We are finally here: The Colts’ season in review. This post will be shorter because not only have all the other writers already expertly covered every aspect of the Indianapolis Colts‘ season, but also because its just painful to recap.
The Colts’ season was like one of those terrifying roller coaster rides at 6 flags.
At first, when you are planning the trip, you tell your buddies “this looks fun, I’m ready, we’ve got this!”
With a healthy Bob Sanders, Anthony Gonzalez and practically the same team intact from a Super Bowl run the year before, Colts’ fans were excited and many around the league pegged the Colts as clear Super Bowl favorites.
Then you get to the park and you actually see the 14 loops on the roller coaster and hear people screaming in the distance. Suddenly, doubt creeps in. Did we do enough to shore up the offensive line? Is Kelvin Hayden really worth his contract? Will Fili Moala finally emerge as a run-stopping force?
At the same time, your friends are watching, so you brush off the concerns and keep going. You can’t show hesitation in front of them so you convince yourself that the worries are overblown.
Then you get in line and the cracks in your confidence remerge. Houston blows out Indy in week 1 and now you start panicking.
After getting on the ride you calm down and tell yourself that you are good. You’re going to get through it. Houston was an isolated hiccup and things are back on track.
The ride, like the season starts rising with only minor twists and downturns in between… 3-2, 4-2, 5-2, 6-3. So far you are fine and start believing again. It wasn’t so bad right?
Not so fast…
Then comes the first terrifying spiral downwards. Gut-wrenching losses to New England and the Dallas Cowboys and a vomit inducing obliteration at the hands of the Chargers send you hurtling towards rock bottom.
Tag Archives: Dallas Cowboys
Season in Review: Indianapolis Colts
Posted by admin
on March 4, 2011
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Cowboys Injury Report
Posted by admin
on March 2, 2011
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The Dallas Cowboys are facing a massive game on Sunday when they travel to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now we will take a look at that game later on, but before we can break it down we must understand the injury situation for the Dallas Cowboys. It is late in the season, and like most teams in the NFL the injuries are mounting for the Dallas Cowboys. It appears that for every step they take forward and get a player back from the injury list, someone else goes down. Injuries may play as big a role in Sunday’s game as any play calling and X’s and O’s
Wild turkey: Pats come back, Saints steal win in Dallas, Jets roll
Posted by admin
on November 27, 2010
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NFL fans were treated to a football feast on Thursday, with three competetive games, one of which featured the wildest Thanksgiving finish in years. A rundown of the day’s action:
The appetizer: New England Patriots 45, Detroit Lions 24
When this game was announced in March, we ran the following headline about the game: “Patriots get to maul Lions on Thanksgiving.” Judging by the score of Thursday’s game in the Motor City, you’d think we were a mix of Nostradamus and Jimmy the Greek. But despite the 21-point margin of victory, this game was a pretty competitive affair that was in doubt for the first 45 minutes.
The Pats only pulled away after a 79-yard touchdown on third down tied the game and broke the Lions’ spirits. Second-year veteran Alphonso Smith(notes) played the role of turkey on that play, getting burned by Deion Branch(notes) and wildly flailing all over the field in his pursuit.
Tom Brady(notes) finished the game 21 for 27 with 341 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, giving him a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3 (the second time in his career he’s achieved that mark).
Detroit lost its seventh straight Thanksgiving Day game, the longest streak in franchise history. The team has been outscored by an average of 23 points in those games.
The main course: New Orleans Saints 30, Dallas Cowboys 27
New Orleans stormed to an early 17-point lead and it looked like Thanksgiving in Dallas would be as exciting as your typical Turkey Day in Detroit. But a late first-half field goal gave the Cowboys a bit of momentum headed into the locker room and the team rallied in the second half to take a 27-23 lead.
It was to be one of Dallas’ great Thanksgiving comebacks, on par with Clint Longley’s 1974 miracle against the Washington Redskins. When Roy Williams snagged a key third-down catch, the game appeared all but over. New Orleans had one timeout and Dallas could have run down the clock to under a minute. But before Williams went down, the Saints’ Malcolm Jenkins(notes) somehow wrestled the ball away from him (above). The Saints recovered and Drew Brees(notes) quickly led the team 89 yards en route to a touchdown and a 30-27 lead.
