Athlon picks the Colts yet again....

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

I went on Athlon's website to see when their annual football magazine would be out and aparently it is. I haven't seen it yet but one of their articles contains the Colts winning the superbowl over the Panthers. What is it with picking the Colts year in and year out? This is getting really old! I think these dumbass "experts" will continue to pick the Colts until they win the whole thing. Also, the Colts lost Edge which we all know how important he is. The numbers show that without James, Manning has struggled. And Athlon still picks the Colts to win the superbowl with the loss of James, Thornton, Tripplet and others. Just ridiculous! Tell me how the Colts can beat a team like the Steelers, Broncos, and Patriots with unproven runners replacing James? Will not happen! Colts will still be a force but they will lose in the second round.

 

[PonyExpress]

After going through the schedule I believe 7-9 will be the Colts record next year. They have a very tough schedule vs. the AFC North and the NFC East. I see the 2001 season repeating itself all over again for the Colts. No Edgerrin James, two sub-par drafts, and a diminished defense coming off a disastrous playoff loss spells a down year, especially if Marvin Harrison shows his age or if either one of the top two receivers gets hurt.

 

[zippo59]

I love it. It wouldn't be so pleasing to win each year if the Colts weren't the pick every offseason.

On a separate subject I am kind of confuzzled by the absolute media lovefest recently. They are somewhat Patriot's like and have had consistenly good teams, but they have choked! The 2003 Panthers somewhat overachieved, but regardless they let the SB slip away in the final minutes. In 2004 the team suffered a slew of injuries but crawled they're way back, and were declared the team with the most heart and character by the media. They still had the opportunity to slip into the playoffs in the last week of the regular season. All they had to was beat the lowely Saints and there in, but then they lose, and miss the playoffs. 2005 seemed like their year with an unstoppable Steve Smith, tough defense, and Jake Delhomme playing very well. Then they go to the NFC Championship game and get absolutely spanked by the Seahawks. The Panthers have been good over the years, but this idea that they are some great team, and the closest to the Patriots of any other team seems unreasonable. Heck, listening to some pundits, the Panthers sound more Patriot-like than the Patriots, and have been the ones to win 3-4 SB. To me the Panthers are along the line of the Colts or Steelers before '05, good, but never good enough to get it done when they need to. Sorry for my rant. It's the offseason and I'm bored.

 

[BruschiOnTap]

I love it. It wouldn't be so pleasing to win each year if the Colts weren't the pick every offseason.

On a separate subject I am kind of confuzzled by the absolute media lovefest recently. They are somewhat Patriot's like and have had consistenly good teams, but they have choked! The 2003 Panthers somewhat overachieved, but regardless they let the SB slip away in the final minutes. In 2004 the team suffered a slew of injuries but crawled they're way back, and were declared the team with the most heart and character by the media. They still had the opportunity to slip into the playoffs in the last week of the regular season. All they had to was beat the lowely Saints and there in, but then they lose, and miss the playoffs. 2005 seemed like their year with an unstoppable Steve Smith, tough defense, and Jake Delhomme playing very well. Then they go to the NFC Championship game and get absolutely spanked by the Seahawks. The Panthers have been good over the years, but this idea that they are some great team, and the closest to the Patriots of any other team seems unreasonable. Heck, listening to some pundits, the Panthers sound more Patriot-like than the Patriots, and have been the ones to win 3-4 SB. To me the Panthers are along the line of the Colts or Steelers before '05, good, but never good enough to get it done when they need to. Sorry for my rant. It's the offseason and I'm bored.

To be fair, that football team comes through in the clutch far more than they don't. I remember during their Super Bowl run when they blocked two extra points in a reg. season game against the Bucs to preserve a win. Their kicker blew the Super Bowl for them...

They have smart DBs, a KILLER DL, and a dominating ground attack (well, they did...) and now Steve Smith is a force. If they get their running game back on track, even Jake D might now be able blow it for them. (panthers fans here in the Charlotte area aren't crazy about him and I've seen him make plenty of bonehead plays) If anything I don't think they get enough credit for what they've done, Steve Smith seems to get all of the spotlight.

They've got a pretty tough schedule this year, though, NFC East and AFC North, but I think they are better than any team in their division.

 

[nescott]

Thats why nobody buys that rag anymore just a reprint of a reprint same result COLTS LOSE COLTS LOSE THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE COLTS LOSE

 

[zippo59]

To be fair, that football team comes through in the clutch far more than they don't. I remember during their Super Bowl run when they blocked two extra points in a reg. season game against the Bucs to preserve a win. Their kicker blew the Super Bowl for them...

They have smart DBs, a KILLER DL, and a dominating ground attack (well, they did...) and now Steve Smith is a force. If they get their running game back on track, even Jake D might now be able blow it for them. (panthers fans here in the Charlotte area aren't crazy about him and I've seen him make plenty of bonehead plays) If anything I don't think they get enough credit for what they've done, Steve Smith seems to get all of the spotlight.

They've got a pretty tough schedule this year, though, NFC East and AFC North, but I think they are better than any team in their division.

That's exactly it. The team has so much talent, appears to really be ready to something with it, and has the mindset of a winner. They come so close and then find a way to blow it on a somewhat spectacular fashion. Don't get me wrong. They are a good team. Most other teams don't get close enough to blow it, but I don't think they are the elite force many make them out to be. By the way, that Steve Smith is awesome. He is the best reciever in the NFL.

 

[BruschiOnTap]

yeah, you're right, in the end they're heartbreakers, but I've seen them step it up often enough that I can't call them chokers in the Manning style. They shouldn't have even been in the Super Bowl, let alone losing it on a blown kickoff, and they shouldn't have been within an incorrectly called Vick TD on the last play of the season to eliminate them from the 2004 playoffs. Last year they proved they're the real deal when they're healthy but they laid an egg at Seattle. No more excuses after that. but they HAVE proven they can overachieve when their backs are against the wall.

