I was fine holding my peace until I read William Rhoden’s piece on the Indianapolis Colt’s loss to the New York Jets. And yes, I did send this to him.
SPORTS OF THE TIMES
While Starters Rest, Colts Fans Should Reflect
Published: January 3, 2010
Indianapolis Colts fans are still seething over what they perceive to be a lost chance to achieve glory.
Last week against the desperate Jets, Coach Jim Caldwell, in consultation with General Manager Bill Polian and the Colts’ ownership, removed quarterback Peyton Manning and other key players in the third quarter. The Colts lost, and their 23-game regular-season winning streak ended. Many Colts fans were furious that their beloved organization had given up on a chance at a perfect season.
Caldwell’s decision, judging from the attention it has received, trumped Bill Belichick’s choice to go for it on fourth-and-2 as the most hotly debated coaching strategy of the 21st century.
Here’s a thought for Colts fans who continue to object: enough is enough.
Let it go.
YES, I HAVE LET GO AND WANTED TO SAY MY PIECE AFTER THE PLAYOFFS BUT AFTER READING YOUR PIECE – I’M SORRY, SIR, BUT I HAVE TO REBUTT YOU.
Belichick’s decision might have cost New England a game, but Caldwell’s decision cost the Colts nothing, except for a possible run at perfection.
OKAY. YOU RATIONALIZE THE GAME WITH THE HERE AND NOW BUT IN THE SAME COLUMN YOU SPECULATE. AND HOLD IT, WHEN A TEAM GOES 13-0, 14-0, 15-0, IS THAT COMMON PLACE? IT ISN’T EVERY SEASON AND SO FAR, THE MIAMI DOLPHINS REMAIN THE ONLY UNBEATEN SQUAD.
The debate has turned into sanctimonious tirades about the loss of integrity.
WILLIAM, LAST I CHECKED THE GAME, HECK ANY GAME, IS A COMPETITION. UNLESS IT’S THE PRE-SEASON AND IT’S AN EXHIBITION MATCH. THE OBJECT OF ANY GAME IS TO TRY AND WIN. OTHERWISE, WHAT FOR? IF YOU LOSE THEN SUCK IT UP. IF YOU WIN, THEN GOOD FOR YOU.
DO YOU TELL A STUDENT WITH A CHANCE TO GRADUATE WITH HONORS TO SLOW DOWN A BIT AND WAIT UNTIL THE FINALS?
DOES A JOCKEY EASE UP ON HIS HORSE AFTER HE’S LEFT EVERYONE BEHIND THEN TURN ON THE JETS IN THE LAST HUNDRED METERS? NO. YOU FINISH THE DAMN RACE LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL.
IF THAT WAS CALDWELL’S GAME PLAN THEN THEY SHOULD HAVE TOLD EVERYONE – THE JETS, THE FANS, AND THE MEDIA THAT WAS THEIR INTENTION SO PEOPLE COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING ELSE, SAVE THEIR GAS MONEY, THEIR TICKET MONEY, THEIR FOOD MONEY RATHER THAN PUKE IT OUT AFTER THAT TRAVESTY.
Caldwell, a contender for coach of the year, told his players all week that the starters would have roughly three quarters to put the Jets away. If they could not do that, he was pulling the plug.
The Colts squandered scoring opportunities, and at the appointed time, Caldwell pulled the plug, as promised.
Manning was irritated by the decision, and some players sulked as children often do when their parents make decisions that are in the long-term interest of all concerned. Players, like children, are often focused on the short term, on the here and now.
That’s why players have coaches, coaches have general managers, and general managers have owners. That’s why fans are fans.
IF THE COLTS LOST WITH THEIR FIRST TEAM ON THE FIELD THEN THAT’S FINE. THEN AFTER THAT, RESTING THEIR PLAYERS IN WEEK 16 WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE ACCEPTABLE.
