What up all?  I have season tickets, but I rarely tailgate before the games.  I have some friends coming in from out of town, and they are looking to me for advice on where to tailgate.  I'm not sure what to tell them.  Does anyone know of good lots for tailgating aside from the Blue Crew lot?  Any help is much appreciated.

Also, Tom Brady carries a man purse.  It's true.  I read it in espn the mag a few years ago.  Man purse. 

Has anyone else noticed that Marlin seems to have lost his starting CB job?  At first, I figured they were just bringing him back slowly after the injury, but it seems now that they simply want him as the nickel CB exclusively.  This is kind of a big deal in my mind, as it's not a situation where the Colts had a subpar player at CB they had been trying to replace.  Marlin has been great for the Horse.  It seems that their desire to have Marlin play nickel CB is coupled with the fact that the rookies are just that freakin good. 

This has been bothering me for a while, so I figured I would pose the question to my fellow fanatics.  My family have been season ticket holders since the Horse arrived in Indy, and I've probably been to over 90% of Colts' home games.  For those of you who attend games on a regular basis, I think it's pretty clear that the noise we fans were able to make in the dome is a thing of the past that will never return.  Lucas Oil is just too big and there is too much space.  However, things seem to be beyond that.  Why does the Lucas Oil crowd seem to be super lame?

This past Sunday, I had a guy sitting in front of me who had just moved to the midwest from Seattle.  He could not believe how quiet the stadium was, especially compared to Qwest Field (a year ago I would have been able to debate him about who had the louder stadium).  All year I've had friends text me during the game and comment on how quiet things sound on their TV.  In the dome, people would get up for kickoffs and the bulk of time when we were on defense (especially if we were playing good on D.)  Now, it seems fans are reluctant to even get up and make noise on 3rd down.  In the dome, after every first down, there was a section in the upper corner of the stadium that would chant  in unison, "one, two, three, uhhhh first down!"  Lucas Oil?  Nope.  I saw the same section try to get the chant going the first couple of games this year, but the lack of interest and participation eventually killed it.

I LOVED that the dome was one of the loudest places to play in the NFL.  It was just that much more fun as a fan knowing that you could have at least a tiny effect on the course of a game by making so much noise that the other team couldn't communicate their audibles or their linemen would commit a false start or two.  Plus, it's just fun when the crowd is actively participating.  Knowing that Lucas Oil was probably not going to be as loud, my attitude at the beginning of the year was "well, as fans, we will just have to yell louder."  Apparently others don't seem to share my sentiment.  Our stadium has gone from one of the toughest places to play in all of the NFL to having nearly zero home field advantage.  Our fans seem tired and bored, and if I were a Colt player, I really wouldn't be all that more excited to play in front of my home crowd because the energy level is shit.

I don't know if this is silly, but if this is to change, here at stampedeblue seems as good a place as any to mount a campaign.  What's the cause?  Is it the fact that the new stadium with higher ticket prices and attempts to bring in more revenue have resulted in the loss of true fans, in exchange for people who don't care as much, but simply can afford to go?  Is it just that the Colts got off to a rocky start, and the fair weather fans of Indianapolis aren't as excited this year?  Or is it just that we fans just can't make it as loud, and people are frustrated, so they aren't trying anymore? 

The better question might be, can we fix it?  Or how can we fix it?  The only suggestion I have is this - at the beginning of the game, they have an animation on the stadium ribbon boards that say "stomp your feet."  I am pretty certain that a lot of people have metal floors under their feet, and the entire stadium stomping on it would create a pretty loud noise.  I am guessing the Colts organization feels the same way, hence their encouragement of stomping.  If everyone got on board with it, it could be something that makes our stadium unique and returns some much needed noise on 3rd downs.  I don't know, but I do know I am sick of feeling like my team plays in front of a lame crowd.

It seems to me that fans on this site and around the state are absolutely giddy over this Mike Hart pick.  I'm not sure I get it.  Don't get me wrong - I think he's a warrior of a player, and I acknowledge that he did some pretty special things at Michigan.  However, I'm not absolutely sure he will even make the squad.  He ran a 4.69 at the combine.  Now, I know that 40 time isn't everything, but a 4.69 for a RB?  That's pretty slow, especially for a team that puts a premium on speed.   He has taken quite a beating at Michigan, and his frame is not that big.  He has been injured several times during his career, and his size could make him a liability in pass protection.

