In the wake of the Texans disintegration against the Colts yesterday, it's pretty clear that Kubiak isn't going to be back for a fifth season. ESPN's John Clayton had this to say:

The surprise of the trio was the Texans, and there could be major ramifications from their 35-27 loss to the Colts. Coach Gary Kubiak's job could be in jeopardy. While he and general manager Rick Smith have done a nice job building a talented young defense and an exciting passing attack, the three-game losing streak in the AFC South could bring Mike Shanahan to the Texans' sidelines after the season.

Now, I'm thinking of the 2007 Denver game, and going "Wait, the same Mike Shanahan that deactivated his top two defensive tackles to play defensive ends to try and stop Peyton Manning? The guy whose Broncos were pretty routinely destroyed by the Colts? You want him to take over a franchise to get over the hump and make the playoffs, knowing he'd be seeing Peyton Manning twice a year? Are you high?"

Thoughts?

The Onion - Patriots Lead Colts at Halftime


Hilarious article.

 

Barring an almost inconceivable and utterly out-of-character mistake by head coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots have virtually secured a week 10 win against their closest rivals for AFC dominance.

"If you're going to wait for Bill Belichick to get overconfident and screw up, you're in for a long day," Caldwell added. "Just doesn't happen."

 

The Colts offense, however, with Manning's young receiving corps, has committed several significant errors. But the Indianapolis defense has fared even worse, and has only been able to stop pass plays of four yards or fewer, an insignificant advantage that a seasoned coach like Belichick will find easy to avoid.

Oh man, classic stuff.

So, my dad calls me earlier this afternoon and tells me that he's going to the Colts game this Sunday. His wife can't go, so he's giving me one of the tickets. Now, I've been on the fence about getting a jersey for a while, but this was the tipping point.

So, I need Stampede Blue's thoughts. Which jersey should I get?

Here's the criteria I've come up with:
1) No one not on their second contract. I don't want to get stuck with a guy that's going to be playing somewhere else in a year or two.
2) No wide receivers. Nothing against Reggie, Gonzo, Garcon, Collie, etc., but WRs just aren't my thing. The exception is Harrison, because his jersey is cheap and, well, he's Marvin Harrison.
3) No running backs. Mainly because I'm not sold on Addai getting a second contract with the Colts, and Brown is a rookie.
4) Name recognition outside of Colts fandom. Even if all us Colts fans know who Gary Brackett and Robert Mathis are, I'm gonna say that not a lot of other people do.

So, that leaves me with the poll. Manning, Sanders, Clark, Vinatieri, Freeney, and Harrison

- Everyone and their mom has a Manning jersey.
- Sanders has yet to play this season, and misses a good part of every season, and will probably have a shorter career than the others on the list.
- Clark is great, but like Sanders will probably have a shorter career than almost anyone else, except maybe Sanders.
- I'm not a huge Vinatieri fan, but we have the same first name, so it's enough for him to make the poll.
- Freeney is probably my front runner at the moment. Can't really think of any knocks on him other than 93 is probably the worst looking number of the bunch.
- Harrison hasn't officially retired, even if he's unofficially retired because no one is calling.

So, thoughts? And VOTE!

Ray Lewis threw a bit of a temper tantrum after the Ravens-Patriots game regarding the treatment of super star quarterbacks, how even breathing on an All Pro QB earns you a Roughing the Passer penalty.

It got me thinking: does Ray Lewis have a point?

I believe that the NFL has a duty to protect QBs. They make more than anyone else on the field, and there are limited numbers of people that can play the position (versus, say, linebackers, defensive linemen, etc.)

However, at what point does protecting the franchise compromise the integrity of the game?

I think that the NFL has gone too far in protecting QBs, but not so far as to be irreversible. I think there needs to be a clarification that a defensive player has to be deliberately attempting to injure a QB, or able to change his body position such that they could injure a QB less, etc.

Thoughts?

Was just reading this article about Eli's contract and it showed Peyton's numbers from the 04 contract.

http://nymag.com/guides/money/2009/59446/

Favorite quote:

"The yearly average value of the extension, $16.25 million, is the highest for anybody in NFL history. This raised considerable eyebrows around the NFL because, well, let’s see, what’s the best way to say this … the notion that Eli Manning is the best quarterback in his immediate family, let alone the best quarterback in NFL history, is something that no one has ever argued, probably not even Eli himself."

So I was having breakfast with my dad this morning, and he mentioned that his father's family is from Greenville, Ohio. Also from Greenville, Ohio? Patriots Left Tackle Matt Light.

My dad's side of my family carries the surname "Licht", which happens to be German for "light". Apparently one side of the family changed the name after they emigrated from Germany, and the other didn't.

