Caldwell’s Colts Showing a Willingness To Go For The Juggular

During the offseason most people generally agreed that the Colts were due for a setback given the significant changes that took place in our historically stable franchise.  On most lists the Colts barely cracked the top 10 in the early season rankings and most pundits pointed squarely at the coaching change when justifying why the Colts were no longer a top five team in the NFL.

Through five weeks the Colts have shaken off any doubts and behind the arm of Peyton Manning and his MVP caliber play, the Colts are back atop most peoples rankings and appear to have very few speed bumps ahead of them when glancing at the remainder of their schedule.  

That early success has led people to do an about face and now just about everyone is saying that the Colts head coaching change has gone about as smoothly as a coaching change can go, and that Caldwell is really just Tony Dungy Jr. on the sidelines.

Thanks largely to the fact the Colts have played almost their entire schedule in Prime Time this season, I have seen just about every play run by the Colts and I notice that this team is very different from the Colts teams of the last seven years. 

While coach Caldwell certainly displays many of Tony Dungy’s good habits when it comes to relationships with players, the media and allowing the offense to do its thing, there are very significant differences between Jim Caldwell and Tony Dungy and I believe we shouldn’t overlook those differences as a big reason why this Colts team has been so successful this season, even while everyone else was predicting doom and gloom.

Right at the top of my list is what I call the killer instinct.  In the NFL no lead is safe and there is a fine line between not playing to humiliate your opponent, while not leaving the door open for them to make a laughter into a nail biter. 

Under Tony Dungy, the Colts let their foot off the accelerator anytime they approached that line of humiliating the opponent on the other side of the field. 

I think back to 2004, and there is no way that Peyton Manning doesn’t throw for about 55 TDs that season if the Colts don’t let up.  Twice Manning took a knee at the end of the season in a close game rather than push for the TD. Three times Peyton came out of the game in the third or fourth quarter when the outcome no longer seemed in doubt (I include the last game of the season which he only played one series).

In 2007, the Patriots fueled by their “Us Against the World Mentality” after the Spygate claims had that killer instinct.  They kept their foot on the throttle from kickoff to final whistle and went 16-0 while setting all kinds of records. With a minute left in games and the outcome no longer in doubt they were still throwing for TDs with their starting QB in the game.  

While some might argue for karma and the NFL gods have been screwing with the Patriots franchise ever since, the point still stands that 2007 team is the epitome of killer instinct in the modern NFL.

Flash forward to this season and Peyton’s streak of 300-yard games.  With Tony Dungy that streak would have ended last week as there is no way that the Colts come out throwing to kill the clock, and its highly unlikely in a three score game that Peyton is even out on the field.  

Earlier this season I mentioned that Peyton might be playing this season with a chip on his shoulder, like he has something to prove.  I was excited that Caldwell might actually loosen the reins and allow Peyton to work some magic.

So far I have not been disappointed and suspect that by the end of the season we will be talking about whether Peyton should play the entire game the last two weeks to take a shot at the Single season passing yards record, or get rest because the games are meaningless.  

I can’t wait for that debate.

The other big difference that has Caldwell’s stamp all over it is with the Defense.  The Colts defense has become hard to play against for anyone, except Miami, because they have thrown out the bend but dont break philosophy.  The Colts blitz linebackers, play man coverage in the secondary and Freeney and Mathis actually play the run from time to time.  

I am certain without the coaching change we would still have Ron Meeks as our Defensive Coordinator and we would be rehashing the same old arguments about stopping the run, and getting off the field on third down.   Kudos to Larry Coyer and his new defense, that he has done this without many of the regular starters is an even bigger testament to success of their new system.

While I think the world of Tony Dungy, it’s clear that the subtle changes that Caldwell has brought to the table were needed in Indy, are paying off early.  

Will it be enough to get this team back to the Superbowl? Time will tell.

 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Will 2009 Be The Year We Finally Cut Peyton Manning Some Slack?

I watched Rudy last night and right at the end of the movie when the rest of the Fighting Irish players carried the diminutive hero off the field to the screaming roar of the 80,000 fans who had been chanting his name, I immediately though of Peyton Manning. 

Why do we love Rudy? He played exactly two plays in his college career and didn’t even make it to the pro’s yet that scene at the end of the movie would have us believe that he was one of the greatest players in the storied history of the Fighting Irish.

Of course we don’t love Rudy because of what he has done on the field or during his career. 

We love Rudy because of what he had to do in order to be on that field at all. You see there is something deeply routed within the human brain that compels us to pull for the underdog. We are almost programed to pull for someone that has overcome adversity and climbed to heights that nobody ever thought possible. 

