Week 3 is in the books and really nothing that happened last night had much effect on the season so far. Basically there were two teams that just played a crappy game of no offense and so-so defense.

So here is this weeks Top 10…

1. Patriots-Until they lose they are staying here.
2. Eagles-Their D still doesn’t scare me, but Donovan to TO is clicking early and often.
3. Seahawks-You might have to wait until the playoffs to see them, but from what I have seen of them they are a good solid football team.
4. Colts-Offense is best in NFL. Defense is the worst. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth, but the Colts are a very good team.
5. Jaguars-In an effort to be objective I am putting this team in despite the fact I think they will not be there at the end.
6. Falcons-Vick is off and running and D is good too.
7. Jets-Week off with Miami next means bad news for the Dolphins.
8. Vikings-A lot like the Eagles only not quite as good. Fumblepepper keeps them down a notch.
9. Ravens-After the early season stumble at Cleveland, the Ravens are back on solid footing.
10. Saints-Like the Ravens they played poorly on opening day, albeit against a good Seahawk team. Since then they have been playing well.

The first round of bye weeks hit this past week so teams may leap in and out of the standings because of that.

The injury report included one player who will likely miss this weeks game. Idrees Bashir was injured in the second half with a strained groin. Brandon Stokely was seen walking off the field gingerly, but should be able to go. There is a lot of talk that Gerome Sapp will step in at safety this week. Sapp was just acquired last week and made an impact on special teams.

The Colts will be trying to avenge last seasons loss at Jacksonville. The Jags are a surprising 3-0. While they haven’t done much offensively their defense is playing well. I doubt seriously if they are playing well enough to derail the Colts.

What a game! The Colts in front of 57,280 fans beat the Green Bay Packers 45-31. It was a shootout to be sure as the Colts improved to 2-1 heading into next Sunday’s matchup at Jacksonville. The division lead will be on the line as the surprising Jags are 3-0 after beating the Titans in Nashville yesterday.

But on to the Colts. Game balls to everyone on offense. Peyton Manning was 28 of 41 for 393 yards and 5 touchdowns. Marvin, Reggie and James Mungro each caught TD’s and Brandon Stokely caught 2. Edge ran for another late in the game.

The Colts were dazzling on offense. They came out with 22 straight pass plays and Green Bay was on their heels by the middle of the first quarter. When Edge finally got to run the ball in the second quarter he managed to pick up 62 yards on 21 carries. I have to tell you, I didn’t think he even had 10 carries. Manning was pass happy! Looked like the old AFL days. And Green Bay didn’t lay down and die.

The Packers took the blows and delivered their shots right back. Brett Favre threw for 4 scores himself. But in the end, the old master couldn’t keep up with Peyton.

The game plan was brilliant. Hammer them until they can prove they can stop you. They never did. Of course we put up little resistance either. But when it was needed most we came up with a huge turnover when Jason David caused Jevon Walker to fumble with the Pack driving.

Next week is huge, but I think I will revel in this one for a couple days before I start thinking about JAX.

And what a great game day it was. Normally I don’t care for the 3 or 4 o’clock starts, but this one worked out well. We had 4 Packer fans from Milwaukee in, our usual suspects sans Costanza, Karl and his friend with their Colts “Cheeseheads” and Scott and Dot. The weekend got off to a wild start when a hillbilly over at Damons called Maurice a nigger. He took it well though, but it got to be a little much after a while. I hope he wasn’t too offended by it.

We went down to the game about 1 and hung out for an hour, hour and half. Pawly got trashed and we were all pretty sure he wouldn’t make the whole game. He almost didn’t either. As soon as we were in our seats he got into it with a lady sitting in front of us. He got all pissed because we told him to be nice and he said we were taking her side. Of course we weren’t, but we didn’t want him to get tossed.

Anyway he took off for a while and was a little calmer when he got back. We all made it and the Packer fans left disappointed. You have to love that!! Next homer is against the Raiders in two weeks!

Bad news yesterday from the Colts complex. The Edge may miss Sunday’s home opener with a strained hamstring. They say the MRI revealed some damage and he was immediately listed as questionable.

