The worst defense the Colts have played all year, and they are beaten by a team missing both it’s starting QB and RB for most of the second half. Way to go Colts. bleh.

 I don’t know what else to say, really.

Week Five in the NFL brings the next stop on the Indianapolis Colts Magical Mystery Tour of former players, as Cato June and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to town, looking to take advantage of a banged up Colts team. Here’s the game as I saw it, seated in Section 308 of the RCA Dome.

• It’s tempting to just write this game off as “business as usual” once again, but I think it would unfair to the Colts to underplay just how impressive they looked today despite the loss of some very important personnel on both sides of the ball
• I wonder how many teams could lose their number one receiver and starting running back, and look like they didn’t even skip a beat on offense? Rookie Anthony Gonzalez was tasked with filling Marvin’s shoes this week, and showed why the Colts drafted him, leading all receivers with 71 yards on seven catches. He would have had a touchdown too, but Manning just flat overthrew him on a pattern where Gonzalez had left his defender in the dust.
• I said in pre-season that if Joseph Addai ever got hurt, the Colts would be okay at running back because of the addition of Kenton Keith… and boy, did he ever prove me right this week. Keith ran all over the Bucs, amassing 121 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns. Make no mistake, I’m hopeful that Addai will be healthy coming out of the bye week, but it was nice to see that Keith was more than up to the task of starting, as I expected him to be.
• I’m sure Jason was happy to see that Craphonso Thorpe was back on the active roster, replacing the injured TJ Rushing on the return duties. His first return was pretty nice, and he didn’t make any major mistakes out there. Plus, you can yell “OH CRAP!” while he’s running, regardless of what he does!
• The offense wasn’t the only unit ravaged by injuries this week… the defense was missing Bob Sanders, Freddy Keiaho, and Rob Morris (who is gone for the year, sadly), and yet they turned in one of their best efforts of the season in my opinion. The Bucs had SEVENTY-THREE yards of total offense going into the fourth quarter, and ended up with just 177 total yards for the game. Their running attack was clearly missing Cadillac Williams, as Michael Pittman and Earnest Graham combined for a measly TEN yards rushing on eleven attempts, and Garcia tacked on a further 7 on one run. Garcia did manage two touchdown passes, but by the time he got his second, the game was already well in hand. It was a dominating performance by the Colts D, and it was nice to see guys like Antoine Bethea, Kelvin Hayden, and Tyjuan “Don’t call me Marvin” Hagler flying around making plays like they have been week in and week out. Last year, one could be excused for thinking that as Bob Sanders went, so went the Colts defense. This year, that is clearly no longer the case.   

So, that’s the game, as I saw it. The Buc were leading the NFC South going into this game, and they got absolutely manhandled by a Colts team that seems to just be laughing in the face of adversity anymore. I was kind of nervous going into this game looking at all the players that were gone, but clearly I had nothing to worry about. Regardless, it’s a good thing that the Colts have the bye next week, as they have what promises to be a very tough game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in two weeks, and it would be nice to be as close to full strength as possible for that one. The View will return for week 9, Patriots at Colts. Word has it that could be a pretty important game!  

Another Colts home game, another View From Section 308. Here’s the game as I saw it, seated in Section 308 of the RCA Dome.

• Probably the most striking game related thing that happened on Sunday was the return to mediocrity of the Colts run defense. Denver has always had a focus on solid line play and excellent blocking, granted, but there were numerous weak tackles that lead to extra yards after contact. The Colts ended up matching the Broncos yard for yard on the ground (223 to 226), but you never want to see your defense giving up so much yardage.
• EASILY the most striking thing of the entire game were the injuries, however. It’s bad enough losing Rob Morris and Bob Sanders yet again, but it’s even worse when you see Marvin Harrison and Joseph Addai go down. I’m hopeful that none of the injuries were serious (though it looked like Morris will be down for a while to me), and the Colts will be back at full strength next week.
• It was encouraging, given the loss of two offensive starters, to see the offense essentially not miss a beat. Kenton Keith showed the burst and field sense that won him the back-up running back job, and Dallas Clark showed his versatility by splitting out wide, and causing the Denver secondary some major headaches. I’m of course hoping that Addai and Harrison will be ready to go next week, but it was something of a relief to see that the offense was still more than capable without them.
• I think it’s worth noting that Tony Ugoh has been playing exceptionally well so far this season. It’s hard to have to fill the shoes of a pro-bowl tackle (just ask Osi Umenyiora victim Winston Justice), but Ugoh has stepped right in, and overcome some early shakiness to be another solid piece of what may be the best offensive line in the NFL.
• Finally, I imagine the Denver Broncos are just about damn sick and tired of the RCA dome. Every time they play here ends up being business as usual for the Colts… a close first half, where the Broncos running attack keeps them in the game, and then a second half where the Colts passing attack just blows the Broncos doors off, again and again. It’s got to be frustrating for Denver, especially given that they keep adding more weapons in the secondary to stop that exact thing from happening.

