Colts Gab

The oddsmakers said the Indianapolis Colts were about 5 1/2 point favorites against the New Orleans Saints in Sunday’s Super Bowl game at Sun Life Stadium. With these two teams, offense is the modus operandi and defense is sometimes an afterthought.

Early on, it looked like the Colts would settle the matter early as they scored 10 quick points in the first quarter. But the Saints would come to life as they scored 18 unanswered points, capped by a Tracy Porter pick-6, elevating New Orleans to their first Super Bowl victory, 31-17, over Indianapolis.

Peyton Manning looked impressive on the Colts’ first two drives, taking his team 53 yards to a 38-yard Matt Stover field goal; Manning then led a 11-play, 96-yard drive – tied for the longest series drive in Super Bowl history – which was capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Pierre Garcon, putting the Colts up 10-0.

The Saints did get on the scoreboard on a 46-yard Garrett Hartley field goal, making it 10-3; the Colts defense, which was ranked 18th during the regular season, manned up as they clamped the Saints down on a fourth-and-goal. Curiously, the Colts, instead of te usual pass-on-first down routine, opted for running the ball three consecutive times, leaving New Orleans 35 seconds to add another Hartley field goal, sending both teams to their respective locker rooms with the Colts ahead 10-6.

Interestingly, the Saints opted for an onside kick, which would be successful; they would like the Saints of the regular season as a Drew Brees 16-yard screen pass to Pierre Thomas would hit paydirt, giving New Orleans their first lead of the game at 13-10. But Manning would shrug it off, leading the Colts on their next possession on a 76-yard drive, capped by a Joseph Addai 4-yard run, allowing the Colts to regain the lead at 17-13; That would be it for the rest of the night for the Colts.

After a 47-yard FG by Hartley with 2:01 left in the third period put the Saints to within 17-16, Brees would connect with Jeremy Shockey on a 2-yard TD pass, giving New Orleans a 24-17 lead. The issue was settled when Manning threw an interception whcih was picked off by Tracy Porter; Porter would return the pick 74 yards for the score, putting the Saints ahead for good.

Brees went 32-of-39 for 288 yards with 2 TDs while Manning had a decent game by most other NFL quarterbacks’ standards, going 31-of-45 for 333 yards with a TD and an INT. Thomas led all Saints rushers with 9 carries for 30 yards while catching 6 passes for 55 yards and a TD; Addai led the Colts rushing attack with 77 yards on 13 carries and a score while catching 7 passes for 58 yards.

Marques Colston led the Saints receivers with 7 receptions for 83 yards while Devery Henderson caught 7 for 63 yards; Dallas Clark led all Colts receivers with 7 catches for 86 yards while Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon caught 6 and 5 passes respectively for 66 yards with Garcon scoring a TD.

With the victory, the New Orleans Saints won their first Super Bowl in the franchise’s 34-year history. The Colts, while making the game competitive, will go into the offseason mulling any moves that will be necessary for them to return to the Super Bowl in February 2011.

According to NFL Fanhouse, Jim Irsay plans to pay Peyton Manning sometime and it would make Manning the highest-paid player in NFL history.

“We know that Peyton’s going to be the highest-paid player in the league,” Irsay said. “It’ll get done. There’s no question about that, and it’s something we’ll focus on in the offseason.”

And plus, Manning could make up big for this deal if the Colts win the Super Bowl. All is going good for the Colts’
“messiah.”

More of this story can be seen here.

For the second consecutive week, the Indianapolis Colts have been disincentivized as they have locked up home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs; thus, they have been using their reserves for the bulk of the last two games, including Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium in what can be accurately described as whiteout conditions on the field.

While Peyton Manning and Co. spent most of the game sitting on heated seats, the Bills’ regular unit took advantage as Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for three touchdowns, allowing Buffalo to make short work of Indianapolis 30-7.

After trading touchdowns in the first quarter, the Bills went ahead for good when Fitzpatrick hit Lee Evans for a 21-yard score. Lee Evans caught the ball at the 1, then slid backward into the end zone, leaving a 2-yard skid mark in the snow. Two and one-half minutes later, Fitzpatrick hooked up with Terrell Owens on a 41-yard TD pass, giving the Bills an insurmountable 21-7 lead late in the third period.

