On the eve of the Colts 2009 Wild Card Playoff game in San Diego, I’ve got three things on my mind: a response to yet another crummy Bob Kravitz column, Peyton as MVP and a look forward (and back) on the 2009 Colts.
Response to Kravitz
In today’s Indy Star, Bob Kravitz wrote a column in which he wonders about the legacies of Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy if the Colts lose to San Diego.
I can’t help but think that perhaps Kravitz should not wonder so much.
Kravitz thinks that a loss in San Diego will cast the Colts as “the Atlanta Braves of the NFL”.
What’s so wrong with that?
The Braves have been a great franchise for decades. Sure, they’ve only got one championship to show their decade or more of winning, but it’s hard to complain about a team that finds itself in the playoff hunt every single year. So they’re not the Yankees. Big deal. I’m sure residents of Kansas City, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh would gladly trade their sorry baseball franchises for the Braves.
I have a different view of the legacies of Manning and Dungy. The Colts had a legacy of losing when they arrived on the scene, and now they’ve got a new retractable roof stadium, a Lombardi trophy and a season ticket waiting list that tops over 17,000. That’s a far cry from the 1997 season where they were lucky to draw 40,000 fans per game, played in an out-of-date RCA Dome and had no hope of winning a championship.
If being the Atlanta Braves of the NFL means they have all these things and I can expect them to make the playoffs each year, I will gladly take it. It sure beats the alternative, like cheering for the Bengals or Browns. And I think history will look favorably upon a franchise that has won a Super Bowl and consistently won in a salary cap system designed to prevent teams from consistently winning.
Peyton as MVP
I’m glad that Peyton won the MVP award. This season was not his best in terms of stats or overall record, but this was his best in terms of what he had to do to win 12 games, including the last 9 in a row, to get the Colts into the playoffs.
2009 was no easy effort. As I’ve said in the past, I think the Colts probably had their worst offensive line in the Dungy era, thanks to the departure of LG Jake Scott and injuries to RG Ryan Lilja and C Jeff Saturday. Waverly Jackson filled in adequately at RG, but in an ideal situation, he’s not a starter. Mike Pollack and Jamie Richard were pressed into action too early – both had to start on opening day – and neither really hit their stride until mid-season. I hesitate to say Pollack (and Jackson) played well this season because the Colts haven’t been able to run the ball all year, but they’ve played well enough to keep Manning upright. And that’s what mattered to the Colts the most this year.
And speaking of the lack of the running game, Peyton led the team to victory without much of one. The old NFL paradigm is that you must be able to run the football and stop the run to win games. That Peyton accomplished what he did with defenses knowing the Colts were essentially a one-dimensional team speaks volumes about his performance.
M! V! P!
I don’t think there’s any question Peyton was more deserving than DeMarcus Ware of the Cowboys or James Harrison of the Steelers. Why? The Steelers still have a dominant defense without Harrison, and despite Ware’s gaudy stats, the Cowboys not only didn’t make the playoffs, but they gave up 58 points in their last 62 minutes of football while playing for their playoff lives. Without Peyton, this Colts team is a 4-12 to 6-10 team at best. With Manning, they’re a Super Bowl contender.
A look forward (and back)
This was a tough season for the Colts (and fans). We’ve come to expect this team to get off to fast starts, and that didn’t happen this year. We’ve also come to expect explosive offenses that can move the ball at will, both in the air and on the ground. That didn’t happen either.
Instead, we had a team that had to scratch and claw its way just to get to 3-4. Without a fair amount of lucky plays (the Gonzalez lateral to Wayne in Minnesota and Sage Rosenfels becoming the Human Turnover come to mind), the Colts would’ve started 1-6. But after the 3-4 start they figured out how to win games, and once that happened, this team turned from one that seemed destined for 6-10 to one with a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl.
This clearly is not the best Colts team we’ve had. In my view, the teams from ’03-’07 were better (some better by far). But I think this team is more resilient than any of them, even the ’06 Super Bowl team. This team seems to know how to win the close games, much like the ’06 bunch. Where they’re light in talent, they’re heavy in intangibles. This team seems to make big plays at the right time to pull out victories. That’s a nice trait to take into the playoffs. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them lose to San Diego tomorrow because this team has a glaring fatal flaw – the inability to run the football. On the other hand, I secretly think this team can and will win the Super Bowl because of everything they’ve endured to get to where they are.
Let the playoff run begin!
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