Colts Gab

At the risk of sounding biased (after all, I am a 35 year+ fan of the Indianapolis Colts), the team from the Midwest is off to one of its best starts ever, despite the fact that they have a marginal running game, at best. Although the season is 5 games old, I cannot determine the reasons for the Colts’ success, except for Peyton Manning’s amazing numbers.

Nonetheless, the Colts had a game to play against a Tennessee Titans squad that is removed from last year’s 13-3 team. And interestingly enough, the current Tennessee squad isn’t much different than the one from last season. Same team, same head coach – it is hard to figure out what happened to them. Anyways, the Colts visited LP Field Sunday in a matchup between an undefeated and a winless team.

From what I observed during the nationally televised game, I have no idea what happened to the Titans. Granted, the Titans didn’t rush for 100 or more yards against the Colts (90 tonight), but I can say with a fair amount of certainty that Peyton Manning’s effort – three touchdowns – made the Titans chances of winning minimal, at best. Manning’s 3 TD passes along with a anemic offensive performance by the Titans allowed Indianapolis to continue their domination as they destroyed Tennessee 31-9.

The first quarter was actually competitive as Tennessee kicker Rob Bironas’ two field goals – 49 and 43 yards – kept the Titans to within 7-6 after one quarter. The second quarter was actually the Peyton Manning quarter as he led the Colts on a pair of drives, of which they would score twice – once on a 1-yard TD run by Joseph Addai and a Manning-to-Austin Collie TD pass of 39 yards which would pad the Colts’ lead at 21-9, a lead they would take into halftime.

Manning and Collie would hook up again on a 6-yard TD pass, increasing the Colts’ cushion to 28-9; Indianapolis kicker Adam Vinatieri’s 23-yard FG with 7:32 reamining in the game would effectively put the Titans away foir good.

Vince Young did make an appearance for the Titans late in the game, although he did go 0-for-3. Manning yet again had a great efort, going 36-for-44 for 309 yards with 3 TD’s and an interception while Kerry Collins had another mediocre game, going 19-for-32 for 164 yards with an interception.

Neither team stood out in the rushing department as Addai rushed 14 times for 27 yards with a score while the Titans’ LenDale White rushed for 51 yards on 10 carries. Collie led all Colts receivers with 97 yards on 8 receptions and 2 TD’s while Dallas Clark caught 9 passes for 77 yards; Reggie Wayne grabbed six passes for 60 passes in a supporting role.

Tight end Bo Scaife led the Titans receiving corps with 4 receptions for 45 yards while Nate Washington caught three passes for 37 yards. Indianapolis (5-0) will now rest as it goes into its bye week and will not play again as they travel to St. Louis to face the Rams on October 25 while Tennessee (0-5) flies to Foxboro, MA to take on the New England Patriots next Sunday.

It’s that time again to start talking about free agency, and we’ll spend some time breaking down positions, and today we are going to start with maybe the most important position on the field – quarterback. Here are our rankings of Free Agent QB’s, and what we think will be the end result for some of these players.

1. Kurt Warner – Cardinals: The Super Bowl QB is going to be a free man, but expect the Cardinals to make a more than fair offer to keep Kurt around, win or lose the big game a week from Sunday. Kurt could have been the MVP this season without a doubt, and while a couple other teams will likely flirt with the idea of grabbing him, I can’t see him anywhere else but in the desert.

2. Matt Cassel – Patriots: Look for Cassel to be franchised, meaning he’s not going anywhere in 2009. The Pats need to protect themselves just in case Tom Brady is not going to be ready to go at the start of the season. Again, he’ll get plenty of interest in the open market, but don’t expect him to make it there unless teams are willing to give up two #1 picks.

3. Jeff Garcia – Buccaneers: Even at 39, Garcia can be a stop gap for some team on the steps of being a possible playoff or Super Bowl contender. With the coaching changes in Tampa Bay, it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see Garcia take his game elsewhere, but there is always the chance he may retire.

4. Kerry Collins – Titans: The Titans had a great season with Collins, but even as the #1 seed in the AFC were not able to get by the Ravens. Collins played tough when the team needed it, beating the Steelers late and Ravens early in the year. He’s the perfect QB for the Titans system, and giving him two years at $10 mil per year would not be out of the question.

5. Rex Grossman – Bears: Rex in effect should get a fresh start and bail from the situation that is the Bears. The team appears to have made a commitment to Kyle Orton as their QB of the future, and if Grossman wants to be a starter, he’ll likely have to go somewhere as a backup and then hope for poor play or an injury to be in the starting lineup.

6. Luke McCown – Buccaneers: McCown is still young enough to where he could be a decent player in this league, as he’s shown flashes but has never fully taken it to the next level. Look for him to go somewhere and be a backup with the hopes of being a starter down the road.

7. Kyle Boller – Ravens: This may be a shot in the dark, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Boller somewhere else with a fresh start. He wasn’t ever able to live up to the level of the pick the Ravens used on him, and with Joe Flacco taking them to the AFC Title Game, there is no question who the long term starter will be in Baltimore.