Whether it was Alex Zanardi climbing back into the racing cockpit after losing both of his legs in an auto accident. Brett Favre playing the game of his life the Monday after his father died. Rudy, the little engine that could defying all logic and getting on that field of play for the Fighting Irish. 

These are the stories that captivate our imagination and make common men into heroes of legend. 

But what happens when the Hero doesn’t overcome any adversity. What happens when there is no long shot. What happens when the 2-1 favorite of the horse race absolutely slaughters the 50-1 longshot and leads wire to wire. I believe that Peyton Manning is a victim of exactly that phenomenon. 

Since Highschool Peyton has been regarded as a cant miss NFL QB. Peyton was a blue chip prospect in College and could have gone number one overall in 1997 or 1998. As a number one pick overall and the new face of the franchise in Indianapolis, Peyton was expected to succeed. 

Since he came into the NFL there has been talk of him owning all the major passing records by the time he hangs them up and in 2006 his team won that elusive Superbowl to fill out an NFL resume that includes 3 regular Season MVP’s, 1 Superbowl MVP, 9 Pro-bowl appearances and 6 straight 12 win seasons.

The on-field body of work that Peyton Manning has put together should be enough to silence even his loudest critics. Yet, strangely, its not enough. I am left to wonder if we hold his accomplishment in a much different light if Peyton Manning had been a QB picked in the later rounds rather than a first overal pick. 

Would that give him that marketable edge if he was a sixth round QB who beat the odds to become a succesful QB?

If the on-field body of work isn’t enough to convince people, surely what Peyton Manning has done off the field should have been enough to win him support in this highschool game of popularity we play with our favorite athletes.  

To name just a few of the causes Peyton lends his name, time and pocketbook too; 

 

Peyton’s Peyback foundation – A non-profit organization setup by Peyton Manning to provide leadership and growth opportunities for children at risk. 

 

Manning Passing Academy –  A skill development camp for young players where they combine teaching the skills to play the game with sportsmanship, hardwork and dedication.

 

Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincents – After a lengthly relationship wtih the hospital, Peyton Manning was honored after the new Children’s hospital was opened and named after him.   The motto for the hospital is helping kids get back to being kids.

 

Manning’s pitch in for Hurricane Katrina Relief – Among the many athletes and celeberties that pitched in when Katrina hit New Orleans were Peyton Manning and his brother. They hired a 747 in Atlanta and filled it with clean water, childrens supplies and food and delivered it to New Orleans people who needed the help.

 

These are just a few of the more notable examples of how Peyton Manning has given back to the communities he is involved in. Yet again, there is no story there. He didn’t orchestrate a dog fighting ring, he didn’t get drunk and kill a pedestrian, he didn’t get produce any children out of wedlock, none of that good stuff that sells papers. 

In fact if Mike Vick comes back and wins an MVP in the NFL it could prove to be a bigger story than if Peyton Manning was to go on and win a fourth. Again, people would paint a picture of a redeemed Mike Vick, how he had it all, lost it all, and then gained it back. Unfortunately that is the kind of plot that we are programmed to respond to. 

Perhaps I am way off base and there are perfectly sound reasons that Peyton Manning can often do no right. Perhaps this Quarterback who has had everything handed to him on a silver platter deserves all the negative press because heck, it comes with the job. 

Yet, I am not wrong about the perception that is out there. Its cool to bash Peyton Manning. 

When Manning speaks his mind as did this season about the uncertainty surrounding the coaching staff of the Colts this year, we tear him to pieces as a bad teammate. When he doesn’t speak his mind, we tear him apart for being a generic robot with no personality.

When Manning gets visibly upset on the field, we point that out as a flaw. Nobody likes a whinner right? Yet when he doesn’t show emotion on the field he gets called out as someone that isn’t invested enough to win… Remember our idiot kicker!!!

When the Colts couldn’t win a Superbowl everyone figured they had found the flaw in the NFL’s golden boy. Once his team did win the Championship the new flaw was that they should have won more. 

When Peyton starts an incredible 176 games in a row that isn’t a testment to his toughness. Rather he just doesn’t take enough hits to win the big games, or has benefitted from an unusually talented offensive line.

For every positive, someone out there inevitably feels the need to throw out two negatives. As if they personally have to be the ones to show the world that Peyton Manning isn’t as great as he seems. 

Would people still feel this way if Peyton wasn’t expected to succeed? Would it somehow matter to people if Peyton perhaps had to overcome cancer and make a triumphant return, or if the Colts had taken him with the first pick in the 6th round, rather than the first pick in the first round?

