After emailing Redwolf333, he's allowing me to take over the updating responsibilities for the Stampede Blue section of this little activity, so he can concentrate on spreading it to other team's blogs. BTW, I just wanna give some mad props to him for the idea of spreading it throughout SBN. It should be really interesting to see the results across the league. Anyway, I reposted this so I can edit/update the scores. Please comment on this one, although I will check the other post for a few days. Thanks!

--- (From Redwolf333)

I thought that it would be fun for us to try it seeing as things have gotten a little stale during the off season already because of the CBA. And nonstop talk about the draft.  This will hopefully give everyone something to do for a little while or at the very least bring a little humor. More after the Jump

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Alright peeps. It's that time of year again. Madness time! March Madness that is. And the best part of March Madness is the bracket contests. Although this is a Colts blog, we love sports, and we love to pretend that we know Jack Squat about them. So here's your chance to do it some more!

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This will be a series of threads for Colts fans (and others). Open threads that is. :)

As always, most topics are allowed. No religion or politics or anything that is extremely contreversial. Not the place for it.

Random pictures are welcome! Just make sure it's something you wouldn't want your little brother to see if he looks over your shoulder. Nothing too bad, and if you really feel the need to warn people about it so they know  what they will see.

Profanity is OK, just nothing too bad.

Not a trolling place. If you just want to piss people off go to the Pats site where it'll be more entertaining for us...

New people welcome! These are fun and a great way to kill time.

For new people, sometimes it might look like we're making fun of someone. Like making fun of his wife, or lack there of. We are probably kidding, and you would know if we were because we would realize it and get pissed. So don't take everything at face value.

If you are kidding, make sure they know, and don't go too far. Nothing kills these things faster than going too far and pissing someone off.

Anyone is welcome, not just Colts fans.

If you don't like some one ignore them.

We love you all. Please un-rec the last thread, and rec this one up to 5 recs, so it stays in the fanposts pane.

Hey you faithful fans. I love you all. Just saying. Joke time!

Why did the boy drop his ice cream?

He was hit by a bus. 

This joke brought to you by Anti-Joke, which I discovered last week. Awesome.

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Thoughts of the Week. It's too long to fit in a title anymore. So yeah, I get to use a cool little nickname thing. You're jealous.

Only one thought this week. Thank you.

Thank you to all of you people who make SB worthwhile.

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It is a sad day. One of the most beloved players of the Indianapolis Colts for the past 7 years is, as of now, no longer with us. While it is a decision that had to be made (in the eyes of most), it is one that comes with misty eyes. Some may be quick to condemn him for his work, or lack thereof, for the Colts in the last 4 years; but, the majority of Colts fans will be grateful for his presence, and grateful for the opportunity they had to see him play the game.

Before taking the time and effort to thank Bob Sanders for his play here in Indianapolis, I need to get something off of my chest.

Continue reading this post »

Well football is over forever until the new CBA is hashed out. I don't really care what happens with the CBA, as long as football continues similarly to how it has in the last 10 years. I don't know all the intricacies of the financial dealings, and I don't pretend to, but I hope that they can get this thing hashed out quick. I'd much rather talk football than dollars and cents. Anyway, on to thoughts...

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Hello fans of the Arizona Cardinals!

I'm JesusNinja13, and I am in charge of the Arizona Cardinals in a few mock drafts for Colts fans (the nearest one being at Stampede Blue). Having lived in Arizona for 13 years, they are my default "back-up" team if the Colts are not playing. In my exploring I've seen several players that the Cards seem to be likely to draft, including: Von Miller, Robert Quinn, Prince "I have a complicated last name", Patrick Peterson, and A.J. Green. Is there anyone else I should include in my consideration? And why? Thanks a lot!

Recently there has been a lot of discussion on the talents and abilities of Bill Polian and the management of the Indianapolis Colts. Polian has been successful in his 13 years here, with only 2 losing seasons (making the playoffs 11 times), getting to the AFC Championship 3 times, Super Bowl 2 times, winning a Super Bowl, and in general building a powerhouse around Peyton Manning. Despite this success, it has been claimed that recently Polian's talents are slipping, with the main area of concern being the recent drafts. According to BigBlueShoe, writer and editor of Stampede Blue,

Much of the excuse-making for the Polians stems from the great work they did from 1998-2006. But, from 2007-2010, the drafting (overall) has been bad.

I respectfully disagree. If one is to consider the drafting of Polian from 1998 to 2006  to be "great work," then the drafting from 2007-2010 cannot be considered "bad." Of course, the words "bad" and "great" are relative, and very much opinions, but they can be supported with facts. I believe that the facts show that the overall drafting of the Colts has not slipped as much as some may assume.

