How many times have you left the Indianapolis Colts for dead this season?
After Steve Slanton’s touchdown run looked to put the Colts in a 1-3 hole? After Aaron Rouse ran 99 yards untouched to the Colts’ end zone to secure a Green Bay blowout victory? After Chris Johnson’s 16-yard touchdown run virtually ended the Colts’ AFC South supremacy? After Jeff Reed’s 42-yard field goal put the Steelers up ten and revved up a hostile Heinz Field crowd?
It’s been a punch, counter-punch kind of season for the Colts, but it took nine games for them to finally throw a haymaker. Sunday’s 24-20 win over Pittsburgh was the kind of performance that was commonplace over the past five seasons, but not in this topsy-turvy 2008 campaign. The Colts beat a marquee opponent and didn’t need Brad Childress’ play-calling, Sage Rosenfels fumbles, or Jabar Gaffney drops to do so. They made plays, took advantage of mistakes and most importantly they stood tall against one of the NFL’s most physical teams. Perhaps the most satisfying part of Sunday’s victory was the surprise players that stepped up and allowed it to happen:
Keiwan Ratliff – after being cut twice early in the season, Ratliff was re-signed just a few weeks ago and has been thrust into a starting role with injuries to starters Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden. Ratliff has taken advantage of the opportunity, recording 14 tackles in starts against New England and Pittsburgh. His interception late in the 2nd quarter led to a touchdown that cut the deficit to three, and got the Colts back into the game.
Eric Foster – the undrafted free agent rookie out of Rutgers was bashed for being ineffective and undersized during the Colts’ early-season defensive struggles. However, Foster perhaps made the play of the year on a 3rd and Goal at the one-yard line, jumping up from a cut block, and swallowing up Mewelde Moore to prevent a Pittsburgh touchdown.
Tim Jennings – the 2006 2nd round draft pick is learning on the job, and there have been some big bumps on the road. Jennings was absolutely abused in the loss to Green Bay and was a non-factor against the Titans, but his interception with six minutes left to setup the Colts’ game-winning scoring drive.
Melvin Bullitt – unlike the three players listed above, Bullitt hasn’t struggled – in fact, he’s been on of the great stories for the Colts this season. Bullitt intercepted Ben Roethlisberger’s final Hail Mary, which actually was a key play, considering that Steelers’ WR Dallas Baker was in prime position to catch the initial deflection.
Bullitt's interception sealed the Colts' first win in Pittsburgh in 40 years
The difference between this year’s Colts and the Colts of the past five seasons is that they’ll have to get contributions from players like Ratliff, Foster, Jennings, and Bullitt if they’re going to make a run. Peyton Manning looks like he’s rounding back into form and the offensive line is finally starting to gel. The second-half schedule is extremely weak and includes no games against teams that are over .500, except for Tennessee who likely will be resting starters in Week 17. At this point, a 5-2 finish (10-6 final record) looks like the worst-case scenario, meaning that the Colts are in prime position to lock up a Wild Car spot. One thing that seems to have been solved in the past few weeks is the rush defense (just 143 yards combined vs. Tennessee and Pittsburgh) but the Colts will need to get their rush offense in check if they want to go anywhere this season. Their pathetic excuse for a running game is dead last in yards (623), yards per carry (3.3), yards per game (69.2). However, with Joseph Addai getting healthy and Dominic Rhodes running hard, maybe the duo can revert to their 2006 form.
There are positives and negatives to take out the of Pittsburgh win, as there is any game. But the overwhelming positive is that the Colts looked primed for a winning streak and a potential playoff run. Before Sage Rosenfels’ helicopter dive last month or after the Monday night collapse against Tennessee, that didn’t seem like a reality.
SHOOTING THE REST OF THE SPORTS WORLD:
Swish: Rookie QBs
Following the Michael Vick fallout, the 2008 season was expected to be a 2-3 win campaign for the Atlanta Falcons. But thanks to their wise-beyond-his-years rookie QB Matt Ryan, the Falcons are right in the thick of the NFC South title race. Meanwhile, in Baltimore the defense has remained strong for this entire decade, but the team has always lacked a playmaker under center. Insert former Delaware standout Joe Flacco... After throwing seven interceptions in his first five starts, Flacco has been near perfect during the Ravens four-game win streak. He has thrown six touchdown passes in the last four weeks and hasn’t turned the ball over as the Ravens offense has put up an average of over 31 points per game. Since 2004, almost all of the quarterbacks drafted in the first round have either been busts - Alex Smith, Vince Young, Matt Leinart, JaMarcus Russell if he doesn’t get out of Oakland - or taken awhile to start contributing – Aaron Rodgers, Jason Campbell, Jay Cutler, Brady Quinn. It’s nice to see a pair of youngsters make an immediate impact for their teams.
