08/21/2006

Colts lose another preseason game. Big deal!

18 was sharp as a tack last night. Hit strikes to Marv who made a great one handed catch, Reg, who deftly got behind the SEA defense for a TD and Utecht who dropeed the ball after running about 20 yards.

Nothing much to report except for injuries to reserves, QB Jim Sorgi and RB James Mungro. The upcoming game against New Orleans should provide lots of playing time for the team.

The backups look pretty crappy although Shaun King does have his moments.

08/11/2006

Preseason opener last night for the Colts. Things went okay, but certianly not great. Colts lose 19-17. The good was a nice drive to open the game resulting in a touchdown pass from 18 to Ben Utecht. It was set up by a nice onsides kick by AV.

AV looked great with the onsides, two tocuhbacks and a nice 57 yard FG that could have been good from another 5-10 yards.

Marlin Jackson, last years first round pick looked bad. Slow and committed two penalties. Overall the team had too many stupid fouls.

I can't knock the D too much because of injuries, but they showed some piss poor tackling out there.

Backup QB Jim Sorgi was awful. He wasn't granted much protection, but when he did throw he sucked. He was over or behind everyone.

Backup QB Shaun King was only slightly better. He'll probably move up to number 2.

TJ Rushing had a nice kickoff return but otherwise failed to impress.

It's early and these games are to find out what needs work. Getting the starters back in will help immensely. The sky is not falling, just drooping a little today!

Week 2 Wrap

Two weeks in. The Colts are 2-0 and they are doing it largely on D!! Sunday'’s game was out of this world. The dome was rocking and the D sacked Gary Coleman 6 times and beat him senseless. Meanwhile the Edge proved why we need to resign him ASAFP!!!

Here are my thoughts on the NFL after a couple of weeks.

The Evil Empire losing to Carolina was a surprise to me. I know the Panthers are decent, but it was NE after all. Could the Pats losses finally be enough that even BB can'’t overcome them?

I shed tears watching the footage from all of the affected areas from Hurricane Katrina, but I just can't get on the Saints bandwagon.

Sure it was a meaningless preseason game. The last one at that, but could the Bengals demolition of the Colts on September 2nd been a harbinger of what was to come in CVG?

Baltimore looks bad and with Anthony Wright in at QB and Boller undergoing surgery their D will not be enough to win many games.

Pittsburgh, Indy and KC look like the class of the AFC at this point, but never count out NE.

Philly, the Giants, TB and Carolina look like the tops in the NFC.

Kerry Collins is going to have to take the leap of faith that Randy Moss can catch those long balls if he just puts them out there. Otherwise it was a waste of time for the Raiders to get him.

The Bears, at 1-1 may be the class of the NFC North. How sad is that?

Brett Favre can play as long as he wants. He's earned that right. Having said that, I hate to see him go out playing like crap, even as much as I hate him.

The Jets better get healthy at QB and RB quick or their season is toast.

The Rams are not very good.

The Cardinals, Dolphins, 49ers, Texans, Lions and Browns are pretty much out of it already.

The Texans fired their OC yesterday. The question is how many more weeks can Dom Capers last?

San Diego is probably the best 0-2 team, but if the slide continues look for Philip Rivers in the near future.

Who the fuck is Willy Parker?

Early season picks:

AFC East: New England
AFC North: Pittsburgh
AFC South: Indianapolis
AFC West: Kansas City
AFC Wildcard 1: Jacksonville
AFC Wildcard 2: Cincinnati

NFC East: Philadelphia
NFC North: Chicago
NFC South: Carolina
NFC West: Seattle
NFC Wildcard 1: Tampa Bay
NFC Wildcard 2: NY Giants

Power Rankings (Week 2)
1. Colts
2. Pittsburgh
3. Kansas City
4. New England
5. Philadelphia
6. Carolina
7. NY Giants
8. Cincinnati
9. Tampa Bay
10. Jacksonville

Damn I am relieved this morning. After what amounted to a shitty preseason I was very nervous going into last nights game versus the Ravens. After all, this time it was at their place and this time Ray Lewis was playing and the Ravens, along with the Colts, Pats Steelers, Chiefs and Jags were supposed to be the cream of the crop in the AFC this season.

The Colts were a three point favorite going in and I wondered why. In preseason, the Colts not only didn’t show anything, but they looked bad doing it.

Finally, as the time bell rang, dickhead Polian pulled the trigger on a deal that allowed us to get Pro Bowl DE Corey Simon in here. Last night the Colts beat up a tough Ravens team 24-7. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Simon’s play last night definitely had an effect on both the Ravens offense and the mindset of the Colts D. He might be out of shape and he might have had his number fall off of his jersey, but that Colts D, which basically remains the same, was a different animal last night. Hence, I am no longer worried.

Most of the pundits and scribes out there have predicted the Colts to take the Lombardi Trophy in Detroit, but I was skeptical. The Colts had many injuries, there is the Edge situation and it looked like a team who has been on the brink may not make it.

Last night the team came to play. P looked a little sloppy early, but eventually he carved up the Ravens like they were the Thanksgiving turkey.

