Weekly View » Colts

Cold Feet, Warm Shoes, Warm Hearts

Weekly View — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 06:09:55 +0000

INDIANAPOLIS — Students at Charles W. Fairbanks School 105 received some holiday goodies recently during a special event with LIDS, Journeys and the Indianapolis Colts.
In its tenth year, the “Cold Feet, Warm Shoes and Hats” event has provided new shoes and winter clothing to over 3,000 students across Indianapolis.
Each student at Charles W. Fairbanks was personally fitted for a brand new pair of shoes and also received a new hat, socks and a Colts goodie bag. Students were also able to meet several Colts players including inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman.
Student ambassadors also expressed their thanks for the new winter gear at the beginning of the event.
“We appreciate you supporting us and providing shoes for some who may not be able to afford them,” said Kejuan M. “This makes me and other students happy. On behalf of all of the Charles Fairbanks Elementary students I want to say thank you and let you know that we love you.”

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Steve Nicewanger — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 05:08:11 +0000

For most American households, it is the best of times….. and the worst of times. It’s the time when husbands are glued to the TV sets the whole weekend and wives are screaming about chores to be done and activities not done. Yes folks FOOTBALL 2013 has arrived all across this great nation of ours on the practice fields of grade schools, high schools, colleges, and universities alike. Even in vacant lots, grassy knolls, overgrown pastures, and streets and alleys, grown men and young boys are throwing, catching, and running with an oblong ball. They are running into each other at top speed and with great force, spraining and tearing muscles and cartilage, breaking bones, and causing concussions. Football has become America’s most popular sports activity and best loved diversion.
Last Sunday the Dallas Cowboys met the Miami Dolphins in the Hall of Fame Game to open the 2013-14 football season. Sure it’s the preseason and the game means little more than a chance for wannabes, could bes, coulda beens, and never weres to show their stuff and possibly make the roster of an NFL team. For some it’s their first shot; for others it’s their last chance. Most of the players who got on the field Sunday, will not be on either the Cowboys or Dolphins roster when the regular season opens a month from now. The game was played in the NFL’s Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
In August of 1920, a group of independent football team owners, met in a Canton Ohio Hupmobile dealership owned by Ralph Hayes, who also owned the Canton Bulldog’s Football Club, to discuss forming a new professional football league. Among those present were Jim Thorpe the player/coach of the Canton Bulldogs, Leo Lyons the player/coach/owner of the Rochester Jeffersons, George Halas coach/owner of the Decatur Staleys, Chris O’Brien a painting and decorating contractor who owned the Racine Cardinals, along with representatives of several other teams. There had been professional leagues, associations, conferences, and federations but these men were determined to create a strong and lasting league identity that would draw media attention and fan support, and of course make money. Most football fans of that era followed college football and many sportswriters of the time, considered professional football to be an “unclean’ and even “dishonest” activity and at best, secondary to college football. The owners forged an agreement and first called the new association the American Professional Football Conference with nine teams. Several teams declined to join the group. A month later, two more teams were added, bringing the total to eleven and the group name was changed to the American Professional Football Association. Jim Thorpe was elected president of the APFA, even though he was still an active member of the Canton Bulldogs. The Association would formally become the National Football League in June of 1922.
So with pro training camps and preseason games, college and high school practices going strong the regular football season will start in about a month. The NCAA football season opens Thursday Aug. 27 including Indiana State at Indiana. The NFL season opens about a month from now on Sunday Sept. 8. Oh, by the way, the Indianapolis Colts open their preseason schedule against the Buffalo Bills at Lucas Oil Stadium this coming Sunday, Aug. 11 at 1:30 p.m.
snicewanger@yahoo.com

A Wrap Up for the 2012 NFL Season

Steve Nicewanger — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:04:50 +0000

It’s Super Bowl week for the NFL and things in New Orleans are hopping. It’s the first Super Bowl in the Big Easy since Katrina and the city is really putting its best foot forward. It seems hard to believe that it was a year ago that Indianapolis was the center of the sporting world’s attention and we were having the time of our lives, but time marches on. The Harbaugh brothers are the center of media attention — so much so that the players are almost an afterthought. Of course, it’s usually the quarterbacks everyone talks about, but in this case both the Ravens and the 49ers are driven by the personalities of their respective head coaches….who just happen to be brothers. That says a lot for their father Jack Harbaugh, who was a college football coach for 42 years. The Indiana “connection” has been explored with Jim’s successful time as a Colts quarterback from 1994 to 1997 and the fact that Indiana University Head Basketball Coach Tom Crean is married to Joani, the sister of the Harbaugh brothers. Anyway, the Big Dance is this Sunday.

Colts News

Colts first year General Manager Ryan Grigson has been named NFL Executive of the Year, presented by Sporting News Magazine and voted on by NFL coaches and executives. It’s hard to argue with the choice. Grigson pretty much had to rebuild the whole team, including the front office, coaching staff, and player roster. Then during the season he had to face the challenge of keeping the team focused and competitive while Coach Chuck Pagano had to take a leave of absence while being treated for leukemia. His naming of Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians the Interim Head Coach paid off with a run for the playoffs. He took a team that had a 2-12 record, which was good for a last place finish, and turned it into an 11-5 contender. His drafting of Andrew Luck has given us our franchise quarterback for the next decade at the very least. He also uncovered several other rookie gems including tight ends Dwayne Allen and Colby Fleenor, running back Vic Ballard, and wideout/kick returner T.Y. Hylton. He was willing to use free agency and trades to improve the roster by bringing in linebacker Josh Freeman and corner backs Vontae Davis and Cassius Vaughn, defense end Cory Redding, and wideout Donnie Avery. Outstanding work by Ryan Grigson.
Bruce Arians has left the Colts to become Head Coach of the Arizona Cardinals, one of the most difficult jobs in the NFL. He took former Colts offensive line Coach Harold Goodwin with him, and also added former Colt Offensive Coordinator Tom Moore to the staff. Moore is 74 years old but was instrumental in developing Peyton Manning. The Cards have a crying need for a quarterback and will most likely take one with their first round pick. Best of luck to all of them.