Fitzpatrick went 16-of-25 for 155 yards and 3 TD’s. Manning, in limited action, went 14-of-18 for 95 yards and an interception while reserve QB Curtis Painter went 4-of-17 for 39 yards and an INT. Fred Jackson ran roughshod over the Colts’ offensive line, rushing 33 times for 212 yards with a receiving TD while Mike Hart rushed 10 times for 28 yards and a score.

Owens led the Bills receivers with 4 catches for 65 yards and a TD while Evans caught 4 for 49 yards and a score; Dallas Clark led the Colts with 7 receptions for 52 yards while Reggie Wayne caught 5 passes for 21 yards. Indianapolis (14-2) will get a two-week rest and await who becomes the AFC’s #6 seed while Buffalo ends their season 6-10.

For about a week or so, the big question that was tossed about in light of the Indianapolis Colts’ quest for an undefeated season was whether Peyton Manning and Co. would play the entire game Sunday against the New York Jets. The issue was laid to rest in the third quarter when head coach Jim Caldwell brought in the reserves; the Jets capitalized on the act of mercy as they rallied to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, defeating Indianapolis 29-15 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Colts struck paydirt first as Joseph Addai scored on a 22-yard run while adding a 22-yard Adam Vinatieri field goal to jump to a 9-0 lead; a 25-yard Jay Feely FG helped New York get to within 9-3, which would be the score as both teams went to their respective locker rooms at halftime.

The Colts’ downfall began when Brad Smith fielded Pat McAfee’s kick to start the second half 6 yards into the end zone, ran it out, found a seam along the right side and raced down the sidelines. He even managed to stay in bounds after getting hit at about the Colts 20, going 106 yards to give the Jets a 10-9 lead. But the Colts came right back. They moved 81 yards, the last coming when Donald Brown bounced off two Jets defenders and scooted into the end zone to make it 15-10 with 10:13 left in the third quarter; Brown’s conversion run failed. At the 5:36 mark of the third quarter, Caldwell pulled Manning and Co. with the Colts holding a 15-10 lead. That was it for Manning, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and Joseph Addai – and the Colts’ win streak.

When Curtis Painter, Manning’s replacement, returned to the field for his second series, the boos began. They grew louder when Painter was hit by linebacker Calvin Pace and lost the ball, with Marques Douglas recovering and scoring. A 2-point conversion pass from Mark Sanchez to Dustin Keller made it 18-15 and put the Colts’ hopes for victory in jeopardy. The Jets would ice the win in the fourth quarter on a 43-yard Feely FG and a 1-yard Thomas Jones TD run.

Sanchez was efficient, at best, going 12-of-19 for 106 yards while Manning went 14-of-21 for 192 yards; Painter was decidedly worse, going 4-of-11 for 44 yards and an interception. The Jets rushed for 202 yards, led by Jones with 105 yards on 23 carries and a TD while Shonn Greene carried the ball 16 times for 95 yards; Addai led the Colts with 40 yards on 6 carries.

Jerricho Cotchery led the Jets receivers with 4 receptions for 45 yards while Keller caught three for 19 yards; Austin Collie led the Colts’ wideouts with 6 receptions for 94 yards while Dallas Clark caught four for 57 yards. New York’s (8-7) playoff aspirations are on the line next Sunday when tey host the Cincinnati Bengals while Indianapolis (14-1) finish their regular season when they travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills – also next Sunday.

Some R&R seems to be in order for some members of the Indianapolis Colts as they have locked up home field adfvantage through the AFC playoffs. More on this and more from Phil Richards of the Indianapolis Star:

* It was a much-appreciated late-season departure from the norm for Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kelvin Hayden. He didn’t spend his weekend in zone coverage.

“Spent it on the couch,” Hayden said.

The upside of having so little rest and preparation time for a Thursday game at Jacksonville last week was having three days to recuperate before the New York Jets visit Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. The weekend felt like a mini-bye week.

“It helps out a lot. You’re always banged up this time of year,” linebacker Gary Brackett said Monday.

Linebacker Clint Session said it’s a bigger boon mentally than physically. Left tackle Charlie Johnson agreed.

