To say Sunday’s game at KC is a big one for the Colts is an understatement. The season essentially hangs in the balance with this weeks matchup and next Monday night’s homer against the Vikings.

As the week has gone on I have become more pessimistic regarding this weeks outcome. Seems like we have too many guys still hurt and I just don’t know if our D is going to be able to stop them at all. Honestly I don’t think they can stop us, but if it comes down to the last possession then we may be fried.

I don’t want to sound the “Sky is falling” alarm but I just have a bad feeling. Hopefully I will feel better later or tomorrow.

Okay, it’s Tuesday morning and yesterday’s funk has pretty much worn off. I’m still disappointed in the Colts D but let’s face it; no one thought they were the second coming of the Steel Curtain. I just hope they can do a better job against the Chefs than the Falcons did.

Here are my rankings after 7 weeks:

1. New England-They made the adjustments necessary at halftime to preserve a win in Foxboro on Sunday against the Jets. They know how to win and will remain here until they decide not to.

2. Philadelphia-It took OT to beat the shitty Browns but they did get it done on the road.

3. Indianapolis-Repeat after myself, “This is not a homer pick”. Honestly, no one really wanted this position this week. The Jets lost and so did Denver and Minnesota isn’t as good yet. Besides, it was after a bye week and against a tough opponent.

4. NY Jets-Tough loss to Pats on road.

5. Minnesota-Beat up on a hapless Titan team at Minneapolis.

6. Denver-How do you lose to the Bengals? Sure it was Monday night and in Cincy, but they looked as flat as a pancake.

7. Baltimore-That D will keep them in most every game.

8. Jacksonville-If nothing else they are playing hard and playing the full 60 minutes.

9. Detroit-Are you kidding me? This spot had the Giants written all over it until they allowed the Lions to beat them at the Meadowlands.

10. San Diego-Sure I could make a case for some other teams but the Chargers are playing good football right now.

All in all it was a pretty sad week of football for a lot of teams. The Colts, Giants, Falcons and Seahawks all lost. Teams that were on top of or near the top of their divisions. The Seahawks seem to have completely lost touch with their game. The Colts probably had a one off, post bye week game. The Falcons ran into a buzz saw and the Giants probably were in the same boat as the Colts.

The Colts are what really concern me. That D is just awful and I don’t know what they can do. They simply do not have the personnel to be a big part of the overall picture.

Like I said, I doubt if we see another performance as bad as Sunday’s but there were just so many letdown points I have to wonder if they can correct them all in one week.

Now on to some opinion. Yesterday I checked out the message boards over at Indystar.com. Unbelievable!

The Colts fans were wailing and gnashing teeth that this team wasn’t going to win anything. Reggie Wayne should be fined. Peyton makes too much money. Hell the Pats fans that are still there after a year were the voices of reason. It was one game and one game does not a season make. We’re still the class of the AFC South and one loss to JAX doesn’t change that.

One boob who has the audacity to claim he has been a Colts fan for 40 years was blaming everyone and basically saying we are going to lose the next 2 games. Some fan eh?

You know, this team has put up records of 13-3, 10-6, 6-10, 10-6 and 12-4 the past 5 years. That is 51-29, throw in this years 4-2 and that is 55-31. That is a 65% winning percentage plus we went to the AFC Championship game last year and have a legit shot to win it all this year. Why do people feel the need to jump off the bandwagon so quick?

From now on I will not suffer these idiots. I will call them out for what they are-NON FANS! This shit has got to stop!

It’s hard to relate how disappointed I am today about yesterdays Colts performance. While I can’t honestly say they were as flat as a pancake, there were certainly enough errors to make this look like a preseason game.

The Colts lose to Jacksonville 27-24 on a 53 yard “Lester” Scobee FG with 38 seconds remaining. The Colts had one last chance but never really threatened to score at the end. The loss moves the Colts a half game in back of Jacksonville in the AFC South. But essentially they are tied since JAX has not had their bye week. In fact the Colts really hold the advantage having beaten JAX by 7 in their other matchup.

What has to be questioned is whether or not the Colts can rebound from what happened. Next week is KC at Arrowhead. The Chiefs scored 56 yesterday. If the Colt D plays like it did yesterday they might score 156.