Sources say he ran fine in practice yesterday. Edge apparently hurt the hammy on his 30 yard TD run that sealed Sunday’s victory in Nashville. Edge also has said he will play Sunday. Team president Bill Polian says it will be up to the doctors first. If they see it has healed they will probably clear him and leave the decision up to Edge. If not they will hold him out. Either way it looks to be fairly minor, but it is one of those injuries that can be nagging and probably won’t completely heal until after the season.

Of course if the doctors clear Edge we all know he will play. Edge is currently second in the NFL in rushing behind only Curtis Martian and has shown the speed, agility and strength he displayed in his first two seasons.

Team owner has said he can sign both Marvin Harrison and the Edge at the end of the season when they become free agents. Edge has done nothing but praise Irsay and say he wants to be here. Of course since he lives in south Florida many think he will go to the Dolphins. Some people aren’t too right thinking (to paraphrase my friend Sunshine!)

Anyway, on to more pressing NFL stuff like the Top 10. After watching last nights game I am less impressed with Philly and Minnesota. Neither team seems to have much D and for all of his plusses, Randy Moss is just an idiot. Why do they mic these guys up? Does ABC just want to show how ignorant some of them are? Remember Meshawn last year against the Colts?

It’s still real early and I have always maintained that it takes at least 2 and usually 3 weeks for a team to hit its stride. After all, the first week is the first time the starters have played a whole game since last year, so there is still some rust. But a couple of things have become apparent. The AFC South is going to be a slugfest. Only Houston looks to be out of the running early. JAX and Tennessee should be able to hold up for a good battle. I still think the Colts are the class of the division though.

The AFC West is pitiful. The NFC West with the exception of Seattle looks like they suck and the NFC and AFC East are Philly’s and New Englands to lose respectively. The two North divisions also seem wide open. Baltimore was shitty on opening day and then came back and slapped the Steelers around. Green Bay went to Carolina for the opener and handed the Panthers their ass then got beat at home by the Bears. Hell Detroit is actually leading the NFC North.

So with those things in, here are this weeks Top 10 teams:

New England (2-0) Forget about the tough game in the desert, until these people lose they are number one.
Seattle (2-0) Impressive start to season with 2 quality road wins.
Indianapolis (1-1) Call me a homer if you will, but after watching last nights game and Sunday’s game, the Colts are just better than the Eagles. Will the defense ever play a whole game though?
Philadelphia (2-0) Two nice wins at home, but one was the Giants and the other on MNF. Similar to Colts, great offense, lackluster D.
NY Jets (2-0) Pennington looks great, but the balancer is the schedule so far. Bengals and Chargers.
Atlanta (2-0) Vick might struggle with the west coast offense but he still can make plays when it breaks down. Of course if he breaks his leg all bets are off.
Jacksonville (2-0) I am a real homer if I don’t put this team in, but I don’t think they will be here long.
Detroit (2-0) In first place for first time in God only knows how long. Harrington to Roy Williams looks like a good combo!
Carolina (1-1) Best defensive front in football had nice win at KC. The opener could have been a fluke.
Denver (1-1) I don’t know if this team is as good as it was in the week one game with KC or as bad as they were in JAX. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt…for now. I’m not sure anyone really deserved this spot.

Colts 31 Titans 17.

Let me tell you, after 15 minutes of football the likelihood of that score was beyond imagination. But the Colts didn’t give up and after an inspired second half of football that is exactly what was on the scoreboard when it was over.

For years I have been super critical of MLB Rob Morris, but yesterday he actually played pretty well. I just want to make sure I give him a shout out. Hopefully it won’t be the last, but you never know.

It really was a tale of two games. The Colts did nothing in the first half. They could not stop McNair or rookie RB Chris Brown who had more than a hundred yards in the first half. Peyton threw some questionable balls and even Marvin got in on the act by fumbling away the ball. Edge was going nowhere up the middle and even a flea flicker turned into a sack.

