Everybody please step slowly off the Colts' bandwagon. One at a time, please. We don't want anyone to get hurt. Last one off please remove the Colts flag from the hood. Thank you.
The missed opportunities by the Indianapolis Colts over the past few seasons have piled up faster than Paris Hilton's boyfriends. The previous two seasons have been filled with so many what-ifs and what-might-have-beens that Cubs fans are starting to ask for reparations.
After going a couple years without being able to pry home-field advantage away from New England, they were able to get it this season.
They compiled a 14-2 regular season record, including a 13-0 start.
The high-powered offense led by wunderkind Peyton Manning finally had the defense to go with it. There was no way these Colts (and the ever-growing bandwagon) were going to be derailed on the way to the Super Bowl.
However, a funny thing happened on the way to Detroit. Is there a possibility that these Colts were too good? They locked up that precious home-field after week 14, which left an interesting conundrum for coach Tony Dungy and his squad. Do you risk getting your key players injured or do you keep playing them so that the team maintains its rhythm? After losing to the Chargers, Colts management (Dungy, President Bill Polian, etc.) decided that there was no way they would risk injury. In week 17, Manning played one series. Harrison played briefly, and James sat out the last one. Not to mention the defense, where All-Pro Cato June was also rested. Couple that with the bye they get for getting the No. 1 seed, and the Colts went one month without playing as a complete team.
I realize that Dungy would've been criticized immensely had Manning or anyone gotten seriously hurt (not unlike Cincinnati's Carson Palmer, who tore two ligaments on the second play of their first playoff game in 15 years). But there's a lot to be said about chemistry, especially in football. You can't essentially take a month off and then expect to come out with all missiles firing against a team as good as the Steelers.
By the time the Colts offense got going, the Steelers had built a 21-3 lead. Even with an officiating crew that appeared to be wearing Indianapolis Colts Underoos, it was too little, too late when Mike Vanderjagt missed the game-tying field goal by roughly 7,000 feet (give or take a few).
Which takes us to the supposed leader of this team, Peyton Manning. He has never won a big game in his career. He never did it in college. He went 0-4 against the University of Florida while he was at Tennessee and it wasn't a coincidence they beat Florida AND won the national championship the year after he left. It's so hard to explain what happens to him in big games. I guess the simple way would be that he is a choker. While the offensive line didn't exactly play like Visa's five layers of protection, the fact that Manning then called his line out in an interview probably isn't what falls under the leadership category. You think Tom Brady would say that?
Well, you ask, what about next year? Two key offensive players, Edgerrin James and Reggie Wayne, are unrestricted free agents. Vanderjagt is too, but I don't think Colts fans care about him. If the Colts couldn't win a Super Bowl this season, they never will. The time window for this team has officially been slammed shut. Maybe the Colts should go see what Tee Martin is up to.
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