Dear Santa Polian,

In just 4 short weeks you'll make the yearly slide down the chimney of the Colts complex with our shiny new draft-picks and undrafted free agents.  It seems like only a couple of days ago I was asking myself, "Ugoh who?"  

I know you're really busy and probably get tons of letters, but please hear me out.  All I want for Draftmas is a new STARTING LEFT DEFENSIVE END.  

Everybody just settle down... I know you're all big Robert Mathis fans, but just hear me out.  Robert Mathis is not a full-time starter in the NFL.  He generally plays well, but he is what he is... a situational pass rusher and a mediocre full-time defensive end.

In the two seasons prior to him becoming a full time starter (2004 and 2005) he registered 22 sacks.  In his two seasons since becoming a full-time starter he's only registered 16 1/2.  Now I already know what you're thinking, "This guy's crazy!", "Mathis is a great defensive end", "Stats lie", but just listen.  The problem is, he's worn out by the time we reach a passing down and he's not effective as he could be coming off the bench.  Since starting he hasn't been able consistently beat the single coverage that Freeney's presence creates for him.  

Speaking of Freeney, before his injury many people were wondering why the best pass rusher in the NFL wasn't generating very many sacks.  Well it's pretty hard when Mathis is tired and you can double and sometimes triple Freeney.

Santa Polian, it's time to go back to the days where the Colts pass rush was feared.  When teams would run the ball down by 21 points because they were too scared to throw.  You remember the days, when we were leading the NFL in sacks?  When Byron Leftwich and Steve McNair's backups knew they were going to play due to injury?  

If we've learned anything from the 2007 season, it's that you can't ever have enough talent on the Defensive Line (See Colts season down the drain, Giants win Super Bowl with amazing pass rush for further reference).

Honestly, I don't care who you get.  Get someone who can stop the run.  Someone who can step up and play at a high level if an injury occurs, but more importantly, someone who can give Mathis and Freeney a breather during the game without a drop-off in production.

The Super Bowl could depend on it.

P.S. - Bring back the days of the 2 headed monster at Running Back.  Get us someone who's not afraid to make a block on a linebacker, and someone who isn't afraid to catch the ball.

Enjoy the milk and cookies,

Mr. Eraser.

That's right.  It's the 2008 Stampede Blue NCAA Bracket Challenge.  We may be a NFL Football/Colts blog, but there is no denying that almost every sports fan in America will fill out a bracket.  We might as well see who has the wits when it comes to NCAA Men's Basketball, and who couldn't match up with Peggy in Accounts Payable.

All you need is a free Yahoo.com account to participate.  All normal Yahoo.com Fantasy Sports rules and scoring applies.  It's pretty simple; you pick the most games and score the most points, you'll win.

All you need to do is CLICK HERE to join in the challenge.  Please identify your Stampede Blue user name somewhere so we can congratulate, or make fun of you.

Winners get bragging rights.  Hey, we're cheap!

ESPN.com and Foxsports.com are both reporting that Favre has informed the Packers he will not return for the 2008 season.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7870944

Update [2008-3-4 10:9:30 by BigBlueShoe]: The report is from Jay Glazer, who is usually right when he sticks his name behind a story. He's claiming that Green Bay's legendary QB Brett Favre is retiring:

Check out Acme Packing Company for updates on whether this story is true or bogus. If true, it's a sad day for football. Favre is one of the best QBs of all time, and his connection to the Wisconsin area is unrivaled for an athlete. Favre is a legend, and if he doesn't play in 2008, then the 2008 season just got a little less interesting.

Update [2008-3-4 11:0:36 by BigBlueShoe]: Here's an image circa 1997:

Eleven years later, I think we can safely say that because of these two men football does indeed matter.