So, that’s the game, as I saw it. This was yet another game in the Colts whirlwind tour of former players on new teams as Brandon Stokley came to town (and got a nice ovation at the end). Next week, the Rodeo Rider (Cato June) returns to town with his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Will it be business as usual for the Colts, and another home win? Only time will tell.  

Mike Hargrove, who retired from coaching the Seattle Mariners after stating that he had “lost his passion for the job”, has apparantly found that passion again. Hargrove will be the manager of the Liberal, Kansas Semi-Pro Baseball team the BeeJays, starting with their next season.

Sophomoric jokes aside (and let’s be honest, the only reason I am posting this is for the headline), I’m happy for Mike Hargrove. He clearly still had a hunger for the competition of baseball, but just couldn’t face up to the schedule the Majors demanded without burning out completely. I’m sure that coaching the team that gave him his start some 35 years ago will be just what the doctor ordered.

It’s a new season, and that means it’s time once again for The View From Section 308. Here are my impressions from the latest Colts home game as I saw them, seated in section 308 of the RCA dome.

•  Okay, so I know what you are saying… “A 300 joke? Really? Aren’t those a bit…um…tired?” Well, yes. They are. This one, however, has a good reason behind it. For as long as I can remember, The Colts have used a clip from the movie Braveheart right before opening kickoff, as a sign to the crowd to get up and ready for WAR! (YOU MAY TAKE OUR LIVES, BUT YOU’LL NEVER TAKE OUR FIELD POSITION!). This year, however, I was surprised to see that Braveheart has been replaced with a clip from an even manlier movie: 300. So, yeah. There you go. To be honest, the clip doesn’t matter because Colts fans hardly need to be told that it’s game-time anymore. Though, if this means that by the end of the season, the whole crowd will be doing that Spartan “Hrugh!” thing at the kick, that would be kinda cool.
• What? There was a game? Oh right!  You never expect to see the first team all that often in a preseason game, so I was happy to see that Manning and Co. were out there for an entire quarter plus. It was pretty much what you would expect from the Colts offense, so that’s good to see. It was also nice to see that Tony Ugoh, who is having to fill the shoes of Tarik Glenn, played pretty well. Manning was sacked once, but it was from the other side. Ugoh did look lost on one play later in the game when Sorgi was in the game, but the Bears first string D was still in, and hey, they are a pretty good squad. I’m confident that Tony Ugoh will be a more than capable replacement for Glenn. Having to go up against Dwight Freeney every day in practice has to help, too.
• If there was a dark spot for the team, it would have to be kick coverage. I know, that old saw. Well, you know, one would have thought the problem would have been addressed. I’m simply at a loss to explain why a team with this much talent can’t seem to be able to put together a consistently good effort on coverage. One might be tempted to overlook the stats a bit considering that they were playing the Bears (and thus Devin Hester), but don’t. Hester didn’t even return kicks in this game, and had one punt return. This is an area where they need to improve, and quickly, because leaving the defense short fields all the time is not going to end well.
• As to kick returning, I think TJ Rushing will be a capable returner. He did have one fumble, but it was on a nice strip. I also have to say that 3rd string running back Kenton Keith impressed me on his return attempts, as he showed some nice speed
• Keith also impressed me on offense, even though he only got two carries at running back. He ran decisively, exploding through the line of scrimmage, and then showed an ability to find the running lanes in the secondary. I know that two carries is a small sample size, but he showed some nice ability in the limited time he got.
• I was a little surprised to see that Anthony Gonzalez didn’t play with the first squad offense, but he looked alright out there with Sorgi. He made a really nice move after the catch on one play, which resulted in 19 yards. If he can do that sort of thing all the time, he’s going to be a nice weapon coming out of the slot for Manning.
• Turning to the defense, I felt that the first string played rather well. Defensive tackle Ed Johnson filled in nicely for Booger McFarland, and was even able to pick up a fumble recovery after a Robert Mathis strip. Most tackles were made not by one Colts defender but by several, which is always nice to see. It was the sort of swarming defense we saw in the playoffs last season, so it was encouraging to see them playing around that same level.
• Now, I have to say that I like the Bears. I root for them when they are playing anyone but the Colts. Given that, I have to say I’m a little worried about Grossman, as he fumbled TWO snaps last night… it might have been raining in the Circle City Monday night, Rex, but son, you are indoors. I know it’s just pre-season, and maybe his head just wasn’t in it, but the Bears faithful couldn’t have been happy seeing their starting QB continue his fumbling ways like that. I sort of get the feeling the Sexcannon is going to be on a short leash this season in Chicago, especially if he continues to be so turnover prone.