On to the game. The Colts D as I said was awful. In fact if you help up a piece of Swiss cheese you couldn’t tell the difference between it and the D. Big play after big play. No stop on crucial third downs, no pressure on Leftwich and crappy coverage. You know, it stands to reason that if you are not pressuring the QB that the coverage should be better. For us, that just doesn’t happen. What boggles my mind even more is why we didn’t pressure Leftwich. Here’s a guy on a bad ankle who isn’t mobile anyway and we let him have all day to throw. Sure we had 3 sacks, but we should have had more.

Fred Taylor rambled for 107 yards on just 20 carries. I’m surprised it wasn’t more. The Colts did get one pick on the day. Jason David came up with one. His second in as many games. But the D only forced JAX to punt once.

Lest you think this was all on the D it wasn’t. The Colts were penalized 12 times in this one. False starts, holdings. Illegal touches. They did it all. Sure the O looked great on a few drives, but on the others they just shot themselves on the foot.

Two turnovers at midfield were back breakers. Dallas fumbled on without even being touched. Stokes got hit hard but you have to hang on to the ball. To Brandon’s credit he did take some other hard hits without dropping it later in the game.

Then there was the special team play. Defensively the Colts did okay on coverage. Maybe gave up a little too much yardage, but the real downfall was the way they played the ball on kicks. Once Rock took it from in the end zone and once Mungro picked up a ball that was going out of bounds. Both of these pinned the Colts back deep in their own territory. Rhodes was at the end of the game when we needed field position and time. The boobery was incessant!

Oh well! What is done is done. And even though I feel like crap about it today the sun came up, work was still here and the wheels are still on my car. They just can’t this become a pattern or it will be a long season. Having said that I don’t think they will. Maybe we dropped out of that top 3, but we are definitely in the second group and we are better than JAX regardless of yesterday’s score.

Thank God that is over! Colts bye week is history. And that is not the only good news. Bob Sanders, the second round draft pick out of Iowa finally hit the practice field yesterday. Mike Doss the starting strong safety is also expected back this week as we face the Jags in the Dome.

The Colts start the middle of the season at 4-1 and I fell pretty good about the start. Frankly the true cream has risen to the top and there are some distinct lines being drawn in the face of the season. Along with the Colts, the Patriots and the Eagles seem to have distanced themselves from the pack. All three have continued to find ways to win and have established themselves in their divisions. Sure the Jets are keeping pace with the Pats in the AFC East, but they seem to be just that next step down from the top.

Now it is time to strap it on tight and get through what is a very winnable portion of the season. There are a couple of tough ones, but we do have the luxury of playing Minnesota and Baltimore at home as well as the Jags this week. Kansas City looks like they are off the pace and hopefully the weather won’t be awful in KC on Halloween Day. Houston, @ Chicago and @ Detroit round out the rest of the middle of the season until that nice 10 day break before Tennessee comes calling here in December.

This week is the Jags. We beat them in Jacksonville three weeks ago 24-17 in what was a fairly good game, but one the Colts had control of most of the way. I didn’t feel like the Colts showed much in that game knowing they were going to be facing the Jags again so soon. I look for a much more wide open approach to the offense and expect to see a big Colts win coming off the bye.

So after 6 weeks here is the top 10…

1. New England - Against what was supposed to be one of the best of the NFC the Pats just handled the Seahawks like they were nothing. Sure it came down to the fourth quarter, but was it ever really in doubt?

2. Philadelphia – Thorough trashing of the Panthers proved either the Eagles are very good or the Panthers are still pretenders. Probably a little of both, but I believe the Eagles are the real deal.

3. Indianapolis – Got the week off and will go into the Jax game a heavy favorite with injuries healing and all cylinders firing on an offense that can’t be stopped.

4. NY Jets – Top team in second tier of good. Undefeated Jets haven’t been tested so this week at Foxboro will determine what kind of season this team will have. They may be a wild card team, but if they can win at New England they could be more.

5. Minnesota – Offense is clicking right now. Fumblepepper to Moss is a dandy combination, but the D is bad news.

6. Denver – Big win over division rival Raiders. As crazy as it may seem, San Diego may be their only challenge for the division. Droughns is next in a long line of backs that can run behind Shanahans O-line.

7. Atlanta – Mike Vick might not be the smartest guy on the field but he makes things happen. He has to start finding alternatives to Alge Crumpler and his own legs.