“You just get away, mentally get away from football, get away from the grind,” Johnson said. “You come back on Monday and you feel refreshed; you feel ready to finish the last two weeks and however long you play.”

Colts coach Jim Caldwell said that for some players, playing Sunday and again Thursday might have compounded injury issues. So the coaches and medical staff will evaluate those cases individually this week, but Caldwell echoed his players.

“Did we need those three days? You’d better believe it,” he said. “I think they’ll help us in the long run.”

* The Colts went 6-0 in what might be the best division in the NFL, top to bottom.

The AFC South is 23-9 in interdivisional games and 11-4 against the NFC. The league’s next best interdivisional record is 21-15, compiled by the NFC East, which has gone 7-7 against the AFC.

“I think the whole division might wind up above .500,” Brackett said. “That’s pretty competitive football.”

The Colts are 14-0, Jacksonville, Tennessee and Houston all 7-7. Philadelphia leads the NFC East at 10-4, followed by Dallas at 9-5. The New York Giants were 7-6 going into a Monday night game at Washington (4-9).

* WR Anthony Gonzalez and RB Donald Brown practiced Monday, when Colts president Bill Polian said on his radio show that the club hopes Gonzalez can be ready to play against the Jets. Polian added that K Adam Vinatieri will do some kicking later this week to see if he might be ready to go. Gonzalez has been out with a right knee injury since the season opener. Vinatieri has missed the past nine games while recovering from a knee injury and Brown has been out three games with a chest injury. CB Jerraud Powers (hamstring) missed Sunday’s game and will be out this week and probably next week. . . . Peyton Manning threw four touchdown passes during the Colts’ 35-31 victory at Jacksonville to run his season total to 33 and become the only QB in NFL history other than Brett Favre with five seasons of 30 or more. Favre has done it eight times and has 27 this season. . . . Caldwell said Friday that he wouldn’t be surprised if the NFL weighed in on Chad Simpson’s post-touchdown run up the tunnel behind the end zone at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Simpson kept going to celebrate his 93-yard kickoff return. So far, so good, he said Monday. Colts cornerback Jacob Lacey was fined $10,000 for celebrating a 35-yard interception return touchdown by sliding into the end zone at St. Louis on Oct. 25. Lacey appealed the fine and it was rescinded.

“It’s déjà vu all over again”. Yogi Berra

The Indianapolis Colts never cease to amaze me; although to be fair, when you have been a Colts fan for as long as I have (39 years and counting), what they seem to do on a weekly basis seems eerily commonplace. When the Colts went to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars Thursday night, I didn’t expect a high-scoring event as most weeks the Jaguars are lucky to eclipse 20 points a game.

In any case, both teams hooked up at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium and the game had the feel of a track meet, so to speak. Defense was definitely an afterthought and interestingly enough, Jacksonville held the ball for 11 minutes longer than Indianapolis. Both teams seemed to score at will (did I mention that not much defense was played?), but as has been the custom this season, Peyton Manning tossed a late touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne with 5:23 in the fourth quarter, enabling Indianapolis to remain perfect as they got past Jacksonville 35-31.

Manning was perfect in the first half, going 12-of-12 for 116 yards and had TD passes to Austin Collie and Dallas Clark; Clark made an improbable sliding catch in the end zone which put the Colts up 7-3 early in the second quarter. Collie’s 23-yard catch put Indianapolis ahead 21-17 withy 35 seconds left in the half; the Jaguars got ot within field goal range but kicker Josh Scobee came up short on a 57-yard FG attempt.

The Jaguars would take the lead at 24-21 with a 16-yard David Garrard TD pass to Mike Sims-Walker but Manning would again hook up with Clark on a 27-yard TD strike, putting the Colts ahead again 28-24; a 13-yard Garrard-to-Mike Thomas TD pass put Jacksonville up at 31-28 with 47 seconds. But Manning would lead the Colts down the field and with 5:23 left in the game, he connected with Reggie Wayne on a 65-yard bomb which put Indianapolis up for good 35-31.

