Jim Caldwell, Second Lightning Rod Besides Painter

[chad72]

http://www.18to88.com/2011-archives/august/the-second-least-popular-man-in-indianapolis.html

[Coffeedrinker]

I have said it before and I will say it again even though few, if any, will agree. I think Caldwell will prove to be a better coach than Dungy. TO in the Jags game was absolutely the correct call. The TO in the Jets game was absolutely the wrong call. That does not negate the fact that he has already proven to be a very good coach and will get better with experience.

[Balzer40]

The least popular man in blue these days has to be Curtis Painter. Friday night's two touchdown performance aside, the mention of Painter's name draws amusing facial reactions from fans. There's no diversity of opinion on Painter at all. He has no defenders.

This guy has obviously never met Smitto.

[jskinnz]

I have said it before and I will say it again even though few, if any, will agree. I think Caldwell will prove to be a better coach than Dungy. TO in the Jags game was absolutely the correct call. The TO in the Jets game was absolutely the wrong call. That does not negate the fact that he has already proven to be a very good coach and will get better with experience.

Nay Nay. A coach with a regular season winning percentage of 75% should have been fired already. Yeah I know he took the Colts to the Super Bowl in his first year as a NFL Head Coach. And double digit wins and a division title with a roster decimated by injury - all that be danmed!!! Get rid of this embarassment to the city, to the team, and to me personally. What a freaking bum he is.

[GoColts8818]

Nay Nay. A coach with a regular season winning percentage of 75% should have been fired already. Yeah I know he took the Colts to the Super Bowl in his first year as a NFL Head Coach. And double digit wins and a division title with a roster decimated by injury - all that be danmed!!! Get rid of this embarassment to the city, to the team, and to me personally. What a freaking bum he is.

and there is the real reason right there why people want Caldwell out, no matter what he does some fans have already decided they don't like him and he needs to be fired and they are more interested in backing that point up than they are looking at things like his record which is how every other coach in the history of football has been judged.

[Coffeedrinker]

One of the things I find funny is the people who talk about him being a bad coach, cite him giving up on a perfect season as one of the reasons he's a bad coach. The obvious question would be, "how can a bad coach have his team in position for a perfect season?" To which the reply is he inherited a SB team and it's because of Manning.

[CR91]

its hard to evaluate a coach when you have peyton as your qb

[Coffeedrinker]

its hard to evaluate a coach when you have peyton as your qb

Not really. A team is made up of 53 people. As great as Manning is he can't do it alone, as last year proved.

[jskinnz]

its hard to evaluate a coach when you have peyton as your qb

So was Bill Walsh a good coach? How about Mike McCarthy or Tomlin?

Every winning coach has to have good players.

[StaticColt77]

Not really. A team is made up of 53 people. As great as Manning is he can't do it alone, as last year proved.

But when the foundation of what that 53 man roster was built on goes down, does the team stand??

Last year doesn't prove your statement, as I recall, Manning led us into FG range, and we make the FG.

Then our horrible kick off coverage, and crappy 1 on 1 coverage with Braylon Edwards(Lacey eat your heart out).

Instantly put the Jets in FG range to win the game.

No one does it alone. But I think there was a stretch last year, in which Manning was injured somehow. And we weren't at all informed. His performance wasn't only effected by injuries of surrounding team mates, there were just time where he wasn't himself, and played "weird". I think they even said he suffered a very minor concussion week 1 against the Texans.

Nonetheless, doesn't excuse the fact that Caldwell is EASILY out coached.

[FireJimCaldwell]

Some coaches are a main reason for the success of their team. Some are along for the ride. It's pretty clear what the case is here.

[jskinnz]

Some coaches are a main reason for the success of their team. Some are along for the ride. It's pretty clear what the case is here.

So Caldwell has had nothing to do with the success of the team since he became HC?

I suspect I know the answer I will get given your screen name.

[Rich Cannon]

I have said it before and I will say it again even though few, if any, will agree. I think Caldwell will prove to be a better coach than Dungy. TO in the Jags game was absolutely the correct call. The TO in the Jets game was absolutely the wrong call. That does not negate the fact that he has already proven to be a very good coach and will get better with experience.