So yeah. Apparently the guy protecting Tom Brady's blindside is a distant cousin.

So I'm reading IGN, and they're doing a series on predictions for the upcoming NFL season using Madden 10. Well, the Colts win the AFC South with an 11-5 record, and win a divisional game 23-20 over the Titans. The Colts go to the #1 overall Steelers (15-1) and play a tough game in the snow.

Tie game, 21-21, late in the 4th. Addai gets stopped at the 20. Vinatieri comes in... AND IT'S GOOD!

Steelers take over and get to the 28 on the ensuing kickoff. They get to their own 28... AND THEY RUN OUT OF TIME! COLTS WIN! COLTS WIN! COLTS WIN!

Watch here: http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/14270629/madden-nfl-2010/videos/maden10_gmp_afcdivcoltsvsteel_72409.html♦

My hands are shaking, I have a huge smile, and my heart is just pounding. Also, I can't stop laughing at myself.

Someone remind me when football is back on? Please? :)

As we all know, it's important for players to have nicknames. During the FO draft, I stated the following, after suggesting that all players be compared to dinosaurs:

"Monkey Business: Donald Brown is a great one-cut, north/south runner, much like a Velociraptor."

It has subsequently been noted as being "the single greatest line ever written about the game of football."

Consequently, I'm recommending that we nickname our new rookie running back Donald "Velociraptor" Brown.

Thoughts?

I posted this over on 18to88.com and thought I'd share it here too.

So, I went back and made a draft chart to figure out whether there's any correspondence to winning the Super Bowl, and where and how many times you draft in the 1st round.

The minimum number of draft picks was 5 (Colts, Dolphins, Eagles, Redskins), and the maximum was 9 (49ers, Lions). The 4 Super Bowl winners from this period drafted 8 (Steelers and Patriots), 6 (Giants) and 5 (Colts).

The teams that drafted the most in the top 8 picks (1/4th) are the Raiders (5), Lions/Browns (4), Cardinals/Jets/Saints/Falcons/Jaguars (3). The teams that did not draft at all in the top 8 picks are the Pats, Steelers, Ravens, Broncos, and Colts. It should be noted that during the selected time period, the Colts didn't even draft in the top 16 picks, and only drafted ONCE in the top 24. The Giants drafted twice in the top 24, the Pats drafted 6 times, and the Steelers drafted 5 times.

2 Super Bowl participants (Cardinals and Bears) and the 2 multiple winners (Patriots and Steelers) were in the top half in number of first round picks. 3 participants and the other two winners were in the bottom half.

Only the Cardinals were in the top half of top 8 picks. The Bears, Panthers, Giants, and Seahawks had 1 each. and the Pats, Steelers, Colts, and Eagles had none.

So, here's my conclusion.
- There is a negative correlation between drafting multiple times in the top 8 picks and either making or winning the Super Bowl. Only the Cardinals drafted that much that high and made it. Single selections are unlikely but possible (Giants won; Bears, Panthers, and Seahawks lost)
- The Super Bowl winner and participant will most likely draft in the bottom 16 picks. Only 3 teams have come from outside this area (Pats, Cards, and Panthers).
- The Super Bowl winner will have a pick in the first round. The participant may not.
- There is a positive correlation between a high number of first round picks and winning the Super Bowl. The Patriots and Steelers both drafted 8 times in the first round, second most throughout the league.
- There is also a positive correlation between drafting little in the first round. The Giants and Colts drafted 6 times and 5 times, respectively.

And now, my commentary:
- Arizona's run last season was improbable, to say the least. They're tied for 3rd for most top 8 picks.
- The Colts need more first round picks. We drafted 3 less times than the Steelers or Patriots, both of whom won 2 Super Bowls during the selected time period.
- If you're a betting man, here are your "safe" bets for the Super Bowl winner: Jets, Bears, Bucs, Eagles, Vikings, Pats, Falcons, Dolphins, Ravens, Colts, Giants, Cardinals, or Steelers. I personally would eliminate the Jets, Bears, Bucs, and Dolphins, Ravens, and Cardinals. So, Eagles, Vikings, Pats, Falcons, Colts, Giants, or Steelers.

So, to answer the premise of the article, it's actually in Detroit's best interest to not even draft in the top 16. Yes, it sounds ridiculous, but history has shown that if you're drafting that high, you're not winning the Super Bowl.

I don't know what everyone else is doing for the Colts game this weekend, but my best friend is going to be in town and we wanted to hang out at a Colts bar in Chicago. As I understand it, Mullen's in Wrigleyville is a good spot for us. I was wondering if there are any other Colts fans in Chicago that wanted to come hang out and join the party? It'd be great to meet some people and watch our favorite team. GO COLTS!