LET ME QUOTE LARRY BIRD IN JACK MCCALLUM’S UNFINISHED BUSINESS, “I’M PAID TO PERFORM. THAT’S WHAT I DO. IF I DON’T PLAY, THEN I FEEL I’M LETTING SOMEONE DOWN. TICKETS AREN’T CHEAP AND IF YOU BUY ONE EXPECTIN’ SOMEONE TO PERFORM AND HE DOESN’T IT’S A LETDOWN. IT’D BE EASY FOR ME TO SAY ‘TO THE HELL WITH THE REST OF THE YEAR’ AND JUST GIT HEALTHY. BUT I CAN’T DO THAT.”
Would 16-0 have been nice? Absolutely, as an event, as a story to cover, as another feather in the cap of a great franchise and its loyal fans.
On the other hand, for a team that has piled up mountains of impressive statistics, the lesson in all of this is, beware of chasing empty glory. In fact, the criticism of the franchise is that, over the last few seasons, the Colts have not taken advantage of all of their championship opportunities.
From the Colts’ perspective, the big picture is not an undefeated season.
What is humorous about the complaining is that Colts fans are the ones who seem to have lost perspective.
Perfection? Twenty-six years ago, you didn’t even have a team.
WHAT IN THE NAME OF SAM HILL DOES NOT HAVING A TEAM 26 YEARS AGO HAVE TO DO WITH THIS? AND ARE YOU BELITTLING THE THE STATE OF INDIANA AND THEIR FANS? YOU WEREN’T ALWAYS A WRITER. AT ONE POINT YOU WERE PROBABLY A FAN UNTIL YOUR TALENT LED YOU TO WRITE FOR THE GREATEST NEWSPAPER IN THE WORLD. YOU MIGHT HAVE THE BENEFIT OF MORE INSIDE INFO THAN THE AVERAGE FAN BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU CONTRIBUTE MORE TO THE COLTS’ COFFERS THAT PAY FOR THEIR SALARIES AND OPEX THAN THE FANS WHO WATCH THE GAMES AND BUY MERCHANDISE.
Before the Colts came, Indianapolis hung its hat on being an amateur sports capital, a host to a men’s college basketball Final Four and an assortment of other amateur championships.
The N.F.L. was a distant dream. Indianapolis watched as Minnesota received its franchise, the Vikings, in the early 1960s; Cincinnati, to the southeast, got the Bengals in the 1970s.
Finally in March 1984, Indianapolis got its team when the owner Robert Irsay sneaked the Colts out of Baltimore in the middle of the night. Indianapolis happily received stolen goods.
In the intervening seasons, the team and the city have become like family. The undefeated controversy is a family squabble that should end when the playoffs begin.
The loss may end up being a Super Bowl blessing.
ON ONE HAND YOU WRITE THAT THE COLTS ARE ONLY MAKING A POSSIBLE RUN AT PERFECTION. DIDN’T IT OCCUR TO YOU THAT A SUPER BOWL TITLE IS ONLY A POSSIBILITY WHETHER YOU WERE THE 18-0 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS OR THE 14-6 NEW YORK GIANTS?
There was no guarantee that the Colts were going to beat Buffalo on Sunday in their final regular-season game — they ended up losing, 30-7 — and there was the possibility that a key player would have been injured trying. In fact, while the Colts were losing in Buffalo, New England was dealt a potentially devastating blow when receiver Wes Welker injured his left knee and had to leave in the first half of a loss to Houston. Could you imagine if Manning had been hurt?
INJURIES ARE AN UNFORTUNATE PART OF THE GAME. YOU CANNOT SAY WHAT IF MANNING GOT INJURED? HE COULD HAVE GOTTEN INJURED EARLIER IN THE SEASON MAYBE EVEN IN THE PLAYOFFS. INJURIES CAN HAPPEN ANYTIME EVEN OFF THE FIELD. IF YOU GO ABOUT PREDICTING GAMES WITH WHAT IFS, THEN I DOUBT WHAT KIND OF COACH YOU’D MAKE.
