So it comes down to this: one last game. sixty minutes that determine whether the Colts get the #1 pick or the #2 pick. The Vikings lost, so there are only four possible scenarios with two possible endings:

1. The Colts and Rams both lose. The Colts get #1 pick.

2. The Colts and Rams both win: The Colts get #1 pick.

3. The Colts lose, the Rams win: the Colts get #1 pick.

4. The Colts win, the Rams lose: the Rams get #1 pick.

Given his willingness to not try to win when it doesn't matter (see: 2009 season), why would Bill Polian attempt to win the game next week against the Jaguars? If you ask me, we should sit our starters and play scrubs to ensure the #1 draft pick. If we win, sure, we'll all feel good for a few days, but then our season is over, and what do we have to look forward to? The #2 pick in the draft.

I say that in a season of 13 losses and 2 wins, one more loss isn't going to change anything except for the potential to set us up for either our next franchise QB, or trading Luck for a bunch of picks to rebuild.

I've been rooting for the Colts all season. Next Sunday I will be rooting for them to lose. Not for today, not for tomorrow, but for next year and the years to come.

I watched the game yesterday with joy and amazement. It felt good to watch the Colts win one, especially against a division rival. I cheered on Lacey, Brown, and Wayne as they made their Touchdowns. I pumped my fist in the air as AV kicked in his field goals. I had to leave the house at 4pm, but the game wasn't over. I decided to stay until it was a sure thing. So with a minute and change left, the Colts got the ball back, and I headed out to the car. I tuned in to Hank FM, and Bob Lamey's coverage of the game. I thought, "Nothing could make me feel bad about this win." I was wrong.

Continue reading this post »

I was not happy in 2009 when Bill Polian threw the chance for a perfect season so that he could rest the starters for a Super Bowl run (and we all know how that turned out, right?).  But after we got to the Super Bowl, I thought, hey, maybe Bill was right in keeping his eye on the prize instead of trying to go for all the marbles. 

The goal of all 32 teams in the NFL on day one is "win the super bowl."  I don't care what anybody says, the guys in the locker room know: if you don't walk away at the end of the year with a ring, it was not a successful season. Or, as Ricky would say, "If you're not first, you're last." 

So, given Mr Polian's agreement with having a solitary goal in mind, my question is this:  what is his goal now?  Because once you lose the super bowl as a possibility (which the Colts surely have at this point), why not pull his starters and evaluate talent all year, so the Colts can get as high on the draft board as possible? To put it a different way, what is his goal for the rest of this year? 

I'm not saying throw the season. What I'm saying is, treat the rest of the season like "preseason for the 2012 season."  Sure, it's nice to win a preseason game, but it doesn't really matter as far as the primary goal goes.  

And that goal is now Super Bowl XLVII, in New Orleans. 

I commented yesterday that, since Jacksonville and Tennessee both won yesterday (and we all know Houston won), the Colts are at the bottom of their division.  I wondered, when was the last time this happened?  Well, this morning I did the research.

This is the first time the Colts have EVER been at the bottom of the AFC South, which was created in 2002.  Before that the Colts were in the AFC East with the Dolphins, Patriots, Jets, and Bills.  The answer is:  1998.

The only question I have is: at what point were we alone at the bottom?  The reason for my question is this: the Bills didn't win a divisional game until week 6.   They rolled into Indianapolis on Sunday Oct 11th with a divisional record of 0-1.  We had a divisional record of 0-3.   Were we sharing the basement until the outcome of that game (they won)?  Or did we fall to the bottom in week 2 when we had an 0-2 record and the Bills were still 0-1?

1998.  Peyton Manning's rookie year.  The last time we had no place to go but up. I can see the top from here, we just have to start winning, right?

I don't know if you guys have seen this video yet.  It is dated last October, so probably.  I don't know how I missed it, but I did, so I'm going to assume that some of you missed it as well.   Enjoy

Here's the video.

My favorite part is where Dallas says, "I don't know what that means!"    And then he says he' s just going to run an out route and hope Peyton throws it to him.  ROFL!

Jeff Fisher has a great sense of humor.

How can you not like this guy?  This is a video of three coaches' pick of who is going to win the Super Bowl this year.  Jim Mora picks the Saints, but says he's picking with his heart.  ROFL.  So what he is saying is that he doesn't THINK the Saints will win, he just WANTS them to.  Steve Mariucci picked with his brain, and said the Colts.  Then Jeff Fisher tells us that he's on the fence, but then shows us who his SB XLIV champion is:

Jeff Fisher's pick.

