[Our Job Now Is To Support Andrew Luck 110%]

We have gone from "Suck for Luck", to "Suck with Luck", at least for the next few years.

Patience IS a virtue... right?

[Will This Turn Long Time Fans Away?]

I'll still be a Colts fan for sure. I just won't go to the games, watch them on TV, or support the team in any way. Other than that I'm all about the horse shoe.

Pass the cyanide.

[My Thoughts On Everything And I Mean Everything.]

I feel sorry for Luck having to immediately follow on the heels of Manning. The guy will almost be in a no win situation. Frankly, it would have been easier on him (Luck) if there had been a "rebound" quaterback in there following Peyton's departure.

As for the general level of fan support afforded to Luck, I think it will largely depend on the circumstances, real or perceived, under which Peyton departs. I the fan base thinks that Peyton got hosed they will have little tolerance for Luck's maturing process. If Peyton simply can't play due to injury they will be much more forgiving.

As for me, I plan to remain in complete denial until it is no longer possible to do so.

[Pagono May Want Us To Draft Defense First]

The old saying "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" comes to mind. Unfortunately, at present we have two birds in the bush, and none in hand. I have nightmares in which Luck's face morphs into Ryan Leaf. I have nightmares in which Peyton Manning is picked up by the Patriots and wins the next 10 Super Bowls. I have nightmares in which an Amazonian giantess hangs me from a Sandbox tree, rips off my... wait, that nightmare isn't really relevant.

I simply cannot come to grips with the possibility of letting even a near-healthy Peyton Manning go. I can't... I won't!

[John Torine, Strength And Conditioning Coach Fired]

I view the firings as a cruel necessity. If the recent economic downturn has taught me anything it's that one's livelihood is precious and losing it is very distressful and disorienting. I hope that all of these guys land on their feet quickly.

[Remembering Polian........]

My wife and I sat next to a group that included Bill Polian at an Indy restaurant (Benvenuti?) several years ago. As she came back to our table he looked up at my wife and nodded. She seized the opportunity and asked him what he was eating. He told her, and then had the waitress bring a plate which he put some of his food on and handed over to my wife. As he was leaving he came to our table and asked my wife how she liked the dish.

In that lone encounter Mr. Polian was very gracious to us.

[Confused Over Caldwell]

I see no way that Caldwell stays. Any new GM is going to want to bring in "his guy". Unless one of the criteria for selecting a GM is that he can, and wants to work with Caldwell he is gone.

I'm not so sure that signing Luck is a done deal. If Irsay looks at Luck as a talent multiplier for postions that he needs to shore up AND if he is convinced that Peyton is healthy, I could see a draft and trade play. "A bird in the hand..." has direct application here. Kravitz and others are way over confident in how the Colts draft will play out, in my opinion.

[So What Are All Thes Rumors About The Polians?]

I’ve read this forum for many years, but never registered as I didn’t believe that I had much to add to the mix. Distressed businesses are something that I do know a bit about as I have worked for a large management consulting firm for more than twenty years. I focus on organization analysis for companies that need to be turned around.

My experience has been that if you ask enough “whys”, and follow the trail to the root of why businesses struggle you inevitably get to poor communication as the root cause. Lack of internal communication, poor external communication, no two-way communication and ignoring dissenting views will kill a business over the long run. Surprisingly, significant, ongoing success of an enterprise is often a communication killer. Managers of successful organizations tend to ignore external inputs because they believe they have nothing to learn from the outside. They also tend to provide less information and seek less input internally as their success breeds complacency. The staff may become increasingly bitter, but tend to keep quite since they don’t feel empowered to question, or criticize a successful organization. When the stuff hits the fan (0-13) the management team tends to become increasingly insular, just the opposite of what they should do, and the stakeholder bitterness increases exponentially.

That communication deficit model seems to be exactly what the Colts organization has been suffering from. Success masked it. Now, as the lake is drained the rocks are exposed.

Can the communication problem be fixed? Sure. One solution is for the management team to be let go. In industry sometimes that solution works well, many times it is a major failure. Canning a formerly successful management team often amounts to throwing out the baby with the bath water. The communication problem can be fixed with existing management in place, but it requires a significant emotional event to drive a fundamental change in management’s mindset. Someone needs to get the Polians, Irsay, and the “C” level executive types in a room and beat them mercilessly with the unvarnished truth of the organizations shortcomings, and their personal shortcoming. There are mechanisms by which to do such things, with the outcome being a communication model that each management team member literally stands up and takes an oath to support. Not pleasant, and extremely emotional, but absolutely necessary to turn management, and the organization, around.

If you don’t believe that communication is the likely root of the Colts problems read case studies on failures in companies as diverse as Nasa (shuttle), Apple (1980's), Enron, and Bear Stearns.

Thanks for letting me join in.