Actually the Titans were the only thing stopping the Titans. One questionable play call was a fourth and one. Previously they had made it when McNair snuck through for the first. For some reason they gave the ball to Brown who came up short. I mean it’s hard to say Brown wasn’t a good choice, but when you were successful before, stay with what you know works.

The Colts had to feel good about their chances going to the locker room at the half only down 7.

They got the ball to start the second half and drove right down the field to tie the score. Unfortunately they let the Titans do the same thing. However, that is where the Titans stopped scoring. The Colts meanwhile put on an offensive clinic, dissecting the Titan D repeatedly. The Titans helped by being whistled for penalty after penalty. They tried the old Miami mantra that they would hold every play and make the refs call them. The refs did. And when the Titans tried to play clean they were no match for Peyton, Marvin, Brandon, Marcus and stately Wayne manor. Then in the fourth Edge took over and ran for two TD’s. Edge ended up with 124 yards on the day and is now in second place in the NFL standings for rushing with 266 total yards.

There was a little bit of controversy which has the Titans fans crying this morning. On a pass play to the one, McNair hit receiver Eddie Berlin at the one where he appeared to be forced out by the Colts. The replay however showed Berlin juggling the ball-well it really didn’t but they said it did-as he was landing. The catch was nullified. It would have given the Titans a first and goal at the one with 27 seconds left. Instead it was second and 10 at the 30 with 37 seconds. On the next play Brad Scioli chased down McNair causing a fumble. Robert Mathis picked it up and rambled down the field for 40 yards sealing the victory.

The Colts D also came up big in the second half. While driving, Nick Harper picked off McNair in the end zone practically wrestling the ball away from the Titan receiver. They also had another crucial fourth down stop and when the Titans tried a fake punt it was snuffed out for a minor gain.

The Colts looked good yesterday, but certainly not great. I would give them a B for the day, but it is so frustrating to watch the D play so shitty in the early parts of games. Granted this Chris Brown is the real deal and McNair has a lot of receiving options at his disposal, but we just give up that 7-8 yards all of the time and it has to stop.

Aha Green, Brett Favre and the Packers are next. It is the home opener for the Colts and the Packers are coming off a pitiful performance and loss to the Chicago Bears at Lambeau field. Stay tuned for more about them later this week.

Here is my Monday morning top 5 teams:

1. New England-Played down to Cardinals level Sunday, but got on it when it counted.
2. Indianapolis-See above.
3. NY Jets-Pennington and Co. are looking good, but opponents haven’t been too taxing.
4. Jacksonville-Win over Broncos impressive.
5. Seattle-Rugged game v. Tampa Bay, but a win on the road is always a plus.

The Edge is sorry he fumbled and says he was just trying too hard Thursday night in the loss to the Pats. Okay Edge, this is your one free get out of jail card for the season. No more dropping the ball and no more excuses. Play hard, but don’t make stupid mistakes.

Unfortunately it looks like Jeff Burris my resign with the Colts this week. Apparently the Colts were concerned about the lack of coverage in the backfield against the Pats. I don’t see how Burris helps. He sucked when he was here and now he is three years older. I don’t get it.

Okay, the Packers looked decent last night but the Panthers looked lost. So here is my first Top 10 of the season and keep in mind, this is based on play of the past weekend and many teams in and out of the Top 10 will play much better or have played to their potential already and will drop!

1. New England-To be the best you have to beat the best. For too many games to remember now, no one has been able to fit that bill.
2. Philadelphia-Sure they only played the Giants, but McNabb to TO is going to have to be something to be dealt with by opponents.
3. Green Bay-I don’t know if it was Monday Night Football or if Favre and Green are just great players. Defense will be the question.
4. Indianapolis-Three point loss with game in the bag hurts, but if the turnovers are cut this team is a force to be reckoned with.
5. Minnesota-Daunte Culpepper looks his solid self. Defense kind of let Cowboys back in game though.
6. Denver-Better defensively and seemingly not missing a beat in the offensive backfield, although Plummer is still Plummer.
7. Seattle-Good solid win on road at New Orleans, but an injured Shaun Alexander could doom the season.
8. NY Jets-Remember, this is based on week one, but if the Rag Arm and Curtis Martian can combine like that the Jets O is good to go.
9. Tennessee-Unimpressive win over hapless Dolphins leaves as many questions as were answered.
10. Pittsburgh-Maddox looks comfortable, the receivers don’t drop passes and with the Bus at the goal line the AFC North may be theirs for the taking.

