Not me. The Chargers has put their primary focus from the day they lost to the Pats in the AFC Championships to the time they went on the field against the Pats a month or so ago on the Patriots. The Patriots were the Chargers' White Whale. That twas the game they had circled on their calenders for nine months.
The Colts, on the other hand, had everything invested in Monday Night's game because they knew barring a meltdown by the Titans, their division hopes were on the line. The Colts could come out really flat after a short week and hearbreaking loss. They have a lot of young guys especially on defense and the o-line. It is hard to tell how they will take this loss and the short week with the pressure of knowing every win for here on out is a must win. A lot guys may be questioning themselves and their teammates.
I think this situation is very different than the Chargers' game. I personally would be more afraid if they beat the Titans. Then this game would mean so much more to them.
What if the Colts don't come out flat and come out fired up in front of an anxious home crowd instead? You can assume either or.
Our rivalry with the Pats goes back, not so much with the Titans. The Titans thing is new for us in a way, we always owned them or at least had the edge. The Pats and Colts have a lot of emotion involved. Even if we won Monday night we still needed the Titans to lose more games to give us a shot at the division. Now we are officially in the WC hunt and are desperate for a win.
This game means more now that we lost to the Titans. In order to gain some pride this season and get some momemtum going a win over the hated Patriots would spark a lot I feel.
Expect all our guys to play too Sunday. They are on a short week and might rest some but this game is HUGE. Wayne played Sunday even after getting dinged up a little. Marlin Jackson has been nursing an injury for weeks. Sanders was expected to return for this game for weeks. Hayden will likely play but limited and get worked in.
You mentioned the Chargers had the Pats game circled for months. I doubt we had the Titans game circled for months (Titans likely had us circled though, they pretty much admitted it) but the Colts/Pats game is always in the back of minds I am sure, Brady or no Brady and average record or not.
We have a lot of young guys but we also have some strong veterans as well. A few vets on defense can help the young guys. (Sanders, Freeney, Brackett) On our o line Saturday keeps them in check hopefully. And Diem.
I expect both the Colts and Pats to be excited and pumped up for this game, as they are every season.
Needless to say Colts fans are feeling anxious, this game is crazy important to us in many ways. We don't know what to expect completely and neither do you. We can only assume. We assume for the best for our teams. I am cautiously optimistic but won't be suprised if the season falls apart. I don't know what to expect. Win or lose they are my team.
Also i don't expect the Colts returnees to be all that effective...i think Sunday Night is the best time to play them. Moss and Welker are pretty fast on Turf too.