Let's take a look at these drafts after the jump. (I just like to say that) :D

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I hate the off-season.

At least, I hate it until the draft. I'm not very big into college football, so most of the speculating about draft picks is missed on me.

Anyway, I've been thinking about the "terrible" Colts defense, and how to improve it over the off season. Just kidding! I've actually been thinking about how good a healthy Colts defense will be next season, and really that there's only one position that needs to be upgraded.

Consider the following (Bill Nye reference anybody?):

Defensive Backs: Powers, Tyron, Hayden, Lacey, and Kevin Thomas (Corners) and Bethea, Bullitt, and Sanders (if Bullitt and Sanders are brought back).

Linebackers: Brackett, Conner, Angerer, Wheeler (Session and Hagler possibly)

DL: Freeney, Mathis, Matthews, Moala, Mookie, Hughes, possibly Foster.

That's a pretty good rotating group of defensive players. The only group I would make a priority to upgrade would be DT, possibly Safety (especially depending on the status of Bullitt and Sanders' contracts). Other than that the rotations are pretty much set, and it looks to be a very good rotation indeed.

That brings me to my second thought, which is we should focus this draft on the offensive side of the ball, other than DT and S depth. Looking at the offense there are several areas that need to be addressed. First is the offensive line, which, IMO is the biggest need going into the 2011 season. In order to do this, we need either a first round draft pick, a big time FA acquisition, or both. This would preferably be tackles, which would allow us to rid ourselves of Diem, and/or move CJ to Guard, improving our line immensely. The second biggest need would then be WR. Our core receivers are now Wayne, Collie, Garcon, and Gonzo (and possibly White). Assuming they all return, that sounds good on paper, but could be better. Wayne seems to be declining from his peak, Garcon has stone hands, Collie's future is uncertain, and Gonzo hasn't been significant since 2008. (This is all the negatives, folks. I realize there is more to it than this.) A true deep threat would do wonders replacing Garcon, IMO.

All that being said, I would like to see our offseason priorities (draft or FA's) be OL (OT's specifically), DT's, WR, S.

Other than that... bring on the depth.

Nothing much new happening here today, and I have nothing to do, so I decided to try something new. 

Continue reading this post »

In the last year and a half, the Indianapolis Colts fan base has had quite the ride. We watched the Colts play through a magical season in 2009, having a disappointing, yet understandable, end to the regular season. We watched them march through the playoffs, raising our hopes and expectations as they reached their second Super Bowl in 4 years. We had those hopes and expectations dashed by Hank Baskett and Tracy Porter. The Colts came into the seasons with high hopes and expectations once again, but again they  were lowered, as we were hit with bad luck and problems of the past. Yet the Colts fought on, making it to the playoffs, still having a shot as both the offensive and defensive line improved in the last weeks of the regular season. Yet in the end, the injuries and weaknesses of the team won, and the Colts were once again out of the playoffs, heading into the off season with uncertainty, criticism, and no Super Bowl ring.

As for Stampede Blue, we've had our own separate ride as well. It's frowned upon to speak of all that has happened, but it has caused quite a tension. This tension has continued to filter into the community even until today, as people who are more critical of the organization are "BBS apostles" and people who are more trusting are "blind" or "holding water for BP."

The truth is in neither of these "sides," but in the middle, as truth usually is. In fact, Bill Polian is not the devil, and is not the cause of all things wrong with the Colts. Yet he is not perfect either, and has made his share of mistakes. The Colts franchise has formed itself into a winning franchise, with much credit due to Polian building. And yet, Polian still makes mistakes, such as Tony Ugoh, or signing Hank Baskett (okay, can't really fault him for that... but still). Of course, other things are debatable, such as Jim Caldwell, Gene Huey, or Donald Brown. But the fact is that the Colts are a winning franchise, one of the most successful of the past decade, and a franchise does not get there by making stupid decisions.

What we have to support in the Indianapolis Colts of the present is something incredible. Something unique. Something that not all fanbases have (I live in Michigan... so the Lions come to mind...). First, we have the Greatest Quarterback Of All Time running our offense. A chance like this comes up once in a life time. There has never been a player who commanded the offense with the knowledge and preparation that Peyton Manning does. It has been a pleasure to watch since 1998, and one that I'm sure will never be equaled. There are great quarterbacks (Tom Brady, as painful as that is to say), but watching Peyton is something different. It has truly been a blessing to witness his legacy grow.

