I do think that there is a very good argument that the Colts season was very “interestingâ€
Here are some of my thoughts on the matter. Bottom line when happen that id not supposed to happen then something is very likely in the air, where there is smoke there is fire if you will.
1) Never, ever, since the Merger has a dominate team gotten a first overall pick so soon after being dominate (I include the 70s fins, ‘boys, steelers, raiders, skins, Vikings, 80s 9ers, skins, giants, 90s boys, 9ers, broncos, packers, and the 00s teams and so on) . . . other than the 70s boys who got it via a trade . . . but bottom line teams NEVER fall of the cliff one year removed from their dominance, much less the colts who were touted as possible one of the best ever at 14-0 just a year prior and furthermore are not back at 8-4 . . . never happened
2) After they had secured the first overall pick after game 13 with a 0-13 record, and therefore it was safe to win, they proceeded to go out and beat two of their division rivals resulting in direct playoff impact on them with Houston missing out on a bye due to the loss and Tenn knocked out of the playoffs due to a bye. Since Jax had no implication it was okay to lose to them and secured the pick. If they were good enough to win in weeks 15 and 16 which coincidently had DIRECT impact on their hated division rival, why could they not be good enough to win the other 14 weeks?
3) Manning’s injury was supposedly happened in 2006 but they waited till 2011 to have surgery. Surely you can’t put up a record of 2-14 with Manning, so if you don’t need him this year, you might as well have the surgery.
4) There were a few key head scratcher plays during the season, I just name a few, Clark fumbles at a key point in a game which helps the loss, as mentioned by a prior poster Garcon holding the ball up in the air, which is unnatural act, as he is being taken down, the ball comes out and “somehow†the Cinn. Player gets in the end zone for a winning TD, against Pitt, late in the game with the risk of a victory in a close game, they pull the QB and put in Painter who proceeds to over throw a wide open Garcon for the go ahead TD . . . there are more but those are one that come to mind
5) For what its worth Luck knew the Mannings and Polian son was on his coaching staff, so the higher ups in indy knew of this kids potential long before 2011
6) This franchise had another “off†year the year prior to drafting manning, so they have been through the “oh Winterford I feel faint and can’t seem to get anything done today†rodeo . . . not to mention leaving in the middle of the night from Baltimore
7) Have had Manning the team knows firsthand how important a franchise QB is to a team
8) The fact that, before the season when Manning signed his contract, he has a poison pill clause put in contract of the payment a few days before the draft, forcing the colts to have to pay him up front or release him, which would give him the freedom of FA as opposed to being traded. Why would the player and team, prior to the season, have a clause in the contract so related to the following season’s draft?
9) Bad teams are bad . .. . truly bad teams are bad for a while, we know their names and the recent versions, STL, DET, OAK, CAR, KC, etc . . .and there are on the bottom for more than one year . . . and the badness of the team can seen, bad player coaches or whatever . . . but most importantly this bottom of the NFL, first overall pick, teams don’t get good overnight with a first overall pick . . . even Wash with the great RGIII is a 500 team so far . . . but yet the “bad†colts are now 8-4 with a first overall pick, this years colts looks a lot more closely to the ’03-’10 colts . . . well looks like those teams with a seasoned HOF QB replaced with a first overall pick . . ., meaning there is more consistently in the prior 10 years than last year . . .
10) Luck set a record for wins by a first overall, again like items 1 and 9 above you have something that has not happened in over 40 years of football, a rookie setting a record for wins and dominate team falling off a cliff . . .
Those are all facts and