I hope you turn out to be 100 percent correct. I think he has to work on some game management aspects. I will admit im not that high on him but hes not the worst as everyone seems to portray him as.

[FireJimCaldwell]

So Caldwell has had nothing to do with the success of the team since he became HC?

I suspect I know the answer I will get given your screen name.

Did he have "nothing" to do with the success of the team since he became HC? Of course he had something to do with it.

Was he the main reason for the success of the team since he became HC? Of course not.

So it seems you didn't get the answer you thought you were going to get.

Could others have done as good or better? In my opinion yes. Could others have done worse? Of course. Does he have a long way to go? Of course he does. One negative is that he seems stubborn, and based on what he was faced with vs. Jacksonville & then again with the Jets, it doesn't show a willingness to learn from a mistake. Which is not a good thing.

[Coffeedrinker]

But when the foundation of what that 53 man roster was built on goes down, does the team stand??

Last year doesn't prove your statement, as I recall, Manning led us into FG range, and we make the FG.

The offense lead by Manning put the team in position to make a FG, AV made the FG. The game plan put together by Caldwell helped the team be in a position to win with a FG at the end.

Then our horrible kick off coverage, and crappy 1 on 1 coverage with Braylon Edwards(Lacey eat your heart out).

Instantly put the Jets in FG range to win the game.

Yup the kick coverage broke down, there were two guys in position to make a stop around the 20 and they did not do it, is that Caldwell's fault? The TO was a bad call and I have stated as much

No one does it alone. But I think there was a stretch last year, in which Manning was injured somehow. And we weren't at all informed. His performance wasn't only effected by injuries of surrounding team mates, there were just time where he wasn't himself, and played "weird". I think they even said he suffered a very minor concussion week 1 against the Texans.

If you want to make stuff up to justify your position then I can't really stop you. But, I will say, with the way the NFL tracks injuries the Colts would be in big, big trouble if what you just stated was true.

Nonetheless, doesn't excuse the fact that Caldwell is EASILY out coached.

So, if the Colts win it's because of Manning but if they lose it's because Caldwell was outcoached? Boy that makes no sense.

[JoKeR]

:| < Caldwell smiley

J/k he's a decent coach but don't have a staring contest with him.

[Coffeedrinker]

I hope you turn out to be 100 percent correct. I think he has to work on some game management aspects. I will admit im not that high on him but hes not the worst as everyone seems to portray him as.

I completely agree that he has work to do as well. I would not expect a coach starting his 3rd year of being an NFL head coach to be perfect. But his record in the regular season and playoffs speak for themselves.

People wanted Gruden as a coach, in his first two years as a coach his record was 16-16 no playoffs.

People wanted Cowher as a coach, in his first two years as a HC his record was 20-12 and 0-2 in the playoffs.

Very few want Caldwell as a coach, yet in his first two years as a HC his recorder is 24-8 2-2 in the playoffs and a trip to the SB.

Look at it this way. Manning has improved, IMO, every year he has been in the league but I have long considered him a great QB despite the fact that he made a lot of mistakes in his first few years in the league.

[ReMeDy]

I'll tell you why people would rather have people like Gruden, Cowher, etc. as head coaches...

1.) passion

2.) fire

3.) tenacity

4.) energy

5.) enthusiasm

6.) ::insert other adjective here::

With the exception of Caldwell's anger at Chip Vaughn, Caldwell seems to lack these qualities. He doesn't believe in 4th down conversions, yelling at teammates (regularly), getting into the refs faces, onside kicks... Even in the Patriots 4th & 2 failed conversion game, it wasn't the Colts that went for 4th down. It was the Pats who beat themselves up. The Colts took it slow, methodical, and capitalized on the Pats. There was zero risk involved, other than relying on the constant arm of Peyton Manning.

People aren't looking strictly at Caldwell's record because they're also looking at his behavioral traits. This guy is going to lead our team once Manning retires, so we want to see the same level of tenacity Peyton Manning shows on the field as Caldwell shows on the sideline.

[jskinnz]

Did he have "nothing" to do with the success of the team since he became HC? Of course he had something to do with it.

Was he the main reason for the success of the team since he became HC? Of course not.

So it seems you didn't get the answer you thought you were going to get.