Another thing we can appreciate is the organization itself. While Bill Polian may be a jerk to fans, as a whole, the Indianapolis Colts are a classy organization. Involved with the community, winning with class, and not tolerating the circus that goes on in other cities, the class that this franchise exhibits is a fine thing to support. It makes the Colts more than just a good football team. It makes them part of the community, something that Colts fans can be quite proud to support.

But what I want to focus on, is the opportunity we have here at Stampede Blue. The format of this SB Nation website, with it's fan posts, commenting style, and Fan Shots, allows for a very unique opportunity for fans around the world to communicate and support their team in a very communal and easy way. Unfortunately, the internet anonymity also allows for trolling. During the past year or so, I believe we've seen a decline in this communal feeling at Stampede Blue. Part of this, is due to the departure of many core contributors. However, we are here, and there are many of us, still have the opportunity to have this community.

In order to have this community, I ask you to think about and hopefully act upon, a few things. Know that these are merely suggestions from my point of view to aid in making Stampede Blue a more communal place for Colts fans, not anything you must follow or even consider. If you have suggestions as well, I would encourage you to leave them in the comments. If you think this is all a waste of time and stupid, then you can say that too. This is only my opinion after all.

• Refrain from insulting other posters- Aside from the few asinine, illogical, douchebags that you get on any online forum, the majority of people here on Stampede Blue are smart and logical. As most of us here have only a fans perspective of the National Football League, most of the ramblings here will be opinions. Usually the opinions here, even if opposing, are not stupid or moronic. While they may be different from your own, try and show your opinion with facts and logic, which can be done without incessant insulting.

• Remember that the majority of contributors are Colts fans- While there are a few fans from other teams (Comedic.Sans), trolls, and bandwagon fans, the vast majority at SB are true Colts fans. We bleed blue after a win or a loss, and we will for a very long time. While some may be more critical than others, generally we all support the Indianapolis Colts, and want to see the best out of them.

• There's nothing wrong with being positive- We're fans. We are going to support our teams. Being positive is just that, not "holding water for Polian."

• There's nothing wrong with being negative- We're fans. We're going to criticize, and we are going to look for solutions. Criticizing is just that, it doesn't mean we're "not true fans" or "Polian bashers!"

• Participate in open threads!- Open threads are a great way to interact with other fans, without it necessarily being a debate, or even about football. Game threads are one way to do this, usually set up by BBS on the front page, and I would encourage you to watch the game while on the game thread, if possible. But, as the off season goes on, there will also be other open threads, for things such as the NFL draft. These do not have to only talk about football in these open threads. Use them to get to know other posters, to create that community feeling. If there would be more support in more open threads here on Stampede Blue, email me or comment. If there were a lot of interest, we could start more of those. If not, oh well. :) 

• Have some fun!- Don't be afraid to crack a joke, even at the expense of the Colts. We're all just normal fans here, and should interact as such. The more you let yourself go, and contribute, the better interactions you'll have with other fans, and the more communal this will be. 

• Don't be afraid to contribute!- If you read Stampede Blue, but generally don't comment or write fan posts, I encourage you to get involved! I myself "lurked" for a year or so before joining SB Nation and beginning to contribute. Trust me, you'll get much more knowledge from the experience of interacting with other fans, and others just might have something to gain from you as well. This brings me to...

• Stampede Blue is much bigger than BBS' opinion- While BBS maybe the site editor and main writer, this blog is not just BBS. The format of SB Nation assures that. With four other staff writers, as well as hundreds of members, Stampede Blue contains much more than the opinions of BBS. I encourage you to read the Fan Posts (there's been some great posts by DevilsReject, radtad, candlebox, XLI, and ColtsBrAzil, just to name a few), read the analysis of the other staff writers, such as mgrex03, Collin McCollough, nopunintended, and emiller17, and read (and participate in) the comment sections. These fan inputs often are a great source of opinions and analysis, and should not be overlooked. BBS' opinion/analysis is not the majority of the content here, and if his opinion or style doesn't agree with you, there is still much to be gained around here.

If you have any other suggestions of ways for Stampede Blue to improve (for us members, let's leave BBS and the writers out of it for this one), please comment.

This off season, I would encourage you to think upon, and act upon, these things. If you think this is silly and a waste of time, by all means say so. That's the beauty of SB Nation and Stampede Blue, all opinions and analysis can be for us to grow as Colts fans, and as a community. I personally would love to see Stampede Grow into something bigger than just a Colts news/analysis site with a few comments. Stampede Blue has the potential to be an amazing community for Colts fans, and I hope to see that potential turn to reality.