I'm not dead.  Contrary to popular belief, I'm alive and well.  After getting busy at work, being forced to take time off due to illness, and going away with the girl for a weekend (payback for making her watch 21 consecutive weeks of football, 4 nights per week), I'm back.  Thanks to internet on my mobile phone -insert cheap Mike Florio commercial- I've been able to follow along with the craziness that is NFL Free Agency.  After the first few days of free agency, the news dies down and everyone sets their sights on the NFL Draft. I'm working on a series of blogs leading up to the draft on what I think the Colts are going to do, and what they need to do.  I'll try to post these on Saturdays and Sundays to give the site something on the weekends and give BBS a much deserved break.  I did have a couple of thoughts to share with you all regarding the Colts offseason.

If you haven't realized this over the past few days, it's a great time to be a Colts fan.  Granted, it can get a little boring this time of year around Coltsland... but you're used to it by now.  It's a common theme for the Colts to let overpriced free agents walk, and sign their best players to long term contracts.

Adding to the boringness, you don't even have a chance to guess who the Colts are going to pick in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft.  Yea, the Colts traded the 29th pick in the 2008 NFL Draft for a franchise left tackle, arguably the most important position on an NFL Team.  

Don't even think about free agency .  Most of the time, when the Colts sign a free agent, you're thinking to yourself... who???  If you're looking to overpay for an overrated, mediocre player... then you're not a fan of the right team.

Yea, your Indianapolis Colts are boring... and I wouldn't have it any other way.  It's amazing to be a fan of a franchise that consistently makes the correct decisions that are good for the franchise both in the short term and the long term.  The Colts aren't afraid to go after a key free agent, or make an important trade, but more than likely they'll stay the course.  Take solace in the fact that the Colts have someone on their roster at every position that is capable of being an NFL Starter, and we haven't signed any free agents, drafted any players, or signed any undrafted free agents... arguably one of the better traits of the Colts scouting department.  

One thing is for sure, I wouldn't want to be a rookie coming into the Colts training camp this summer.  I don't think anyone, whether they're drafted in the 2nd round or undrafted, is guaranteed a spot on the opening day roster this year.  If the Colts are healthy, this could be the most talented Colts team we've ever seen... better than 2004 and 2005.

Enjoy the boredom, and know that the Colts are on the path to another Super Bowl victory.  Just remember that it doesn't matter who wins the offseason , it's all about playing the games.

Bring on the draft....

The Colts have issued One Year Tenders to the following players:

Dylan Gandy
Matt Giordano
Darrell Reid
Ben Utecht
Bryan Fletcher

They were all issued the $927,000, 4th round pick tender.

Looks like we'll have all but a few starters and most of our key reserves returning in 2008.

Extensive blogging coming this weekend...

Update [2008-2-28 16:4:14 by the21eraser]: - If someone were to offer these players a contract, and the Colts declined to match, The Colts would receive a draft pick equivalent to where the players were drafted. That means we'd only get a 4th round pick for Gandy or Giordano. Thanks to shake n bake for clarifying.

It's been 4 years since the 2004 draft and it's about time we take a look at how that draft class turned out.  We'll also take a brief look at how the rest of the NFL faired.

I believe the 2004 Draft is what started all of the hype that has made the it what it is today.  This is due mostly to the controversy surrounding Eli Manning and the San Diego Chargers.  It was expected San Diego would select Manning with the number 1 pick.  The only problem... Eli didn't want to play for San Diego.  Eli and Archie made this very clear.  San Diego, smartly, drafted him first and promptly traded him to the Giants for Phillip Rivers and extra draft picks, which allowed them to select Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding, both of which have been Pro Bowl players for the Chargers.  Overall the trade worked for both teams.  The Giants got their franchise QB, and the Chargers were able to add the depth needed to become a good team.  The irony?  Manning's decision to snub San Diego helped to build them into one of the more dominant AFC teams.