Derek Deese is a schmuck.  At least according to BBS's standards.  I was driving home this afternoon at 12:30 and I tuned in to Fox Sports on 1260 FM.   I was treated to the comedy stylings of Derek Deese (former OT for the Niners), or at least that's what it seemed like. 

He was going on and on about how the Colts were "lucky" last night.  The co-host asked him to explain his "lucky" comment.  Mr Deese gave an example: he stated that Peyton throwing the pick was a bad play, but when Garcon "appeared out of nowhere" to knock the ball loose, that was "lucky."  Excuse me?  Luck has nothing to do with sprinting across a field and using your physical skills to achieve a positive outcome.     You can call a lot of things luck, but that play is not one of them.  Moron.

We all hate these late season games that mean absolutely nothing to our team.  The Patriots had nothing to play for yesterday but seeding (and really, what's the difference between #3 and #4?  Not much).  And yet Welker is now done.  The Colts had absolutely no reason to play for the past three weeks, and they showed it by sitting the starters, and giving the last two games away.   I know Roger Goodell is trying to get the competition committee to tweak the rules so that there is some incentive for teams like the Colts (who lock up a playoff berth early).  One thing mentioned was "draft picks."  Doesn't that go against parity? Because if a team locked up a playoff berth early, do they really need MORE draft picks than the teams that are fighting for the post-season in week 17?

Here's my thought:

What if each team with a confirmed playoff berth had the option to "rest their starters" by forfeiting the entire game to their opponent?  All the players and coaches on the forfeiting team would give up that portion of their annual contracted salary (or whatever) to the "home team" of that game.  The "home team" would lose some money on concessions, but they would save money on salaries both of the workers at the game and personnel on the field. The "home team" would then use that money to refund the face value of every ticket that had been sold to that game. 

This way no fan has to sit through a meaningless game like yesterday's Snow Bowl in Buffalo.  No player has to worry about getting an injury in a meaningless game and missing the playoffs (as we have seen several do just yesterday). Coaches can concentrate on getting ready for the playoffs without wasting any brainpower in developing a half-hearted "gameplan" against the 2-13 team they are supposed to play in Week 17 (I'm looking at you, Detroit!).

So.   Whaddya think?

As far as I understand it, here is how the playoffs are going to work out based on the results of the Wild Card weekend:

AFC: 
If the Jets and Ravens win, we play the Ravens and Chargers play Jets.
If the Jets and Patriots win, we play the Jets and Chargers play Patriots.
If the Bengals and Ravens win, we play the Ravens and Chargers play Bengals
If the Bengals and Patriots win, we play the Bengals and Chargers play the Patriots.

NFC:

If the Eagles and Packers win, the Saints play the Eagles and Vikings play Packers (Favre vs GB in playoffs!)
If the Eagles and Cardinals win, the Saints play the Eagles and Vikings play Cardinals.
If Dallas and Packers win, Saints play Packers and Vikings play Dallas.
If Dallas and Cardinals  win, Saints play Cardinals and Vikings play Dallas.

The way I see the playoffs playing out:

NFC: Eagles beat Dallas and Packers beat Cardinals.  Then Saints beat the Eagles and Vikings beat the Packers. Vikings beat the Saints in the NFC Championship.

AFC: I think the Jets are going to beat the Bengals, and Baltimore is going to beat the Patriots.  Then the Colts will beat the "Professional Football Team from Baltimore" and the Chargers beat the Jets.  Then the Colts beat the Chargers in the AFC Championship game.  Colts beat Vikings to win Super Bowl XLIV.

*Edited to correct for proper seeding.  

Mr Polian,

I respect your ability to evaluate talent, and I believe that your choices over the past decade have built the Colts into the best team in the NFL.  That being said, I'm reminded of a quote by Vince Lombardi, "The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor."  Commitment to excellence does not include giving up on a game while there is time remaining on the clock.  Coach Lombardi also said, "Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit."

As a fan, I support my team.  I watch the games. I root for the Colts to win every week they play. When the Colts have played their hardest, and lose, I support my team.  When they win, I support my team.  When the Colts are winning, and the management of the team sabotages the game by not playing the best people they have, I feel betrayed.  I feel like you and Coach Caldwell walked out onto the field and said, "We give up."  

In closing, I will still support my team, but in the future, please tell me when I am supposed to cheer them on to victory, and when I should not care. Because If I care, and you give up, it's like a knife in my heart.

Go Colts.