8. Seattle – Battled into the fourth despite making all kinds of mistakes that put them behind the eight ball all game against Pats. Sunny skies ahead as they head to Arizona.

9. NY Giants – Week off at a bad time for this team that was really on a roll (or at least a hot dog bun).

10. Pittsburgh – Uninspiring, but still a victory at Dallas on Sunday. Trademark Cowher team with no quit in them.

My how the mighty have fallen. The Green Bay Packers have now dropped all of their home games this season and have dipped to a 1-4 mark. Unfortunately that meant that the Tennessee Titans moved to 2-3 with their ass kicking of the Pack at Lambeau last night.

But we went over this last week so I won’t rehash a whole lot of it. There are patterns developing that lead not only to my Top 10, but to the season in general.

San Francisco and Tampa Bay both got wins Sunday, but failed to impress as to what may happen the rest of the season. Right now this is how I see the playoffs shaping up…

AFC

East Champ New England
North Champ Baltimore
South Champ Indianapolis
West Champ Denver
Wild Card NY Jets
Wild Card Pittsburgh

NFC

East Champ Philadelphia
North Champ Minnesota
South Champ Atlanta
West Champ Seattle
Wild Card Detroit
Wild Card NY Giants

Teams with no chance to make playoffs

Chicago
Green Bay
Washington
Tampa Bay
Arizona
San Francisco
Buffalo
Miami
Cleveland
Oakland


All of the other teams not mentioned still have a lot of work to do to get to the playoffs, but they can’t be considered a lock one way or the other.

With all of that, I will move on to this weeks top teams. There are a couple of newcomers this week. The Giants after looking like crap in their first game have seemed to have been reborn. Coach Tom Coughlin who seemed to be facing a mutiny before the season even started now appears to have his teams attention. They have reeled off four straight wins and Kurt Warner is playing at a high level again.

Pittsburgh has been knocking on the door the past few weeks but just when I was ready to put them in, they looked bad. Their rookie QB though has played well and has them playing good offense as well as their D.

San Diego has to be the biggest surprise. They just keep coming at you even when they have been written off. Everyone knows David Rivers is just waiting on that big Drew Brees mistake to get his chance, but I don’t know if Brees is going to let him have the shot.

This weeks Top 10…

1. New England-Not impressive, but plenty to get by Dolphins. Figures they would play like crap against a shitty team.
2. Indianapolis-Defense plays well and offense is hitting on all cylinders.
3. Philadelphia-Did not play. Next week versus Carolina.
4. NY Jets-Sure they only played Buffalo and only won by 2, but the Jets are playing good ball and seemingly having a good time doing it.
5. NY Giants-After rough start at Philly, Kurt Warner is playing well and the new coach has everyone believing.
6. Pittsburgh-Ben Roethlisberger is making a believer out of me.
7. Denver-Probably good enough to win the division but that is sort of akin to being the chess champion of Hazzard, KY.
8. Atlanta-Michael Vick is a superb football player, but he is not a great QB. If he ever figures that out he might have something. Until then he will just be a man with a shitload of potential.
9. Minnesota-This team is struggling every week it seems. It took OT to beat the Texans.
10. San Diego-It’s amazing what men will do under pressure. Witness Drew Brees.

Colts 35, Raiders 14.

The Indianapolis Colts improve to 4-1 and get the next week off after dismantling the Oakland Raiders yesterday in the dome. Using balance, patience and poise the Colts systematically wore down the Raiders on both sides of the ball. The Raiders for their part had 9 penalties and several of them were crucial. Being a Raider fan it breaks my heart to see how far this franchise has fallen, but AL Davis seems to want to hang on to something that he will never be able to get; the past.

First of all it was a great day for fans. There were two hotties in front of us that really were a distraction. One a Colts fan, on a Raider fan. Tom Klene gets the award for rowdiest and he pretty much was over the top. Timmy was on the receiving end of most of it.

The only real problem with the fans is our penchant for not wanting to stand upon first and second down on D. We need to be in there pitching all day, not just on third down.

The Colts used the run to soften up the Raiders. I thought we would really struggle trying to run up the middle against Washington and Sapp but they really didn’t. Then when they stretched the field from side to side those two fat bastards were sucking wind. After enough running we unleashed the passing game and the high priced Raider D backfield was always a day late and a dollar short.

Big Pay Day Ray cried about the refs but let’s face it, they were outmanned.