Could others have done as good or better? In my opinion yes. Could others have done worse? Of course. Does he have a long way to go? Of course he does. One negative is that he seems stubborn, and based on what he was faced with vs. Jacksonville & then again with the Jets, it doesn't show a willingness to learn from a mistake. Which is not a good thing.

Only a complete fool would have said he had nothing to do with the Colts' success since he became HC. Congrats on that.

Look, I am not certain that he is the ultimate answer for the Colts. But his record is pretty dayum good and I think the nonsense that he gets is just that - nonsense.

[Coffeedrinker]

I'll tell you why people would rather have people like Gruden, Cowher, etc. as head coaches...

1.) passion

2.) fire

3.) tenacity

4.) energy

5.) enthusiasm

6.) ::insert other adjective here::

That is what is so funny, none of those things have anything to do with being a good or bad head coach. People mistake outward signs of emotion as any or all of those things, which is a complete hokum.

[Coffeedrinker]

Could others have done as good or better? In my opinion yes. Could others have done worse? Of course. Does he have a long way to go? Of course he does. One negative is that he seems stubborn, and based on what he was faced with vs. Jacksonville & then again with the Jets, it doesn't show a willingness to learn from a mistake. Which is not a good thing.

The Jags and Jets situations were completely different. The Jags was not a mistake (therefore nothing to learn) the Jets was, and we have yet to see if he will learn from that.

[braveheartcolt]

One of the things I find funny is the people who talk about him being a bad coach, cite him giving up on a perfect season as one of the reasons he's a bad coach. The obvious question would be, "how can a bad coach have his team in position for a perfect season?" To which the reply is he inherited a SB team and it's because of Manning.

I don't like Caldwell as our coach. I thought his decision to pull the starters was disgusting, and I don't respect him for it. Whether he is a good coach, a bad coach or an indifferent coach is moot.

But then again, I don't like Bill either.

[manningup]

For the life of me, I don't understand all the Caldwell defenders. The man inherited a great team with the best Qb of all time (my opinion) which explains his misleading coaching record. I'm clueless as to why we have a coach-in-training during the latter part of Manning's career.

Does anyone dispute that there are available coaches who are better than Caldwell? Why wouldn't we go after the best available coaching staff that's out there.

Tell me how you give a man who had an obscene college coaching record the head coaching position at one of the NFL's elite teams? Just because coach Dungy annointed him doesn't make it the right decision. How many teams would hire him as head coach if the Colts let him go? My guess is that no one would seriously consider it.

I'm just completely bummed out everytime I see him on the sidelines. I know we could do a whole lot better.

[#1 Colts Fan]

He has made more than one "bad call" and lied to us when he took the position he said he was not like coach Dungy and was going to show emotion. WHERE? WHERE is this emotion he spoke of? Honestly thats all i want from the guy is to get mad when players mess up and get happy and show it when they do good.

[StaticColt77]

The offense lead by Manning put the team in position to make a FG, AV made the FG. The game plan put together by Caldwell helped the team be in a position to win with a FG at the end.

Yup the kick coverage broke down, there were two guys in position to make a stop around the 20 and they did not do it, is that Caldwell's fault? The TO was a bad call and I have stated as much

If you want to make stuff up to justify your position then I can't really stop you. But, I will say, with the way the NFL tracks injuries the Colts would be in big, big trouble if what you just stated was true.

So, if the Colts win it's because of Manning but if they lose it's because Caldwell was outcoached? Boy that makes no sense.

"The offense lead by Manning put the team in position to make a FG, AV made the FG. The game plan put together by Caldwell helped the team be in a position to win with a FG at the end."

The other day I watched something on Belichek and Brady, and saw them gameplan together, Brady has as much input in it as Belichek. But no, perhaps Manning has no control at all, of course he's never lead a comeback drive without the gameplanning of Caldwell. Good point.

"Yup the kick coverage broke down, there were two guys in position to make a stop around the 20 and they did not do it, is that Caldwell's fault? The TO was a bad call and I have stated as much"

Why not squib it? A lot of teams would've taken the caution. It's the Jets, they're a threat on every return, not to mention Cromarties history of making plays against us.

