Blog for Nideak: SB Nation

A Dungy question and a Saturday question

by Nideak on Feb 27, 2009 9:48 AM EST Comment 71 comments

Hola! I has two questions. Both questions designed to spark some conversation and critical thinkings stuff. No one word answers. One word answers = GTFO LOSERS.

1) Does anyone else gt the feeling that Tony Dungy and the Colts organization knew well in advance of the playoff loss to SD that Dungy would be retiring at the end of this season? A few of Dungy's post-retirement quotes about how he was hoping during the season that he'd be able to ride off into the sunset in Tampa Bay really got this ball rolling in my head. Those statements, combined with the fact that this was the year ALL the hard decisions were made: bye, Ron Meeks, bye Russ Purnell, bye, Marvin Harrison, etc... Decisions that, right or wrong, Dungy had been criticized for being unwilling to make in the past, now all happen the year Dungy decided to retire. Any chance, from 0.01% on up, in any of your minds, that last year Jim Irsay, Bill Polian and Tony Dungy sat down and said, "Tony, we would really like you to open up the Luke for us. After that you can retire peacefully and let the retooling of the Colts begin?" Maybe not in those words, but I think most of us here would be confident in saying that a few of the changes that happened this year wouldn't have happened if Dungy was still the HC.

2) With Jeff Saturday deciding to avoid GTFO LOSER status by resigning with the Colts (please, no one say he came to his sense, Jeff, like every other player, wanted $$$$, and he became one of the highest paid centers in the league, so grats Jeff) and hearing him pine after playing guard, tackle, linebacker, assistant coach, waterboy, etc... for the Steelers, it got me wondering. With Lilja maybe done forever and the rest of the guards on the team looking a little shaky last year, what would you do with Saturday? Would you play him at center and try to find plugins around him at OG, or would you move him to OG, where he could still make line calls if needed, and let one of the young 3 (assuming Jamey Richard) get ready for the future? At first glance, I think having Saturday at C is the easy answer, but with the woes at guard, and the fact that Richard was better, imo, at C, than the other yahoos were at OG, I think the best OL lineup next year might have Richard at center and Saturday at guard. Thoughts?

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Dear Hal and Beans

by Nideak on Jan 10, 2009 7:45 PM EST Comment 62 comments

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

#1 and done, amirite, boys? The Titans are sooooo good. 10 whole points! What a team!

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All-Pro Team Announced

by Nideak on Jan 9, 2009 3:44 PM EST Comment 10 comments

The List

Peyton Manning was the only Colts' player named to the squad. Reggie Wayne got 0 votes. Dallas Clark was 3rd with 2 votes. Jeff Saturday was 4th with 2 votes, Freeney was 6th with 4 votes. No other Colts' player received any votes.

To give you an idea of how good voters were this year: Boldin, whom I love, but missed atleast 25% of the season, got more votes than Reggie Wayne (0). Brandon Marshall whom started hot after a suspension and then was the 2nd best WR on his own team got more votes than Wayne.

Mario Williams got more votes than Freeney, which is 0_o.

Jerod Mayo, a rookie, got more votes than Gary Brackett. This is only a small beef, because Brackett will never make a pro-bowl or all-pro team, but it amazes me that a rookie can get more love than someone like Brackett just because of the market he plays in (and I don't buy the injury situation, since people that were injured (like Boldin) still got significant numbers of votes.

If you're too lazy to look, Manning got 28 votes, Brees 10, Rivers 9, and then pennington and warner were in the rear, I think with 1 and 2.

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Tomlinson and Manning...

by Nideak on Jan 3, 2009 1:49 PM EST Comment 10 comments

Surprised to not see anything on these two subjects...

First, its being reported by multiple media outlets (including Adam Schefter of the NFL network) that LaDanian Tomlinson has a torn man muscle. I don't know about you, but if my man muscle was torn, that would be painful. As I said earlier in the week, I'd prefer to see more Tomlinson than Sproles, because Tomlinson generally doesn't do much against the Colts, but I don't know if Sproles can carry a full load.

Second, did anyone catch Tom Jackson's interview with Peyton Manning (with guest appearances by Curtis Martin, Troy Brown, Trent Dilfer, Steve "TEH WARRIOR" McNair, and John Lynch)? It was really cool. It had nothing to do with the season or his knee surgeries, just kinds of paint Peyton as a person more pro sports people should attempt to act like. Was really nice, and was so classy even Tomlinson would have approved.

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You guys are gonna hate Peter King today...

by Nideak on Dec 29, 2008 9:13 AM EST Comment 18 comments

Let's try to keep the 'he's a dumbass', 'he's a moron', etc... to a minimum, okay, guys? I agree with all of it, but we should cut him some slack occassionally, expecially on the random chance his opinion happens to coincide with ours.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/12/29/Week17/index.html

I still don't feel that Manning will win it. I think the last thing in voter's minds will be Pennington beating the Jets and Peterson tossing the ball before he crossed the goal line (did he really do this? PFT said he did, but I didn't see the play). Can't wait to see the discussion about this weeks Indy @ SD game. My prediction? Monday we'll hear that the Colts are dangerous. From Tuesday till Friday it will quickly transition to, 'The Colts don't play well against the chargers. The chargers are hot. The chargers are great. The Chargers are GODS AMONG MEN. PHILIP RIVERS CAN IMPREGNATE YOU FROM 100 YARDS AWAY. LADANIAN TOMLINSON IS BACK! CHRIS CHAMBERS IS FAT. (I wish i could make my font bigger)." ANyhow, by saturday afternoon, the Colts will be 15 point dogs and the sky will be falling. Thankfully for Colts' fans, Atlas' knee is all healed.