So a friend of mine is a Broncos fan as well as a Colts fan.  She supports the Colts unless they are playing the Broncos, in which case she gets an excuse to get drunk because her team lost, something that doesn't happen a lot when she supports the Colts.  But I digress.

I thought I remembered that we usually do well against the Broncos, and I went back into the history to find out how well we have done. I didn't bother looking at anything in Baltimore (pre-1985) because I didn't want to light off any Baltimore fans still upset about the "midnight ride" (get over it).   Here's what I found out:

In the Peyton Manning Era, the Colts have played the Broncos exactly eight times.   We lost two of those eight games, so even if we don't look at anything else, we beat them 75% of the time.  But let's look at those two games:

1. December 21st, 2003:  The Colts were 11-3 at this point, and the Titans were 10-4,  but the Colts swept the Titans.  Arguably, this is the only game that the Colts lost that mattered for anything (although it didn't end up mattering at all). The Broncos won 31-17, but the Colts came back two weeks later and shellacked the Broncos in the first round of the playoffs.  The Colts won the rematch 41-10. Yes, that's right, the margin of victory was exactly the same as the Broncos entire score in the first game.

2.  January 3rd, 2005:  The Colts had locked up their playoff spot, and this was truly a meaningless game. Peyton and Edge only played one series.  It was like a preseason game and we all know how much THOSE matter. Even with Captain Clipboard at the helm, the Colts still managed to only lose 33-14.  Then a week later the Broncos played the Colts again, in the first round of the playoffs.  One wonders if they flew home to Denver in between.   The Colts played their starters that day, and once again shellacked the Broncos 49-24. 

Other than those two losses, the Indianapolis Colts have beaten the Broncos at every contest during the Manning Dynasty: 2001, 2002, 2006, and 2007, as well as the two playoff wins mentioned above.

Stat of the week:  The last time the Colts lost to Denver when the outcome of the game really mattered? October 3rd, 1993. 

Am I worried?  Nope.

This guy was one of my favorite players on the Chiefs, and before I moved to Indianapolis, his was the only NFL jersey I owned.  Now he has to find a new team, and I have a new dishrag!

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2009/11/09/chiefs_release_rb_larry_johnson/          

Any thoughts on what team (if any) will sign him?  He was #2 in the league just a few years back, and now he's sitting on his couch eating cheetos.

Kids, remember the moral of the Larry Johnson Jersey:  DON'T DRUNK TEXT!

It looks like the Patriots have a new prospect when Vince Wilfork retires

Because everybody knows Wilfork is one of the dirtiest players in football, and I can't remember who it was, but I specifically remember Mr. Wilfork attempting to poke a player on the other team in the eyes.  Anybody else remember when that was (or maybe there are multiple times? It's certainly possible).

And the seventy five word limit sucks. Yes, it does.

Yesterday Bob Kravitz (sports journalist extraordinaire for the Indianapolis Star) opened wide and stuck both feet in his mouth by calling out bloggers for not using their real names. He says that bloggers are not reliable and are, in fact, “weenies” for hiding behind nom de plumes.  This got me thinking.  I have never been to journalism school.  I took English in college, as well as some creative writing courses.  Sometimes I write great stuff that makes people laugh, and sometimes I have trouble stringing a sentence together.  This is why I don’t get paid for my writing.  Perhaps someday I might write a book, but it would not be something I write overnight. But I digress. 

If I remember correctly, newspapers began with the invention of the printing press, and during Revolutionary War times, newspapers were printed in people’s houses and were not the big corporate entities like we have today.  The papers that did well did so because their writing was good and their facts were reliable.  People bought those papers instead of the ones that were bad and untrustworthy.  This is how competition works.

When a newspaper fails, it does so for one of several minor reasons, but the main reason is almost always the same thing:  the readers went elsewhere for their information.  I used to subscribe to the Des Moines Register, even when I didn’t agree with their slant on things, because it was the only game in town if I wanted information that didn’t come off the local TV news. This was back in the 80’s and early 90’s. 

When I moved to Indianapolis, I got the Indy Star.  I enjoyed the Star, but eventually it came down to the fact that I am a busy person, and I never had time to read the Star.  I do have time to read 18to88.com, Stampedeblue.com, Bleedcubbieblue.com, foxnews.com, directorblue.blogspot.com and several others, for my sources of information.  I also wander past indystar.com from time to time to see if there’s any local news that’s interesting.  Since I’m not from here, most of the news doesn’t affect me.