So, there you have it. It was a loss, sure, but hey, it’s preseason. I think the Colts are 1-11 in recent preseason games, and hey, what’s that new banner hanging up right in front of us waiting to be unfurled on opening night? Oh right, it’s the one that reads Super Bowl Champions. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this year’s Colts team coming into this game, and I have to say I came out feeling pretty darn good about them, all things considered. Will they go 14-2? Nah. But they are sure as heck going to be a force to be reckoned with this season, and once you get to the playoffs, who knows what might happen?

With the addition of World’s Fastest Man Devin Hester to the Bears offense, the rumors have been flying that Chicago is hard at work integrating a new trick play into their playbook, one designed to work to Hester’s unique strengths. CWAMB has learned that these are no mere rumors, and can exclusively report the existence of one such play, dubbed the “Backward Punt”.

The backward punt works as such: When the ball is hiked, Quarterback Rex Grossman will turn around and immediately punt the ball to Hester, who has lined up some 40 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Hester, now with a 30-40 yard head start, will then do what he does best, making people miss in the open field… and occasionally fumbling.

If executed properly, this is a play that could net the Bears a number of yards and even touchdowns, and Bears fans a number of ulcers… and occasionally heart attacks.

So, my first thought yesterday was “hey, where is everyone… don’t they know there is a game on?”. Okay, so I wasn’t actually AT the Super Bowl, but all the same, here are my views on the game, from my vantage-point, seated on a couch in CJ’s apartment.

 1.) The big question on all the sports shows today has been “Did Rex Grossman lose the game for the Bears, or was it the defense?”. the answer to that question is yes. The Bears defense proved utterly incapable of getting the Colts off the field by any means other than a turnover, and while they did end up forcing three, the offense gave just as many back, often on the very next play.

Despite all this, however, Grossman had the ball with a five point deficit to overcome, and he just could not handle the pressure. He looked like a QB that had no business being in a game of that magnitude, and even worse, he seemed to know it. Fumbling the snap, tripping over his own feet, throwing lazy lob passes… he simply did not play as if a World Championship was on the line. Chalk some of that up to being essentially a rookie, but man, he did not acquit himself well.

2.) One of the reasons the Bears D couldn’t get the Colts off the field was that the running game was absolutely unstoppable. And the reason for that is that the Indianapolis Colts have the best offensive line in football as a unit. That distinction is important, since there are individual linemen better than players on the Colts line (except for Jeff Saturday, who is the best center in the league), but there are no five guys in football that play better as a unit than the Colts o-line… and that unit imposed their will upon the Bears defense all day. Manning wasn’t even sacked until the fourth quarter! The RBs ran for nearly 200 yards!

This was far from an abberation, too. All playoffs long, indeed all SEASON long, the Colts O-line dictated the line of scrimmage to the defense. This is an area of the field that is always underappreciated, so I just wanted to give the big guys in the trenches the love that they deserve. Kudos fellas.

3.) Dominic Rhodes is not only my Super Bowl MVP, but he is my Colts playoffs MVP. Simply put, the Colts would not have been there had it not been for the stellar play of Rhodes. Joseph Addai is unquestionably the future of the Colts at running back, but it was fitting for a guy who had always done whatever the team needed him to do to take his team to the promised land.

I’m not sure of his contract status, but I would not be suprised to see him starting somewhere else next season….the man deserves to be a starter somewhere. Maybe taking hand-offs from the other Manning? perhaps.

4.) I spoke of the turnovers earlier, but man, that was one sloppy game. I expected turnovers, but turnovers followed by giving the ball right back? That I didn’t expect to see once, let alone twice in one game. Execution was certainly at a premium for both teams early on.

5.) an underlying theme of this Super Bowl win for the Colts has to be ‘vindication’ for a lot of people. Everyone said that Tony Dungy was “The guy who can get you close”. No more.

Peyton Manning was “the best QB to never win a Super Bowl.” or “The guy who can’t win a big game”. No more.

Bill Polian built Super Bowl participants, but not Super Bowl champions. No more.

There really are a lot of people you can feel good for in this game, even if you can’t stand Peyton Manning. 

6.) Can’t talk about the SuperBowl without talking about the stuff that comes with it. The commercials, the pregame, the halftime show… The Pregame was. um. weird. I actually like the Cirque de Soleil, I’ve watched it on Bravo a few times (never live), but that just seemed out of place at the game, really.

 Prince, on the other hand, put on a really good show. the pyro, the stage-set, the FAMU marching band… all of it combined to make a  perfect “glitzy” show for the Super Bowl. Plus, he looked darn happy to be there, even in the pouring rain. What can we say, the man loves to perform.

