What Were The Colts Thinking?

[bigunreal]

When the Colts decided to pull their starters early in the second half today, it was an unprecedented move. Only the third team in league history to reach 14-0. the Colts could have matched only the '07 Patriots by going 15-0. The move made no sense whatsoever. Do Caldwell and Poilan have no knowledge of history? How do you not try to keep up an undefeated season? This was like taking a pitcher out in the ninth inning who is throwing a perfect game. It just isn't done.

What is even more crucial here, for those who want to respect the validity of these games, is that the Colts' inexplicable decision handed a crucial victory to the Jets, who are now in the driver's seat to earn a wild card spot. I wonder how those teams who are competing with the Jets for the playoffs feel about the Colts' curious decision? If this was an honest league, there would be a serious investigation launched here. The team's decision to basically "throw" this game, to "rest" their players and avoid injuries, ought to create tons of controversy in the media. Think again....

I've heard very little media criticism of the Colts thus far. I don't anticipate that we'll hear much criticism at all from the obnoxious jock-sniffers who pose as "journalists." I think they'd be reluctant to say anything critical regardless, but seeing as how Jim Caldwell is a black coach, there is zero chance that anyone publicly chastises him for what is an incomprehensible, if not obviously dishonest, move. "Resting" your players and allowing the other team to thereby win, makes a mockery of what is supposed to be a heated competetive enterprise. But then, as I've noted on here before, so do a lot of other questonable things about this league.

While the Colts were scheming to "rest" their players for no logical reason, and had a potentially historical record to play for, teams like the Saints and Cardinals-with nothing on the line at all-vowed to play their regulars the entire game. Hmm. Why do the Colts see things so differently? Whether it's fixed or not, I think the Colts' baffling decision today ensures that they will not reach the Super Bowl. Their team would have lost all momentum heading into the playoffs, and I can't believe that benching the regulars and giving the game and a perfect season away sat very well with the players. Despite Peyton Manning's predictable "good solider" public comments, you can't tell me that he and the other stars of this team weren't incensed as they watched the game slip away from the sidelines. While Don Shula, Mercury Morris and company may be ecstatic, true fans of the game have to be holding their noses over the stench from this.

The Colts fans booed constantly during the second half, which showed they all aren't completely brain dead (at least when no racial issues are involved). I'm hoping that at least the local Indianapolis media grills Caldwell over this ridiculous decision, but in all liklihood the story will just fade, with few if any questions raised by the loyal jock sniffers. Once again, this is just another reason why I think this is a thoroughly corrupt and illegitimate league.

 

[Europe]

There was even some criticism on ESPN by Tom Jackson and the others.

 

[foobar75]

Well, so far, I'm seeing a lot of criticism by the media folks as well as fans on message boards, etc. This was a horrible decision and I think it puts the Colts in a similar situation to 2005 when they were also 1 and done in the playoffs.

They'll surely lose in Buffalo next week, so instead of entering the playoffs with a 25 game winning streak and 16-0, you are now going in with a 2-game losing streak. A bad move all around, and unless they win the SB, this will come back to haunt them. Why would anyone pass-up a chance for 19-0? It's history, it's perfection, and a once in a life-time opportunity.

 

[Don Wassall]

The Cards and Saints were still playing to get the best possible seeding; the Colts had already clinched the number one seed. They hardly care which of the mass grouping of 8-7teams get wildcard spots.

The Colts have done the same thing in previous years when they had nothing to play for. So have other teams. It was understood all week, both by the media and fantasy football players, that Manning, Wayne, Addai and some others might not play the full game. It's not like this was a surprise to anyone who follows the NFL. Preventing injury to key players and giving backups some playing time is pretty much par for the course for teams whose regular season is for all intents and purposes over with. The most important thing is to win the Super Bowl, as the 16-0 2007 Patriots can attest. Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[bigunreal]

Don,

I understand what you're saying, but this was an unprecedented move by a team with a chance to achieve something that has never been done before. Resting your starters makes perfect sense in a game that has already been won; however, in this case, the Colts held a slim 15-10 lead. By essentially giving up at that point, the Colts coaching staff deliberately "threw" the opportunity to go undefeated. So many things were lost in this baffling move- momentum, team morale and, of course, a chance to realize something no team ever has- a perfect 190-0 season.
What coaching staff would do something like that, if their overriding purpose was winning?