Just to give you an idea of how strong Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco have been, check out their stats compared to two of the top quarterbacks in the NFL:
Ryan and Flacco have led their teams to 6-3 starts in their rookie seasons
Brick: Penn State
Before I get started, let me say that I would’ve argued to the death that Penn State deserved a shot at a National Championship had they gone undefeated. Luckily, I’ll be able to save some breath (and some blood cells) over arguing for Penn State after their 24-23 upset loss to Iowa. Though the defense has been outstanding this season, the PSU offense wasn’t even close to the caliber of any of the top teams from the Big 12 or SEC. Their inability to blow teams out allowed the Hawkeyes to stick around, and feed off the emotional Kinnick Stadium crowd. The loss is even more detrimental to Penn State because it not only cost them a shot at a Championship, it also probably left them out of the BCS picture all together. Barring a rash of upsets, the two at-large BCS bids will be split up between whoever doesn’t win the Big 12 South (Texas, Texas Tech, or Oklahoma), the SEC Championship loser, or non-BCS contenders Boise State or Utah. The good news for Penn State? Indiana comes to Happy Valley next week!
Air Ball: Charlie Weis
Notre Dame fans were willing to put up with an embarrassing 3-9 campaign which saw losses to two service academies in 2007. Irish fans were even willing to put up with a five-point loss to a 7-2 North Carolina team, and a four-overtime loss to Big East leader Pittsburgh, because it seemed that Notre Dame had shown some progress. But, Saturday’s 17-0 debacle to rival Boston College has caused a mass exodus from the Charlie Weis bandwagon.
Notre Dame committed five turnovers, and couldn’t score a single point against a BC team that had given up 23, 45, 37, and 27 in the four weeks prior. It was Notre Dame’s sixth straight loss to Boston College and it dropped Weis to 1-15 in his last 16 games against teams with a winning record. As an ND fan, I was willing to give Weis a free pass for last year as long as this year’s squad showed some improvement. But, a 5-4 record has revealed minimal progress (if any) against a slate that includes Michigan, Purdue and Washington teams that are having down seasons. The heralded recruits keep coming in by the truckload, but all the blue chips in the world won’t matter if Notre Dame turns in a similar effort to Saturday night’s performance. The decline of Notre Dame football since the departure of Lou Holtz can be attributed to one common theme: the lack of fire. Where’s the fight? Where’s the desire? Where’s the refusal to lose? Sure the players take some blame for that, but motivating the players falls on the head coach. If Notre Dame doesn’t finish 7-5 and wins a bowl game, I think it’ll be tough for Charlie to be retained. No matter what happens in this situation, the 10-year contract extension give to Weis halfway through his first season looks like a colossal gaffe by former AD Kevin White.
Will the nightmare ever end?
Swish: Mike D’Antoni
We’re only two weeks into the season, but already it appears that Mike D’Antoni is starting to clean-up the mess known as the New York Knicks. After handing Utah their first loss of the season with Sunday’s 107-99 win, the Knicks are 4-2 – it’s the latest they’ve been over .500 since January of 2005. The Knicks lack the scoring prowess and interior size of D’Antoni’s Phoenix teams, but they’re finally starting to play like they care. Also, they’re playing defense (what a novel concept!). Though Eddy Curry and Stephon Marbury have been ostracized, Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph have flourished in the new up-tempo system. With games coming up against San Antonio (sans Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili), Memphis and Oklahoma City, maybe the Knicks could end up eclipsing the 33-win plateau, something they’ve done just twice since 2001. At least it appears that this five-year rebuilding plan is right on schedule.
Air Ball: Northwestern (basketball)
For most of the BCS conference schools, the exhibition season is a time to schedule glorified practices against D-III, NAIA, or traveling scrub teams. I guess Northwestern didn’t get the memo. The Wildcats lost their exhibition opener to Robert Morris, an NAIA school that coincidentally has former IU player DeAndre Thomas on its roster. Though the media picked Indiana to finish dead last in the Big Ten, it’s hard to imagine that they wouldn’t perform better than the Wildcats this season. After all, this is a Northwestern team that went just 1-17 in Conference play last season, and probably wouldn’t crack the top two of the Ivy League. Their roster includes four seniors (Craig Moore, Marlon Day, Sterling Williams, Patrick Houlihan) that have collectively averaged 13.9 points per game in their careers. Kevin Coble (15.9 ppg last season) is a nice player, but similar to Indiana, the rest of the contributions will have to come from a good freshman class. It’s probably a waste of time to argue about this (You’re #11! No, you are!) because both teams are going to reside in the Big Ten basement. But, regardless, an exhibition loss to an NAIA school isn’t exactly getting off on the right foot.