As for the Colts, I can remember watching on TV.  We had just lost the AFC Championship game,  and I couldn't wait to see who we got in the 1st round.  Although we weren't picking until 29th, I just knew we were going to get a stud.  Someone who could help us get over the hump and make it to the Super Bowl.  Who did we draft in the 1st round?  No one!!  Bill Polian traded down. Then he traded down again.  By the time we had our first pick, we got some no-named safety from Iowa.  Bob Sanders.  Bob?  I thought, "Yea... teams are going to be real scared going over the middle against someone named Bob."  Boy, was I wrong.  Sanders turned into the best Safety in the game since then.  We were able to locate a couple of keepers in that class.  When you don't even start drafting until the middle of the 2nd round, that's pretty good.

My initial thoughts of Bob were incorrect.

• Round 2 - Pick 44 - Bob Sanders (S, Iowa) - Without question, the stud of the 2004 class.  He's a Pro Bowl safety.  NFL Defensive Player of the year.  Most importantly, he is the leader of the defense.  You can't measure his impact on the field in any stat.  The legend.  The eraser.  Mr. Bob Sanders, everyone.  If you can find one special player like this in the draft, then it's successful.  If you don't over pay to get him, you're a genius.
• 
  
• Round 3 - Pick 68 - Ben Hartsock (TE, Ohio State) - He played 7 games for us in 2005.  Caught 2 passes for 8 yards.  He was then released and signed with the Titans.  He's played there two years, and hasn't caught a TD pass in his career. I don't know if you can be a bust without any expectations, but Hartsock never panned out.
• 
  
• Round 3 - Pick 69 - Gilbert Gardner - (OLB, Purdue) - Polian would have been better off if we had declined to select anyone rather than picking Gardner.  I don't think it's a big secret how we feel about him around here.  The Titans picked him up for the 2007 season, and he sucked there too.
  
• 
  
• Round 4 - Pick 107 - Kendyll Pope (LB, Florida State) - I'd love to evaluate him, but he spent more games suspended for violating the Substance Abuse Policy than actually playing.  Good riddance.
• 
  
• Round 4 - Pick 125 - Jason David (CB, Washington State) - Jason David is a testament to the defensive coaching staff and scheming of Ron Meeks.  Jason has always been terrible, but it was covered up well by our defensive schemes.  I think once everyone saw Jason play a few games for the Saints, we realized how lucky we were that he was ever able to cover a NFL Wide Receiver.
• 
  
• Round 5 - Pick 141 - Jake Scott (OT, Idaho) - Started 9 games in 2004.  Started all 16 games in 2005, 2006, and 2007.  He is a good guard for the Colts.  Has the ability to play tackle.  While he'll probably never make the Pro Bowl, Jake has the ability to have a solid NFL career.
• 
  
• Round 6 - Pick 173 - Von Hutchins - (DB, Ole Miss) - Played 19 games for the Colts in 2005 and 2006 without much impact.  Has played the last two seasons with the Texans.  
• 
  
• Round 6 - Pick 193 - Jim Sorgi - (QB, Wisconsin) - Has been Manning's backup for the past 4 years.  He is 77/126, 751 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT.  He hasn't been on the field in enough situations to determine whether he has a future as an NFL QB, but he's almost as good as any backup QB out there and he knows our offense.  Polian has to see something in this kid.
• 
  
• Round 7 - Pick 229 - David Kimball - (Kicker, Penn St.) - This one makes you scratch your head.  
  BIO: Kickoff specialist who hit on two of five field goals as a senior. Did not attempt a field goal as a junior campaign though 83 percent of his kickoffs were resulted in touchbacks.
  
  I know that Vanderjagt sucked on kickoffs, but looking back I think we were just weak on special teams.  We could have done a lot more with this pick.  Oh yea, that Kimball guy?  He hasn't attempted a kick in the NFL.
  

Overall the Colts drafted 9 players.  Only Sanders, Jake Scott and Jim Sorgi remain with the Colts.  Sanders, at his current pace, could make the Hall of Fame.  Scott could have a nice NFL Career, and Jim Sorgi is still an unknown.  Of the players who have moved on to other teams, I don't see any of them making an impact on the NFL.

