The Colts had a chance at history. A perfect season was in the grasp. Four games was all that stood in the way of going down as one of if not the G.O.A.T. But after a half and one 3rd quarter possesion Jim Caldwell pulled out the white flag. In comes Curtis Painter for Peyton Manning and out goes history. Caldwell had previously stated that he would follow the same pattern as his mentor Tony Dungy and would take a very cautious approach over the final weeks of the season. Caldwell lived up to his word and now we must wait and see if this Colts squad season ends with the same fate as those Dungy coached teams in the past.
Caldwell's decision has put an astrick on the 09 Colts. Should they go on to Win the Super Bowl most will wonder what could have been. Should they fall in the first or second round the second guessing will begin. The starters will likely play some in this weeks contest with the Bills but their play will be limited. So by the time they take the field in their first playoff game it will have been a month since they have played in a full game. Please explain how that can be a good thing? Also you must consider that Caldwell's decision could likely cause conflict within the locker room. These players have worked all season and have done everything needed to Win football games. They find themselves on the doorstep of immortality and their fate was not for them to determine but it was left in the hands of reserves and first time starters. 15 weeks of perfection deserves better than Peyton Manning on the sideline and Curtis Painter under center.
* I would like to apologize for being an idiot. I have preached the greatness of the Pac 10 all season and thus far the Pac 10 have managed 2-2 bowl record with both losses coming to Mountain West teams. Face it Oregon St. was one series away from the Rose Bowl but instead find themselves against BYU in the whatever Bowl so emotions play some part in a bowl contest but to suggest that the Pac 10 was at the level of the SEC was ridiculous.
*The NFC playoffs are set in terms of teams however 4 teams are still alive to be the 2 seed. Should the Eagles beat the Cowboys they win the NFC East and the 2 seed. Should the Eagles fall and the Vikings win it is Minnesota's. Should the Eagles and Vikings lose and the Cardinals win the Cardinals are the 2 seed. If the Cowboys win the East and the Vikings and Cardinals Lose the Cowboys earn the 2 seed. Regardless of how it plays out I really like the Eagles to return to the Super Bowl. Andy Reid and January go well together.
*The AFC is just a little bit more muddled. 7 teams are alive for two spots. The clearist path to the playoffs are the Ravens and Jets. Both are Win and In. Denver has the next best shot. The Broncos need to win and either the Jets or Ravens lose. Next up is the Texans who would need 2 teams from Ravens, Jets and Broncos to lose. Finally the Steelers are alive they would need a Texans lose combined with a Jets lose or a Texans lose with a Ravens lose or a Jets loss combined with a Ravens lose and a Denver lose. Both Jaguars and Dolphins have a shot but both incluced a scenario where every team in the NFL must lose and Bo Jackson must score a TD both highly unlikely. Please note the previous breakdown could be wrong. I reccomend tuning in Sunday evening to find out who is in the playoffs it is much less confusing.
* In case there where doubts on who the MVP is this season look no further than the 3rd Quarter of the Colts Jets game. Manning leaves and the Colts appear to be a below .500 team.
* The Florida Gators are run by the MOB. How else can you explain it? Two years ago Billy Donavan tries to bolt only to come back in two weeks. On Saturday The Legend Urban Meyer decides to resign only to turnaround 12Hr's later to take a laeve of abscense instead. Meyer is a great coach but this move will hurt the program. In the cutthroat SEC every coach will remind every recruit of Meyer's wavering over this past weekend and as long as Meyer is not over the program it will hurt recruiting. Combine this with the departure of Mullen from last year and Strong this year along with other coaches to SEC schools Florida has little margin for error. Given the loss of Tebow and Spikes a 5 loss season isn't out of the question for next season.
* Mike Leach may have took the Pirate act a little to far. Leach has been at Tech for several seasons now and this is his first disciplinary issue. Seems to me that if this behavior was typical then it would have been brought to someones attention earlier. Who knows what the actual events where but I am going to side with the coach on this one. It appears as though Leach may be removed from his coaching duties despite players coming to his defense. Conveniently this all surfaces prior to his contract kicking in. Leach's contract extension from last year kicks in on 1/1 should Leach not be the coach then instead of paying the 12 Million plus left on the Contract they would pay 400K for 5 seasons. Good luck finding a better coach in Lubbock should they remove Leach.
3 comments:
Clearly Caldwell's goal is to not go undefeated but is, instead, to win the Superbowl. By benching key players, he assures 1) they will not be injured and 2) they will require less recovery for the next game.
Also, just because players haven't played in a full game doesn't infer anything negative. For starters anything less than a full game may be one minute of PT to 59 minutes of PT. Let's not forget that most NFL football players play less than half the game anyway.
And you don't know that Manning won't see the majority of the QB PT in the Buffalo game. Even if he doesn't see any PT, surely one game on the bench while continuing to practice won't disrupt a player who has been honing this craft for 20+ years that include offseasons and omitted games, etc furthermore that you later call the MVP of the league. This seems inconsistent with reason.
Apology accepted regarding the PAC-10 claims.
Question regarding your MVP claims, I agree that Manning should most likely be the MVP but I may disagree with your reasoning; depending on the answer to the following question. Did any other Colt's starters leave the game when Manning did?
Finally, the only things that goes with Andy Reid are hot dogs and prostitutes.
I agree with you on all the other points though.
Jess
Practice is no substitution for game action. Both offense and defense rely on rythem along with ability and you cannot go 3 weeks without meaningful playing time and expect not to have some rust when competing with a team that has not had the rest. I understand the threat of injury but Manning could pull a hammy knockin one out prior to the game so in no way can Caldwell prevent injury it only lowers the threat. I just felt that a chance of history should have taken precedent over playing with the gloves on. Reid I am sure loves the Hot Dogs but I doubt that he has a thing for the prostitutes. I do still believe that the Pac 10 is the second best conference despite their terrible Bowl showing. Always love the feedback and Happy New Year.
Josh Coleman
64/60 Commissioner
indeed.
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