Overcoming the "bump": How great teams keep winning despite setbacks

BigBlueShoe — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:09:06 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2009, file photo, Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell, left, will have to focus his team and not allow injuries to be an excuse. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

Browse more photos »

Every NFL teams experiences a point in their season where something happens to disrupt their flow. Things are going well. The team is winning. Players are happy, flying around, looking to make plays, etc. Coaches are jovial in press conferences. Media are anointing the club, calling them "the best ever." Yippee-yippee-yay-yay!

Then, something happens.

Usually, it comes in the form of an injury. Or, sometimes, it's a team tragedy or some kind of disaster. Last season, we all saw the Houston Texans' "bump" come in the form of a hurricane that damaged their stadium, their facilities, and (for many players) their homes. The Texans never recovered from that "bump," and missed the playoffs because of a bad start.

In 2007, the our own, beloved Colts looked like they would repeat as world champions. They were 7-1 and flying high. Then, they lost Dwight Freeney for the season. They limped along for the rest of 2007, managed to finish the season 6-1 after the Freeney injury, but lost in the playoffs to the Chargers due in large part because of a lack of pass rush. In 2008, Peyton Manning's knee problems, coupled with the disasters at the defensive tackle spot, provided Indy with their "bump" very early in the NFL campaign. The team fumbled and bumbled their way through a 3-4 start. Though Indy managed to close the season on a 7-0 run, they lost in the playoffs again to the Chargers due in large part because of problems they had as a result of their "bump" early in the season (poor DT play).

Bumps for teams can sometimes be too much to handle. They can throw an entire season off track. However, it is the truly great teams that incur these bumps and, somehow, manage to win games in spite of them.

For my money, no championship team in recent memory was as injured as the 2006 Colts. They lost Brandon Stokley, Mike Doss, Corey Simon, James Mungro, and Montae Reagor for the season. Their secondary was a list of walking wounded. Bob Sanders missed virtually all the 2006 regular season (shocking, I know). Yet, despite the injuries, they persevered and won the Super Bowl.

Last season, we saw the Pittsburgh Steelers lose both their first and second round picks in the 2008 draft (Rashard Mendenhall and Limas Sweed, respectively). They also played games in 2008 without Willie Parker, using castoff Mewelde Moore as their feature back. They lost Casey Hampton and Heath Miller for long stretches of time. Starting offensive guard Kendall Simmons was lost for the season with an Achilles injury. Steelers starters missed over 31 games in 2008 due to injuries. In Week Sixteen, they were dominated by the Tennessee Titans, and many wondered if the Steelers were as good as others said they were.

Yet, I distinctly remember seeing the Steelers hoist the Lombardi trophy this past February.

Obviously, too many injuries, or one devastating injury, can kill your football team. But just because you loose a few starters, or because some other players are down for a while, does not mean that is an excuse to lose. The great teams win despite injuries, and even though the 2009 Colts have lost some players this week, this roster is still good enough to win it all.

More importantly, with this current roster, I expect them to win it all.

I love players like Marlin Jackson and Tyjuan Hagler. But this is the NFL. Injuries happen. For eight weeks, this team has been able to get by without having a serious injury smack them upside the head. Now, they have two. We'll see how tough they are overcoming this "bump" in the coming weeks. Personally, I think they will be fine.

UFL Orlando drafts 3 former Colts

Colts Homer — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:11:00 -0000

The UFL draft was held on Friday, June 19, 2009, and a few former Colts were taken (first posted by Endo). Bo Schobel, Larry Tripplett, and Mike Doss were all taken by the Orlando franchise, which still does not have a nickname. Here's some more info on these players and their Colts careers.

Mike Doss, safety

I've already said what I can say about Doss, so here is a recap on him from my last post.

Doss is not with the team anymore. Like Peterson, Washington, and Tripplett, he played four years with the team. He had his fair share of successes and failures. Doss' second, third and fourth seasons all were successful with two interceptions and at least four starts. In his final year with the Colts, he only played six games but was off to a hot start before he tore his ACL. The Colts had some sixth round pick named Antoine Bethea who Coach Dungy apparently liked, and Bethea took his starting job. After Bethea ended up being pretty damn good, Doss was no longer needed and was cut. However he was part of the Super Bowl team, so that's something.

I was always a Mike Doss fan. He wasn't great, but he was a fun player to watch. He had his problems, including a time when he shot his gun outside of a restaurant. However he was a decent player. After his injury it was clear that he was no longer needed, especially with future Pro Bowler Bethea on the team.

Doss also played for the Bengals and Vikings after his Colts career ended. The other defensive backs taken by Orlando are former Bears, Saints, and Bucs practice squad man Greg Fassitt, former Steeler Grant Mason, former Ram and Falcon Darius Vinnett and former Bengal TJ Wright.

Larry Tripplett

Like Doss, I also did a profile on Tripplett for my 2nd round picks blog. Here it is.

Tripplett's career ended up being pretty short. In what seems to be a trend, he played four years for the Colts. He was forced into the starting lineup almost immediately. He had just 21 tackles but was a nice rotation player. However, he lost his starting job in 2004 to everyone's favorite DT Josh Williams. In his final year with the team he had a nice 4 sacks and 30 tackles. However, the Colts parted ways with Tripplett because they had the greatest Colt ever Corey Simon along with Montae Reagor. Tripplett went on to have two mediocre years with the Bills before ending his career.

Tripplett never panned out. He had a good 2005 season, which was the Colts best defensive season under Polian. However, he didn't have enough success to warrant a spot on the team once his first contract was over. Tripplett ended up being like all of the other Colts defensive tackles who disappointed.

Tripplett last played for the Seahawks and also played for the Bills. He will play alongside another Colt taken by Orlando in the UFL draft.

Bo Schobel

This name didn't ring a bell at first, but after looking him up I can remember him. He wasn't as big of a contributor as Doss and Tripplett were. He only played one year for the Colts, but he got a ring from it. Schobel played for the championship Colts team, and he even got playing time in the Super Bowl. He had 29 tackles and half a sack in 14 regular season games, and he got half a sack in the Kansas City playoff game. Most people would recognize his brother Aaron Schobel, the star defensive end for the Buffalo Bills. He last played in 2007 for the Arizona Cardinals.

One thing that should be made clear is that they are not already on the teams. They will be contacted and seen if there is further interest in playing for the new franchise. All of these players attended a combine for the league, so they must have some interest in playing. Also, when training camps end, each team is assigned to a certain division group in the NFL. So if Orlando is assigned with the southern divisions, they will get first dibs on players cut from the Colts, Titans, Jags, Texans, Bucs, Saints, Panthers and Falcons (Michael Vick maybe?). If Orlando is assigned with the southern divisions, we could see more Colts on this team. So if you want to see former Colts starters like Tripplett, Doss and maybe some more former Colts, UFL Orlando will be the team. I have a keen interest in this league, and I will be paying attention to how the season goes once it gets started. Personally, I think they would be wiser to play from the weekend after the Pro Bowl to right before MLB opening day instead of from October to the end of November, but if they want a closer relationship with the NFL, they are going the smarter route.

SB Nation - Montae Reagor

Overcoming the "bump": How great teams keep winning despite setbacks

UFL Orlando drafts 3 former Colts