"If you want to make stuff up to justify your position then I can't really stop you. But, I will say, with the way the NFL tracks injuries the Colts would be in big, big trouble if what you just stated was true."

Make stuff up?? Of course because it conflicts with your statements it's making stuff up, typical, some people always want to be right. Can't help that. Manning gets hurt, and we're in trouble, that much is true. You must not know anything about pro athletes keeping injuries secret in pro sports. The real face of the business would shock you, but hey it isn't 100% confirmed, but I wouldn't doubt a second of it.

"So, if the Colts win it's because of Manning but if they lose it's because Caldwell was outcoached? Boy that makes no sense."

Well have you ever seen Caldwell succeed being the head coach of another team?? Have you seen Manning succeed with different head coaches?? No, Manning didn't make some crucial throws and that's on him. But when we needed the drive, he did his part. I don't sugar coat anything, when Manning threw that pick 6 in SB XLIV, I put on him. But I also take into account, Sean Payton TOTALLY out coached Caldwell that game. Every loss isn't Caldwells fault, nor Manning's. But in pressure situations, he DOES NOT always, handle as well as some of the coaches in the league. Therefore, getting out coached in these crucial situations.

[chad72]

Just because coach Dungy annointed him doesn't make it the right decision.

If the organization did not believe Dungy's recommendation was right on merit, and if Caldwell had not worked as Manning's QB coach all those years, then, yes, they would have looked elsewhere. The players, coaches, and management all were on the same page when Caldwell was hired.

Hiring a big name coach would be like hiring an MBA with a lot of credentials that would walk in to a place he has no clue as to how the business was run but is extremely capable of learning and adapting. On the other hand, imagine a manager inside the business that has known the business for several years and has just a 4 yr. degree but has the respect of all his peers. I am sure there are two sides to which candidate you go with to transition your business to be led by a new leader. The Colts chose to go with a manager inside the business, that is all .

[Coffeedrinker]

The other day I watched something on Belichek and Brady, and saw them gameplan together, Brady has as much input in it as Belichek. But no, perhaps Manning has no control at all, of course he's never lead a comeback drive without the gameplanning of Caldwell. Good point.

Woo hoo first point is a red herring. Manning is a great QB no doubt about it.

Why not squib it? A lot of teams would've taken the caution. It's the Jets, they're a threat on every return, not to mention Cromarties history of making plays against us.

Squib it, really, that would have been pretty stupid with that much time on the clock. MacAfee kicked it 9 yards deep into the endzone.

Make stuff up?? Of course because it conflicts with your statements it's making stuff up, typical, some people always want to be right. Can't help that. Manning gets hurt, and we're in trouble, that much is true. You must not know anything about pro athletes keeping injuries secret in pro sports. The real face of the business would shock you, but hey it isn't 100% confirmed, but I wouldn't doubt a second of it.

"So, if the Colts win it's because of Manning but if they lose it's because Caldwell was outcoached? Boy that makes no sense." Yes make stuff up, ie, lie, fabricate, deceive. There is no indication that Manning had any injury or concussion that affected his play last year. To suggest that you "think" that is what happened is called making stuff up.

Well have you ever seen Caldwell succeed being the head coach of another team??

Well, the Colts is his first stint as HC in the NFL. I guess you can bring up what he did at W.F. but that would be pretty lame, and I doubt if even you are that lame. Since you brought up the great coach of BB, did he succeed at Cleveland before he became a success at New England?

Have you seen Manning succeed with different head coaches?? No, Manning didn't make some crucial throws and that's on him. But when we needed the drive, he did his part. I don't sugar coat anything, when Manning threw that pick 6 in SB XLIV, I put on him. But I also take into account, Sean Payton TOTALLY out coached Caldwell that game. Every loss isn't Caldwells fault, nor Manning's. But in pressure situations, he DOES NOT always, handle as well as some of the coaches in the league. Therefore, getting out coached in these crucial situations.

lol, I don't know which is worse; that you type such nonsense or that you believe it. I don't sugar coat things either, there were several mistakes in that game by players and coaches. There were mistakes made by Payton as well, people just don't remember them because Manning threw a INT late in the game. Lastly he handles pressure situations better than most coaches in the league, better just about any coach in his first couple of years in the league and better than anyone on this forum.