Thanks for reading, SB members! You all are the reason there is a Colts blog. Go Colts!

As the season has concluded, more and more has been made of Jim Caldwell's coaching abilities. Some believe that he is awful and should be fired. Some believe that he has taken this team to a Super Bowl and two playoffs, and has proven his coaching mettle. However, the truth, as always, lies somewhere in between.

Jim Caldwell inherited the Indianapolis Colts from his predecessor, Tony Dungy. Dungy, after 7 years as the Colts head coach, retired to become an analyst for NBC, writer, and parent. Caldwell was put in a very fortunate position, inheriting one of the most successful teams of this decade, headed by arguably the best quarterback of all time. The first year was an immense success, and the Colts were riding a 14 game win streak into Week Sixteen's game against the mediocre New York Jets. This is where the controversy began, as the Colts, despite hints of animosity from players, decided to rest their players instead of attempting to become the first team to go 19-0 throughout one season. Fast forward to 2011, where the Indianapolis Colts have come off another loss in the playoffs, and Jim Caldwell is one of the hot topics around the Web. Why all of the hype? What is it about this man that causes him to be such a commotion now?

Caldwell has, as has been stated by many in his defense, had success in his head coaching in the NFL. He is 26-11, with two playoff berths (as AFC South Champions) and a Super Bowl appearance. Yet, despite this "success" he faces criticism around the Web, from fans, bloggers, and writers alike. Why? In my own opinion, as well as others, there is a simple way to put it. Caldwell brings too little to the team as a Head Coach.

What is Caldwell's strength? What does he do well that warrant's him to be a head coach? Every coach has something that they are good at, and usually something that they are not so good at. Tony Dungy, for example, was a defensive guy, and good at leading and inspiring his team while being calm. He however, was very conservative, something that some people get quite agitated over. Bill Belichick, is also known as a defensive coach, and is masterful at in game adjustments. However, he is simply put, a jerk. While both have other strengths and weaknesses, both are Hall of Fame coaches, with their coaching trees producing personnel around the league. Caldwell, unlike these two men, is a mystery.

Caldwell has no identity. In fact, his identity is that he has no identity. He is known for showing no emotion, ever, for being unreadable. He does not specialize in defense, as Dungy or Belichick, nor does he specialize in offense, as Mike Martz. Even before taking over a head coaching position, he was a "special assistant" to Tony Dungy (although he was, at one point, a quarterbacks coach). He bounced around colleges as an assistant for many years, until he accepted the head coaching position at Wake Forest, where he amassed a 26-63 record. His one noticeable accolade there was introducing a good passing attack. This is the only thing that gives him any "specialty" as a coach, though it's one that most people would not know.

The in game performance by Caldwell does not seem to justify keeping him as coach either. How many times can one honestly say "Caldwell "out-coached (blank)"? His usage of timeouts has been qustionable, even downright bad at times, and he does not seem to make adjustments that allow the Colts to take advantage of teams weaknesses. There is no evidence that he fires up his team, as he is blank on the sidelines, and often looks lost. He was out-coached in the Super Bowl, called a senseless timeout in both the Jaguars and Jets games, and (as another example) didn't even realize that the Bengals punter wasn't part of their punt team as they ran a fake. He's also been very conservative, as the Colts have been content to punt, or go into half without attempting to score (as against the Jets), many times this season, even more than with the conservative Dungy.

Should Caldwell be given credit for getting to the playoffs with this team? Yes. Should he be given credit for getting to the Super Bowl? Yes. But how much? What credit goes to him, and what goes to the greatness of Peyton Manning, the other players, and coordinators? What has he done, personally, that warrants him being a coach? As fans, we cannot see all of the inner workings of the organization, but what we do see is games and results. What we've seen is poor game management, poor injury management, and a stubborn tendency to stick by his decision, no matter how silly it may seem or how poor of an excuse is given, refusing to admit mistakes.

To conclude, I don't know exactly what to do about Caldwell, as the coaching pool isn't fantastic, and he knows the system. In fact, I would agree with a comment by ATX Colts Fan, who profoundly writes:

I don’t think he needs to be fired exactly, but he is on thin ice with me and many other Colts fans until he can redeem himself. If this team is going to screw the pooch in big games, I’d rather it happen on the field than from the sideline.

In theory, having a great coach to pair with Manning would be perfect. But there is no clear choice for that position as of now. But If we can't have great, I would like a coach that, at the very least, doesn't mess things up. Hopefully, that coach has something to add as well. But so far, Jim Caldwell has hurt the team more than he has helped it. With Peyton Manning's years wind down, that is the last thing the Indianapolis Colts need.