Furthermore, I've seen people on this site trash Kenton Keith to no end.  I think its a little bit of overkill.  Did he drop balls last year?  Yes.  However, he really didn't have that many thrown to him, and it is not a skill he has had to develop during his career until he joined the Colts.  We all saw him drop a ball on the biggest stage at a critical time, and that amplifies things.  But, guess who else knows that Kenton Keith dropped too many balls last year?  Kenton Keith.  I would bet dollars to donuts he's spent a pretty good amount of time this offseason working on his receiving.  KK showed some real flashes last year.  Anyone remember the Tampa Bay game?  He played awesome in a critical game, and had a big hand in the win.  He has some real explosiveness, and can be very elusive. 

I would very much like Hart to make the team and contribute.  It just seems to me that most of Hart's qualities represent the exact opposite of what we've had success with in the past. Speed?  No.   A RB who split time in college and still has a lot of tread?  Nope.  An exceptional blocker and receiver?  Not really.  There is certainly a reason he fell to the sixth round.  To me, if you listen to Polian's comments, he as much admits that they threw out their normal evaluation techniques when they drafted him.  It feels very much to me like when we drafted that Wisconsin RB late in the draft a few years ago.  He had injury concerns, but Polian was like "Eh, might as well bring him in and see."  Suffice it to say, he did not make the team.

It's very possible that Hart will come in and make the team, but it is certainly not a given.  All this talk about how he has already leapfrogged KK on the depth chart and is the answer to our prayers as a compliment to Addai is a bit out there.   Bottom line, he is a slow, smallish RB whose body has taken a beating in college, but plays with a lot of heart.  Everyone loves a player who plays like him, and we've seen him on national TV every weekend for the last four years, so we like him.  However, this is the NFL and heart can't outrun Kyle Vanden Bosch or Demeco Ryans.

Check this out.  Apparently some Patriots fans have put together a petition to have the Commissioner review the end of the Superbowl.

http://www.petitiononline.com/XLIItrut/petition.html

I mean, honestly, how else could they have lost?  There is no possible way that they just lost fair and square.  They are the Patriots for god's sake!  I demand a recount!

From indystar.com:

Patriots visit in 2008
Sunday's games determined the Colts' final two opponents for the 2008 season, when they move into brand new Lucas Oil Stadium: AFC East champion New England and AFC West winner San Diego.
The Colts also will play division rivals Jacksonville, Tennessee and Houston home and away, the AFC North and the NFC North.
That means home games with Jacksonville, Tennessee, Houston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit and New England. The Colts will visit their division brethren, as well as Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Minnesota and San Diego.
That's seven games against the 10 other teams currently among those with records of 9-5 or better: New England (14-0), Green Bay (12-2), Jacksonville (10-4) twice, Pittsburgh (9-5), Cleveland (9-5) and San Diego (9-5).

Note: Edited slightly by BBS.

On Peter King's MMQB, he mentioned that Mike Chappell's daughter, Angie, died of leukemia on Friday. According to the Star's website, Mike started working for the Star in 1984 - the same year the Colts moved here - and has covered them ever since. He is on the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee.  

I'm sure most of you, like me, read Mike's stuff weekly. Very sad stuff.

Update [2007-12-17 12:51:11 by BigBlueShoe]: This is devastating. Mike Chappell has always been a great beat writer for the Colts, and my heart goes out to him and his family during these tragic times. Send your condolences to mike.chappell@indystar.com. Mike is one of the good guys at the Indy Star. --BBS

From colts.com:

Wide receiver Marvin Harrison (knee) was listed as participating in practice on a limited basis.

Included among those who have a chance to play Sunday is Harrison, Dungy said.

"We'll have to see," Dungy said. "He's improving and I think he has a chance to play this week. It's probably the same as every week. When the doctors feel he's ready to not just play, but play and be ready to go ahead next week, that's when he'll be ready to go."

Obviously, at this point, I'm not getting my hopes up, but a boy can dream.

I just heard the injury report on the radio.  Still no Diem, Marvin, Tim Jennings, Charlie Johnson (is that good or bad?), and many others in practice today.  Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeez.  Let's just hope that the situation improves throughout the week.  I didn't hear about whether Ugoh practiced or not, so I would hope that means that he did.