay's example is you have to use your 8 iron as a 4 iron. Basically, Irsay is saying that with all the injuries, the Colts need to adjust and "improvise" according to the losses they have. This immediately took my thoughts to what I wrote this morning about Pep Hamilton still trying to use the same offense without Reggie Wayne that he did with Reggie, and that's not working. I think Irsay is saying that they need to make some adjustments based on the injuries but that there are no excuses - "improvise n find a way!"
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Must find a way 2 win Division,no excuses,no explanations..hide weaknesses,accent strengthens/We gotta get our heads out of r butts-WAKE UP!</p>— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimIrsay/statuses/405428913494425600">November 26, 2013</a></blockquote>
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This one is about as clear as he could make it. There's really no explanation needed. He's absolutely right about it, too.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I didn't break the bank,millions cash over cap/Load Brinks Truck,only to be hijacked n stormed on the way 2 stadium by machine gun MANIACS!</p>— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimIrsay/statuses/405432268874731520">November 26, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Irsay now talks about the money he spent and how he didn't spend all of that money just to get blown out against teams. He's saying that he doesn't want the money he spent to be wasted. Perhaps this is a message to Ryan Grigson, but it also shows that Irsay certainly expects to win this year and has expected that all along - which we all knew. He didn't spend all of that money just to lose games and be blown out, at that.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>We'll close ranks n stick together n BELIEVE! We'll get it fixed n earn our Div/Camp Hats/Failure is not an option!! How Bad Do WE Want It!</p>— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimIrsay/statuses/405434181263450112">November 26, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Irsay closes it out by saying that they need to stay together and believe that they can do it and win the division. This is Irsay saying that he's behind his team right now and that they need to stick together. He poses the question, "How Bad Do WE Want It!" and that is really the big question. The Colts players and coaches really need to ask themselves that question right now, and they need to come together as a team.
Irsay's tweets today were totally acceptable and I think that they were the perfect response from an owner who has been known to tweet some things he probably shouldn't have. But I thought these were perfectly fine and thought they were great. Irsay is an owner who cares deeply about the success of his team, and he's not taking shots at anybody but at the same time letting fans and his team know that their past few weeks have been unacceptable. But while the play on the field has been unacceptable, I thought that Jim Irsay's tweets were perfectly acceptable.