NOTE: While this argument has been beaten to death, there was one thing that hasn't been thoroughly discussed/proved, so I decided to write something up about it. Hopefully you aren't too sick of this discussion to read the following. Thanks!

According to the writings of the one delusional person on this site Colt's fans who want the Colts to tank, there is one major reason for the Colts to tank the season and not make the playoffs. That single argument is the following:

Don't make the playoffs so the Colts can have a better draft pick in the 2011 draft, getting the players we need to make a championship run in 2011-2012.

These fans (or fan), say that the Colts should lose their games, forfeiting their possible playoff spot, to move up in the draft. A playoff spot gives you a first round draft pick in the 21-32 range, but if we tanked, we would be somewhere in the 11-20 range. To some, the Colts are inevitably going to lose in the playoffs, so this jump in the first round is well worth not making the playoffs.

I disagree with this. So, I decided to research a little bit, to find out how the draft selection relates to the players. While unable to find any substantial numbers on this, I decided to just do the stats myself. I took every player from the 2010 Pro-Bowl Roster, and found their position in their respective draft. Here are the results:

AFC: 57 Pro Bowlers

9 from picks 1-10

7 from picks 11-20

12 from picks 21-32

10 from Round 2

19 from Rounds 3-7 or Undrafted

Hmm... Interesting. There are more Pro-Bowlers from the last 12 picks (where the Colts would be if they made the playoffs) than from the first ten picks, and nearly twice as many as picks 11-20 (where the Colts would be if they tanked). But, perhaps this is a coincidence...

NFC: 65 Pro Bowlers

12 from picks 1-10

5 from picks 11-20

8 from picks 21-32

13 from Round 2

27 from Rounds 3-7 or Undrafted

This was even worse for picks 11-20, as only 5 out of 65 Pro Bowlers were selected from this portion of the draft. Once again, the last 12 picks produced more Pro Bowlers.

Total: 122 Pro Bowlers

21 from picks 1-10

12 from picks 11-20

20 from picks 21-32

23 from Round 2

46 from Rounds 3-7 or Undrafted

I chose to include 2nd Round Picks, because often times they are players who are being considered for those late first round choices. It just goes to show that it is silly to believe that by going into the playoffs, the Colts are forfeiting the chance to draft quality players. Shoot, according to this, a playoff team would have had the chance to draft nearly 75% of the Pro-Bowlers.

Now this is just one year, I'd be curious to see what the correlation is for history. However, this does show that the 11-20 picks in the Draft is not worth a whole lot more than the last twelve picks. The key is to not waste or mismanage those draft picks, as Bill Polian has arguably done. The Colts simply need to draft smarter in the future, not tank to gain 4-8 spots in the draft. Forfeiting a championship possibility for that is simply not acceptable.

So, again, I will implore you, Colts fans, continue to root for your team to succeed. Because they can. They've shown it time and time again, they can succeed. They have Peyton Manning running the show. They will not quit on the season, and neither should we. They deserve our support through and through.

Go Colts!

This is mostly a rebuttal for the fan post "Yes the Colts should miss the playoffs and why."

The Colts should not give up or tank this season. Calling for such an action is cowardly and despicable. The beauty of the National Football League, and I pardon for using a cliche, is that "on any given Sunday..." The NFL, especially in 2010 is parity at it's finest. Teams are extremely close when it comes to talent level, and any team can fall to another. Especially in the playoffs when one team can get hot and make a run to the Super Bowl. That is why you so rarely see the #1 seeds meet in the Super Bowl (only 8 times in the last 35 years). As dmstorm22 referred to in the comments of "Yes the Colts should miss the playoffs and why"

Hell, we saw a 9-7 team host a Title Game two years ago. We saw a 10-6 team beat a 13-3, 14-3 and 18-0 team back-to-back-to-back.

(This of course referring to the Cardinals of 08-09 and Giants of 07-08)

They play the games because the winner is not inevitable. We should have won the Super Bowl in 2005. But instead we saw a #6 seed race through the playoffs, beating a #3, #2, and two #1 seeds. During the playoffs and end of the season teams can finally put it together, get a bit of luck, and start winning. We saw it last year when the Jets squeak into the playoffs because of our choice to rest players. They then proceeded to get to the AFC Championship Game! Our own Colts were a mess going into the playoffs in 2006, but the defense got Sanders back and started clicking. Our defense, the very thing holding us back in the regular season, was what won the first two games of the playoffs for us! And we went on to win the Super Bowl!