[Coffeedrinker]

He has made more than one "bad call" and lied to us when he took the position he said he was not like coach Dungy and was going to show emotion. WHERE? WHERE is this emotion he spoke of? Honestly thats all i want from the guy is to get mad when players mess up and get happy and show it when they do good.

How do you know he doesn't? Just because he doesn't do it on game day in the 2 or 3 minutes you see him on TV during the game doesn't mean he doesn't do it during practice or in the film room or in his office. Have you not read anything from his mentor, Dungy, or listened to Caldwell speak? One of the core rules that Dungy believes is that embarrasing an employee only has negative results. And yelling at a player during a game is embarrassing a player, you take care of it in the film room or after the game or at half time. During the game you state the mistake and this is what you do to correct it.

These are professional football players not 4th graders who miss a block because they saw a cool bug on the ground (actually happened with a 4th grader I was coaching... and it was a cool bug.)

[doogansquest]

Nay Nay. A coach with a regular season winning percentage of 75% should have been fired already. Yeah I know he took the Colts to the Super Bowl in his first year as a NFL Head Coach. And double digit wins and a division title with a roster decimated by injury - all that be danmed!!! Get rid of this embarassment to the city, to the team, and to me personally. What a freaking bum he is.

and there is the real reason right there why people want Caldwell out, no matter what he does some fans have already decided they don't like him and he needs to be fired and they are more interested in backing that point up than they are looking at things like his record which is how every other coach in the history of football has been judged.

These two posts are made of win. Sadly, not one person who disagrees with any and all things Caldwell has read or responded to these posts. You know why? Because logic destroys their argument, and despite jskinnz's sarcasm, it's still more logical than anything presented by the detractors.

Did he have "nothing" to do with the success of the team since he became HC? Of course he had something to do with it.

Was he the main reason for the success of the team since he became HC? Of course not.

So it seems you didn't get the answer you thought you were going to get.

Could others have done as good or better? In my opinion yes. Could others have done worse? Of course. Does he have a long way to go? Of course he does. One negative is that he seems stubborn, and based on what he was faced with vs. Jacksonville & then again with the Jets, it doesn't show a willingness to learn from a mistake. Which is not a good thing.

So who was it that inspired the defense to silence the critics the last four games of the 2010 season? Who was it that drew up a plan to have a playoff-caliber team despite playing guys off of the street? Who was it that had a team capable of keeping games close despite Manning throwing 11 picks in 3 games?

Why don't you explain to me, why, based solely on the game-state, those two timeouts were such big mistakes. Seriously. Tell me which personnel packages were in, the time on the clock, and how making a different decision would have GUARANTEED a victory, or even have given us a better chance. Your answer will sound ridiculous, because you're wrong.

Are Caldwell's decisions perfect? No. But no one can claim otherwise for themselves either.

Jacksonville: You saw what really happened in that game. Caldwell's timeout did NOT put them in field goal range. End of story.

New York: Caldwell feared a run play that would have milked the clock. He had the wrong personnel in the game, so he called timeout to swap the line up. Guess what? New York fooled us, and our DB's were incompetent anyway. Not Caldwell's fault. Besides, so what if the Jets would have kicked from where they were anyway? Everyone acted as though it was going to be a guaranteed miss. A 51 yarder from a healthy kicker, indoors, is not exactly sealing a Colts victory.

The kick coverage had far more to do with the Jets pulling one out than did Caldwell's timeout. What about Blair White's drop that would have given us a first down, and thus we run the clock down to 0:03 before kicking the field goal?

I'll tell you why people would rather have people like Gruden, Cowher, etc. as head coaches...

1.) passion

2.) fire

3.) tenacity

4.) energy

5.) enthusiasm

6.) ::insert other adjective here::

With the exception of Caldwell's anger at Chip Vaughn, Caldwell seems to lack these qualities. He doesn't believe in 4th down conversions, yelling at teammates (regularly), getting into the refs faces, onside kicks... Even in the Patriots 4th & 2 failed conversion game, it wasn't the Colts that went for 4th down. It was the Pats who beat themselves up. The Colts took it slow, methodical, and capitalized on the Pats. There was zero risk involved, other than relying on the constant arm of Peyton Manning.

