Colts and the Curse of the Super Bowl Losers

Worthless piece of shit team this year. We can't beat any good teams it seems like. Lose by 2 to the Eagles and interception to end the game (thanks Manning) lose to Patriots by 3 with last minute interception (thanks again Manning) and now got completely throttled by the Goddamn Chargers with a shitload of interceptions (seriously wtf is the matter Manning??) Seriously the team has not been the same since the loss of TE Dallas Clark. That dude did it all. Blocked, Caught Balls, Scored. He was a machine. But the injury bug struck him and now Manning can't get protection, he's throwing balls to the players on the other teams, and our running backs can't rush for more than 30 yards in an entire game. Seems to me that the only logical explanation is the "curse of the Super Bowl losers". It's happened to the Falcons, the Rams, the Raiders, the Panthers, Seattle who's programs seemed to collapse after their defeats in the Super Bowl and have not made it back. Sure there's exceptions. But it keeps looking worse and worse for the Colts every week. Now they have Dallas next week who seems to have improved since firing Wade Phillips. Seems to me that the Colts are looking at 6-6 and three straight loses since... God knows when. I sure hope that Manning and the rest of the team get their shit together and we start getting players back from the injury list. Or else this will be a very short season for the Colts and therefore a VERY boring, long and depressing winter for me. 

Super Bowl XLIV

Well it seems Manning's reputation took a big hit Sunday night as he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown and nailed the final nail on the coffin and killed what had been one great season for the Colts. Manning's interception came with 3 minutes left to play on the game as the Colts found themselves trailing in the 4th quarter, a place where the Colts had been in before, only this time they would not be able to comeback. After having dominated the first quarter, the Colts lost all steam going 3 and out twice in the 2nd quarter and allowing the Saints to score a late FG before the half. It got worse from there as the Saints kicked an onside kickoff to start the second half and managed to recover. The Saints drove down the field and managed to score setting the score at 13-10. Joseph Addai would be able to have a great day and managed to score in the third quarter keeping the Colts in the lead near the start of the 4th quarter. Unfortunatelly when the Colts had a chance to score once more, they were held back on a couple plays and Stover missed a 51yard FG attempt giving the ball to the Saints who quickly responded with a TD and a 2 point conversion to take the lead by 7 with about 5 minutes to play. Then it was Manning's turn. The legend who has been rock solid at winnning games on late drives. This was his moment to shine, his moment to make history. After a few plays in which he managed to reach midfield with 3 minutes left, he faced third and long in which he threw the ball at Reggie Wayne, unfortunately the ball was intercepted and returned for a TD sealing the deal for the New Orleans Saints. It was clear to see that the Indianapolis Colts were out-coached in the game with Payton of the Saints taking risks that eventually payed off whie Caldwell played as conservatevly as he could, in which screen passes were abundant but of little effect. On Saturday I said that one key to the game would be how well the Colts could get to Brees, and as can now be seen, aside from the first quarter sack, Brees had all the time in the world to pass. The short 10 yard passes killed the Colts CBs who could not cover the wide receivers and only managed to stop them after they had already caught the ball. The Saints won this game in convincing fashion showing domination on all sides of the ball. Brees had one hell of a game and out-performed Manning in the greatest stage of all. On the most important stage of all. It will be another long off-season for the Indianapolis Colts. Another season ending with a crushing loss. 6 more weeks of Winter ahead.

'The Big Game'

A winter storm has blanketed a huge part of the country with snow and rain; however this storm pales in comparison to the storm brewing in Miami this weekend between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. This week has been the longest week in a long time. Between having to wait on word about Dwight Freeney's status for Sunday, to hearing NFL analyst praise or trash the Colts, this last couple of days have really begun to feel like an eternity. Looking back at Super Bowl 41 I do not remember feeling the level of anxiety that I feel over this one. The Bears were the easiest matchup we could have hoped for, a defensive team with a weak offense. This year will be the complete opposite as the New Orleans Saints have the best offense and a mediocre defense. However, we will still have to be careful about the Saints defense especially Darren Sharper. Other than that however, the Colts will have to get at Drew Brees and force him to make mistakes. After watching the Saints play a couple of times, it became obvious that once the pressure gets to Brees he is very likely to fumble the ball. That was the one huge flaw I noticed about Brees. If Freeney is able to play, it will make it a lot more difficult for Brees to work. As for the Colt's CBs they will need to be on top of it and not allow those huge 20-30 yard passes that Brees is a master at throwing. For the Colts offense, I do not believe that it will be a huge problem for the Colts to move the ball. Payton will need to score TDs and lots of them. We cannot afford to fall behind like we did against the Patriots or the Jets, because once we fall behind by 17 against the Saints, it will be next to impossible to make a comeback. We need to get on the board and continue scoring. I hope that this matchup lives up to expectation as one of the greatest QB matchups in Super Bowl history and I hope that the Colts win this one in a shootout.

Key things to look for will be how Wayne does in this game. He's been getting covered very well in the last few games, it will be interesting if he is able to break out this game and get the yardage he had been getting in the first half of the season. Also how well will Garcon and Collie play in this stage? I do believe that the AFC championship game demonstrated both of their talents very well and playing against the top defenses in the game. I do not see the Saints being able to cover all the WRs and Clark and Addai. Finally the Freeney question and whether he plays, and if he does, how well will he play.

My prediction Colts 37 Saints 21
Super Bowl MVP- Payton Manning