Now, this team has talent. This team has Peyton Manning, whose god-like abilities give us the opportunity to win any game. While the Offensive Line is bad, it is possible for this group to put together a good game (Giants game?). With Joseph Addai coming back, that gives us a huge boost in our blocking, running, and passing. Collie coming back, our receivers will look much more competent coming out, especially if Pierre can continue to play like the first half of the Dallas game. The Defense, though it will greatly miss Powers in the secondary, will become become much better with a healthy linebacking core, Hayden and Lacey back, and most of all Sanders replacing the worthless safety known as Aaron Francisco.

The Colts can beat any team in the AFC, as every team has looked extremely beatable. Some people have questioned this:

Do you want to see them get DESTROYED by the Pats, the Steelers, or the Jets? How about Baltimore?

This is ridiculous. The Colts were in position beat the Patriots, who have "DESTROYED" the Jets and Steelers, who destroyed Baltimore. Every team can be beaten, and giving up at this point is somewhat laughable.

I was at a loss for words when I read the "give up" article, mostly because I've seen Detroit Lions fans call for their team to tank for years, and was always disgusted by it. I've also seen even more Detroit fans stick with it and watch their team play every week, rooting them for a win. Why do you ask? Not because 3 wins versus 2 is so much more to be proud of, but because, as a fan of a team, you root for your team to win. You piss your pants when Peyton makes a miraculous throw on 3rd and 17, and bang your head against the wall when Ryan Diem whiffs on a DE (AGAIN). Colts fans do not call for their team to lose. Fans call for the Patriots and Chargers to lose because they hate them.Tanking by a team is ALWAYS looked down upon. Year after year, we watch the bottom two teams to see who will get the #1 seed. But whenever we see clear signs of teams tanking, we condemn them. ALWAYS. The reason teams play the game of football is to win. There's no "forfeit" option. So, when people say that the team should stop trying to win games, that flies against everything competition is built on. And it sure does fly in the face of the Indianapolis Colts. Try and tell Peyton Manning that his team needs to lose the next four games for better draft position. That would be a very amusing exchange... I'll leave it up to the readers to imagine that one. 

As strooster has said in several comments:

You play. To win. The game.

Yep. And the Colts have a very good shot at winning any game. If you don't believe that, fine. But the Colts don't need fans that call for them to lose. They need fans that will get the Luke rockin when Tennessee and Jacksonville come to town. If you call yourself a fan, then root for a win, root for a playoff spot, root for a championship. Never root for a loss.

Go Colts!

Personally, I'm not going to call an entire fan base classless, I only know one Philly fan, and he's a friend of mine. However, I do think that it was tasteless to boo while Collie was motionless and being attended too. Part of the blame should go to whoever was running the Jumbotron, and kept playing the hit over and over. That being said, I think calling the entire fan base "classless" is a bit overboard.

However, that's not the point of this post, the point of this post is to share with you all something I stumbled upon today, and laughed out loud when I read it. It seems very ironic considering Sunday's events. So, copied and pasted directly from the Eagle's Wikipedia page:

While praising their loyalty, the Forbes study, also calls the team's fans "famously cruel," noting their proclivity for picking fights and harassing fans of visiting teams.[13] Some local media have criticized portions of the fan base, calling them "aggressive, drunken louts with a penchant for harassing women."[17]

Some Eagles fans have been involved in a series of high-profile incidents of rowdy behavior, including:

• Bounty Bowl II, where a barrage of snowballs and batteries from the stands forced police to escort Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson, off the field;[18]
• "all-out debauchery" at the November 10, 1997, game against the San Francisco 49ers, featuring a fan with a flare gun, a large brawl on an upper level, and an Eagles fan being mauled because his friend was wearing a New York Giants jacket;[19] all leading to six arrests and 269 ejections from the stadium, as well as a ban on beer sales for the remainder of the season and the introduction of the famous "Eagles Court" in the stadium's basement;[20]

• pelting Santa Claus with snowballs;[21] and
• cheering after watching Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin suffer a career-ending injury[22] that required him to be removed from the field in an ambulance.[23][24]

Police say that rowdy behavior has decreased since the Eagles moved to Lincoln Financial Field in 2003. Increased costs have priced out some of the problem fans and increased security measures have given stadium staff the ability to address unruliness more quickly,[25] though ESPN still advises fans of opposing teams to "tread lightly" when visiting Lincoln Financial Field.[15]

 

So, our fears are realized: Jerraud Powers, Jacob Lacey, and Joseph Addai are all out for tonights game. You can see the update at the AFC South Blog at ESPN.com. This will really be a blow to the defense, as Addai was already assumed by many to miss this game. However, having Powers and Lacey both out as well puts an even bigger strain on an already thin secondary. Containing Andre Johnson will not be any fun tonight. On a brighter note, according to Kuharsky, Pat Angerer is replacing Phillip Wheeler in the starting lineup.This should be interesting, to see how the defense contains the run game this time around.

