Monday, November 23, 2009

The worst 10-0 team ever


As a huge Colts fan, let me say that I've never felt less confident about a 10-0 start ever. Last week, we needed Bill Belichick's 4th-down gamble to win a game, at home, where we were badly outplayed. (I'm actually am one of the few people who thought it wasn't a terrible decision, mostly because I was totally terrified when they lined up to go for it, which to me says Belichick was on to something.) This week, we needed Joe Flacco to throw a bone-headed pick when Baltimore was well within range for the winning field goal.

Against the Ravens, Peyton Manning threw two picks. Bob Sanders is out (notice how the Indy defense suddenly can't stop the run or the pass when he's hurt), the secondary is ravaged, the running game is nonexistent, the receiving corps is basically Reggie Wayne and a bunch of rookies with a knack for dropping passes in critical games, and we've won our last 4 games by a combined 10 points. Even our kicker is hurt. I have no idea how we beat Baltimore, no idea at all. Also, we've won our last 18 regular season games now... and lost our only playoff game in that stretch, to an 8-8 San Diego team. We've had a Super Bowl-caliber team 4 years running. In 2006, we won it all. The other 3 years, we didn't win a single playoff game, twice losing unconscionably at home. We seem incapable of beating New England, Pittsburgh, or San Diego in the postseason (1-7 against them since 1995, and the one was the '06 AFC Title Game, which required an 18-point comeback against a New England team with an exhausted defense and no wide receivers). In almost any realistic postseason scenario, we'd have to face at least one and probably two of those teams en route to a Super Bowl trip.

So 10-0 or no 10-0, I am not confident about these playoffs. Not at all...

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