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Random thoughts (Or RAGE AGAINST THE MEDIA)

by Nideak on Dec 22, 2008 2:13 PM EST Comment 46 comments

A) The Colts can't run the ball!!!! one one one one!!! This is what you're going to hear for the next 2 weeks. The Colts can't run the ball. Neither can the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team that you're gonna hear 'has as good a shot as anyone to win the super bowl!' Let's be honest here. The Steelers have a worst offensive line than the Colts. They have a worst running situation than the Colts (though it is similar, if I was the steelers I'd be starting Mewelde Moore over Parker, much like I think Rhodes is playing better than Addai right now) and, 90 seconds in the game, down by 5, you can pick Roethlisberger or Manning, who ya go? Thats what it comes down to, these teams are basically the same on offense, until you look at the person under center.

Other play off teams that can't run:

1) Arizona

2) San Diego (if they beat Denver)

3) Baltimore and Atlanta average good yards per game, but they also lead the league in attempts. To put it in perspective, if the Colts averaged their rushing average (3.4 yards per attempt) and ran the ball the same number of times Balt has, the Colts would be 9th in the league in rushing. This is over simplifying things, I know, but don't be surprised when Michael Turner can't even finish the season next year.

4) Miami... I know, I know, they looked good earlier in the year, but run blitz the wild cat and they get nothing. All of their rushing yards yesterday came from end arounds, not their running backs.

There are some other borderline teams that struggle with the run.

B) I don't think Peyton Manning is going to win his 3rd MVP. I'm not saying he shouldn't, he should and its not close. But the more I read media types who vote on this thing, the more I see them giving caveats after Mannings name. They seem to be desperately seeking someone, anyone to take the award from him.

C) The Pitt - Tenn game yesterday didn't show how good Tennessee was (but they are pretty good), it showed had bad Pitt is. The same thing the Colts did to Ben the Titans did. He can't play against a team with a good front 4 and zone coverage in the back. He gets confused by the zones, holds the ball too long, and gets sacked. Most of his great plays come from man coverage where he's able to avoid the pressure and then exploit a one on one matchup down the field. I was hoping things would work out differently, but it seems like the best bet (in my mind) for the AFCCG will be Colts - Titans, where the Titans will try to do something they did in 1999 - go 3-0 vs a divisional opponent to go to the Super Bowl.

D) Patriots fans are on drugs.

First, I bring you this paranoid piece of perfection: http://www.patriotsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=41301

Then this one... read the whole thing, pay attention to the comments about Manning!: http://www.patriotsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=41292

F) This one is for shake specifically: Dude, the FO people are douchebags. They never talk about the Colts, so what do they do when they get a thursday night game? Talk about the Patriots! And I don't know who Ben Riley is, but he's a nozzle extraordinaire. He's been saying all year, "The Colts suck, they won't win 10 games, they won't make the playoffs, blah blah blah". Now that they have 11 wins and are in the playoffs? Ignores the Colts and acts like he never said any of that shit. No matter what I've said about Dungy in the past, I want him to win the SB this year more than ever and give the rest of the country a big horseshoe shaped shit burger.

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Buster Davis benched. (or ?)

by Nideak on Dec 19, 2008 1:04 AM EST Comment 11 comments

I don't read the live game threads, but I noticed in the 4th quarter (might have happened sooner, will update after i watch the game again, although it will be painful, and I don't have nearly enough booze in the house to watch the defensive side) that the Colts were under the Post-Gary Bracket weight limit of 4.2 metric tonnes. Then I noticed that Keiaho had moved to MIKE, Hagler was at WIL and Session (hold the S) was at SAM. So apparenly the coaching staff didn't want to wait 2 more games before pulling Gilbert Gardner's really REALLY *REALLY* fat younger brother off the field.

I actually don't know if this was a performance issue or if they did it because Hagler can't possibly be any slower than Davis and speed would help against the shotgun, draw, shotgun, draw, 5 yard out, shotgun draw, defense.

Did anyone notice if he got injured? Otherwise, I'll check to see if this was a 2nd half adjustment.

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So kind of a hypothetical...

by Nideak on Dec 18, 2008 3:44 PM EST Comment 71 comments

Lets say last year Peyton were to come out and say that someone else should have won DPOY instead of Bob Sanders. Or that one of the players picked for the probowl on the colts wasn't deserving...

Or what if Tony Dungy was being talked about as a hot choice for CotY, and Manning came out and said some other coach, doesn't matter who, is a better choice for coach of the year.

