2010 Regular Season
In the Training Room: How the Colts’ Injuries Compare to the Packers’
Jan 22nd
It seems the Redskins were kryptonite for the Packers as well, as TE Jermichael Finley is carted off the field after injuring his knee in Week 5.
Tomorrow, the Green Bay Packers will be in Chicago to take on the Bears in the NFC Championship Game. The media have highlighted the Packers’ long injury list (15 players on IR), and earlier this week Football Outsiders published a games-lost-by-starters statistic showing that the Pack lost a total of 83 starter-games in 2010. The statistic also estimates that the Colts lost 89 starter-games – a significant number to be sure, but not significantly more than the Packers. It’s fair to wonder why the Packers have been able to recover enough from injuries to make it to the NFCCG, while the Colts are watching the rest of the playoffs on TV. This post offers a perspective.
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Indianapolis Colts 2011 First String Currently Features Painter, Swenson
Jan 11th
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Curtis Painter talks with a coach during the second quarter of an NFL preseason football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Indianapolis, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Tom Strickland)
UPDATE: I misread the Rotoworld entry on Robert Mathis, and inadvertently marked him as a free agent beginning this year. Thankfully, he is under contract for one more year. Post updated to reflect this. Apologies for any confusion!
For all intents and purposes, the 2011 season has begun for the Indianapolis Colts. And if the team were preparing for their first game of the 2011 season, Curtis Painter would be lining up under center and Brett Swenson would be practicing tee shots.
OK, OK, it’s sensationalist and nobody expects that to actually happen. Owner Jim Irsay has gone on record as saying that the Colts will make Peyton Manning the highest-paid player in the NFL. And after Adam Vinatieri’s season, in which he went 29 of 31 (including the playoffs), and was perfect on 52 XPs, it is hard to imagine the Colts wouldn’t do what is necessary to re-sign him. Vinatieri has also expressed an interest in completing his career in Indy. But what does the roster currently look like to start 2011?
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Jets v. Colts: After Review (Wild Card Weekend)
Jan 10th
Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri celebrates after he hits a would-be game winning 50-yard field goal. (Andy Lyons | Getty Images)
After a painful sixteen game regular season — rife with injuries, frustrating slumps, and a lack of identity — the Colts 2010 effort officially ended Saturday night after a last minute drive that was capped by a Jets field goal. What makes the loss difficult to take — even though most fans realized the team’s playoff berth was an admirable accomplishment in its own right — is that the Colts should have won.
The initial fan reaction to the game has been all over the board, with fingers pointing in different directions. Some argue that the defense is responsible for the loss because they allowed the Jets to keep the ball for a vast majority of the second half, and yielded over 150 yards on the ground.
Others blame the Indianapolis special teams units for making costly mistakes and allowing long returns, specifically Antonio Cromartie’s long return on the final drive of the game that allowed the Jets to have a short field for a field goal try.
Still others insist that Coach Caldwell is primarily responsible for calling an ill-advised timeout with less than 30 seconds to go, which allowed the Jets offense to get their heads together for a back-breaking first down play that made shaky place kicker Nick Folk’s job much easier.
The reality is, all of these fans are right to a degree, but none of them — even taken together — completely explain how the Colts managed to let this game slip away. More >
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Quick Reaction: Jets 17, Colts 16
Jan 8th
Justin Tryon with an interception... what a great pickup this year by Polian!
Highlights:
- I never expected the game to be the defensive battle that it turned out to be, but I did expect the outcome that resulted.
- While I think Caldwell did a nice job keeping the team focused throughout the season, he made some terrible coaching decisions in this one.
- Pierre Garcon had one great game, atoning for many bad games in my opinion.
- The 2010 season has been an incredible season, made even more incredible by the fact that they made it to the playoffs at all. If they had even survived the game, I don’t think they could have challenged the Steelers.
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Wild Card Game: Colts 7 vs Jets Open Thread #2
Jan 8th
So after 4 straight Punts, and with commentators lauding the Jets defense of the long ball, Manning decided to say, “Please and Thank you,” and gift wrap a 57 yard touchdown to Pierre Garcon. This only took 25 minutes to accomplish, but at least the defense is being stout. Muir has a sack, and Foster, Freeney and Mathis all have multiple hits on Sanchez. Linkenbach is showing himself to be a much better OT. But it seems the Jets wanted to play little brother, and waited until the Colts scored before driving to the endzon…. ZOMG TRYON PICKED OFF THAT PASS!!!!! And just as was typing “67 yards, 2 TOs, no problem,” Manning curls up and decides to just pack it in for the half.
So there you have it boys and girls. 7-0, Colts lead with the Jets getting the ball to start the 2nd half. Things haven’t been amazing, but they could very easily be worse. So without further ado, Welcome to the Halftime and Second Half Open Thread!
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Jets v. Colts, and Things of that Nature (Wild Card Weekend)
Jan 8th
Can the Colts construct another deep playoff run? (Andy Lyons | Getty Images)
The Indianapolis Colts are going to face a familiar playoff opponent in the wild card round of the 2010 playoffs. The New York Jets have to come back to Lucas Oil Stadium and will certainly have redemption squarely in their sights.
Rex Ryan is an emotion-filled coach who will likely have his team seeing red, hungry for payback after the Colts kept the gang green from its first Super Bowl berth since Super Bowl III in 1968. Players like Darelle Revis, Mark Sanchez, and Shonn Greene will likely lead the rally call to come into Indianapolis and trounce the smaller faster team that bested them just under one year ago.
One thing that could play in the Colts favor is that quarterback Peyton Manning and his primary receiver Reggie Wayne got a good look at the Jets in the playoffs last year. There is little doubt that there will be adjustments on both sides of the ball by both teams but with a crowd that has proved capable of making it very difficult for teams to play during the Colts late-season playoff push, some might think the Colts have an advantage. More >
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Indy Sports Coverage – Wildcard Weekend
Jan 8th
Each week, Coltzilla brings you highlights from local sports coverage of the Colts with an emphasis on player interviews. Pre-game interviews go up throughout the week. Post-game interviews are posted shortly after the game. Hope you enjoy!
It’s Wildcard weekend of the 2010 season, and the 10-6 Indianapolis Colts welcome the 11-5 New York Jets to Lucas Oil Stadium. The winner moves on, the loser goes home.
UPDATED – Inside The Huddle, More Local Coverage – Tuesday morning
UPDATED – Sports Jam, SportsLocker – Monday afternoon
UPDATED – Local Post-Game Coverage – Sunday evening
UPDATED – Colts Pre-Game Show – Saturday evening
UPDATED – Peyton Manning Interview – Saturday evening
UPDATED – Bill Polian Show – Saturday evening
UPDATED – Local Pre-Game Coverage – Saturday afternoon
UPDATED – Replacement Huddle Up Indy – Saturday morning
Inside The Huddle:
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Wild Card Q&A: Jets Blogger John Butchko
Jan 8th
Brent Smith | Reuters Photo
Each week Coltzilla will preview the upcoming game by speaking with fellow bloggers or writers who cover the week’s opponent. This week Coltzilla speaks with John Butchko, lead blogger at GangGreenNation.com to get a Jets perspective on the Colts game Saturday evening.
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