As I said, an honest corporation would investigate such a highly suspicious incident like this. We have been told for decades that an undefeated season is the ultimate dream- yet apparently it means nothing to the Colts organization? The Patriots never considered benching their players for a second back in 2007; on the contrary, Belicheck continued to pass with huge leads and run up the score whenever possible. That made no sense, either, and smacked of horrible sportsmanship, but what the Colts did makes even less sense. They also handed a possible playoff berth to a team that didn't earn it. That isn't fair to the teams competing with the Jets, and I hope they loudly complain. Really, there is very little to seperate the bloated empire of professional sports from their less respectable peers in the WWE. And at least the wrestlers can be somewhat entertaining. Edited by: bigunreal

 

[Bear Backer]

Anyone know the point spreads for the Colts Jets game? Although I didn't watch the game, from checking the play by play it looks like the Colts were ahead 15-10 when the starters were removed.

 

[Don Wassall]

Bigunreal, you're a fantasy football afficianado, at least you've made many posts referencing your enjoyment of fantasy though you've never joined either of the two fantasy leagues sponsored by Caste Football.
The Colts and other teams, when they have indicated they are not going to risk their key players' health by not playing them the whole game, generally take them out after the first half or early in the second half. That's pretty standard and I'm sure from your fantasy football experience you remember teams doing it in past years as well.

I don't recall anyone, including you, raising this scenario, which was foreseeable,before it happened today. No one made it an issue though everyone was aware it might happen. What if Peyton Manning had played the whole game but had been seriously injured in the fourth quarter? Or Wayne or Clark? Sure the odds were very slimon Manning given that he like Favre is an Iron Man, but that's the thinking behind it, and it happens every year in the NFL during the last two weeks of the season. The '72 Dolphins were 14-0 and the '07 Patriots were 16-0. Only one finished the deal. That should be paramount in the minds of the Colts. I think the Colts are better off with a loss anyway. Takes some of the pressure off of them, and in many games they looked far from an unbeatable team, having often been behind in the fourth quarter. Do what's best for the team's playoff run and then everyone critiquesit afterward.

Of course when every single game is fixed none of that matters. . .

 

[white is right]

Trust me the NFL takes these situations seriously. If the line would have crazily shifted from the 5.5 points a buzz would have been created and the game would have been pulled from online books and Vegas. I just wish Manning was pulled at the end of the 3rd quarter when the Colts had a solid lead. What we saw in last half was what will happen to the Colts if Manning gets seriously injured down the stretch. They looked like a different team without him. Edited by: white is right

 

[bigunreal]

Don, I am indeed a fantasy football afficiando. And I had Dallas Clark in a playoff game today, so that added to my bitterness. I had Steve Young for years when the 49ers were dominant, so I understand all about teams resting their stars at the end of a season, once home field advantage in the playoffs has been established. But none of those instances involved a team that was undefeated this late in the season.

I don't see how this can be compared to any other situation in NFL history, except for the '72 Dolphins and the '07 Patriots. The Bears lost late in the season in '85, and of course this year the Saints were 13-0. In all those previous situations, it was never hinted for even an instant that those teams would consider resting their starters because there was "nothing to play for." Indeed, the media let us know just how much there was to play for in those situations, and how much an undefeated season would mean to any team. Curiously, when the Saints were 13-0 along with the Colts, it was already being whispered that the Colts might rest their starters even if it meant losing a chance to stay unbeaten, but the Saints definitely would go for the perfect record. In true mainstream media fashion, every jock sniffer nodded his head at this inconsistency, and maintained that the Saints "had to" go for a perfect season because "it would mean so much more to that franchise." Huh? That makes no sense. Since it's never been done before, it should be important to every franchise that has a chance to achieve it.

Don't get me started on fantasy football- I've taken to calling the coaches I hate the most "psycho," as in "Psycho" Fox, "Psycho" Mora, "Psycho" Cable, etc. I've had to deal with these idiots denying even the best of my players (especially DeAngelo Williams) the number of touches they deserve, but still limped into the playoffs somehow.

I was thinking again today that I get no joy at all from following sports any more. So why do I torture myself by watching this nonsense? By paying extra money for Sunday Ticket? Well, if alcoholics and gamblers can be said to be helpless victims of a "disease," then maybe those of us who maintain our loyalty to a product, when we despise everything about it, ought to jump right on that bandwagon. Maybe Oprah will ask me to be on her show. Edited by: bigunreal

 

[Bart]

Colts throw in the towel on perfection

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=cr-winnersandlosers122709&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

(snip)

If you step back and think about it, a game like this flies in the face of what the NFL promotes with its brand. It goes against the grain of what its own players so often preach: that you don't give up in the NFL. You don't roll over. No matter the circumstances. Didn't we just have this whole debate about Randy Moss(notes)? Why is it abominable that a player would coast late in an unwinnable game, but it's totally fine that the Colts pull their starters in the third quarter of a game that absolutely could have been won? Don't they both violate the same spirit â€" that this isn't a league that tolerates a white-flag mentality?

