Previously I've written that #18 was a victim of the former coaching regime (for too few SB rings), but in truth the guy who suffered the most from it was Bob Sanders.

With the arm-tackling, jello defense that couldn't tackle a teletubby, Bob was the one who gave up his body repeatedly, ultimately to his physical detriment (i.e. injuries).  If his career is ultimately cut short, I blame the former coaches.  Please let's not forget what we owe him.

Some people have compared Bob to Polamalu, but at least Polamalu has James Harrison as a teammate on the D while Bob's had to play with such inept-tackling marshmallows as Gilbert Gardner and Cato June.  Presently we still lack a Mike Curtis type LB who can drill people.

Now as far as trading him for cap space or a needed player, I'm not saying rule it out.  Hell, Unitas, Namath, and Montana were all ultimately traded or released, so it's cruel but that's pro sports for you.

Actually right now I'd trade Gonzo (since we're very deep at WR) for an OL or LB.  Hell, even for a Hester-like returner.

Anyway, please don't make it sound like it's Bob idea to be fragile on purpose.

Dungy/Meeks, Caldwell/Collier, it's still a stinking pile.  What a shameful legacy.  Still can't find a way to get off the fucking field.

With PM as your QB, a Colts head coach inherits a powerful offense, leaving the defense as the primary concern.  Yet to date no head coach/defensive coordinator can put a decent D on the field (even though to be fair, it's Caldwell's first year).

In truth the Colts would be 0-2 if the Jags or Dolphins had remotely decent WRs; how many end-zone drops did the Dolphins have, three?  Thank God Pennington's passing range is 15 yards.  It's obvious that teams with explosive offenses (SD, Pittsburgh) are going to shred this dickless defense as has been the case for years. 

The most inane stat cited to validate the Colts defense is that they only gave up six touchdown passes last year; that is so retarded; as was seen in this game, why bother passing when you can easily plow through this jello defense?  Remember Sproles last year?

Bottom line again: Please be outraged in that the team is squandering greatness.  QBs like PM come once a generation; once PM hangs it up, the Colts most likely won't see his like for a long time.  It hurts to see the poor guy be cheated out of his due, which is several Super Bowls, but try as he might, he can't do it alone (although he comes damn close).

Rant aside, is there anything that can be done?  Besides, for starters, replacing Chad Simpson.  And on the positive side, wasn't McAfee great? 

You speak for me too, bro:

And, as I’ve mentioned, Peyton, in my opinion, is clearly the reason for the Colts success, not Tony.

It's brutal the heavy lifting that Peyton has to do every week to carry this team.  This year Manning's even been criticized for scoring too early, for fear that the opposing team will quickly regain the lead unless time runs out.  And don't forget, even in 2006, the Super Bowl year, it took Manning's GREATEST game (and arguably the second best game in Colts history after the 1958 game) to save Dungy's hide, after his defense had again effed up in the first half.  I keep repeating: we won't have Manning forever, and we're squandering the talents of the greatest quarterback of his era.  I think I can speak for Ayrshire as well as myself  when I say it's not personal, it's business.  How many time is the organization going to keep doing the same thing before it realizes that this defensive scheme doesn't work?  BTW, I also keep repeating: people bemoan the rash of defensive injuries, but what do you expect with such a small team?  I.e., if a 300-lb player hits a 250-lb player, who's more likely to get hurt? Exactly.  That's why the Colts are injury-prone, and that's another major flaw in this small-speedy philosophy.

The only mitigating factor for Dungy's paper-tissue defensive philosophy, which in no way resembles how his rugged Tampa Bay defenses played, is if it was forced on him by Mr. Polian.  And that's something we won't know for years anyway until sportswriters write the books and disclose the truth if that's the case .

 And shake, I know you rule, but before you start with the impressive Dungy stats, let me add that the only stats I pay attention to are the playoff scores, beginning with Dungy's first playoff game, which if memory serves was a 41-0 loss to the Jets. 

Anyway, I would've piped up earlier, but  I was at work and so I couldn't.  Ayrshire, buddy, keep speaking the truth as you and I see it.  And yes, KingRichard, if Dungy pulls off a Super Bowl victory this year, I'll happily eat crow.  After all, we all love this team.

I write this merely to assess what the team has lost; did we lose a potential Pro Bowler, a good NT, or merely an adequate big body? 

