Today is opening day of the NFL season. I've been chewing on something for almost three years now and it's only getting worse. I know that I so risk the wrath of my fellow Colts fans today but I've never been one to not say something because it's not popular. Unfortunately, I have to post this.
When Tony Dungy left the Colts and named Jim Caldwell his
successor, I was not only skeptical but extremely disappointed. Against conventional thought in my city, I
was not a big Tony Dungy fan (as a
coach. He is a tremendous human being
and fantastic role model!). I just
simply believe that despite winning a Super Bowl, there were many coaching
mistakes made throughout his career. He
was a good coach, with an exceptional cast of coaches and players around him. I’m not so sure we shouldn’t have 2,3 maybe
even 4 Super Bowl rings here.
Caldwell was and still is an unproven extension of that
coaching style and philosophy. Many
point to his first season as head coach and the 13-0 start. To this I reply, “and Barry Switzer won a
Super Bowl his first year as head coach with the Dallas team he inherited from
Jimmy Johnson”. Then I point to last
years season of penalties, dropped balls and other mental mistakes. Usually indicative of poor leadership.
My hopes for the 2011-12 season have faded more and more
since last winter. I stated then that I
expected the Colts’ to go 10-6 because of a weaker schedule and a weak
division. It’s gone downhill from there.
Here are some of the other reasons:
Little Polian is now running the show is he qualified to do
so??? By looking at the free agent
activity, or lack there of, I’m a little leery.
The typical response here is, “The Colts rarely are active during free
agency. They choose to build through the
draft.”. True. But that was when we had a young, super
talented, genius quarterback that had nothing but time on his hands and could
work miracles. We still have that super
talented, genius quarterback on our hands but he is not young and in recent
weeks has shown is human like everyone else.
We don’t have time to “build”. We
should adapt and start “reloading”.
Tom Moore is gone.
The genius (Moore) behind the genius (Manning). Manning is spectacular and would have had a
stellar career just about anywhere for anyone, but Moore designed this offense
over the years to fit Manning’s personality and ability. Sure, Manning knows it like the back of his
hand and one could make the argument that he doesn’t need Moore. But in a league of geniuses that get paid big
money to find weaknesses in any system, keeping what works is fleeting. You have to constantly adapt. (side note:
Moore is now in New York with the defensive guru, Rex Ryan and they were
very aggressive in the free agent market!).
The defense has NEVER been able to stop the run. This year will be no different. I just mentioned that you have to constantly adapt. I’m not so sure we’ve done that
defensively. The moment is gone. Small, fast defensive players are no longer a
surprise. In fact, it’s so elementary
that teams like Miami and Jacksonville can put up astronomical numbers against
us. The more they run, the more we are
run down and the more they run. It doesn’t
work and becomes less effective as time goes on.
Now, the BIG issue.
Manning is out. Supposedly for a “2-3
months”. Yeah right. And the first surgery was no big deal
(obviously it was because he had a second).
And the second surgery wasn’t a big deal (obviously it was because he’s
having another just a few months after).
I don’t believe a word of it.
Manning is past the mid 30’s mark.
I don’t care how good he is, he is human and like other greats before
him (ie. Michael Jordan, Cal Ripken Jr, Wayne Gretzky, etc) he will one day not
be what he was.
Collins is in. Kerry
Collins is one of those guys who I have always rooted for. And I absolutely love it he is here. He is a good, solid, smart quarterback who
knows what he’s capable of and more importantly, what he is not capable
of. He makes good decisions and probably
won’t hurt you. But the problem here is not Collins ability or lack there
of. The problem here is this mediocre run
game.
Addai is not a spectacular back. He wouldn’t start for many teams around the
league. He is strong and good for 3-5
yards when they need it. He is nothing too
bad but by far anything spectacular. And
our offensive line was built for pass protection. It’s not made for consistent run blocking.
But its worked in the past, right? Yes.
But the big difference is that even though Collins is solid, he is not
Peyton Manning. Manning made the run
game seem better than it is. Defenses
have to respect Manning and his receiving corps on every down so much that the
run game, by default is moderately successful.
Take away that threat, and a couple of adjustments later, and the run
game is shut down and Collins suddenly has a lot more pressure on him than
people realize. Unfortunately, I think
it’s a now win situation for him.
So where are we at?
Well, now I’m being labeled as not being a “True Blue Fan”. That is pure poppycock. I’ve been a fan before 75% of the people who
have their pretty, clean, new jerseys on and horseshoes painted on their face
every Sunday even cared what was going on.
I sat in pure agony during 1-5 win seasons and my loyalty never
waivered.
But despite being a loyal fan, I’m not an ignorant fan. The ride is over. The Colt’s will struggle so much this year that it scares me to think of an 8-8 Colt’s team but it could be a reality. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes so wrong that we end up (God forbid) 7-9 or 6-10. If we have some things go our way, we could still eek out a Division crown but I think that is a coin toss at best.
I guess the best we can hope for is that with Kerry Collins
in town, maybe he will slip Jeff Fishers phone number to Jim Irsay.