I still get the Star, but just on Sundays.  Why?  Because the $1.50 per week is worth it, given the several dollars in coupons I get.  If they stopped carrying coupons, I would cancel even that subscription.  Why is it that I don’t subscribe to the daily paper?  The same reason that I don’t pay for natural gas:  I don’t need it.  My house isn’t set up for it, and I never use it.  If I got a bill in the mail from the gas company, I would not pay it, since they don’t provide a service for me.

My final point goes back to the idea of competition I brought up in paragraph two.  If the Indianapolis Star (and Bob Kravitz) go under and cease operations, it will be because people have stopped using them as the credible, reliable, first line news source that they are supposed to be.  Newspapers were great fifty years ago.  They were great thirty years ago, but I don’t know how relevant a news outlet can be when they only produce one edition every 24 hours.  News sites on the internet can update minute by minute.  Fifty years ago, people read the newspaper to find out what happened yesterday.  If you pick up a newspaper today, you will find out what happened.  Yesterday.   You can go to any news website (or turn on CNN or Fox News Channel) and find out what is happening RIGHT NOW.   

Do I find it ironic that I am writing this article about something that happened yesterday?  Yes.  But I am writing it now, and you are reading it now. 

I am holding back my judgment on the Matt Cassel trade. It's possible that Matt Cassel has great potential, and could be an untapped asset to the organization like Kurt Warner was for the Rams (and now Cardinals). But I also see it as possibly just setting us up for two more years of mediocrity. I think we should STILL draft a QB with the #3 pick, and if Peterson was still in charge, I would be certain that we won't.  But we might now that Pioli is here.  All I know is that I have been looking back at our past drafts, and we haven’t drafted a franchise QB (a’la Manning, Manning, Culver, etc) since 1983 (Todd Blackledge), and he was the only QB we have EVER drafted with our first draft pick in each year. 

Also, the last time we picked this high in the draft (#3 or higher) was in 1988 when we had the #2 overall pick.  What will we do with it this time?

While I was researching our first draft picks in each year, I compiled some interesting stats: In the 39 drafts that have taken place since the merger in 1970 we have picked the following:  

Defense:
DT: 4
DE:4
LB: 3
DB: 3
NT: 1

Offense:
WR: 4
RB: 6
OT: 5
TE: 5
G: 3
QB: 1

Total picks: 39
Total defensive picks: 15
Total offensive picks: 24
Total "offensive weapon" picks: 16
Total "lineman" picks: 17
Total QB picks: 1

Please, let's draft a QB and train him for a few years while Cassel has his shot.  If Cassel turns out to be the 2nd coming of Brady or Montana, or Warner, then great, we have a QB to trade.  If he stinks up Arrowhead, then we shuck him (or keep him as a backup) and play Stafford (or Pat White, or whoever we would draft).  Those are my thoughts.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80e044e3&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

"The NFL has fined Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney $20,000 for comments he made after last Saturday's 23-17 overtime loss at San Diego. The league announced the fine Friday.In a postgame interview with Yahoo! Sports, Freeney used two expletives in criticizing the officiating at the end of the game. The Colts were called for three defensive penalties on the Chargers' winning drive in overtime."

Did he get fined for using expletives or for criticizing the officiating? Because I know a lot of people who woule owe some big buck about that game if we all got held to that standard.

So Antoine Bethea.  No doubt, a great player.  Awesome, in fact.  But how do you pronounce his name?

Last year, it seemed to me like everyone was pronouncing it "buh-THAY-uh".   This year, most of the announcers are calling him "buh-THAY"  and removing the "uh" at the end.  Does anybody know how HE prefers his name to be pronounced?  I don't want to scream at the idiot announcers for something that I have wrong.  I want to be right in my estimation that Tony Kornheiser is an idiot. Anyone?  Anyone?                                                                                                              

Who knew it could happen?  Warren Sapp has said some really dumb things, and has generally shown himself to be not a very nice person over the years.  But today he got it right.

 Al Davis needs to go.  I don't know how you fire an owner, but someone in the NFL needs to step up and tell this man to go take a flying leap.  He has ruined this team and has poisoned the NFL with his actions. 

Don't get me wrong, as a Colts fan, I dislike the Raiders.  As a Chiefs fan, I detest the Raiders.  As a human being, I wish they would just go away.  But there are legitimate athletes on that team who want to play to win, and Al Davis isn't letting them. 

I saw my first-ever, live NFL game on December 18th, 2006: Colts vs Bengals, MNF.  I went home that night and put my name on the waiting list.  That spring (after the Super Bowl), I was notified that I wouldn't be getting any seats.  They did have some single seats available, however. I thought, well, one seat is better than none.  I grabbed one on the upper level, as close to the 50 yard line as I could get.  I sat on the 20 yard line all last season.