I am not proclaiming the season over by any stretch of the imagination. Next week we host the Jags and we all know what has happened the past couple of years. But today and for this first column of the season, I am just going to bask in the victory and the fact that the defense played better last night than we have seen in years!

Season end :(

Congrats to the New England Patriots on winning Super Bowl XXXIX. Last night they closed out the season with a 24-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. There were a couple of surprises for me in the game. First and foremost was that Tom Brady actually looked human in the first quarter. He threw some bad passes and looked rattled. Of course he settled down and played well the rest of the game. The other thing that surprised me was that the Patriots only won by 3.

It was a good game and it was close throughout. My hat is off to both teams for making it an enjoyable show.

So that is the end of the season. Oh sure the Pro Bowl is next week, but I rarely watch that. It’s time to take a little break from this blog. I’ll have some comments if any news about Edge or the other free agents breaks, but I’m going to focus on the start of the racing season over on the racing blog. I hope you’ll check it out.

I’ll have more on this blog as the draft approaches as well!! Thanks for reading this season!

Sunday is the Super Bowl. The last game of the season. The one I really thought we'd be playing in only to be watching the Patriots again. This time they take on the Eagles and will probably kill them. My prediction is 35-10.

Now on to more pressing matters. Edgerrin James.

Chris Mortensen on ESPN reported Sunday that sources say that the Edge has asked the Colts to let him walk as a free agent. He also reportedly has told these sources that he will hold out next season if he is tagged. So here we go into the offseason that is sure to generate a lot of speculation and opinion.

First off, this is just a report by Chris Mortensen who said the Colts were heading to LA, so take it with a grain of salt. Next is the fact that the last time Edge spoke about leaving the Colts he basically said he didn't want to go, but he would do whatever he had to do. So it seems curious that he all of the sudden wants to leave. Is he pissed about not getting enough touchdowns last season? He certainly gained enough yards to keep him content I would think. Is the fact that Marvin was signed before him a source of irritation? If it is he should remember that PM and Marvin have the same agent and the groundwork for 88's contract was probably laid last year when PM signed. Has he just decided that he wants to be in South Florida full time? Edge isn't getting any younger and it is only natural that he would want to be with his family.

Whatever the reason, if there is in fact a reason, for this change of heart it just seems like odd timing on his part. While some may bash the Colts and say they are so far away from being a Super Bowl contender and that they just aren't very good, those idots are wrong. This team is only bettered by the Patriots at this point. Why would Edge want to throw in the towel now? And for what? Is he okay with losing as long as he gets paid? He really hasn't been that kind of player here. Has he changed?

And what about the Colts? If they let him leave what do we do at RB? The Rock just isn't good enough to be a starter. If we lose Edge we basically are forced into getting a RB in the draft and we need to spend the entire draft on defense. If the Colts tag Edge will he hold out? If we tag and trade him, what does that do to his mindset and how does that affect the team.

Edge is worthy of that number 2 pick that the Dolphins hold. I say sign him and trade him for that if Miami is willing to do it. Otherwise you have to do everything to keep him or get max value out of him. Edge not only runs, he blocks and catches the ball out of the backfield as well as any back in the league.

Whatever the Colts and Edge decide they need to make a clear cut decsion in the next couple of weeks. This thing can't linger on until March.

Well we are about 45 hours since that game and I am finally coming out of this funk that I have been in since it ended Sunday night. Today has been a little better, but I still haven't been very sociable around others. I've got a few thoughts that I am going to throw out there and will continue to expand on them as time goes by.

Edgerrin James? Anyone who knows me, knows I love Edge. But Edge is a free agent now and he is bound to demand good money. Obviously we have some glaring needs on defense that could be addressed with the money we will have to spend on Edge. The biggeest problem with just commiting that money to defense is the fact that we have no one who can run the ball, at least anywhere near as well as Edge. I like the Rock, but let's face it, he is nowhere near as good as Edge. We have a solid receiving corps and we coudl possible give up a Reggie Wayne to get the D. Right now I am just not certain what we can get via free agency and the draft. As that becomes more clear, I will be able to make a better call on this.

Rob Morris has to go. I would rather have Zack Morris. Rob had his best season this year and it could only be described as mediocre. This is a guy in a contract year. There really is nothing else to say about him.

Idrees Bashir is most likely gone as well. Idrees is a decent cover guy as a safety, but is a liability against the run. Someone compared him to Deion Sanders. Again there is a problem. The Hitman seems injury prone, but we'll have to wait a year to make a real judgement. Mike DOSs is a good hitter, but is slow. With our midget CB's we have issues.

I really like Dwight, Montae and Rahim up front, but some bigger guys in the middle would be nice. Mathis is a super pass rusher, but he is only a specialist.

I feel like Vandy will be elsewhere next season either by design or his decision. He has been great, but he has not exactly endeared himself to the locals.

People who say PM is only about the personel achievements have to be among the dumbest people on the planet.

New England is still the team to beat. When the playoffs get going they kick it into a gear most other teams don't even have.

What was up with the play calling Sunday by the Colts? I am still baffled and I will probably ask myself this question every day until camp starts.