Do people look for reasons to hate Peyton Manning simply because he isn’t Rudy Ruettiger, beating the odds to step on the field when everyone else told him it would impossible.

I am left to wonder in spite of all the negative press that surrounds Peyton Manning, is it simply no longer good enough just be as good as advertised. To receive top billing and then go out and deliver the goods.  

Will 2009 be the year that we cut Peyton Manning some slack. He doesn’t embody everything that is wrong with the NFL….Far from it in fact. This season Peyton Manning should climb the ladder into the top 3 all time in most of the major passing category. 

As a someone who is has been along for the ride, both good—2006 Superbowl Win- and the bad—pick your first round playoff exit—I am excited to see Peyton take those steps up on the podium he will share with the other great QB’s in history.  

Even if the rest of the popularity gang chooses not to acknowledge Peyton I am okay with that. Truth is I wasn’t very popular in highschool myself either.  Heck, guess I finally have something in common with Peyton Manning.

The 2009 Indianapolis Colts Will Be Just Fine

Several Internet journalists, and so called “arm-chair experts,” have spent the better part of the off-season writing off the Indianapolis Colts.  

Most of the reporting that is done cites the coaching turnover, the loss of Marvin Harrison, or the fact that the Colts play in one of the toughest division in football as reasons that the Colts will drop off the short list of elite teams in the NFL.

As a passionate Colts fan, I pride myself on keeping up to date with the news that involves my favorite NFL franchise. I stood by as Tony Dungy announced his retirement.

I watched as Marvin Harisson refused to accept a salary that fit his new role and was subsequently released from the only team he had ever played for.

I even cursed at the television screen on draft day when Rey Maualuga was still on the board and the Colts’ turn to pick arrived and we selected a running back out of UCONN that I had never heard off.

Yet despite all my concerns as these very important and sometimes difficult decisions were made by the powers-that-be in the Colts’ front office, I have never worried.  

You see, throughout the last 11 years that I have followed the Colts I have come to accept one inevitable truth that is the foundation of my support for the team.  

 

In Bill Polian and Peyton Manning I Trust.

Every step of the way from Buffalo to Carolina to Indianapolis, Bill Polian has staked a reputation as a man who seldom makes the wrong call. Ryan Leaf or Peyton Manning, Eddgerin James or Ricky Williams, drafting Reggie Wayne when they still had a young Marvin Harrison on the roster. 

How about letting Eddgerin James walk and replacing him with Joe Addai?

Remember Dwight Freeney? Apparently he was too small to play in the NFL when the Colts drafted him in the 15 spot.

Remember when Tony Dungy was too nice to be successful in the NFL? Tampa replaced him with Chucky, went to the Super Bowl, and won with Dungy’s team. They never even came close to sniffing that kind of success again, as Dungy’s influence started to fade from Tampa.

Every step of the way, Bill Polian has made the tough decisions. I know it wasn’t easy to watch Marvin Harrison exit this team the way that he did. Lord knows it would have been even harder to watch him put on another jersey.  

However, the fact of the matter is that no other team even wanted to take a chance on the surefire hall of famer. I couldn’t believe that Tennessee and Jacksonville, both starved for wide receivers, wouldn’t take a run at him when he hit the market. Even if just to put him on the sidelines to tip the coaching staff off when they play the Colts.  

The fact that Harrison received no interest from the other teams in the NFL just serves to prove that Bill Polian again made the right call, doing what was best for the team. 

When people say the loss of Marvin Harrison is going to be hard for the Colts to overcome, I have a newsflash for people that don’t follow the Colts that closely. 

The Colts lost Marvin Harrison two years ago. He hasn’t been the same player since he injuried his knee, and, quite honestly, he cost the Colts a playoff game with that horrible fumble in 2007.

Marvin’s replacement is Anthony Gonzalez, who is entering his third season. Why is that significant? Because the third year of a receiver’s career has historically proven to be the year of the breakout season. 

Consider some of the other top receivers in the game right now. Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens, and Steve Smith all doubled their TD production in year three, while topping the 1000 yards receiving mark for the first time. 

Randy Moss and Jerry Rice managed to have their big seasons in year two, while several other high profile WR’s took an extra year to hit it big, including Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison. 

The second half of my reasoning comes from placing my faith in the hands, or rather arm, of Peyton Manning. Despite what the AFC East blogger at ESPN might think, Peyton Manning, not Tom Brady or any other QB for that matter, has been the pillar of consistency in the NFL since the 1998 NFL season.