So this year, I understood that there were gong to be an additional 5000 seats available in the new stadium, and I, as a season ticket holder, would get my seat request filled before anybody on the waiting list.  Hoo-ray! There's no way I won't get my extra seat now, I thought.

Then I get a letter this spring that tells me, "Due to the continually high renewal rates and increased demand for season tickets, we were not able to fulfill your request at this time."   This makes me mad.  Am I mad at the Colts?  Naah. I'm mad because I know for a fact that people buy season tickets for the express purpose of selling them for 2-3x face value.  I know of a guy who lives in California and has two seats.  My friend sits next to these two seats.  He told me that in the 12 years he has been going to Colts games, those seats have always been filled by people who bought their tickets on stubhub.com.  The guy hasn't sat there in 12 years! 

I am sure that some of the seats purchased were done so for new people in families that want to go to the games. I have no probem with that.  If you were a season ticket holder longer than me, and you want to take your kids now, or whatever, fine.    What ticks me off is the people that are buying tickets just so they can profit. 

Dare I say we should imitate the Patriots in this area:  prohibit season ticket holders from selling their tickets for greater than face value?  If the Colts did that, the people buying tickets just for profit would give up their seats.  There would be two benefits to this change:

1. More Colts fans would be able to come to the games

2. Fewer tickets would be sold on stubhub.com, etc. to  fans of the opposing team.

Maybe then I could take my son to a game without paying $200 for a $64 seat.   

ok, this is hilarious.  you have to see this video. 

The Onion (satire website) breaks news that a NHL player makes it to the big leagues:

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/nhl_star_called_up_to_big_leagues

I got this on the extra mustard section of Sports Illustrated.  That's usually a good source for funny stuff.  Boy do I hate the 75 word limit on this posting a new entry stuff.  Really, really, really, really, really hate it.

I don't know why this is bugging me so much, but people keep misspelling his last name.  I guess it's because I have a hard last name that starts with P and people put a K in it when there is only supposed to be a C.   Yeah. That must be it. 

The man's name is Mike Pollak.  Not Pollack.

From www.colts.com:

Colts Select Offensive Lineman Mike Pollak of Arizona State in Second Round
INDIANAPOLIS - The Colts waited more than five and a half hours to make their first selection of the 2008 NFL Draft.
When they got a chance to pick, they went offensive line.

The Colts, after not having a first-round draft selection for the first time in four years, made their first selection around 8:40 p.m. Saturday, taking center Mike Pollak of Arizona State with the No.  
 
28 selection of the second round, the 59th selection overall.

Pollak, in a conference call with Indianapolis media shortly after his selection, said Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy told him shortly after his selection he will get a chance to compete for a starting position at offensive guard.

Pollak (6-feet-3, 293 pounds) started 13 games at center each of the past two seasons. He was an All-Pac 10 selection as a senior and a second-team selection as a junior.

OK, so I'm watching the NFL Network coverage of the schedule release.  They are of course talking about how hard the Steelers' and Colts' schedules are, and how easy the Patriots schedule is.  

But what is Adam Schefter going on and on about?  The Patriots undefeated record!

That's right....in the eyes of certain people, the Patriots are STILL undefeated (in the regular season). Adam takes great joy in pointing out that December 2006 was the last time the Patsies lost a regular season game.  19 games long, their streak is!  What's more, Mr. Schefter has written off the first four teams the Pats play, saying that they are going to have at least 23 straight regular season wins.  

When will the fawning stop? They choked, already!  I would love it if the Chiefs shellacked them (I know, not going to happen, but it's a nice dream) in their home/season opener!

Sitting here tonight, I turned on the NFL network (sorry to those of you who haven't switched to Direct TV yet), and what do I see? A replay of the 1994 Bears/Vikings game (the "Cris Carter" OT catch game).

Del Rio wearing pads and tackling someone! He's wearing purple! He's on defense!

A few minutes later, they cut to the Viking's booth...look! It's Tony Dungy, the Vikings defensive coordinator.  Aaah!

Dungy was Del Rio's boss?  What kind of Bizarro world is this? How is it that Dungy is such a class act, and Del Rio is such a tool? Did he learn nothing from Dungy? I guess that just shows that you can lead a horse to water, but you can't teach Del Rio JACK about football.  

Is Ben going anywhere?