New Orleans left 1:55 for Dallas to score, but the team mismanaged the two-minute drill (maybe it was poor cardiovascular endurance) and couldn’t get close enough for kicker David Buehler(notes), who yanked a potentially game-tying 59-yard field goal a little left. That let Saints coach Sean Payton breathe a sigh of relief. The coach has tried to take one of those pesky pre-field goal timeouts, but it went unseen by the refs. Had an official seen it, Buehler would have had another chance to win the game. Instead, the defending champs got a much-needed victory in their battle with Atlanta for the NFC South crown.
The dessert: New York Jets 26, Cincinnati Bengals 10
An ugly first half, possibly affected by too much turkey and stuffing, was followed by an explosive second. The lowly Bengals took a 7-3 lead into the locker room, but two Brad Smith(notes) touchdowns — one of an end around to start the third quarter and another on a kick return in which his shoe popped off — helped the Jets to what became an easy victory. At 9-2, Rex Ryan and the Jets are living up to the preseason expectations they helped set.
It’s the second-best start in team history.
In gloomy Cowboys season, Dez Bryant emerges as a star
Posted by admin
on November 25, 2010
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Dez Bryant has miles to travel before he can be considered The Second Coming of Michael Irvin, but some early comparisons are inevitable as the rookie wide receiver leads the Dallas Cowboys with eight touchdowns this season (six receiving, two punt returns) in 10 games.
First, there’s the iconic, at least in these parts, No. 88 worn by both (so, too, did Drew Pearson). Physically, Bryant and Irvin are similar in stature (6-2) and weight (at 217, Bryant is about 10 pounds heavier than Irvin was in his prime). Both are tireless workers who exhibit an inextinguishable passion for their sport.
Bryant, 22, has another trait that brings the Hall of Famer to mind: He is powerful, and freakishly talented, when a football sails near him and even more dangerous after he locks his mitts around it.
He’ll be on display when the Cowboys host the New Orleans Saints in the second act of the NFL’s Thanksgiving Day tripleheader (Fox, 4:15 p.m. ET).
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Quarterback Jon Kitna told The Dallas Morning News that he never has seen a receiver with Bryant’s attitude after the catch. Not even Irvin.
“It’s almost as if people around him are irrelevant,” Kitna said. “His goal is to get to the goal line and, if you just happen to be in the way, you’re in the way. He’s kind of like (Minnesota running back) Adrian Peterson out there. … It’s hard for me to even think about that. It’s like a Walter Payton-mentality.”
Dallas defensive end Igor Olshansky says Bryant is blessed with “God-given ability.”
“He is a star, no question,” he said.
Bryant needs only three catches against the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving Day to break the franchise rookie record for receptions held by Bob Hayes (46 in 1965).
In the Cowboys’ last six games, Bryant has outproduced the two receivers, Miles Austin and Roy Williams, who start ahead of him. During that span, the rookie has as many catches as the pair combined (27), and more yards (359) and receiving touchdowns (six), than the duo (267 and 5). Bryant’s 44 receptions for 547 yards trails only tight end Jason Witten (50 catches) and Austin (49).
“Dez is playing lights-out right now,” Austin told reporters.
Unlike Irvin, however, Bryant prefers the silent route when he is not gliding downfield on the go-route. The rookie is nowhere near as effervescent with the sports reporters as the playful, boastful former University of Miami Hurricane was back in the day.
Bryant again ducked the press Wednesday in the Cowboys locker room. He has refused to speak after the last few Cowboys’ games, believed to be still stung by criticism he received following his refusal to lug Williams’ shoulder pads during a rookie “hazing” ritual in training camp.
Rather than wag his gums, Bryant lets his legs do the talking. Still raw and unrefined, Bryant is slowly but surely developing into the impact wide receiver the Cowboys believed he could become.