 The commercials were a disappointment to me. Nothing really stood out to me as being that memorable (a bit of that might have been due to the fact that I actually had a rooting interest in the game), and a lot of it was just flat bad. I have to say that first Doritos commercial was at least funny. the second one, though? creeeeeepy.

 All in all, it was a really good game from my perspective, of course because my team won. Not the greatest Super Bowl ever, but pretty darn entertaining, and it ended in the best possible way for us Colts fans. Bring on next season!

A few thoughts on Sunday’s AFC championship game, from my perspective, seated in Section 308 of the RCA dome.

1.) I have to say, kudos to the Pats linemen. There were times where the noise level in the dome ascended to volumes indescribable by mere words, and yet they never once jumped early. That shows a lot about the discipline of a team.

2.) On behalf of the fans in the dome, I would like to apologize to the refs for giving them hell about not calling pass interference when Reggie Wayne fell down in the end zone. From our perspective, it looked as though he was tripped, but when I saw a replay later, it was clear he just stumbled. Mea Culpa. I would ask, however, that they look up the definition of “ineligible receiver”.
3.) there is no third thing. (it was traded for a post to made later, stay tuned. or not)

4.) I was happy to see that very, very few Patriot fans found a way into the game. It says something about just how much the city of Indianapolis despises New England, when on a day where tickets were going for as much as 2000 dollars, Pats fan’s money was still no good here.

5.) Super kudos to Dominic Rhodes. I had (rightly) mocked him earlier in the season for his propensity to take the hand-off and run headlong into the first defender he saw, but losing his starting job to Joseph Addai seemed to have affected a great change in his mindset. Of all the players on the team, Rhodes has been perhaps the most instrumental to the Colts run to the Super Bowl, and adds yet another weapon opposing defenses have to worry about.

6.) Big ups to Teddy Bruschi, who has always been one of those players that I would love to have on my team, but hate to play against. After the game, he came up to Manning and congratulated him, and wished the Colts good luck in the Super Bowl. Very classy, especially when he had to be burning up inside about the close loss.

7.) The moment of sheer bedlam in the Dome when Marlin Jackson picked Brady off to end the game was something I will never, ever forget. There are moments when words simply fail to describe what happened, and this is one of them. I’m frankly shocked the Dome didn’t crumble around us, so great was our celebration.
That’s about it, from my perspective. Next Stop, Miami, and the Chicago Bears… and the longest two weeks of my life…

Dateline: Detroit, Michigan

At a press conference held today at Ford Field, beleaguered Lions’ CEO Matt Millen did not announce his resignation as many expected, instead making the shocking announcement that he would henceforth be promoted to the position of “President for Life of Football Operations” for the Lions organization.

“The NFL is a tough sport to win in, and I think I have that winning formula almost right” Millen said to the assembled members of the press corps. “We were 3-13, but we were this close to going 14-2. I can’t get the formula perfect, however, if I have the constant threat of losing my job hanging over my head. So I decided, and Mr. Ford agreed, that I should never be overthrow…FIRED. I mean fired.”

William Clay Ford, owner of the Lions, interjected at this point, agreeing with Millen in a dreamy, faraway voice. He was then distracted by a shiny object. “Pretty!” he was heard to say. Many reporters commented that Mr. Ford appeared to be heavily medicated, an allegation Millen strongly denied. “It is unconscionable to think that I would have to drug my boss to get him to agree to this. Absolutely unthinkable! Now let’s immediately change the subject!”

Millen was then asked what his plan was to get the Lions over the hump, to which he responded: “Two Words. Wide. Receivers. I realized that the problem we’ve been having is that there are simply not enough wide receivers on the field at all times. I feel that we would be best served running nine, maybe even ten wide on offense, and replacing all of our defensive backs with wide receivers. After all, they say that DBs are just WRs that can’t catch, so ACTUAL wide receivers should be twice as good, right? It can’t fail. And if it does, who cares? I’m set for life! MUHAHAHAHAHAH! Just try and stop me! Now get out of here, all of you! You’re starting to piss me off!”

At this point, Millen motioned to his staff, who fired rifles into the air, scattering the crowd in a panic. There were no major injuries reported.

Reaction from the Lions fan base was predictably pessimistic, with some fans openly plotting revolt. “We are going to have to storm the compound and take Millen down, by any means necessary. This tyrant must be put to bed! We’re tired of losing to the fucking Vikings!”

When asked who might be installed as the new leader of the Lions, revolution leadership was cautiously optimistic. “We’re hoping Cowher will be willing, but hell, anyone would be better. I’m thinking even a border collie knows that we need a defense…”