The New Yawk Jets might be a good place for him. The article also states that he has visited with Cincinnati.  

My only question is this: he is a restricted free agent. If he doesn't sign with another team, how much do the Colts have to pay him this year?

IF he does go, perhaps we should get a tight end in the 2nd round? Hmmm.  Thoughts?

We got him for six years!

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d806c49d9&template=with-video&confirm=true

http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7901108

They don't say how much, but who cares, right? I mean, now we have one of the best TE's in the league signed, along with many other key positions.  QB, RB, WR, TE, etc. Wow.  The next several years should prove to be pretty fun.

NFL.com says that Bob Sanders is injured and will not be going to the pro bowl.  Anybody know what injury they are talking about?

I guess this is good news, because we now know that he won't get injured playing a meaningless game.                                                                                                                                      

Am I the only one that is glued to my computer, waiting for a decision from Coach?  I can't get anything done today, because I keep running back to the computer to see who our coach is going to be this year. Aaarrgh!

I know some have said it doesn't matter if it's Dungy or Caldwell, but I just need to know, because I want Dungy back.  I want Dungy to coach the Colts for their first year at the Lube. I want him to lead us to another Super Bowl victory in SB XLIII.  

The waiting is killing me.

The Bill Polian show had a caller who made a good point about the officiating on last week's game. If you go to The Colts website and listen to the Bill Polian show...at the 22:35 mark, Jim from Greenwood calls in with a very good question.  I took the liberty of typing the conversation here.  I think Bill speaks for all of us.
****
Bob Lamey: Back to the phones, Greenwood is the destination. Jim, good evening, and welcome to the Bill Polian show.
Jim: Good evening Bob and Bill, how are you doing?
Bill Polian: Good thank you.
Jim: I had a question concerning the delay of game in the second quarter. There was a situation where the Colts on defense had, I think it was a third and two, and there was one delay of game that pushed it back to a third and seven or third and eight...And the very next play it was very clear that San Diego did not get the snap off in time, which would have been two delay of game's in a row.  It was also clear that the centerfield referee, the back judge or field judge or whatever his name is, clearly started taking three or four steps inward, reaching for his flag, and was ready to throw the flag.  The snap went off, and in my mind, he changed his mind.  I guess my question is, as a member of the commission committee, is that something where the league wants those referees to show a little discretion and not bog the game down with penalty after penalty--certainly not two delay of games in a row--or is it more like basketball where it's down to a tenth of a second and they'll review it--or not review it, but they want the referee to hold it in the strictest interpretation?   Number two: is that type of play reviewable? On the big screen at the dome they showed it where the center still had the ball on the ground, the clock was at zero--is a play like that reviewable? I'll hang up and listen to you, thank you.

Bill: No, it's not reviewable. I'll give you my opinion as a member of the competition committee--I think I probably speak for every member of the committee.  What the heck is the sense of having a rule if you don't enforce it?  If the clock says zero, that means you haven't gotten the play off. Why would you make it zero plus something? `Cause the question then becomes, "how much is plus something?" And the answer is, "well it's in the eye of the beholder." So every week we have to determine how much you can go past zero before you get a foul. That's by definition, inconsistent officiating. When I get the officiating report back, what I wanna see is, "We should have called this," not, "well, we'll give them a little leeway," or, "he didn't look up in time and didn't see it." That's just a bunch of malarkey as far as I'm concerned. If you have a rule, enforce it!  Otherwise, don't have the rule.
Bob Lamey: I think we all saw the same thing on that one....
Bill Polian: Well, it's clear, there's no question about that. The only question, and the caller's question is the germane one. The only question is: why did they not call it?  Because there is absolutely no question that the clock was at zero.
 

When are they going to announce the Defensive Player of the Year?  Do we have to wait until after the Super Bowl or what?  

I notice on NFL.com that they have already named Adrian Peterson the Rookie of the year (that was a no-brainer), so when do they announce the other AP awards?                          

I think it's interesting that Steve Mariucci thinks that the titans can only beat Indy if the Colts sit their starters.  Hey, what with all the Patriots butt kissing over at ESPN, this was nice to hear. You mean the Colts are a superior team?  Yeah.  Nice.

I for one hope that we play our starters for three reasons:

1. I want to sweep the AFC south and win our last regular season game in the dome.
   
2. I don't want our starters to get rusty by not playing in a game between December 24th and January 12th (20 days).
   
3. I am taking my brother to his first ever NFL game this Sunday.  I want him to get his game, not a Sorgi-fest of 3 and outs.