The rest of the teams that won really don’t deserve even an honorable mention but I will give one to Washington who promises to be better under Joe Gibbs and Cincinnati for going toe to toe with the Jets at the Meadowlands on Sunday.

We’ve nearly reached the end of the first week of the NFL season and I am once again optimistic. Yes the Colts took a tough loss last Thursday, but after watching the games yesterday I am convinced they remain one of the top teams in the league.

Here are some observations from a near full schedule of football!

Philadelphia looked as good as advertised and Donovan to TO is going to be a force to be reckoned with. Defensively they are not world beaters but that offense will tack up a shitload of points.

Minnesota looked real solid early against the Cowboys, but their D sputtered down the stretch. Of course the Culpepper to Moss connection was in high gear and like the Eagles; this team will score a lot of points.

Houston sucks. Buffalo sucks. The Bears suck. The Chiefs suck. The Saints suck. The Giants suck. The Bucs suck. The Ravens suck. The Niners sucks. The Cardinals suck. Dolphins suck.

Cincinnati and the Jets played a whale of a game with big plays abounding. However it was mediocre on mediocre. These teams might get the momentum to carry them to decent seasons, but my guess is that they are still a season away.

Once Gannon got his head out of his ass he had a nice day. Unfortunately by the time he did he had already coughed up the ball and threw two picks right into the hands of the Steelers. Defensively it finally caught up with them as they lost on a FG with just 7 seconds left. Gannon was a goat, but the young receivers looked solid and they ran the ball fairly well even if by committee.

Pittsburgh on the other hand used a nice short passing game with Maddox, combined with the running of Duce Staley and the TD runs of the Bus.

Little Eli got his welcome to the NFL. For some idiotic reason the Giants are going with Warner as the starter, but late in the game yesterday they trotted out Eli. After a pass Eli was jogging to his right and was simply smoked by a couple of Eagles defenders. He got up and walked it off, but he has to be feeling that one today. It was probably a little cheap, but that should teach him to play until the whistle blows.

My Monday morning top 5 would be:

1. New England
2. Philadelphia
3. Minnesota
4. Indianapolis
5. Denver

Carolina hosts Green Bay tonight. Should be a great matchup!

I am both disillusioned and optimistic this morning. Last night the Colts lost to the Patriots 27-24 in a whale of a ball game. Unfortunately there were some glaring errors by the Colts that doomed them to the loss.

First and foremost were Edge’s two fumbles. Anyone who has followed the blogs or who knows me knows that Edge is my favorite Colt, but that asshole cost us the game last night almost single handedly. Twice in the second half, inside the red zone, Edge laid the ball on the floor. Once at Pats 18 yard line, once at the Pats 1. This just can not happen. Other than that Edge was spectacular with almost 200 yards of offense. 142 rushing and another 42 receiving.

He also wasn’t the only one with a turnover. Our illustrious $38 million man Peyton Manning threw a pick at the 3 to that smirking asshole Teddy Bruschi. I don’t know what it is with Peyton but he does not NEED to throw a pick every time the MF gets the Colts down to the goal line on the first drive. AND NEVER TO BRUSCHI. I hate that guy!

Defensively we let Brady do whatever he wanted. It seemed like they held at the line of scrimmage a lot, but still, Brady just killed us with that 12 and 13 yard pass. Our guys couldn’t stop it. But when it counted most, the Colts D did do a decent job.

Basically this game was won on mistakes by the Colts. We seemed to outplay the Pats for the first time in a long time, but made crucial errors. On the bright side it is just ONE game, and it is the first and can be made up. Unfortunately we are one game down to NE for any tiebreaker, but they didn’t look as solid as they did last January. It’s still early and I will stand by my 13-3 season. More later as I just can’t do any more right now.