It's unreasonable to expect that all of your picks to pan out, but ideally you'd like to have a few contributors out of a class.  We definitely achieved this with the 2004 class.  Bill Polian traded down to get one of the best safeties in the NFL, and a key member of the offensive line.

Interesting 2004 Draft Notes

• Of the 32 picks from the first round, 13 have been named to the Pro Bowl.  Two quarterbacks taken in the 1st round have Super Bowl rings.
• Bob Sanders is the only person from the 2nd round to be named to the Pro Bowl.
• Tight End Chris Cooley was drafted 13 picks after Ben Hartsock, and 12 picks after Gilbert Gardner.
• 
  
• Players who went undrafted include: Jordan Babineaux, Randall Gay, Willie Parker, B.J. Sams, and Wes Welker

The New York Post, among other outlets, is reporting the NFL is considering changing the playoff seeding for Playoff Teams.

Under the new proposal, divisional winners wouldn't automatically be awarded a home playoff game.  If a wild-card team has a better record than the divisional opponent, they would be awarded the home game.  

The idea behind this is to spice up the competition in the final weeks of the season... encouraging more games like the Giants/Pats, and less like the Colts/Titans game.  It also helps in situations like the AFC South.  Some would argue the Jaguars (12-4), even though they won, shouldn't have had to travel to Pittsburgh (10-6).

I really like this idea, as it encourages more teams to all-out compete throughout the season.  The only problem?  It possibly takes away the reward for winning the division... a home playoff game.

Although I think it's a long shot to get this passed, what do you think.  Do you think teams should be encouraged to play all out, every game?  Should teams who are on fire the first part of the season and lock up their seeding be rewarded with the ability to rest players?

What do you guys think?  As a Colts fan, it's always nice to be able to rest players at the end of the season.  Unfortunately, the past two times we've rested players it hasn't worked well for us.    While I'm not convinced that resting our players had a negative effect, I'm all for any initiative by the NFL to increase competitiveness.

One aspect that isn't mentioned is the effect that resting players has on Fantasy Football.  If you have a week 15, 16, and 17 playoff system... you might as well forget about drafting Peyton.  He almost always sits in week 17.  Trust me, there is nothing more frustrating to make it to the final game of the Fantasy Season, only to have some of your key players ride the pine.

Poll

What do you think of the NFL's proposal to award playoff games based on records, rather than divisional seedings?

11%

I hate it. The division winner should be awareded a home game

2 votes

50%

I love it. Wild-card winners in strong divisions should have a chance to host a game rather than a weak division winner

9 votes

38%

I love it. I just want to see the players play hard every week.

7 votes

0%

I dont care. I just want to win my Fantasy Football Playoffs.

0 votes

18 votes | Poll has closed

All of the signs were there, we just missed it, but the better team won last night.  I know, it's much easier to write this following a loss by the Patriots, but they were not prepared to win this game.  Some pundits are claiming a "choke" job by the Patriots, but that isn't true.  The Giants deserved this victory, and I'll tell you why.

The 2007 Patriots will go down in history the same as the 2004 Colts... a bright shiny fishing lure and everyone took the bait.  An offense so great it covered up deficiencies, like an aging defense and the inability to run the ball.  We sat through it in 2004.  We couldn't be stopped.  We didn't even need to have the punter active on game day and then it happened.  We went to New England for the AFC Championship game and got punched in the mouth.  They were physical with Harrison, Wayne, and Stokley. They brought pressure at the right times.  Peyton spent most of the day on the turf.  Many people claimed the Colts choked.  Manning couldn't win the big one, etc.  The truth is, he didn't have time to throw. When he had time his receivers were covered.  We couldn't run the ball with Edge either.  We just couldn't get our offense going and the game slipped away.  They were the better team and deserved to win, just like the Giants did last night.