As for Steve Smith, it shouldn't be 'Owens or Moss?', the question should be 'Smith or Chad Johnson?' I'll take Smith, for skillz and TD dances

 

[sarge]

Their kicker blew the Super Bowl for them...
They shouldn't have even been in the Super Bowl, let alone losing it on a blown kickoff

Do you really have any doubt Brady would not have led the Pats into field goal range if he started at the 20?

The Patriots had less time and 2 timeouts before halftime, and a longer distance to travel and got a TD.

So with more time and more timeouts, it was the kickkers fault????

Luckily the Rams kicker did the same in SB 36...

Oh wait...

But they had more timeouts in SB 36...

Nopre agian.

But yeah, it was the kicker

And Brady had them in FG range in like two plays where it not for a boarderline pushoff that had 0 effect on the play.

But for some reason, you belive with over a minute left, and 2 (maybe even 3) timeouts, and the game on the line , the Panthers were going to stop Brady. I mean it isn't like Brady is known for thriving in those situations or anything!

Exactly how many times does he have to prove it to some of you before you stop attributing it to some sort of luck!

 

[sarge]

Ohh yeah, and for the record, I'm fairly certian tie games are not automatically awarded to the NFC.

And while I would not have been very confident in the defense had the Pats lost the toss, I would have felt very comfortable had they won it.

Provided they didn't just award the game to the Panthers as suggesting there kicker blew the game might imply!

And just in case you Forgot

SB 36
1:20 No timeouts from his own 17, got them to the 31 for a 48 yard field goal

SB 38 end of first half
59 seconds, two timeouts, and got a TD with 18 seconds left.

SB 38 Second half
1:08 with all three timeouts. ( call it 1 minute if you want to with the kickoff return taking 8 seconds off, though if it took that much, he would probably be past the 20)

The odds were favorable bad kickoff or not!

 

[BruschiOnTap]

Do you really have any doubt Brady would not have led the Pats into field goal range if he started at the 20?

The Patriots had less time and 2 timeouts before halftime, and a longer distance to travel and got a TD.

So with more time and more timeouts, it was the kickkers fault????

Luckily the Rams kicker did the same in SB 36...

Oh wait...

But they had more timeouts in SB 36...

Nopre agian.

But yeah, it was the kicker

And Brady had them in FG range in like two plays where it not for a boarderline pushoff that had 0 effect on the play.

But for some reason, you belive with over a minute left, and 2 (maybe even 3) timeouts, and the game on the line , the Panthers were going to stop Brady. I mean it isn't like Brady is known for thriving in those situations or anything!

Exactly how many times does he have to prove it to some of you before you stop attributing it to some sort of luck!

We weren't even talking about the Pats, so go ask Brett Favre to give you something from his medicine cabinet, maybe you'll chill out...

 

[sarge]

We weren't even talking about the Pats, so go ask Brett Favre to give you something from his medicine cabinet, maybe you'll chill out...

My bad, I thought the Pats were the team that won SB 38 on a blown kick!

Way to avoid a question!

 

[JoeSixPat]

Indianapolis should just skip the pretense and change their name to the Indianapolis Cubs

 

[BruschiOnTap]

that kick sealed the Panthers' fate and you know it. It took all the wind from their sails and put serious pressure on the D. Without that field position we wouldn't have tried going downfield in two plays. It set everything up. Cinderella's carriage turned into a pumpkin with that botched kick.

 

[PlattsFan]

I'm genuinely confused by the Colts love-fest among the pundits. They got beat, at home, in their first playoff game last year. They lost their star running back, a couple of starters on defense, and only signed a kicker. I mean, I know everyone here knows the litany ...

Why should they win now? All I've seen so far from the pundits is a vague "they're due" kind of attitude. Here's the Athlon article:

It is Peyton Manning’s time. It is Tony Dungy’s time. It is the Indianapolis Colts’ time. The Colts have played 22 seasons in Indianapolis and are still waiting for their first Super Bowl berth, let alone championship. But this year, even with the loss of Edgerrin James to the Cardinals, Manning and Dungy will navigate through the killer AFC and land in Miami for Super Bowl XLI.

Please. Is it so hard to have an objective opinion based on facts?

 

[Willie55]

originally posted by zippo59

or Steelers before '05,

The Steelers did nothing to change their image by winning the Super Bowl. They almost choked away the AFC Championship game by running the ball, instead of taking a knee, on the two yard line at the end of the game which resulted in the Bettis fumble. If Manning hadn't gone for all the glory, and if they were facing any other kicker other than Vandershank they wouldn't have been in the Super Bowl.

Now the Super Bowl. Well the refs handed them that.

Cowher is still a choker.

 

[Haterproof]

Shoulda coulda woulda.The Colts will never win a SB.Remember you heard it here 1st.

 

[Jacky Roberts]

Why do people get so jacked up about preseason publications? The Colts, even with Vinatraitor, are a very flawed team. Two significant losses on defense, and of course they lost James who Indy fans are kidding themselves if they think it's not a devastating loss. They sign Wayne to that horrible deal and let James walk? This is why Polian will never win a Super Bowl.

 

[italian pat patriot]

probably Indy lost allready the 'right train'...

the right train reached the pick last season and we know the way it ended...

it will be very very difficult for them to win a Super Bowl - not impossible but almost impossible

Pats in primis plus some other competitive teams , only in the AFC, like Pit, Cin, Den, Sd, Jax will
not permit them to reach the top imho

then they should still win the big game...

very very difficult...