If we criticize players for saving their bodies and taking plays off, then we should criticize teams that essentially do the same thing. A team doing it for strategic purposes should be no more acceptable than a player who does it for selfish reasons. Think of all the AFC teams that needed the Jets to lose on Sunday. How do you think they feel knowing that the Jets' opponent basically rolled over? Think they might feel a little cheated?

Well, they should. We all should. Not because we won't see a 16-0 season, but because whenever we think about why, we'll remember the Colts throwing in the towel. And I bet someone like Peyton Manning will remember it that way, too.

(snip)

 

[foobar75]

I think this idiotic trend of "resting" players with the Colts started with Tony Dungy, and they have too many 1 and done playoff years to show for it. Looks like Caldwell followed in the footsteps of his mentor, and if they do not win the SB, this game will haunt them for a long time.

I was actually watching the game, and the Jets were barely getting to Manning. There were about 20 minutes left in the game. Why not let him play for a couple more series, maybe get another TD, and they play with a safer lead? I'm all for resting injured players, or even other starters, if everything has been clinched. But this was different. When you're 14-0, with two lowly teams left in your schedule, how can you not at least consider going for it? Has there even been a single NFL season during the last 35 years when the '72 Dolphins aren't mentioned? They have been immortalized, and the Colts had a very legit shot at joining them.

I'll still root for the Colts to win it all because I'm a big Manning fan, but this leaves me with a bitter taste, no doubt. 5 quarters away from history, and they throw it away like it doesn't even matter.

 

[Tom Iron]

I'm a jet fan and I agree. The Colts would have blown out the jets in the 2nd half. Lido Sheppard couldn't stay near Collie and Manning could have thrown him the ball all day. Maybe that had something to do with it. Maybe the black head coach of the Colts didn't want such a display. Maybe he'd rather lose than win with a tandem like Manning and Collie being shown on national tv.

All the time I was watching the second half though, I kept thinking the Jets would do something to hurt Painter. That would have been vintage Jets. You have to be a Jet fan for as long as me to understand. They are the absolute worst franchise in the history of any sport anywhere on the planet. Probably the solar system.

Tom Iron...

 

[Kaptain]

I got to side with Bigunreal on this issue and it's not just because the move cost me a FF championship (I had Collie and Clark and needed one more lousy catch). If the Colts were worried about injurying Manning or some other key player, then why play them at all? If that was the true concern, then they should never have put him on the field. Manning has never been injured anyway. The momemtum lost by losing this game along with the controversy surrounding it outweighs the risk of injury in one quarter of play on the SECOND to last week of the regular season. Just a dumb coaching decision IMO. Edited by: Kaptain Poop

 

[GWTJ]

I feel bad for Manning. The Colts had a record 23 regular season wins in a row with a great shot to start next season with 25 in a row. They could have put that record way up there, maybe over 30, if they hadn't tossed in the towel yesterday. It was almost as if the coach and maybe even the owner didn't want that kind of success. And honestly, that burns me up!

Also, isn't it a little early to be resting players. The Colts first playoff game is still three weeks away and will be against the worst team still alive.

On the flip side, there is a positive to this strategy. I have a book by Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick called ' Always on the Run'. It is basically about their careers and friendship but was written right after they went 17-0.

Csonka, in the book, said that when the Dolphins were 12-0, they actually talked about losing on purpose in their team meetings. They wanted to avoid the added pressure that being undefeated carries. They ended up deciding that they didn't want to lose to either team left on their schedule so they continued to play at 100% and deal with the undefeated record.

A year after they wrote the book, the soft cover edition came out and they had added a chapter in the book. In it, they talked about the record wins in a row they had to deal with. They won their first game but lost to the Raiders in the 2nd game of the season. They said that the streak had taken over their mindset. Now, instead of just playing to win, they were playing not to lose. And as a team, they were glad when the streak was over.

As for the Colts, perhaps the coaching staff saw the changes in the team as the streak grew longer and the pressure greater. The Colts were struggling to win games more and more. If the Colts coaching staff felt that relieving the pressure of the streak was best for the team, I cannot fault them for ending it.

In the end, it really is about winning the Super Bowl.

 

[Fightingtowin]

Ever since Tony Dungy took over they are more worried about being nice than winning. I like Dungy, who was arguably the most fair coach to white players, yet I think they lost at least one Super Bowl because of this. They are the anti-Patriots. The Patriots want blood, the Colts are worried about showing integrity and playing it safe.

