Back from the Dome

Well, they didn’t win by 70. They didn’t win 30-0. They won 13-10. The game ended in an eerily similar fashion to last week. The Colts needed to have a game-winning six minute drive. They had a huge fourth and inches. This time they went for it. Ball game.

• Can anyone tell me why Dungy left 6 seconds on the clock? I know they won the game, but does that decision make sense to anyone? Inform me.

• Why was Charlie Johnson allowed to play the whole game. He never got better. He was rattled. Others on the line had struggles as well. Manning usually had to dodge two men before he could get a throw off. Batted balls galore.

• Joseph Addai had 106 total yards. Hard-fought yards. Amazing. He’s the best player on the Colts right now and it’s not close. Great jump cut on the touchdown run. Insane 9 yard run at the end of the game. Scary good.

• The defense didn’t pitch a shut out, but it felt like they did. They were on the field all day and showed very little sign of it. Josh Thomas had a solid day, but they didn’t generate as much pressure as would have hoped. The defense is light-years ahead of the offense right now. They’ll need to have a huge game against Atlanta. Yes, I realize Atlanta is horrible. Yes, the Indy offense is that bad right now. Yes, it is the line’s fault.

• DZ and I had this conversation on AIM after the game:

Deshawn Zombie (4:36:06 PM): Charile Johnson is so horrible
Deshawn Zombie (4:36:14 PM): I’m insane with rage
Demond Sanders (4:36:18 PM): he actually depressed me
Demond Sanders (4:36:24 PM): like psychologically

• If you were like me you were sitting there at halftime thinking, “So this is how it’s going to be?” Some seasons just end when enough guys get hurt. Happens every couple of seasons. The Colts have been fortunate with injuries for the bulk of Manning’s career. If they make any kind of playoff run, I’ll be impressed with their guts. This should be fascinating to watch how it plays out.

• I booed Adam Vinatieri in the first half. I’ve seen situations where I felt booing was wrong, but this wasn’t one of them. Quit missing kicks and we’ll stop booing. I clapped for AV too, and cheered him on, but he deserved to be booed for those misses. That said, I’m glad he got the chance to make the game winning kick. Hopefully that killed his yips for good.

• I can’t figure out why Crap Thorpe wasn’t used earlier as a receiver. I feel bad for Moorehead, but he isn’t working out. Also, I liked the game Fletcher played last week. I know he’s the third string TE, but he makes plays.

Deshawn Zombie comments: Today is a perfect lesson that style points don’t count in the NFL, just wins. We won a few of these clunkers last year (Buffalo, Tennessee). The line was awful, the receivers couldn’t catch passes, all of which left Manning off rhythm. Jake Scott is clearly no more a tackle than Charlie Johnson. Let’s hope he isn’t playing there past Thursday. Joe Addai is a freaking football genius. He had no holes and was an absolute beast in all areas of the game, even blocking Jared Allen WAAAAAAAY better than either Utech or Charlie Johnson. As for Vinatieri…who knows. Tasker kept saying he was hurt, but then said he wouldn’t talk about it. This left me wondering how he knew he was hurt. His distance was fine (the 49 yarder had plenty of leg), and the kickoffs weren’t any less deep than normal. We need to take care of business in the short week, get healthy and move on.

Did anyone catch Dan Dierdorf saying after the Chargers/Jholes game, “The Colts are looking in their rear view mirror, and they see Jack Del Rio’s face smiling back at them”…hee hee. It’s true, and that’s why I’m not sweating the division title.

Also, so much for Pittsburgh being a super power. I’ve seen them play a lot. They are good…good enough to beat anybody on any given day, but they are also woefully inconsistent and people who thought they were going 13-3 or 14-2 are nuts. 13-3 is my magic number for the Colts to have the number two seed. We need to crap out another win Thursday night over an inferior club and then use the 10 day ‘second bye week’ to get guys healthy again. Oh, and just in case anyone out there thought the Pats weren’t pissed about getting held to 24 by Indy should ask Buffalo how they feel right now. I watched enough of that game to see a Buffalo safety choose NOT to cover Randy Moss on a deep ball, and thought, “Well, there’s no point in leaving this crap on”. It was the first quarter.