Would you all be behind Manning making these statements, or would you want Manning to STFU and keep his opinion to himself?

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Harrison out Thurs

by Nideak on Dec 17, 2008 8:01 PM EST Comment 15 comments

From indystar: http://www.indystar.com/article/20081217/SPORTS03/81217043/1100

Says Harrison did not make the trip to Jacksonville, Addai and Sanders did and are expected to play, I guess Gonzo will start in his place, not sure who will take over the third WR spot. Kinda hurts in this game since the Jax secondary is depleted, having 3 healthy receivers would have been nice. I'm still trying to get to the seventy-five word limit, doubt i'm there yet, but I'll check

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Let's talk defense and officiating (Lions)

by Nideak on Dec 16, 2008 4:59 PM EST Comment 27 comments

1) Let me say that after watching the game again (in super fast motion, I only watch the running game, both offense and defense) the officiating was even crappier the second time around. The muffed punt has been covered, but their WRs (especially Standeford) were great at holding down field. And by great I mean "really really breaking the rules right in front of the officials and no flag being thrown". This wasn't your standard 'you can call holding on every play' holding. Two times Tim Jennings' jersey was pulled so much you could see his tummy (I think he had eggs for breakfast), both on two of Kevin Smith's longer runs. The illegal contact/PI calls in this game were also craptastic. The Colts should have probably been called in the first quarter for a PI down field, and when the refs failed to do so, they made sure to make up for it in each subsequent quarter.

2) Clint SessioN is a beast, still. The Colts ran a nifty defense a few times, showing how much they trust Session, Bullitt, and Bethea. The Colts would play a 'nickel' look, but the 3 LBs would be Bullit - Keaiho - Davis, and then Session would be over the slot. He was able to make a TFL (tackle for loss) on quick screen to Johnson on the first play of the game, and made a few stops in the backfield on the run from this formation. He was very active, the most active of the line backers. He was out of position a few times, but it wasn't his fault (will cover whose fault it was in 5...4...3...2...1...)

3) OH. MY. GOD. The defensive line played horrible. Yes, there was the standard 'Freeney and Mathis are gonna get their necks broke if you don't call that' holds on pass plays, but Jesus, this was Freeney's worst game against the run I can ever remember. The Lions would frequently line up with a trips right formation in either a 2 TE - 2 WR - 1 RB or 3 WR - 1 TE - 1 RB set, start the run to the strong side (the trips side) and then cut back. During the game, the runs looked to be the fault of the safety (usually bullitt) because he was missing a tackle. This is partly true, however the bigger problem was WHY the Lions kept running the weak side cut back to Freeney's side. The Lions weren't, for the most part, blocking Freeney, because Freeney would slant straight down the line of scrimmage into nothingness. He could have passed a field sobriety test he was going so straight down the LOS. The fews times the Lions DID block Freeney on a run was when the run was actually to the strong side, away from Freeney, and they didn't block #93 with a lineman. They would pull the far TE against the grain and WHAM (for John Madden) block freeney out of the play.

To continue this thought, the Colts ran so many stunts and twists, it made no sense. Freeney and Mathis could have schooled these guys one on one (which they often were being blocked), but the Colts rarely gave them the chance. On multiple plays they would both stunt inside of the tackles, or loop around the entire line switching sides. These can be effective, when used at the right times, but they just wore them out on Sunday.

4) I would love for someone to explain to me what happened on the Colts first drive of the second half. Simpson takes a sprint draw for ten-ish yards to the 20 yard line for a first down. Next thing you know, its 4th and 20 from the 40. So confused. No penalty, no explanation, nothing. I'm assuming there was a hold somewhere, but I never saw it.

5) Speaking of never seeing things. STOP GIVING ME SCREWED UP CAMERA ANGLES. I DON'T NEED HEAD ON OR BACK SIDE SHOTS FROM FIELD LEVEL. If you want to give me north-south looks, do it from the catches end zone cam. Otherwise just stick with the normal look.

6) The Colts D has played a lot of man coverage (not cover 3) the past 2 weeks. They haven't been blitzing on these plays, but I'm thinking they are playing more man to allow Freddie and Clint more freedom to attack the line of scrimmage.

7) Some quick Colts' passing game + ref notes: If that was offensive PI on Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss has 0 catches for 0 yards and 0 touchdowns. FOR HIS CAREER. The Lions were amazingly good with contact 5-10 yards down field. The Walt Colemanites did a good job of following their leader.

The Colts got called for an off-sides in the 2nd quarter (I believe, I wasn't taking notes). This was a great call, considering the LT was making a humping motion towards the ground.

Thats all. I would say, in general, all of the frustating things from this game (other than the turnovers) were all fixable. The colts are getting shredded on the weak side runs, but its all schematic or players not playing backside containt. Both of which are not only fixable, but easily fixable. So I would assume that once those gets fixed, plus Foster, Dawson, Brackett and Sanders are back, this defense will be rarin to go.

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Nideak

joined Sep 02, 2008 last login May 19, 2009 posts 20 comments 901

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