Brandon Stokely did drop a couple of balls, but other than that the Colts were very precise on O. The Colts converted 6 of their 11 third downs and never had to go on fourth.

The defense had a really big day. They were swarming and aggressive. They had three picks of Collins and sacked him four times. Amos Zeruowe (sp) had a couple of decent runs, but nothing spectacular.

It was a great day for the Colts. Now they get a week off to prepare for the Jags in a couple of weeks. This game could very well seal the deal on the AFC South. Honestly, it just looks like the Colts, New England and Philadelphia are playing for first. Everyone else is just along for the ride. More tomorrow!

Those of you who know me or if you just follow my blog know how much I love the Colts. But before 1984, I hated the Colts. Of course they were in Baltimore at the time and I had become somewhat of a Bengal fan. I also am, and have always been a Raider fan. That is why today brings me a day which I would just as soon skip.

The Raiders will take on the Colts today at the RCA Dome. It is just the third trip to Indy for the Raiders, but they all have been in the last 5 years. The Raiders have beaten the Colts both times before this. Granted the Colts weren’t the team they are right now, but nonetheless, we had leads and could have won both games.

Now I won’t be rooting for the Raiders today. I am number one, a Colts fan and everything else is second or worst. But it really is an important game for the Raiders. We all know how good the Colts are and a loss here would not be devastating. The Raiders on the other hand come in at 2-2 and need to keep pace with the Broncos in the West if they are to have a chance for the playoffs this year. After last weeks ugly loss to the Texans at Houston the Raiders are in trouble. They haven’t stopped anyone and they are asking Kerry Collins to fill a role that has been manned by other guys the past four years. The Raider system is vastly different than the one he had in New York and he will probably struggle with it for a while.

He also has a strong arm and if his receivers get free in the backfield and he is accurate he could hurt us. I just don’t see it. They also have some high priced beef up the middle. I doubt if we run up the gut against Sapp and Ted Washington, but the stretch play will have them panting before the end of the half. And there is no way anyone can stop our passing attack.

I look for a big win for the Colts today, but it will be with mixed emotion. Hopefully the Raiders can take what they get today and move on and beat the crap out of Denver next week.

Well the stadium thing seems to be rearing its head again. Earlier, in the summer it was announced that the city had spent just over a million dollars for various projects related to the expansion of the convention center and the building of a new stadium.

Mayor Peterson has stated in no uncertain terms that there will be no property taxes used to fund either project. He has floated the idea of a sales tax increase to 7% or an increase in the restaurant tax, but not both.

Basically the cost of the project is expected to be $750 million. That is both the stadium and convention center. Right now, with the state, federal, a CIB and Colts contribution there is about $97 million in the coffers. An increase in the sales tax would generate $154 million per year.

Apparently the Mayor has also been talking about a Super Bowl in Indianapolis being the reward for a new stadium. Many think he is just dangling that out there to get the support he needs from the Indiana General Assembly come January. I would tend to agree with that. The NFL didn’t want a team here so I really don’t see them giving us a Super Bowl regardless of how well we do.

The bottom line is this, a new stadium will be built with or without a long term commitment from the Colts. The NCAA has said they want to give us a Final Four every 5 years, but that they need a new facility or the promise of one to keep their end of the bargain.

Look for an announcement early in the spring and for groundbreaking to begin next year with the Colts playing in the new, retractable roof stadium in 2008.

Now on to more important matters. Have you seen Jeff Sagarins ratings yet this week? What a hoot! The Detroit Lions are third, the Giants fourth and the Bears sixth. The Colts are mired down in seventh. Of course this is all done with a mathematical formula that usually shakes itself out as the season goes on, but at this point in the season, it is really off.