Inactive List:

Austin Collie, Jerraud Powers, Jacob Lacey, Jacques McClendon, Antonio Johnson, Bob Sanders, Kavell Conner

Just to clarify, neither Addai or Donald Brown appear on the inactive list. However, Kuharsky says that Mike Hart will get the start tonight.

Gonna be a tough game tonight, but at home, in prime time, I have no worries. Manning will come through.

Update:

According to BBS, Addai did appear on the inactive list.

Ok. Enough with the optimism. Let's take an un-biased, Kool-aid-less, look at the off-season and the last two preseason games.

The Off-season

Well, we lost Apostrophe. We're screwed. I mean obviously in the last 5 years we have not been able to handle the loss of the big guy, especially his defensive prowess. Look at the 05-06 team. Yeah, we got to the WCF, but that was due to a combination of luck, dancing fairies, and David Stern. We lost because we didn't have Amare to put his defensive clamps on Dirk Nowitzki. Oh, and we lost 23.1 points a game. And Nash has never been able to create without Amare. Seriously. 05-06... we could only create because of Diaw's great, consistent skills. And he's gone. So... yeah so much for that. Oh yeah, we also lost LB, who always made us smile. So now we'll be winless and depressed.

To compensate for our loss of STAT, the Suns picked up Hedo Turkoglu, Josh Childress, and Hakim Warrick. Let's look at these players.

Hedo Turkoglu-

He's obviously on the downside. Let's look at the Stats and try to predict his statistical year for 2010-2011.

                        Year Team G GS MPG FG% 3 % FT %   OR DR TR  A  Blk Stl  TO   PF  PPG

PPG- went down 2.7 points and then 5.5 points. Look at that regression! Due to that pattern, it will go down exactly 11 points this year (since the regression doubled). That means he'll average .3 points a game.

Minutes- went down .3, then 5.9. That regression was multiplied by nearly 20! That would put this years regression at about 98 minutes. That would put Hedo's playing time at negative 59.3. I guess now we have minutes for Warrick, Lawal, and Clark.

Rebounds- went down .4, then .7. Again, nearly doubling in regression. That would put his new regression at 1.4 and his 2010-2011 RPG at 3.2.

Assists- Down .1, then .8. Regression multiplying by 8! That puts this year's regression at 6.4! And a negative 2.3 APG for this year.

Now for those of you keeping track at home, this is Hedo's predicted stat line of 2010-2011.

.3 points per game, 3.2 rebounds per game, and negative 2.3 assists per game... all in -59.3 minutes per game. That's not exactly what you'd expect from a guy getting paid $10 million this year. Although I will say, he's extremely efficient. Some how he's getting .3 points a game in negative 59.3 minutes. Crazy.

Oh yeah, and this guy spent his summer playing for the world championships... and didn't even win. So yeah, obvious lack of judgment there.

Josh Childress

Well he's spent the last few years playing in Greece. Other than gyros, what good has ever come out of Greece? Ever? In all of history?

Hakim Warrick

According to his Wiki page: Warrick's earliest basketball memory involves monkey bars. "[T]he older guys wouldn't let us on the court and me and my friends used to go over and play basketball on the monkey bars. So that's when I first started dunking and everything."

So he learned how to play on the monkey bars? Lord have mercy on us all.

Other offseason notes: Our point guard and emotional leader spent it shooting movies. Shows how much team spirit and commitment this guy has. Dragic also wasted his time losing the World Championships. Grant Hill got old.

Suns Vs Kings

First of all, they lost 109-95. Lemme go out on a limb here and say that no team, not one, can win a game when they lose the point-scoring battle by 14. It just doesn't happen in the NBA. Maybe in other circumstances, like high school or college, but not in the NBA. The talent level is too high, and you simply do not have room for that much error.

Stats for the game: 23 turnovers. -11 in rebounding margin. .125 3 Pt%. 6 fast break points. Allowed 50 points in the paint.

Analysis: Steve Nash and Grant Hill only played 8 combined minutes. Obviously Gentry no longer has confidence in them. Great. Two starters of last year obviously poised for bench play this year. Lawal and Frye didn't even play. They'll probably be cut.

Suns vs. Raptors

Welcome to hell. If the last meaningless preseason game didn't show you how much in turmoil this team is, then this debacle should dampen your spirits. Lost by 51 points. See above for the problem of the negative point differential.

