Now that everybody has put in their two cents, here comes some other guy with his....

1. These are the goals at the beginning of a season.
    1. Get in playoffs (accomplished)
    2. Win division (accomplished)
    3. Get first-round bye (accomplished)
    4. Secure home-field advantage (accomplished)
    5. Win Super Bowl (still in play)
   This loss does not affect any of the Colts goals coming into this season. The goal is to have the number of wins which will secure all of these. 19 wins will obviously do it every year. However, this year the required number of wins is 16, 13 regular season, 3 playoffs. 18 wins and an ill-timed loss will not cut it. Only 1 year would 19 wins have been required to secure all of those goals (2007) in the AFC.

2. What the Patriots did in 2007 does not affect the 2009 Colts.
   There is no need to go for 16-0/19-0 for the Colts to be successful this season. It is imperative to never worry about what ANY other team is doing this year or any other year. Handle your own business (see goals in point #1), and nothing else matters.

3. The Colts do not need to answer/apologize to the media.
   The media provides no validation. Remember the job of the media, entertainment. There is no drama in complete agreement. You and your team are no more validated by the media's agreement with you than you are invalidated by their disagreement.

4. There is a reason fantasy playoff weeks and championships do not go into week 17.
   Many teams with playoff seeds locked up will rest players, and without a word from their fans or the media. Also remember, many teams with no playoff hopes have by this time already begun playing for next season by evaluating talent which would not be otherwise on the field. Consistency would demand that these teams play their original starters as they would if they were in the hunt. The Colts are playing for next season, the playoff season.

5. A playoff-bound team resting their players destroys the competitive balance no less than a poorly run franchise does.
   Situations are what they are. The Detroit Lions ineptitude is not focused on as the reason any team will or won't make the playoffs.

6. Paying fans, and fans watching on TV deserve one thing, to see 60 minutes (or more) of NFL action.
   This does not mean your definition of NFL action. It means that for 60 game clock minutes, 11 players employed by an NFL team will go against 11 players employed by another NFL team. If you cannot handle that, don't go or don't watch. You received what you paid for. An NFL game. Your ticket or your TV schedule did not guarantee 60 minutes of Peyton Manning versus the Jets. Enough said.

7. Quitting is not defined by coming out of the game.
   A quitter is one who does not play at full potential while on the field.

8. This treads on the sensitive ground of "Don't tell anyone how to be a fan".
    However, as a fan, my ultimate desire for my team is a championship. History remembers winners, more precisely, championship winners. The team with the best record is not equal in history to the team who wins the championship. Period. Would you trade 16-0 for a Super Bowl ring and banner? In 3 months, will your answer be the same?

In short, we are fans. And I do understand that fans have a right to desire a certain outcome. Fans have a right to boo when they don't feel the team is correct. Fans also have a right to voice their opinion even when in conflict with the team or other fans. However, remember that we are fans for a reason. There is a reason we are not employed by the Colts or any of the other 31 NFL franchises. This is not to say that we would not do better than some of the current employees. Rather it is a reminder that at the end of the day, for my money, I would rather see Polian and Caldwell at the helm of my team than any other person I know. Voice your anger, feel vindicated that the media you so often excoriate parrots your views, feel free to yell at the TV, radio, web page, whatever your medium may be. If they lose in the playoffs, tell everyone, including me, how smart you were. But remember to be thankful to root for a team who is not afraid to make the unpopular decision. A team who is decidedly more interested in a meaningful playoff season than a meaningless (to the Colts) regular season game. For a team whose quarterback stands behind his coach and not next to the bus he has thrown him under. And don't forget, if on the night of February 7, 2010, you see the Colts victorious, give yourself a little kick for doubting.

Don't forget about Peyton Manning just yet

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