Manning had good numbers, going 23-of-30 for 308 yards with 4 TD’s and an interception while Garrard went 23-of-40 for 223 yards with 3 TD’s and an INT. Joseph Addai led the Colts rushers with 16 carries for 59 yards while Maurice Jones-Drew rushed 27 times for 110 yards and a TD while catching 5 passes for 30 yards and a score. Wayne led all Colts receivers with 5 receptions for 132 yards and a TD while Clark caught 7 passes for 95 yards and 2 TD’s. Sims-Walker led the Jaguars receivers with 6 receptions for 64 yards and a score while Marcedes Lewis caught 4 passes for 53 yards.

Indianapolis (14-0) gets a long rest as they do not play again until Sunday, December 27 when they play their final game at Lucas Oil Stadium this season, hosting the New York Jets while Jacksonville (7-7) travels to Foxborough, MA to take on the New England Patriots, a week from Sunday.

I was really expecting a loss after the Colts’ play during the second half. Peyton Manning was playing solid throughout the first, having three touchdowns and only one pick.

The Colts were up with a 21-7 score. But during the second half, it was all the Broncos. All I saw was poor offensive and pass defensive play. Left and right were balls caught by Brandon Marshall, who broke the NFL record for most receptions in a game with 21 (let’s hope T.O. doesn’t open his mouth up after this one).

With the Broncos trailing by five, 21-16, I thought they would do something out of this with the Colts having a bunch of three-and-outs, and worse: turnovers. Manning had two interceptions in the second-half, and was playing tremendously poor.

He was turning into a Mark Sanchez at a Patriots game.

At the end, the Colts won after the Broncos failed on fourth down, where Marshall caught his 21st pass.

Manning had completed 20-of-42 passes for over 200 yards with four touchdowns, but a depressing three interceptions. Kyle Orton, who is now 1-1 officially at Lucas Oil Stadium, was 29-of-41 for 277 yards with two touchdowns and one pick.

Joseph Addai had an okay rushing performance with 67 yards on 16 carries. Mike Hart brought heroics to the Colts in the fourth quarter, and had nine carries for 28 yards in the game. Compared to the Broncos, Knowshon Moreno either had a bunch of long runs or a bunch of losses in the backfield. He had 23 carries for 63 yards.

Back to Marshall, who I mentioned had 21 catches, and another career-high of 200 yards with two touchdowns. No doubt that was his best game. Dallas Clark was the leader for Indiana with five catches for 43 yards. What made the difference was his three touchdown catches.

It was a well-played game by the Colts, who bounced back. The Colts now move to 13-0, three games away from perfection. They’ll be facing the Jaguars, Jets, and Bills next. Two of the teams have won seven games, and the other only four.

Those could be very easy wins. The toughest may be against Jacksonville. The Colts also broke two records, winning their 22nd straight game: most in NFL history. Also, Jim Caldwell has the best start of any rookie head coach in history, starting out with a staggering 13-0 record.

Glad Dungy hired him.

The Colts are just a few steps away from perfection. I just hope they reach it.

The Indianapolis Colts recently just placed backup quarterack Jim Sorgi on IR. That just leaves more help for Curtis Painter, who has been playing football in Indiana for pretty much his whole life.

Painter has just now moved up to the second spot in the depth chart behind Peyton Manning (who would replace him?).

“I guess it moves me up. Now I’m one step away instead of two,” Painter told the Indianapolis Star. “It changes in that sense, but not really, because in this league you’ve got to be ready at any time. So I’ve really tried to take that approach the whole time.”

Painter had thrown for 381 passing yards and completed almost 60 percent of his passes in the preseason. If the Colts move to 13-0, they might have home-field advantage.

And if that happens, Indiana might bench their players, which would leave playing time for Painter. I like to see what Painter has. I think he looks like a good backup.

But Jim Sorgi may be in trouble.

As I have said on more than one occasion in reference to the Indianapolis Colts, they find new and creative ways to win each and every week. Some weeks, it is Peyton Manning and his arm, some weeks it’s their secondary, while sometimes they come from behind. The Colts didn’t have to rely on a 300-yard game from Manning or a comeback attempt during Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium; instead, they more or less played “keepaway” with the ball, allowing Indianapolis to tie an NFL record with their 21st consecutive win, in this case a 27-17 decision over Tennessee.