Cowboys general manager Jerry Jones— he also owns the Cowboys and serves as team president — traded up with the New England Patriots in last spring’s draft to snatch the Oklahoma State underclassman. Bryant was the 24th overall selection, despite lingering doubts by some NFL teams regarding his alleged character flaws and a troubled background.
The NCAA had ruled Bryant ineligible three games into his junior season after he lied about his dealings with former Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders. He subsequently declared for the draft.
Jones, who once coveted a college star named Randy Moss but was deterred by character questions during a period when Irvin was giving the owner off-the-field headaches, remained undaunted this time.
As Bryant continues to try and absorb the basics and the nuances of his position, his reliability seems to have increased after the season’s first month. In late July, he suffered a high-ankle sprain, forcing him to lose out on valuable learning time in training camp. He did not play in a preseason game.
“For him to have missed all the time he missed during training camp and to have had the start he’s had, it has been very impressive,” said Jason Garrett, the Cowboys interim head coach.
“The other part about Dez that can’t go unnoticed is he has a tremendous passion and enthusiasm for the game. At practice, nobody catches more balls than Dez Bryant. He has the trainers throwing it to him, the backup quarterbacks, the coaches. He loves to play the game.”
The Green Bay Packers: The best team you’ve been ignoring
Posted by admin
on November 24, 2010
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Now that Brad Childress has walked the plank, and we can assume Brett
Favre(notes) will soon follow, the long and inevitable reconstruction
of the Minnesota Vikings can commence. And with that, it’s past time
to look past the disaster and give a few props to the team that is
clearly the NFC’s best.
Wait — haven’t we already been talking about the Atlanta Falcons,
Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants? Not so fast, Cheesehead-
breath. We’re talking about the Green Bay Packers. You know, the team
which went over to Minnesota and started these events in motion with a
31-3 beatdown, two weeks after it “welcomed” the Dallas Cowboys to
Lambeau Field and tore through them to the tune of a 45-7 margin,
leading directly to the firing of Wade Phillips.
(Note: The San Francisco 49ers play the Packers in two weeks. Watch
out, Mike Singletary…)
We know that the Vikings drama has monopolized talk of the NFC North,
and we’re partially responsible for this, but we really need to start
talking more about the Packers and the season they’re putting
together. Not only did they whack the Vikings in a season sweep
(making up for the Minnesota sweep in 2009), they’re two overtime wins
from a 9-1 record. Each of their three defeats have come by just three
points.
Aaron Rodgers(notes) is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and
he deserves a higher status than the eternal title of “Brett Favre’s
Replacement.” This is what Mike Shanahan could never find in Denver
after John Elway retired, and what the Arizona Cardinals may spend
years looking for in the wake of Kurt Warner’s(notes) new dual career
as a TV dancing star and NFL color analyst — the franchise
quarterback to replace the franchise quarterback. Short of the
Montana-to-Young succession plan, perhaps no team in the modern era
has done a better job of replacing such an iconic quarterback.
Rodgers finished in the top 10 in Football Outsiders’ quarterback
efficiency metrics in 2008 and 2009 (something Favre can’t claim), and
he currently ranks fifth, behind Kyle Orton(notes), Tom Brady(notes),
Philip Rivers(notes) and Peyton Manning(notes). Everyone mentions
Brady and Manning when talking about the league’s best quarterbacks,
and most people will add in Rivers and Drew Brees(notes) after that,
but it’s absolutely time to put Rodgers in that mix. He’s done what
he’s done despite an offensive line in flux, the lack of a No. 1
receiver at times, and the lack of a running game — the same things
that would upend most quarterbacks and did upend Favre in 2010.
The story goes far past Rodgers. “Endbacker” Clay Matthews(notes) is a
near-shoo-in for the Defensive Player of the Year award. Cornerback
Tramon Williams(notes) is one of the league’s most improved players.