The Shots FANTASY Update:
Plax On, Plax Off def. Pit Bulls for Obama, 124-32
I’ve been playing fantasy football since 1998 and this has to be the most lopsided win I’ve ever been a part of. Just to get you up-to-date (because I know you totally care), I went 1-1 in the two weeks since the last column. My boys broke out of a four-week funk with a season-high 124 points. I picked up Joe Flacco (17 pts) at 11:30 on Sunday morning and have officially survived the Tony Romo injury – I’m all alone in 2nd place, just one game back of the league leader. Thomas Jones (32 pts) is quietly having a monster fantasy season, and Kevin Walter (14 pts) has officially taken Torry Holt’s spot in my starting lineup. I can wrap-up a playoff berth with just one win in the next three weeks.
Just one victory away from a postseason berth...
Fantasy NASCAR – 208-point week, holding on for dear life in 4th place
A podium finish is out of the question now, and with just one race remaining, I’m desperately trying to hold on to 4th and could fall as far as 6th. Considering how tough this season has been, I wouldn’t be too upset with 4th. As a side note, why is the NASCAR season practically a full year long? I don’t know about you, but I lost interest in this stuff in September.
TheBigSmooth def. D’AntoniMR (explicit), 6-3
Yes Sir! Def. Hardcourt Gangsta, 5-4
I ended up in two NBA fantasy leagues this year, one with friends and another with online friends from my favorite Knicks blog (wow, I need a social life). It’s weird because I own Elton Brand and Vince Carter on both teams, but that’s where the parallels end. D’AntoniMR is more stacked because it’s just an eight team league whereas Yes Sir! Is in a full 12-teamer. After an extremely poor 2007-08 campaign, I’m hoping that at least one of these teams can do something this year.
The Shots What to Watch this week:
Atlanta at Boston, Wednesday
It’s a juicy rematch of a wildly entertaining first round series, between two teams that look like the class of the East thus far. Remember when everyone said last month that Hawks head coach Mike Woodson wouldn’t make it through the season? Well the Hawks are off to a 5-0 start, so obviously his players believe in him. Meanwhile, Boston’s 6-1 start includes wins over Cleveland, Houston, and Detroit. Not too shabby.
Smile Mike! You're safe for now
North Carolina at Maryland, Saturday
No, I’m actually not joking. THIS is the only matchup between ranked teams in a craptacular Week 10 on the college gridiron. Everyone in the ACC has at least two conference losses, but this is an important game for both the Terps (Atlantic) and the Heels (Coastal) who both are stuck in the 3-2 muck. Do you know that if the season ended today, the Orange Bowl would be the winner of Wake Forest/Va Tech vs. Pitt/Cincinnati? God help us.
NY Jets at New England, Sunday
It’s time to play Contender/Pretender! The Jets offense is in full gear after a 44-point whopping of the hapless Rams, while the Patriots look primed for the playoffs behind an improving Matt Cassel. The Pats can really put themselves in the drivers seat in the AFC East race – a win would give them a season-sweep over the Jets – and could finally get head coach Bill Belichick some NFL Coach of the Year love. It’s unbelievable what they’ve been able to do without Tom Brady.
The Shots YouTube clips this week:
Sports related –
This really, really cheers me up. Though the “OMG Charlie Weis is soooo fat!” stuff gets annoying, I can’t help but laugh at crap like this.
You gotta hand it to Michigan fans for this one...
Non-sports related –
Here’s a clip from one of the greatest live performances I’ve ever seen (on TV). It’s a shame that MTV has morphed from being about the music to being dominated by trashy reality TV shows involving B-list celebrities. Don’t get me wrong, I like The Hills, TheReal World, and RW/RR Challenges as much as any 16-year old girl person, but I miss the music.
The Shots Chick Pick this week: Mila Kunis
Just saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall for the first time. They should’ve sliced the male full-frontal nudity in half, and done a little more involving her. Just a suggestion, in case there’s a sequel. By the way, do you know she’s dating Macaulay Culkin? You gotta be kidding me.
See you next week.
Listen to Derek as he hosts the Xtra Large Lunch, every weekday from noon to 1 PM on XL 950!