We learned a lot about how to make up a championship team from that game.  In my opinion there are several key things that must happen in order to win Playoff games.  You can skate through the regular season by only accomplishing a few of these, but if you don't bring you're "A" game in the playoffs, you're going home.

• Running the Ball - The Patriots basically gave up.  The Pats ran the ball 16 times, versus 26 times for the Giants.  The Giants averaged 3.5 yards per carry, the Patriots averaged 2.8.  One of the key plays in the game, and one that will be overlooked, was the Giants stopping Maroney on 3rd and 1.  After that, the Pats gave up on the run and the Giants tee'd off on Brady.  While coaches often want to stick to what they know, i.e. the Patriots passing... you simply can't do that against a versatile defense.  It's one thing to line up and throw 50 times against the Vikings defense in the regular season.  They have no pass rush, but can stop the run.  The Giants can do both, and when they know Brady is dropping back every snap, you're going to run into some trouble.  One of the main reasons for the Colts Super Bowl success was the ability to run the ball when we needed to.
• Getting off the field - Normally this is the spot where someone would say "stopping the run", but there is much more than that.  It doesn't matter if you stop the run if you can't get off the field on 3rd down.  The Colts did a great job limiting the Chargers running game, but we couldn't get off the field when it counted.  The Giants had 3 3rd and long conversions on that first drive.  As the game wore on, the Giants were able to start running the ball a little better.  This opened up some things for Eli and slowed down the Patriots pass rush.
• Offensive line play - Probably the most overlooked, and arguably the most important aspect of playoff football.  It doesn't matter who you have at QB.  If he doesn't have time to throw the ball, he's going to look ordinary.  Surprisingly the Patriots O-line played terrible throughout the game.  They were beat consistently. The coaching staff and failed to leave a TE or RB in to chip the Giants D-Line.  It doesn't matter how many Patriots receivers are running routes if Brady doesn't have time to see them.  If I were the Patriots, I'd gladly leave an extra guy or two to block for Brady and trust him to find the open receivers.  The Giants on the other hand played well.  For the most part they won their individual battles, and picked up the blitz well. It took the Patriots way too much time to adjust to the Giants pressure.  When they finally started throwing short passes, the offense couldn't get into a rhythm.
• Efficient QB Play - Too often we're caught up in the Tom Brady's and Peyton Manning's of the world.  These two are so far beyond everyone else, it's hard to think of Eli Manning, Ben Rothelisberger,  Trent Dilfer, etc as "Super Bowl Quarterbacks".  The truth is, if your team is good then your quarterback has to be serviceable.  You need someone who can manage the game.  Someone who can come out and get the offense going and get those nerves out.   Someone who can make plays, but doesn't try to make every play.
• Luck - Yea that's right.  You need luck, and lots of it.  What if Samuel had caught the interception.  What if New England had recovered a couple of the fumbles that the Giants did?  We're talking about two plays that completely changed the outcome of the game.  When two good teams play, often it comes down to the way the ball bounces.  You can play a near perfect game, but if the ball bounces the wrong way just once, you're on the outside looking in.

It's easy for me to sit here and tell you what needs to be done to win the Super Bowl, but as you know it's a completely different beast to go out and get it done.  Last night, the Giants were prepared for New England and they did what they had to do to win.  I'm not sure the Giants have more overall talent than the Patriots, but they looked like it last night because they made these 5 things happen.

Congrats to Eli and the Giants.  Last night you were the better team.  As for the Patriots, I thought most of the players were rather classy.  They gave credit and were sincere to the Giants, including Moss.

As for Belichick... grow up.  Show some class.  Congratulate the winners.  I'm sick of your attitude.  I understand you aren't a "people person", but that's part of the job description of today's NFL Head Coach.  If you can't face the media after a loss, then you don't deserve to be a Head Coach.  You act like the general public strangled your puppy, and I'm sick of it.

Sanders may not play, but at least we'll have one safety in the Pro Bowl!

Indianapolis Colts safety Antoine Bethea has been added to the AFC Pro Bowl squad, replacing injured Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.