Nose tackle B.J. Raji(notes) is playing at a Pro Bowl level, and
Charles Woodson(notes) is still one of the more versatile defenders in
the game. General manager Ted Thompson, the man who pulled the trigger
on the decisions that led to Favre’s departure from Green Bay, now
looks like a Wile E. Coyote-level “Super Genius” after everything that
has happened with his former quarterback. Head coach Mike McCarthy is
one of the game’s better playcallers and more adept handlers of
people, and defensive coordinator Dom Capers has brought every bit of
his brilliance to the team. Most teams which go from a 4-3 to a 3-4
defense tend to falter (hello, Washington Redskins!), but the Packers’
defense is more dynamic than it’s been in years.
So, get the Vikings out of your system, America. And once you’re done,
come back and reward excellence by paying more attention to what’s
going on in Green Bay. It is the best underreported story in the NFL.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans: Why the Jags Are Set To Move to 5-4
Posted by admin
on November 13, 2010
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Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars
Sunday November 14th, 2010 1:00 PM EST
Line: Jacksonville -2
Overview:
This season, there are many parallels that can be drawn between the Jaguars and Texans. Both knocked off the AFC South bully Indianapolis Colts. Both teams are 4-4. What makes this matchup so compelling is that both teams are among the most inconsistent in the NFL.
The Texans have lost three of their last four, leaving fans scratching their heads after starting the season with a promising 3-1 record. The Jaguars followed up a win against the Colts with another victory against Buffalo, only to be served a 27-point defeat against the Titans in the following week. Neither of these teams are predictable, which makes this analysis difficult, cheap football jerseys but interesting nonetheless.
Keys to the Game:
David Garrard is the key to this game. While Maurice Jones-Drew is unquestionably the greatest talent on the Jaguars roster, the team has the most success when Garrard is at his best. Teams dare Garrard to throw the ball by loading up the box and Garrard has responded. The numbers are inflated due to the victory against Dallas, but no game demonstrated Garrard’s abilities more than the Cowboys game. Garrard threw for four touchdowns and no interceptions. He has thrown multiple touchdowns in every game they have won this year and failed to do so in their losing efforts. If there is any team that he can put up huge numbers against, it is the Houston Texans.
The Texans were a fearsome defense last year. While they have been stingy against the run again this season, they have the worst pass defense in the league. Houston relies on their pass rush to play a heavy role in their pass defense. While Dunta Robinson’s departure makes them weaker at corner, it is their virtually nonexistent pass rush that has put them in this position. The DeMeco Ryans injury forces them to shift Brian Cushing into the middle linebacker spot. This takes away from his pass rushing threat off the edge. Mario Williams has 5.5 of the Texans 12 sacks, but has only posted 1/2 sacks in his last four games. The Texans don’t have a strong enough secondary to compensate for their lack of a pass rush. Whether Garrard can capitalize on this is yet to be seen.
The Jaguars look like they are going to allow the Texans to do just about whatever they want offensively. The Texans have a balanced offense, featuring Arian Foster, who is leading the NFL jerseys in rushing and Andre Johnson, who is one of the best receivers in the game. The Jaguars have overachieved this season. They don’t have the talent on defense to keep the Texans in check. Tyson Alualu appears to have been a solid pickup this season, but the Jaguars are going to need to make defense their focus in upcoming off seasons to surround him with help. Look for Arian Foster to have a monster day on the ground, though it shouldn’t take away from the numbers Matt Schaub has through the air.
Marcedes Lewis has more touchdowns this season than Chad Ocho Cinco and Larry Fitzgerald combined. When the Jaguars get in the red zone, 22 eyes are looking right at Maurice Jones Drew. This allows Marcedes Lewis to sneak away from coverage and pop in for the easy score. Lewis is a big, sure handed target. He has proven to be a valuable asset and given the injuries the Texans have incurred, Lewis in a one on one matchup with an outside linebacker should be money for the Jaguars.
Who covers on Sunday?
All season long, I have picked the Jaguars to lose. They have surprised me on more than one occasion. The Jaguars have been favored one time this season and managed to come away with four victories.
Like the Browns—but not quite to the extent of Cleveland—they find a way to win some games that they are likely to be blown away in. A lot is hanging on the performance of David Garrard, wholesale nfl jerseys from China but given the downward trend of the Houston Texans, I’m going with the Jaguars to win by a Josh Scobee field goal.
Free NFL Pick: Jacksonville -2