STUPIDITY AND OVERKILL IT IS IF MANNING ON THE FIELD WITH THE SCORE 25-0 WITH ABOUT 4 MINUTES TO PLAY. STUPIDITY AND OVERKILL IT IS IF MANNING IS STILL ON THE FIELD WITH THE SCORE 49-0 WITH A GAME TO GO.
IF THEY HAD TRIED TO WIN AND WERE UNABLE AND THE GAME CLEARLY OUT OF REACH, THEN IT’S OKAY TO PULL THEM OUT. BUT WITH A CHANCE TO WIN AND CONTINUE A STREAK. YOU’D BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND OUT ANYONE WHO DOESN’T WANT TO KEEP A STREAK GOING. WHY NOT? THE 1972 MIAMI DOLPHINS CARE ENOUGH TO LIFT THEIR CHAMPAGNE GLASSES WHEN THE LAST UNDEFEATED TEAM LOSES A MATCH. CALVIN MURPHY SAW IT FIT TO CHEER WHEN LARRY BIRD MISSED A FREE THROW THAT WOULD HAVE KEPT HIM ON PACE TO BREAK HIS CONSECUTIVE FREE THROW RECORD.
The N.F.L. season is harrowing enough without having to wear a target. Had the Colts been 15-0, Sunday’s season-ending game against a demoralized Buffalo team, with players eager to start the off-season, would have become the Bills’ Super Bowl. If Buffalo could have snapped the Colts’ winning streak, the organization’s season would not have been a total loss. Who needs that?
The N.F.L. playoffs are harsh enough without giving an opponent the added incentive of stopping an unbeaten season. If the Colts reach the American Football Conference championship game — and they had better — winning will be difficult enough without the burden of maintaining perfection.
If posterity is important, consider this: if asked right now to name a quarterback of the decade, voters would narrow it down to the Patriots’ Tom Brady and Manning. Brady would win because he has three Super Bowl rings. If the Colts win the Super Bowl this season, Manning becomes the quarterback of the decade, hands down. If the Colts stumble, Manning becomes the prince who may be overtaken if Donovan McNabb or Tony Romo wins the Super Bowl.
DUDE, YOU ARE MEASURED BY THE NUMBER OF SUPER BOWL RINGS YOU HAVE. HERE YOU ARE AGAIN, ASSUMING. BUT FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT, IF MANNING WINS THIS YEAR HE WILL ONLY HAVE TWO TO TOM BRADY’S THREE. NOW UNLESS TWO IS GREATER THAN THREE THEN I DON’T SEE HOW HE CAN BECOME QUARTERBACK OF THE DECADE. AND TO THINK THAT BRADY PLAYED IN ONE MORE SUPER BOWL BUT LOST.
Indianapolis fans should remember those dreary years when the Colts’ seasons were filled with loss after loss. After that period of darkness, the Colts have basked in the light for much of the last decade. And some fans have the nerve to be angry because their team didn’t chase “perfection.”
Count your blessings, enjoy the run and remember from whence you came.
COUNTING A COLTS’ FAN’S BLESSINGS IS WINNING ONE GAME AFTER ANOTHER.
YOU KNOW IT’S ONE THING FOR A TEAM TO BE 10-5 OR 11-4 THEN REST ITS STARTERS AS OPPOSED TO BEING ALMOST UNDEFEATED. YOU THINK IF MICHAEL JORDAN’S BULLS WERE AT 81-0 THEY WOULDN’T GO FOR WIN NUMBER 82? THEY'D KILL FOR THAT PERFECT SEASON. PERFECTION MAY BE DIFFICULT TO ATTAIN BUT ONE CAN ALWAYS TRY. THE GOAL OF THE SEASON IS A SUPER BOWL TITLE, BUT IF YOU PICK UP ANY ACCOLADES, PRIZES, RECORDS, OR OTHER SOMESUCH ALONG THE WAY THEN SO BE IT.
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