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Some local and national media peeps are getting bent out of shape regarding Jim Irsay's tweet on Monday, which apologized to fans for a "crap" effort on the part of the Colts in the 44-20 preseason drubbing at the hands of the Bills and expressed more than a little displeasure at the coaches and front office staff who manage his football team.
An owner giving brass an earful after a preseason loss isn't to be commended. It's weak. Did @JimIrsay ever do it for Dungy/Polian?
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) August 12, 2013
If Robert Irsay had Twitter in his day, he would have tweeted what Jim Irsay tweeted today. Bad judgment.
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) August 12, 2013
By now, Jim Irsay should know that preseason results don't matter a lick. Not sure what inspired this, but it's bad form.
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) August 12, 2013
Our own Josh Wilson called the tweet "totally uncalled for," saying that Irsay broke the cardinal sin of over-reacting to a preseason loss. Strong opinions from Mr. Wilson!
(I love it!)
Here's the thing, it's extremely doubtful that Jim Irsay cared whether the Colts won or lost their first preseason game. Sure, he'd probably prefer they win, but it's not essential. I view that as a rather obvious assumption when reading into Irsay's tweet because he doesn't state that he was mad at the game's final score.
Here's what Irsay posted:
Many starters played briefly or were nursing little injuries,but it was a crap performance,my apologies/My commanders got n earful from me!
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) August 12, 2013
"Crap performance" just about sums up what everyone saw on Sunday, with emphasis on performance.
Mental mistakes. Penalties. A 107-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Receivers quitting on routes (seriously, go back and watch Lanear Samson if you have NFL Game Pass).
Most of all, the team simply didn't look ready. After months of OTAs, minicamps, and two weeks of training camp, that's just doesn't seem acceptable anymore to Mr. Jim Irsay.
Maybe, in the past, when a certain No. 18 was in town, the presence of Peyton Manning on a football field masked obvious weaknesses in the roster, such as the defense and special teams, for instance. Thus, worrying about such areas during preseason wasn't worth the effort because, at the end of the day, the Colts offense carried everything on its back.
Well, Peyton isn't here anymore, and as much as fans and the team love Andrew Luck, he isn't No. 18. Not yet, anyway.
Thus, the owner stated publicly that he wanted the defense to become a "cornerstone" of the franchise and the special teams to play at a higher, more consistent level. He even cited the old Colts teams in the 2000s that would be maddeningly inconsistent on defense and downright amateur-looking on special teams.
No more. Irsay was pretty clear on this, and what he got on Sunday was more of the same old, same old.
If you give a sh*t what I think on this, I see absolutely no issue with Irsay calling out his coaching staff on Twitter. They did a "crap" job on Sunday. The team looked unprepared and unfocused, and while many might say that teams use preseason to get ready for the regular season, that's not really true. Not anymore.
OTAs, minicamps, and training camp are used to achieve that. By the time you reach preseason, mental mistakes and a general lack of effort are not what should be seen on the football field.
Yes, even during preseason.