Was he ever ranked with other NT starters in the league?  What did the critics/experts/scouts say about Big Ed?

Was he great on the run or pass or both?  How did he rate as a pass rusher?

What do you folks think?  Would it take a first-round pick to replace his caliber of play?

Would one of you savvy bloggers explain how a 245 DT can be effective in colllapsing the pocket and stopping the run when he's consistently up against 300 lb. linemen?

I know he's fast , but don't DTs need bulk more than speed?  In the middle of the field where the bodies pile up, there's not a lot of room for him to use his speed, is there? 

I suspect the answer is some glib reason for why the team uses the Cover 2, so I thank you in advance...

For all you analysts out there: All bitching about New England aside, how do the Colts set up what the Pats offense had last year with Wes Welker?  To me, he was easily their MVP because he was nearly automatic on third-down plays.  On third downs when everybody watching knew Brady would go to Welker, how did he still manage to get so open every time? (I believe he also had a record for most receptions; again, I'm not here as a booster for the j_rkoffs, I just want the Colts to not miss out on a good thing.)

With our personnel, how can the Colts replicate this success? It'd be great if on every third down Manning had a receiver to whom he could just dump off a sure-thing pass.

Any details/opinions would be appreciated. I freely admit I don't know jack about pass receiver formations.  But I can't believe the Colts don't have anybody of Welker's calibre either.  Thanks.

I know some of you will cry apostasy, but I'd prefer to close the Dungy/Meeks era and start over. BBS, your moods fluctuate wildly, but I think you're now more on the mark when you say Meeks (and I include Dungy) are far from geniuses.

Yes, they're classy guys, but perennial plodders and losers; if Manning hadn't had his to-date career game during last year's AFC Championship, the Colts would still be the poster boys for choking.  Remember, up to the beginning of the second half of that game, the defense had once more bit the big one.  Also remember that when Kravitz later asked Meeks what turned the defense around during the postseason, he said he wasn't sure. And we really lucked out by facing worthless Rex Grossman in the Super Bowl. BTW, I agree with BBS that blaming Manning for this last debacle is ridiculous. Assign the blame to whom it belongs--Meeks and Dungy.

With all due respect and gratitude for SB 2006, screw "Do What We Do."  I'd like to see some ambitious bright guy take over, but this may be pie-in-the-sky on my part.

Or is there someone out there who qualifies?  

By that I mean he somehow nullifies other teams' ability in the fourth quarter to pressure Brady, not give up the home run to Moss, and hold on to the lead.

All of their improbable comebacks this year are nauseatingly familiar, and it's like every opponent plays in a vacuum and never learns from other teams' prior mistakes or devises an effective fourth quarter strategy to preserve the lead until the game's over. (e.g., how about hitting Moss at the line of scrimmage, double-covering him, and forcing Brady to beat you with Welker, who, while great, is not the home run threat that Moss is.)

Christ, is Bellichick drugging other teams' Gatorade?  Is Lamont Cranston in his coaching staff?  WTF?

For the rest of the season, but particularly for the anticipated rematch at Foxboro, how do we get the most pass rush out of our depleted D-line?  

Remember that fourth quarter in the wretched Pats game?  Freeney was on the sidelines, hell knows why, and the other linemen couldn't apply any pressure. Brady then went and made our defense look like the defense from 2005 that couldn't tackle or stop Stephen Hawking.

To me the lesson from that horrible game is that if the pass rush lets up for even one play, the Cover 2, no matter how good or improved the remaining personnel are, falls apart. For now I don't see how the Colts win the rematch; if given time, Brady's sure to shred us again (barring injury, he definitely has the guns this year) and what's worse this time it'll be done in Coach Belishit's house, and they'll probably do it much earlier than the fourth quarter.  Moreover, it would upset me terribly if they tried to run up the score on us.  And if we were to lose badly, Dungy's too classy to kick Coach Belishit in the balls like he deserves.

Christ, how to avoid?  What lineup should we use?  Do we blitz more?  Who and how often do we blitz?  Do you think Meeks/Dungy can come up with something clever or new? (Yeah, I know, I didn't believe it when I wrote it either.) Any suggestions/ideas? Please provide some hope.  Maybe for starters (and for better field position) we could kill Purnell....