8. Ryan Fitzpatrick – Bengals: The former Harvard QB started the year awful, but by the end was playing much better, but won’t have that shot again with the Bengals as Carson Palmer will be back under center in 2009. Wouldn’t doubt if another team or even the Bengals locked him up as their back-up. He’d be smart to stay in Cincy if the offer is there.

9. J.P. Losman – Bills: Not a big fan of Losman, but someone will give him a job as a 2nd QB on their roster. I wouldn’t doubt if he’s in camp with a team that has an unstable QB situation come July.

10. Byron Leftwich – Steelers: The former starter with the Jags has found a nice home with the Steelers, and has played well when called upon. With that, he’d be well served to stay in the Steel City, but with the desire to compete, my guess is he moves on to another squad.

Other Free Agent QB’s:

David Carr – NY Giants
Brett Ratliff – NY Jets
Brock Berlin – St.Louis
Charlie Batch – Pittsburgh
Dan Orlovsky – Detroit
Chris Simms – Tennessee
Joey Harrington – New Orleans
Brian St.Pierre – Arizona
Brooks Bollinger – Dallas
Gibran Hamdan (RFA) – Buffalo
Jared Lorenzen – Indianapolis
Tim Rattay – Arizona
J.T. O’Sullivan – San Francisco
Charlie Frye – Seattle
Patrick Ramsey – Denver
Craig Nall – Houston
Marques Tuiasosopo – Oakland
Lester Ricard – Carolina
Bret Basanez – Carolina
Todd Bouman – Baltimore
Jamie Martin – San Francisco
Anthony Morelli – Arizona

The Tennessee Titans‘ running attack didn’t do their usual number on the Indianapolis Colts on Monday; but then again they didn’t have to, as quarterback Kerry Collins outplayed Colts QB Peyton Manning and Titans running back LenDale White ran for a pair of touchdowns, helping Tennessee remain the NFL’s lone remaining undefeated team, defeating Indianapolis 31-21 at Nashville. The win gives the Titans a firm grasp of the AFC South that until recently had been the domain of the Colts.

The Colts had actually played relatively well as they held a 14-6 lead in the third quarter on two TD passes from Manning to tight end Dallas Clark, but the Titans tied things at 14 on a 1-yard TD run with 3:21 remaining in the period. Tennessee stopped Indianapolis on consecutive drives at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter; a 48-yard field goal by Titans kicker Rob Bironas put Tennessee up 17-14.

The Colts’ next possession came up empty yet again as Manning failed on a fourth-and-2 on an attempted pass play to wide receiver Reggie Wayne; the Titans would respond with a sustained drive, which culminated in a White TD run – his second – that exiended Tennessee’s lead. Titans safety Chris Hope then intercepted Manning with 3:38 left in the game and RB Chris Johnson scored on a 16-yard run, sealing the win for the Titans.

Collins, while outplaying Manning, didn’t have the best of numbers, going 24-of-37 for 193 yards while Manning went 26-of-41 for 223 yards with 2 TD’s, 2 INT’s and also ran for a score. The aforementioned Johnson led the Titans rushing attack with 77 yards on 19 carries and a TD while White added only 13 yards but scored twice. Dominic Rhodes led the Colts rushing attack with 70 yards on 17 carries.

TE Bo Scaife led all Titans receivers with 5 receptions for 44 yards while Clark led the Colts with 7 receptions for 94 yards and 2 TD’s. Tennessee (7-0) plays again on Sunday when they host the Green Bay Packers while Indianapolis (3-4) make the short trip home to host the New England Patriots – also on Sunday.

Monday night may very well be a changing of the guard in the AFC South, as the undefeated Tennessee Titans play host to the 3-3 Indianapolis Colts at LP Field. With a win the Colts will be a whopping four games back of the Titans with nine to play. If the Colts can upset the Titans, they will be back in striking distance of Tennessee, down two games for the division lead.

The Titans are 6-0 for a reason. They have pounded teams into submission all season, and really have played just two close games, opening day vs the Jags and three weeks ago in Baltimore. They are putting up 154.5 yards per game on the ground, and will once again look to Chris Johnson and LenDale White to punish the Colts run defense.

Kerry Collins has played well enough to keep Vince Young on the sidelines since week two. He has thrown for 863 yards and three TD’s with three picks. He hasn’t had to have many big games so far, and right now his role is not to make any critical mistakes that will put the Titans in a position to lose. So far, he’s done the job.

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Chris Brown scored a touchdown and Rob Bironas booted three field goals to boost the Titans into the playoffs with a 16-10 win over the Colts at the RCA Dome.  Kerry Collins replaced injured quarterback Vince Young and led three field goal drives for Tennessee, which won its final three games to finish 10-and-6 and beat out Cleveland for the final AFC wild card berth.  The Titans will take on the Chargers in San Diego next Sunday.  Young was 14-of-18 for 157 yards, but hobbled off with a leg injury in the third quarter.  Collins came on to complete 10-of-13 passes for 106 yards in the win.  Peyton Manning finished 14-of-16 for 95 yards before being pulled in the second quarter for Indianapolis.  Manning set a record by eclipsing 4,000 yards passing for the eighth time in his career.  The Colts, who had already earned a first-round bye, finished the season 13-and-3 and are the second seed in the AFC.