People aren't looking strictly at Caldwell's record because they're also looking at his behavioral traits. This guy is going to lead our team once Manning retires, so we want to see the same level of tenacity Peyton Manning shows on the field as Caldwell shows on the sideline.

None of those things are "qualities." Nor do they have anything to do with measuring the competence of a coach. They simply describe his mannerisms. He doesn't knee-jerk react to things. He doesn't allow emotions to make his decisions for him. He thinks with his brain, and has the best record in the league the last two years.

As to bailing on the undefeated season: Was it a guarantee we would beat the Jets? Was it a guarantee we would travel to frigid, snowy Buffalo and win there? Playing their 2nd string, they walloped us by more than 3 scores.

[Superman]

Last year doesn't prove your statement, as I recall, Manning led us into FG range, and we make the FG.

Then our horrible kick off coverage, and crappy 1 on 1 coverage with Braylon Edwards(Lacey eat your heart out).

Instantly put the Jets in FG range to win the game.

No one does it alone. But I think there was a stretch last year, in which Manning was injured somehow. And we weren't at all informed. His performance wasn't only effected by injuries of surrounding team mates, there were just time where he wasn't himself, and played "weird". I think they even said he suffered a very minor concussion week 1 against the Texans.

Nonetheless, doesn't excuse the fact that Caldwell is EASILY out coached.

Did Manning make the field goal? That was a pretty significant kick that was made to give us the lead. I don't think Manning could have made it himself.

Were we relying on Manning to cover the kickoff? Or were we relying on him to cover Braylon Edwards?

If the statement is that no one does it alone, doesn't the Jets loss prove that statement? No matter how good the quarterback is, other players have to make plays. Which is why you can't say that a coach has a good record simply because of the quarterback, because the quarterback doesn't win or lose games on his own.

[Superman]

For the life of me, I don't understand all the Caldwell defenders. The man inherited a great team with the best Qb of all time (my opinion) which explains his misleading coaching record. I'm clueless as to why we have a coach-in-training during the latter part of Manning's career.

Does anyone dispute that there are available coaches who are better than Caldwell? Why wouldn't we go after the best available coaching staff that's out there.

Tell me how you give a man who had an obscene college coaching record the head coaching position at one of the NFL's elite teams? Just because coach Dungy annointed him doesn't make it the right decision. How many teams would hire him as head coach if the Colts let him go? My guess is that no one would seriously consider it.

I'm just completely bummed out everytime I see him on the sidelines. I know we could do a whole lot better.

I don't disagree with this post, for the most part. I don't think Caldwell was necessarily the best man for the job, and I don't like the fact that we didn't interview anyone else for the job. He was appointed by his predecessor, who quite frankly held our front office hostage in order to ensure that a black man would get the job after him, and I don't think that's a good way to pick a head coach. I'm not a Gruden/Cowher/Fisher fan, but I'm not convinced there was no one better than Caldwell for our team, and that's primarily because we didn't interview anyone else. Had we interviewed a contingent of candidates and then settled on Caldwell, I'd be fine with that. But as it stands, I don't like the process.

That said, I like most of what he's done as head coach. Fired Ron Meeks, which it's obvious Dungy would never have done. Fired Russ Purnell, and while I don't think Purnell was the biggest problem with our special teams coverage, he certainly wasn't getting the job done. We now have a defense that's willing to dial up some pressure when the situation calls for it, and that change has actually won us games in the regular season and in the playoffs. I like that we abandoned the undersized defensive tackles and immediately looked for ways to get bigger in the middle, and I like that we made changes to our offensive line strategy. Whether these changes pay off in the long run remains to be seen, but given the fact that fans were begging for us to make these changes for years, I think credit is due.

And his record speaks for itself. People regard Dungy as one of the best coaches in the game when he was here, and I think he was. But we went one and done in Dungy's last two seasons here. Then, with essentially the same team, we went to the Super Bowl in Caldwell's first year. So the whole "he took over a great team" line of reasoning has holes in it. He did better than the highly regarded Dungy did.

