I hate myself for writing about the Colts seemingly every week, but they have been the top sports story in Indy for much of the last for several months. We are down to the last four teams still alive for the big show in Arizona on February 1, and one of those teams has a Blue Horseshoe on the helmet. Dag-gone those pesky Blue Ponies, they just delight in making my dire warnings of impending danger and monumental disaster for our ill-fated football club look foolish and misinformed. They also make me seem a bit lazy because they are so easy to write about
I have to go back to the Trent Richardson trade, a day that will live in infamy for Colt fans, to see my naturally pessimistic attitude bloom into full flower. No need in repeating the story except to say that as of this point in the Horseshoe season, poor Trent has been reduced to the b-squad. He doesn’t dress for home games and will not accompany the team on the road. It’s also noteworthy that the team seems to be playing at a much higher level with the sad-faced and ill-fated Mr. Richardson off the sidelines. But I digress. After the Colts lost their first two games of the season to the Broncos and the Eagles, I, like many others, started clamoring that it was time to push the panic button. After the Colts settled into what has become a typical pattern for them, winning the AFC South with comparative ease, and accomplishing another 11-5 record, it was noted by just about everyone that the Big Blue scored the victories over poorly performing teams and lost to teams that were contenders, and these losses were overwhelming and embarrassing defeats. The Steelers and Cowboys humiliated us. Yet now both of these teams are watching the playoffs at home and the Colts are in contention for a Superbowl berth.
Andrew Luck performed at a record-setting level all season but he still was accused of not taking care of the ball. Luck threw 16 interceptions and fumbled 13 times, losing 6. That’s 22 total turnovers. Only the despised Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears suffered more. Luck also threw 40 touchdown passes and a team single season record of 4761 yards. And he did that with an offensive line that seemed to change personnel every week. Three different centers started during the course of the season. Four different players started at least one game at right guard. Andrew Luck was sacked 27 times but he was hit after throwing on the average of 12 times per game, which led the NFL. Still, Mr. Luck is the single reason the Colts are where they are. Without Number 12 behind the center, the Colts are a 5-11 at best.
On defense, cornerback Vontae Davis has emerged as one of the AFC’s top cornerbacks. The Dolphins picked Davis on the first round of the 2009 college draft. The Colts gave up two second round picks to acquire him in 2012. Davis has proven to be more than worth the price. He gave up no touchdowns this season and has become a bone-jarring tackler coming up to cover running backs out of the backfield. He has become a star reminiscent of Ray “Big Play “ Buchanan from the late 90s Colt teams. Another defender is left inside linebacker D’Qwell Jackson. A quality player with the Cleveland Browns for 8 years, Jackson is experiencing his first playoff run. Jackson led the defense with 140 total tackles. He added four quarterback sacks, a personal high for him. He has been a great pickup for the team.
The Colt rookies this year have made some big contributions to the team. Due to the Richardson trade, the team had no number one pick. The selected Ohio State offensive lineman Jack Mewhort. After a rough start, Mewhort has settled into the left guard position. Third round pick Donte Moncrief has become a big play wide receiver and favorite target of Andrew Luck. He looks like a star in the making. Jonathan Newsome, the fourth round pick from Ball State may be the best of all. He has added a hard-nosed presence to the linebacking core and led the defense with 6.5 quarterback sacks. It was his stripping the ball from Peyton Manning in the third quarter that led to the fumble recovery that seemed to shoot number 18 down and ensure the Colts’ victory. Last April some draft evaluators claimed the Colt draft was the least effective of any of the 32 teams. We’re really happy that they were proven wrong.
I can’t predict the outcome of this Sunday’s game against the Patriots at Foxboro. Andrew Luck has yet to beat Tom Brady and New England appears invincible at home, at least at this time of year. But hey! It’s the playoffs and you just never can tell. Whodda thought the Colts would manhandle the Broncos at Mile High Stadium? Speaking of which, looking at Peyton at the game Sunday night, he really looked old and tired. I’ve never seen that in him before. Maybe he has come to realize that his window of opportunity for another Superbowl is quickly closing. Really kind of sad.
snicewanger@yahoo.com