He has guided the Colts to the playoffs all but twice. Since 2003, the Colts have won at least 12 games, and in 11 seasons Manning has thrown for 4000+ yards. He has yet to have a season where he didn’t toss at least 26 TD’s. 

You will not find another active QB with type of consistent production over the last decade, not even that other QB over in New England.

The truth of the matter is that Peyton Manning played the first seven weeks of the 2008 season on one leg, and still won the MVP. He had the league’s worst running game to back him up, and a defense that gave up an average of 4.2 yards/rush. 

As a Colts fan, I look at 2008 as the worst possible scenario of what could happen, and I have to believe that if Peyton Manning could pull a 12-win season out of that bunch, there has to be some reason for optimism as we gear up for the 2009 season. 

The Colts, just like any other team in the salary cap era, have their deficiencies. This season will be the year we find out if Tony Ugoh will become a solid rock on the Colts’ offensive line for years to come, or just a guy that cost us two draft picks and about 100 yards in false start penalties over his short career as a Colt.

This is the year that we find out if Reggie Wayne can handle the role of bona fide No. 1 wideout. Many would argue he has held that mantle for two years now, but this is the first season where he takes on that role without any questions. 

I think you would be hard pressed to find another team out there with a better option for No. 1 receiver than Wayne. The Colts could do worse than handing the keys to the WR position over to a guy with Reggie Wayne’s track record and ability.

This is also the year that we find out just how much Tony Dungy meant to that locker room. I think this is probably the largest hole in the Colts’ fabric, and that is saying something if you consider the gaping hole they chose not to address at DT.

Tony Dungy was a presence; his fingerprints all over the Colt’s locker room. 

When Reggie Wayne’s brother was killed, the WR sought out his coach for guidance and support to help him through that difficult time. It would be hard to imagine anyone on the Patriots’ roster seeking out Bill Belichick for advice outside of football. 

When Ed Johnston was arrested and charged, it was Dungy that made the call to cut him off the roster. It’s all fine and well to stand on principle, but it’s another thing entirely to stick to that principle when your team is screaming out for help at DT and you have to cut arguably your best DT because of his off-field conduct. 

It’s almost symbolic that with Dungy’s departure Johnston would return, something that clearly couldn’t have happened with Dungy still here. 

Will the absence of Tony Dungy produce a better team on the field, albeit of team where we are willing to sacrifice character for production? Or will the absence of Tony Dungy’s “quiet strength” prove to be the unraveling to a locker room that for the last 10 years has stayed close together? 

This team was grown under the direction of a coach who believed his mission was to help these young men improve as both football players and human beings. 

I sit on the fence here. I believe that character still counts for something, yet I am also completely aware of the fact that Peyton Manning could have thrown for well over 55 TD’s in 2004. 

Tony Dungy was too good a man to allow his QB to embarrass the opposition, and the integrity of the NFL.

Without Tony Dungy, and with potentially the weakest schedule that the Colts have seen since that magical 2004 season, perhaps Caldwell unleashes Peyton Manning; hoping that a new record would mean almost as much to his coaching career as it would to Peyton’s legacy.

There can be no doubt that Peyton Manning has heard the news. For all that he has done, he is slighted in a way that no other NFL player has had to endure. Such criticism comes with the territory of being such a notable player.

For every endorsement deal that Peyton signed, for every NFL record that he continues to rewrite, the pressure and expectations that the NFL’s prodigal son might fail continues to mount. 

Whether the Colts can win another Super Bowl or not is not entirely up to Peyton Manning. Time has shown us that the greatest players do not win Championships on talent alone. 

A phenomenal offensive season is something that Manning can control, and I wonder if an entire offseason of getting treated like a second-class QB will resonate with him enough to take his respect for the game and sets it aside. Tony Dungy would never allow that to happen, I wonder what happens with Jim Caldwell at the helm now.

I suspect that the Colts will have trouble stopping the run, and I suspect that the AFC South will prove to be a very tough division to win this year, but I also have faith that Bill Polian has made the right decisions this offseason, and that as long as Peyton Manning is on the field, we will have a chance to win the game. 

It’s normal for a team to reel off 12+ wins a year, but it’s not normal for your QB to throw for 4000+ yards a season, and it’s not normal for a team to enjoy sustained success in this new NFL.   

I have been spoiled since 1998 as a Colts fan. I know that the ride will have to end eventually, but I just know that with Bill Polian and Peyton Manning that time is not right around the corner, and its most certainly not going to happen this coming season.

My Colts have something to prove this year, and the rest of the NFL had best stand up and take notice.

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