The honor continues a run of success for the second-year player, who last season was a rookie starter for the Colts' Super Bowl champions.
"It's a great feeling,'' Bethea said in a statement released by the team. "It's just a continued blessing for me. Last year playing in the Super Bowl and now this year, my second year, being selected to go to the Pro Bowl.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080125/SPORTS03/80125037

That has been Dungy and the Colts motto for the past several years now, and you know what? It sucks...

I'm a strong believer in Dungy.  I think he's a good coach, but he's a little too patient for my taste.  That motto can only take us so far.  "Doing what we do" isn't good enough.  I'm sick of sitting back in deep zones and giving up plays to the offense.  Our hope is that if we make the opposing offense drive all the way down the field, then they'll make mistakes.  Instead of trying to force mistakes like other teams do, we just hope.  Well it works a lot of times, but when it doesn't, we sure look like we're getting our asses beat out there.  

Our defense works great when we A.) Play with a lead, and B.) Have Freeney and Mathis to rush the passer.  When we play against a good offensive team, we need to pressure the QB.  I saw one Blitz that worked effectively, and any other attempt was just pathetic.  We gave Phillip Rivers enough time to cook freakin breakfast back there in between throwing to wide open receivers.  If we're going to sit back in soft zones all day, then we need to generate pressure.  If we can't generate pressure, you would think someone would realize that it's time to man up and pressure him.  We didn't adjust to losing Freeney.  Josh Thomas couldn't rush the counter at dunkin' doughnuts.  

As far as the offense goes, sometimes I just don't know what the hell is going on out there.  I think Peyton is too analytical sometimes.  He is so smart before the snap, that he already "knows" who is going to be open prior to snapping the ball.  When something doesn't work out, he gets happy feet and doesn't complete the pass.  When you watch Tom Brady, he sits back there calm, flat footed and scans the field for the open guy.  I think Peyton needs to be a little more patient and look for the open guy instead of predetermining who to throw it to.

While I'm on the topic of offense, WTF happened to the running game?  There were several posts prior to the game about this, but honestly I wasn't really concerned.  Did we just forget to run the ball?  It wasn't like we were playing from behind.  Last year we won the Super Bowl because we ran when we needed to, and we stopped the run.  Today we didn't do particularly well at either.  And what was the deal with all of those weird formations, especially at the goal line towards the end of the game?  Why did we have a Trips-Left formation.  Why a 5 wide with Amorasho (Ahmad Rashad is what we call him) and Addai?  I don't think that was the time to start trying new formations.  We could have used a little pass protection in that situation.  What happened to the 2 tight end set that Peyton was so good at?  At least we were a little deceiving when we used that because you didn't know who would stay in and block and who would release to run routes.  Lining up 5 wide at the goal-line is stupid.  It's a perfect time to blitz because you're not going to give up a big play, and you limit the amount of time Peyton has to throw the ball.

On a side note... does anyone else get the feeling that Marvin is done?  Maybe all of those "career threatening" reports were true.  He hasn't been the same, and I think it's safe to say that Wayne is the new #1 in Indy.  

Sorry for the rambling post, but I'll try to sum it up.  We don't gameplan very well for opposing teams.  We have all of the talent in the world, but when teams stop us from "Doing what we do", we don't have anything else to fall back on.  San Diego came up with a plan to attack us, and they executed.  They couldn't run very well, so they threw the ball. We couldn't stop them on 3rd down, and we couldn't convert our own 3rd downs.  This game wasn't Peyton's fault, and it wasn't the defenses fault... it was the coaching staffs.

Now it's on to an uncertain off-season.  Do we resign Jake Scott and/or Lilja?  Does Marvin come back next year as the same player he was in the past?  Do we cut McFarland? Does Rob Morris return? Do we re-sign Dallas? Does Dungy retire? Do I cut Kenton Keith's hands off since he doesn't need them???

Lucas Oil Stadium... here we come.