Today is opening day. The Colts at the Patriots, all alone on the big stage to open the 2004 NFL season tonight in Foxboro. And while the Colts keep saying it is the start of a new season, not a rematch, and that they don’t think about revenge, they are human and this game has to be the one they have been salivating over for 8 months.

In case you have been in a hole for the last year the Colts lost the AFC Championship game to the Patriots last season 24-14 as Peyton Manning and company laid down and died for a half before actually making a game of it late.

The Patriots have run roughshod over the Colts for years and it is time to take the bull by the horns and change that shit! Tonight the Colts will win in Foxboro and it will be the result of a balanced attack on offense and a solid effort on D. Expect Edgerrin James to run for a hundred and Peyton to throw for 250 and a couple TD’s. Look for an opportunistic D to take the ball away from the Pats and looks for Willie McGinnest, Teddy Bruschi, the Purse Boy and Bill Belichek to be pissing in their Wheaties by tomorrow morning.

Colts 27 Patriots 10!

I feel like I better make a season prediction today as well. At the top of the preseason I thought the Colts could pull a 14-2 rabbit out of their hat this year. As preseason progressed I wasn’t certain they could get to 2-14, but after last weeks performance I feel better.

I thought that tonights game and the finale in Denver would be losses, but that we would run the table in between. The thinking was that if the Colts got to 14-1 the last game would not be an issue and players could rest.

I will now predict that we will go 13-3. I really look at the schedule and feel like if we get past tonight we might run the table period. But that is unrealistic and with injuries and bad breaks, even the best teams seem to lose three these days. I don’t know which ones they will be, but I just see 3 in the tea leaves.

But today is all about the Colts and New England. Our bitter AFC East rivals for years, they have managed to stay on our schedule even with us now in the South. Tonight, and granted it is but one of 16 games, the Patriots find out what the Broncos and the Titans already know. Say Peyton Manning can’t win against you or in a big game and you will get burned!

Friday night the Colts went a long way to building my confidence in them. Sure they lost what turned into an ugly battle against the Bengals, but the first team looked awesome.

Peyton was sharp, directing the team down the field and throwing a TD pass to Reggie Wayne. Then the first team D came in and clamped down on the Bengals attack and forced them to a quick punt.

The second and third units were a little iffier. First of all the first team O line simply would not block for backup Cory Sauter. Sauter was sacked and showed no initiative to avoid the rush. For his effort he was cut on Saturday.

The Colts roster this morning after the cuts looks like this:

• Quarterbacks (3): Peyton Manning, Joe Hamilton, Jim Sorgi
• Running backs (4): Edgerrin James, Dominic Rhodes, James Mungro, Tom Lopienski
• Wide receivers (6): Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Brandon Stokley, Aaron Moorehead, Brad Pyatt, Troy Walters
• Tight ends (3): Marcus Pollard, Dallas Clark, Ben Hartsock
• Offensive line (8): Tarik Glenn, Jeff Saturday, Ryan Diem, Rick DeMulling, Tupe Peko, Makoa Freitas, Jake Scott, Ryan Lilja
• Defensive line (10): Dwight Freeney, Larry Tripplett, Josh Williams, Montae Reagor, Brad Scioli, Raheem Brock, Josh Thomas, Robert Mathis, Keith Wright, Jason Stewart
• Linebackers (7): David Thornton, Rob Morris, Cato June, Gary Brackett, Jim Nelson, Keyon Whiteside, Gilbert Gardner
• Defensive backs (10): Nick Harper, Donald Strickland, Joseph Jefferson, Mike Doss, Idrees Bashir, Anthony Floyd, Cory Bird, x-Bob Sanders, Jason David, Von Hutchins
• Place-kicker (1): Mike Vanderjagt
• Punter (1): Hunter Smith
• Long snapper (1): Justin Snow
• Physically unable to perform (2; don't count against roster): LB Kendyll Pope, TE Ben Utecht.
x -- roster exemption

Probably the biggest surprise, at least for me was the cutting of OL Brad Sciullo. A starter for most of the season last year I figured his job was safe, especially in light of the fact that a guy like Erin Rideaux was placed on the practice squad.