The Colts started things by going on a 75-yard drive, capped by a 8-yard Joseph Addai touchdown run, taking a 7-0 lead; after a 20-yard foeld goal by kicker Rob Bironas, Indianapolis drove 77 yards down the field over nearly 4 minutes with Addai hitting paydirt on a 1-yard run, boosting the Colts’ advantage to 14-3. Although the Colts failed to cash in on the Titans’ first turnover, Manning would capitalize as he threw a 4-yard TD pass to Austin Collie, padding the Colts’ lead further at 21-3.

Tennessee finally got back in the game on a 6-yard Vince Young-to-Kenny Britt TD pass, narrowing their deficit to 21-10. With no time left in the third quarter, Matt Stover connected on a 43-yard FG, giving the Colts a 24-10 cushion; Stover would put the nail in the Titans’ coffin as he converted a 36-yard FG with 3:14 left in the game, icing the victory for Indianapolis.

Manning had a decent outing for the Colts, going 24-for-37 for 270 yards with a touchdown while Young went 24-of-43 for 241 yards with 2 TD’s and an INT. Addai led the Colts rushing attack with 79 yards on 21 carries and 2 TD’s while Chris Johnson led Tennessee with 27 carries for 113 yards.

Pierre Garcon led all Colts receivers with 6 receptions for 136 yards while Reggie Wayne caught 4 for 48 yards; Bo Scaife led the Titans receivers with 5 receptions for 56 yards and a TD while Britt caught 3 passes for 46 yards and a score. Indianapolis (12-0) goes for win number 13 and a NFL-record 22nd win when they host the Denver Broncos next Sunday while Tennessee (5-7) returns home to host the St. Louis Rams – also next Sunday.

One thing is for certain about the Indianapolis Colts: they have seemed to be able to beat their opponents in just about every conceivable way possible – or so it seems. During Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium, that analogy was definitely put to the test. Down by 13 points at halftime, they would score 28 unanswered points, enabling Indianapolis to hold off Houston 35-27. The win would allow the Colts to clinch the AFC South.

The Texans scored on their first series for the first time this season when Schaub directed an 11-play, 79-yard drive, capped by a 7-yard pass to Vonta Leach, making it 7-0; they would march down the field again on their next possession and go up 14-0 on a 5-yard TD run by Chris Brown. A Peyton Manning interception to Texans linebacker Brian Cushing would allow for another score, a 33-yard field goal by Kris Brown, putting Houston up 17-0; they would take into their locker room a 20-7 lead at halftime. And that, oddly enough, would be the beginning of the end for the Texans.

The Texans let the Colts back into the game in the third quarter as they were called for pass interference on third-and-goal from the 8-yard line, giving Indianapolis a first down on the Texans 1-yard line. Three plays later, Manning would connect on a 1-yard toss to Reggie Wayne to make it 20-14. A 4-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Clark with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter gave Indianapolis their first lead at 21-20; 15 seconds later, LB Clint Session would intercept a Matt Schaub pass and return it27 yards for a TD, putting the Colts up by 8. A 23-yard TD run by Chad Simpson would pad the Colts’ cushion to 35-20 with 2:52 remaining in the game. Wide receiver Jacoby Jones would score on a 10-yard pass from Schaub, bringing the Texans to within eight at 35-27 with just 18 ticks left on the game clock; one unsuccessful onside kick later, Manning would do the obligatory kneeldowns, icing the game for the Colts.

Manning had a decent game, going 27-of-35 for 244 yards with 3 TD’s and 2 INT’s while Schaub did nearly as well, going 31-of-42 for 284 yards with 2 TD’s and 2 INT’s. Joseph Addai led the Colts rushing effort with 15 carries for 69 yards while the Texans were led by Steve Slaton with 57 yards on 10 carries while catching 7 passes for 49 yards; Brown added 56 on 11 rushes and a TD.

Austin Collie led all Colts receivers with 4 receptions for 70 yards while Dallas Clark and Pierre Garcon caught 9 and 5 passes respectively for 63 yards and a score each. Kevin Walter led the Texans receivers with 7 receptions for 70 yards while Andre Johnson caught 5 for 67 yards. Indianapolis (11-0) will play again next Sunday when they host the Tennessee Titans while Houston (5-6) makes the short commute to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars – also next Sunday.