 

[jaxvid]

I don't think it's such a big deal. Resting players in games that don't effect the standings is commonplace in sports. With good reason. The winning streak is good but an early playoff loss would make it meaningless. A 18-1 Superbowl championship season is just fine.

 

[icsept]

I believe the Pats' 16-0 season took its toll and they ultimately ran out of gas. However, I am positive that none of them regret going for perfection. It would be the ultimate achievement. The Colts were on the brink of history and chickened out. Since the Pats already did it, there was no pressure of 16-0 this year. This has to be extremely disheartening to the Colt's players and a horrible coaching move by the coward, Jim Caldwell.

Also, injury to Peyton Manning was extremely unlikely given his history. Need for rest is also bogus, because they have a first round bye.Edited by: icsept

 

[WHITE NOISE]

You don't pull back the reins on a champion caliber team that has learned to run far ahead of the pack. This establishes doubt in their performance and ability to overcome obstacles.

Hello " coach" Caldwrong, The Miami Dolphins are immortalized because their white head coach had enough of a pair to keep his stars in for the entire undefeated season,as opposed to psychologically emasculating his players like you did by taking them out of a very winnable game.

I believe Dumb ass Caldwrong gambled by taking Manning and the other starters out against a weak Jet's team in order to prove that the Colts winning season was more about their super negro coach and his system, rather than about the very special white players,especially Manning. Caldwrong's gamble failed.

 

[whiteathlete33]

Bigunreal, you're a fantasy football afficianado, at least you've made many posts referencing your enjoyment of fantasy though you've never joined either of the two fantasy leagues sponsored by Caste Football.
<div>The Colts and other teams, when they have indicated they are not going to risk their key players' health by not playing them the whole game, generally take them out after the first half or early in the second half. That's pretty standard and I'm sure from your fantasy football experience you remember teams doing it in past years as well.</div>
<div></div>
<div>I don't recall anyone, including you, raising this scenario, which was foreseeable,before it happened today. No one made it an issue though everyone was aware it might happen. What if Peyton Manning had played the whole game but had been seriously injured in the fourth quarter? Or Wayne or Clark? Sure the odds were very slimon Manning given that he like Favre is an Iron Man, but that's the thinking behind it, and it happens every year in the NFL during the last two weeks of the season. The '72 Dolphins were 14-0 and the '07 Patriots were 16-0. Only one finished the deal. That should be paramount in the minds of the Colts. I think the Colts are better off with a loss anyway. Takes some of the pressure off of them, and in many games they looked far from an unbeatable team, having often been behind in the fourth quarter. Do what's best for the team's playoff run and then everyone critiquesit afterward. </div>
<div></div>
<div>Of course when every single game is fixed none of that matters. . .

</div>

Don I would definitely want to play in the Lambert league next season. Just let me know when we need to send payment. I believe it is in May.

 

[dwid]

The only positive out of this is that it gave the Jets and easy win, which hurts McDaniels and his Bronco's playoff chancesEdited by: dwid

 

[whiteathlete33]

If the Jets win they are in the playoffs. I'm guessing that would kick McEminem's team out.

 

[WHITE NOISE]

Go Jets!

 

[guest301]

Stupid move by the Colts and they cheated themselves and the Colts fans by not going for the record. Just think about it, they could have had a undefeated season and won the Super Bowl and they arguably would have been considered the greatest team of all time. A guy like Peyton Manning should have earned the right to play the full game and won or lost the game on the merits instead of giving the game away. I like seeing history made and sometimes you roll the dice and refuse to play it safe when you have such a wonderful opportunity to do something that will give you a special place in history and bragging rights for a lifetime.

 

[whiteathlete33]

I don't think it was necessarily a dumb move. They want all their main guys healthy and don't care much about going 16-0 which they would most definitely have. If they win the Super Bowl it will all pay off in the end. It also gave the Jets a big win which means they control their destiny this weekend and McEminem's team will probably be out of the playoffs.

 

[guest301]

I don't think it was necessarily a dumb move.  They want all their main guys healthy and don't care much about going 16-0 which they would most definitely have.  If they win the Super Bowl it will all pay off in the end.  It also gave the Jets a big win which means they control their destiny this weekend and McEminem's team will probably be out of the playoffs.

Even if the Colts go on to win the Super Bowl there will still be some could have, would have and should have associated with what the Colts did yesterday. I understand the reasoning of the Colts I just don't agree with it and it makes me think there will never be a undefeated season again because of this kind of stuff at the end of the regular season. I am still a Colts fan albeit a disappointed one right now.Edited by: guest301