Stats- 30 turnovers. Didn't even shoot 60% on freethrows. 16.7% 3-pointers. Again losing the rebound battle.

Analysis- This time, J-Rich only played 6-minutes. Another last year starter reduced to backup time. Warrick didn't play this game, he'll probably be cut too. Jared Dudley was our leading scorer, the offense will probably center around him this coming year. Our defense sucks.

Conclusion

Due to all of these, I would conclude several things.

1. The final make up of the team will be something like this:

First Team: Dragic, J-Dudz (uh leading scorer?), Childress, Lopez, and Earl Clark (higher ppg than Hedo in preseason)

Second team: Nash, Hill, J-rich, Janning, Siler

Fringe Guys: Hedo, Atkins

2. The offense will center around scoring stars Jared Dudley and Earl Clark.

3. The defense will not exist, setting new records in fail.

4. We won't win any games. We just lost by 50 to the Bosh-less Raptors. We have no hope. 

So, let's stop looking at things with a very weakly based, optimistic view. Just take this year as a bust and begin to develop Dudley and Clark. In the end, we will all benefit from seeing things the way they are.

I originally posted this to Stamped Blue but somebody recommended posting if over here as well. So, here it is.

The Schism.

Ok. Can we be done with this now? No more bashing BigBlueShoe, no more bashing the people who bashed him, no more bashing DZ, no more bashing shake,  just bashing on Houston fans and the Patriots. But seriously. This thing just needs to end. There's been less talk on this site about football then there has been on "the schism."

It all got big in the offseason when everyone just wanted real football to start, instead of watching injury reports, scrambling over the newly released depth chart, and analyzing every word that came out of Caldwell's mouth. Finally when the preseason came along, that didn't help anything, because we all know the preseason matters very little to the Colts.

Now the regular season's here, and we are all on the same side. The side of the quarterback with a laser-rocket-arm and four MVP trophies. The side with two mad-men defensive ends who apparently only need 2.5 seconds to get to the backfield. The side of a wide receiver who may not like his contract... but comes out and dominates anyway, because he's a Colt. The side of 49 other men who go out every day and play like a Colt, and I wish I had time to list em all. Well, thanks to copy and paste... I can.

Offense

That's our team. And I don't care what happened between people before. I guess some people may not be able to forgive and forget,  and I'm not saying you're stupid if you can't/won't.

It's over. If you want to support the Colts by reading Colts news, analysis, and comments, then do it. Let's make this about football again, and a community of Colts fans. That means don't bash. If you don't think something is credible (anonymous e-mail BBS trusts) then don't trust it! A lot of what is said on here is opinion. A lot of it is wrong! You don't have to agree with all of it! But, I'll continue to support SB and BBS, as well as 18to88 and DZ and Brett and Coltzilla (and King Richard, if you get the 12th Horseman up to speed). Because they're all dedicated to one thing. And that's my India-fricken-napolis Colts. So let's be a community again. One that persistently defends the greatest quarterback of all time against all the Brady-lovers. One that is ready to see the Colts roll to a title in 2011.

GO COLTS!!

Ok. Can we be done with this now? No more bashing BigBlueShoe, no more bashing the people who bashed him, no more bashing DZ, just bashing on Houston fans and the Patriots. But seriously. This thing just needs to end. There's been less talk on this site about football then there has been on "the schism."

It all got big in the offseason when everyone just wanted real football to start, instead of watching injury reports, scrambling over the newly released depth chart, and analyzing every word that came out of Caldwell's mouth. Finally when the preseason came along, that didn't help anything, because we all know the preseason matters very little to the Colts.

Now the regular season's here, and we are all on the same side. The side of the quarterback with a laser-rocket-arm and four MVP trophies. The side with two mad-men defensive ends who apparently only need 2.5 seconds to get to the backfield. The side of a wide receiver who may not like his contract... but comes out and dominates anyway, because he's a Colt. The side of 49 other men who go out every day and play like a Colt, and I wish I had time to list em all. Well, thanks to copy and paste... I can.

Offense

Continue reading this post »

It's bad enough that Brady has a haircut like that... even worse that we have to see it while looking at news and commentary on the Colts. Another piece of evidence towards the fact that Bill Belichick is trying to take over the world. Is there any way to remove such a disgusting piece of... shameless Patriots propaganda? When Tom Brady starts to appear on our blog with a Justin Bieber haircut... something's up... maybe it's an elaborate scheme by Bill Polian to screw with other teams... in Polian we trust.