The NFL Pro Bowl . . .Ho Hum

The NFL Pro Bowl was “played’ last Sunday in Honolulu, Hawaii. The NFC All Stars beat the AFC All Stars 62-35. Sounds like an area football league score, doesn’t it? The Colts Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes for the losing side. The players and coaches from both teams defended the play and the relevance of the game, but then they are getting what amounts to a free paid vacation in Hawaii for themselves and their families. The Pro Bowl game will go.

Pro Football will Become Extinct

Baltimore Raven defensive back Bernard Pollard claims that professional football will disappear in 30 years because players are becoming much too big, strong, and fast and that it’s only a matter of time before a player is killed during a game. The fact that many former players are coming forward with major physical disabilities related to their playing pro football gives his claim some credibility. The President has expressed concern about the level of violence and the harm that it does to the body. We will probably hear a lot more about this issue as time goes on. Bernard Pollard may just be correct in his prediction.

2012: The Story Book Season

Steve Nicewanger — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 19:00:14 +0000

Last year at this time, Colt fans were recovering from the shock of a 2-12 season and being the “worst” team in the NFL. The Colts organization was a house of cards and with the loss of Peyton Manning for the whole season to a serious neck injury, that house fell apart. All of the Blue crew seemed to be wandering around in a daze and only the fact that the Horseshoe had the first pick in the upcoming April college draft had given fans any cause for hope, no matter how small! Indeed, “Suck for Luck” was the slogan of the disastrous season.

There was also a concern that Peyton would not be able to play again, or if he did, he wouldn’t be effective in a rebuilding program. Stanford’s Andrew Luck was the prize in the NFL draft but there were many fans who felt that drafting him would be a betrayal of our 14 year relationship with number 18. Also, a major house cleaning was happening in both the Colts front office and the coaching staff. If you felt that this was not your father’s Colts team, you would be absolutely right. The hiring of former Eagle director of Player Personnel Ryan Grigson as the Big Blue General Manager was the first step. Grigson pretty much unloaded the coaching staff and the player roster. Fans gasped as players such as Dallas Clark, Jacob Tamme, Jacob Lacey, Pierre Garcon, and Jeff Saturday were shown the door. But the greatest shock was when Peyton was given his walking papers. Jimmy Irsay and the Colts organization were damned by both the media and fans alike.

The hiring of Raven Defensive Coordinator Chuck Pagano was considered a step in the right direction, however. While never having been a head coach before, he was considered one of the brightest defensive minds in the game.

The draft came and Andrew Luck was the first pick of the Colts. Grigson conducted a mostly offensive-minded draft with Colby Fleener, Dwaye Allen, T. Y. Hylton following him in selection. Another quarterback, Chandler Harnish was selected with the Colts last pick. The team dipped heavily into the pro and college free agent market, a totally new team was assembled with only Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, and Antoine Bethea familiar names on the Colt roster. Bruce Arians was hired as Offensive Coordinator. He had been with the Colts before, having helped develop a young Peyton Manning.

Training camp and preseason came. Andrew Luck looked to be the real thing. Several of the rookies and some free agents appeared to be at least jelling into a representative pro team. Coach Pagano proved to be a popular hire. A genuinely straight-up guy with a strong sense of community — he quickly became a favorite of Colts fans. The players responded to his leadership. As the season began, most of the media ranked the Colts as the worst team. I felt that if the Colts were able to win six games, that would be a big something.

The regular season stared in Chicago with a 1-21 thumping by the Bears. The next week, however, the Colts beat the Vikings 23-20. A loss to the Jaguars followed. The Colts had a bye in the fourth week. It was during this bye week that an incredible thing occurred. During the course of the week the Colts conducted a special press conference in which it was revealed that Coach Pagano had leukemia and would have to undergo treatment. Bruce Arians would be the interim head coach. That seemed to spell disaster for the team. With all the other challenges they faced, how could they survive the tragic loss of their head coach? They would be fortunate to win another game. Little did we know!

That fourth game against the Packers began the legend. The Blue beat the Pack 30-27 with Luck leading the team to a 4th quarter come-from-behind win. Something he would do six more times. The team certainly had its downs. Bad losses to New England and the New York Jets showed the team’s inexperience. But overall the team responded to the tragedies and challenges in a heroic fashion. Andrew Luck is the player and team leader everyone hoped he would be. He was helped by new players such Hyton, Ballard, and Allen. Reggie Wayne emerged as the leading and Hall of Fame player we knew he would be. Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney led the defense, helping them to play above themselves and stick together as a team on the field. The defense improved every week. Coach Arians did an incredible job of keeping the team together.

The Colts played beyond the wildest dreams of everyone and finished the season with an 11-5 record and a Wild Card bet in the playoffs. The remarkable season ended with a 24-9 loss to the Ravens in Baltimore. But honor to the whole Colts organization for their incredible run this year. Jimmy Irsay’s judgement proved to be sound.

There are new challenges ahead in 2013. Coach Arians will probably leave to take a head coaching job somewhere else. Dwight Freeney will most likely depart. The offensive line and defensive front seven have needs that need to be addressed, but there are always challenges. This team, this organization, has shown that they can meet and overcome these challenges. The future is so bright, we’ll have to wear shades.

snicewanger@yahoo.com