At the quarter pole the Colts are 3-1 and are as good as anyone in the league. The Cardinals, 49ers, Dolphins and Bucs are all winless. Philly, Seattle and New England, New York Jets and Atlanta remain unscathed. So here are my rankings following week 4…

1. New England-Struggled for about three quarters against the Bills coming off the bye week. Still can’t take them down yet.
2. Philadelphia-Slow roller for Eagles who beat Bears by 10, but were sluggish doing it.
3. Indianapolis-Now have two road wins against division opponents. D is bending and at points breaking, but comes up big in fourth quarter. No one can stop the O.
4. Seattle-Look at their offensive stats and you will understand why this team is dangerous. BALANCE!
5. NY Jets-CuMa has been brilliant and Pennington has been inspired. Not a great outing at Miami though where they always seem to win.
6. Atlanta-Big week for Falcons. If Warrick Dunn can’t go, will T.J. Duckett be able to pick up the slack or will Mike Vick try to do too much?
7. Minnesota-Honestly I will be surprised if this team gets any higher this year on this list.
8. Jacksonville-That is a fairly tough D and they played a good game against the Colts. Probably still a year early, but improved.
9. Dallas-Looked solid in Monday nighter last week against Redskins, but then again, it was the Redskins!
10. Pittsburgh-Getting it done with the rookie QB. It helps to have the Bus and Duce Staley running behind you though. Quietly built a 3-1 record.


Frankly I think the top four teams on that list will be the final four teams at the end of the season. Some of those other teams are good, but not quite ready for the big time. There are some teams though that have really played their way out at this early point of the season. Here are the biggest busts (so far). Mind you these aren’t the worst teams but the biggest disappointments…

1. Tennessee-Eked out a win against a crappy Dolphin team then thought they could play against the Colts. Chris Brown looks like a keeper at RB, but the warrior is hurt and the team is 1-3 after Sunday’s ugly loss to the Chargers.
2. Green Bay-The Cheese has turned in Wisconsin. Consecutive losses at Lambeau, one to the Bears and three losses in a row. Now Favre is hurt and Mike MacKenzie is gone from a defense that needs him badly.
3. Carolina-Last year’s Super Bowl runner-up is this year’s turd in the punchbowl. Delhomme is showing his true colors and the D has been suspect as hell.
4. Chicago-Injuries have decimated this team, but all of the hope garnered with the win in Green Bay is a distant memory.
5. Cincinnati-Carson Palmer is taking his lumps as expected, but this was almost a playoff team last year and this year has taken a step back.
6. Kansas City-Won last night in Baltimore, but have a long way to go to get back to the playoffs.

Of course Miami, Arizona and San Francisco are all terrible, but everyone expected them to be. Miami has a decent defense, but that is all. The Cards and the 49ers are just shitty and may go winless.

Our Colts go to 3-1!!!! It is a good day to be a Colts fan today. The Colts beat the Jaguars yesterday in Jacksonville 24-17. On a day where CBS was obviously in love with Jack Del Rio and the Jaguars the Colts broke the heart of the Jag faithful and Steve Tasker by evening the records of both teams. More importantly the Colts have beaten their likely two sternest divisional rivals on the road so far. This gives the Colts the clear lead in the division. Coupled with the Titan loss in San Diego yesterday the Colts have the tiebreaker over the Jags and a full two game plus tiebreaker over the Titans.

All of this is academic however as we all knew the Colts were going to be one of the top teams in the league this year. While there was a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth after the loss to the Pats, there was no real reason to panic. Some fans even had us going 0-3 or even 0-4. Ye of little faith.

Yesterday’s game was not pretty, but it showed that the Colts can take it and dish it out. When it was all said and done the Colts still looked fresh and the Jags looked saggy. The Colts D, on the field for so much of the time did a good job of stuffing the run yesterday. That 7-13 yard pass though is still a killer and of course we gave up a big one to Gary Coleman. Nick Harper might get his share of turnovers, but he can’t cover anyone. At some point this will be an issue.

The Colts did look solid on defense and didn’t play like pussies when it counted. They were aggressive and dominating up front. Edge went for another 82 rushing yards and a touch and 25 receiving. Peyton was not sacked and threw for 220 yards and hit Marcus and Marvin for TD’s. He did throw one ill advised ball that was picked, but only because of a great defensive effort. Thing is though, no way could Dallas Clark have caught the ball. It cost the Colts a TD, but eventually all was well as the Colts got it right back.

This is a juggernaut offensively and frankly I don’t think anyone, including the Patriots can stop them right now. With the 1-2 punch of Edge and Rock, Marv, Reggie and Stokely, and the TE duo of Pollard and Clark, there are just too many weapons for a team to try and stop for a whole game. Opposing defenses are leaving the field shaking their heads wondering what they can do to stop the Colts. Honestly I don’t think anyone can. Of course the other side of that is that we can’t stop anyone. Or at least we sure as hell bend a lot.