There is also talk about bringing in Tim Couch although I seriously doubt he would want to spend a season holding a clipboard. Besides he was cut by the Pack who thinks he sucked so why would we need him.

We are now but one week away from the season opener at Foxboro against the evil Patriots and as of today, I am officially worried about this team.

If you read last year's blog you know that I went into the season full of hope and confidence. Right now I just have a sinking feeling that something bad is about to happen and to be honest, a blowout loss to New England would be almost welcome with the thoughts I have been having. Peyton getting hurt, Edge pulling some hare-brained stunt, Marvin, Brandon and Reggie Wayne all going down with injuries and our defense being unable to stop anyone.

Prior to preseason I thought this team had a legitimate chance at 14-2 with bookend losses at New England and Denver. I also realized that was before I had seen any practice or any preseason action. Well after the first three preseason games (the fourth doesn't matter anyway does it?) I am not convinced this team is anywhere near ready to play.

Let's start at the top. Peyton Manning has looked awful in the games. He has hung receivers out to dry, he has thrown interceptions and has simply not looked sharp. After six years this guy out to resemble New York Cheddar with minimal practice. Instead he has looked like a piece of shit on rye. And I like rye!

What little we have seen of Edge has been impressive. He looks quick, fast and powerful. His naysayers are complete and unmitigated morons, but since he is black, he will have his share of detractors. If we are to have major success this year it will be because he has an All-Pro year. Edge's backup however is another story. The oft injured Dominic 'Rocky" Rhodes has looked so-so. He did okay last week as a kick returner, but I don't think he will make anyone forget Edge. I like the Rock, but I am just not, nor have I ever been sold on him. He got 1000+ yards in his rookie year after Edge went down, but I have always felt those numbers were inflated by defenses that showed him no respect and keyed on the passing game.

Beyond Edge and Rock is James "One hit wonder" Mungro. He's hurt all of the time and is still clinging to his game against the Eagles two years ago as his claim to fame.

Our wideouts are superb and even with the loss of Troy Walters we have one of the deepest and most talented crews in the league. Toss in Marcus Pollard, Dallas "Fort Worth" Clark and Bryan Fletcher and we have 8 big time, go to guys. However, each and every one of them, except Marvin is susceptible to injury. Stokely finally came around last season and was a huge addition, but can he remain healthy. Brad "Hubie" Pyatt is an excellent return man AND receiver, but he too is hurt a lot. Same with Aaron "Agnes" Moorehead.

Our front line is solid with continued coaching from Howard Mudd. Year in, year out these guys are the rock that keeps Peyton upright and productive. For some reason we are able to keep plugging guys in there and the job keeps getting done. I will say this though, I understand why it happened, but I think we will all miss Adam Meadows. Lost due to cap concerns, Meadows was a true Colt. He was a backup early in his career, then a starter and then lost his job last fall. However, he didn't piss and moan and he filled in admirably when called upon.

So offensively we seem to be set, but injuries are just nagging at my mind for some reason.

Defensively we are a mess.

Sure Dwight Freeney anchors a young D that has the speed to attack. We even have some big hitters with guys like Mike dose and eventually with a guy I think will be a Pro Bowler in Bob Sanders. However, we still have the moron extraordinaire Rob Morris as our starting MLB.

I have said this before and I will say it again, Rob Morris is the worst MLB in the game. He is slow, he doesn't seem to like to tackle and he usually looks lost. Frankly, it is his position that scares me the most.

We're also beat up badly on D. Joseph Jefferson who was supposed to play corner is hurt. Idrees Bashir is hurt. That is half of our starting D backfield. Scary, scary, scary!

Last year we did seem to make some strides in our kick coverage units, although that asshole Dante Hall lit us up for one during the playoff game at KC. Fucker! Of course Vandy is money and Hunter Smith is one of the tops in the league. The David Kimball experiment came to a conclusion on Tuesday when the rookie kicker from Penn State was cut.

I guess when I write it out, only the D scares me to death, but that is such a huge factor in the NFL. I will make my offical prediciton next week, but right now I see an 11-5 team, but still a playoff and probably an AFC South division Champ!