I know it comes across as a wholesale defense of Caldwell. It's not. I disagree with some of the things he's done.I think the Jets timeout was inexcusable. I hated the conservatism of the Super Bowl gameplan and play-calling. But there's a sentiment that Caldwell is an * not fit to lead, that his players don't respect him, that he deserves zero credit for the team's relative successes in his two years, that he's somehow holding the team back, and I can't endorse any of that. Whether he's a coach worthy of praise or not, it's too early for me to decide that. He has a pretty good record through 36 games, and even in his biggest losses, I could point to a ton of on-field mistakes that the coach really can't control. I just think the criticisms of him are mostly misplaced, even though he's not exactly proven in my eyes.

[FireJimCaldwell]

The Jags and Jets situations were completely different. The Jags was not a mistake (therefore nothing to learn) the Jets was, and we have yet to see if he will learn from that.

They weren't identical but they were pretty close.

So who was it that inspired the defense to silence the critics the last four games of the 2010 season? Who was it that drew up a plan to have a playoff-caliber team despite playing guys off of the street? Who was it that had a team capable of keeping games close despite Manning throwing 11 picks in 3 games?

So allowing 28,24,, 36 and 20 points is an inspired defense? When you add that neither of the 4 teams made the playoffs, it certainly doesn't make it inspiring. If anything was inspiring it was the offense under Manning scoring nearly 30pts a game in must win situations to make the playoffs. Same 4 non-playoff teams, but if you have to give credit for a side of the ball being inspired it has to go to the offense. Coming off that 3 game stretch you mentioned, it's even more inspiring for the offense led by Manning digging deep and dealing with the cards they were dealt and moving forward into the playoffs. Sorry but the defense in that stretch was far from inspiring.

Why don't you explain to me, why, based solely on the game-state, those two timeouts were such big mistakes. Seriously. Tell me which personnel packages were in, the time on the clock, and how making a different decision would have GUARANTEED a victory, or even have given us a better chance. Your answer will sound ridiculous, because you're wrong.

Nothing can guarantee a victory, I hope you are smarter than that.

Are Caldwell's decisions perfect? No. But no one can claim otherwise for themselves either.

Jacksonville: You saw what really happened in that game. Caldwell's timeout did NOT put them in field goal range. End of story.

Jacksonville Jaguars at 0:48, (1st play from scrimmage 0:42)

1-10-JAX 23 (:42) M.Jones-Drew up the middle to JAX 31 for 8 yards (J.Powers).

Timeout #1 by IND at 00:36.

2-2-JAX 31 (:36) (Shotgun) D.Garrard pass incomplete short left to T.Underwood.

From my recollection, it seemed that Jackonville was content with running the clock out because they certainly weren't rushing to the line, and low & behold here comes Jim with the TO call. Jacksonville had a timeout left and if they want to stop the clock then make them burn it, which would have made things harder on the offense, but it gave them more time to collect their thoughts and move down the field and get into long field goal range. If they make a big play and they get into what is reasonable FG range, then you call a time out. Snap, set, kick Boom ball game. So while the Timeout didn't directly put them in field goal range, it certainly set the table for them to re-access what they wanted to do and it was a mistake.

New York: Caldwell feared a run play that would have milked the clock. He had the wrong personnel in the game, so he called timeout to swap the line up. Guess what? New York fooled us, and our DB's were incompetent anyway. Not Caldwell's fault. Besides, so what if the Jets would have kicked from where they were anyway? Everyone acted as though it was going to be a guaranteed miss. A 51 yarder from a healthy kicker, indoors, is not exactly sealing a Colts victory.

The kick coverage had far more to do with the Jets pulling one out than did Caldwell's timeout. What about Blair White's drop that would have given us a first down, and thus we run the clock down to 0:03 before kicking the field goal?

1-10-IND 34 (:36) L.Tomlinson up the middle to IND 32 for 2 yards (E.Foster).

Timeout #3 by IND at 00:29.

2-8-IND 32 (:29) (Shotgun) M.Sanchez pass deep right to B.Edwards to IND 14 for 18 yards (J.Lacey). P23

Timeout #3 by NYJ at 00:03.

Again... In my opinion, everyone has one, but to me, NYJ was content to line up to run the ball to straighten a kick up to attempt what was going to be around a 47 yard FG. They weren't hurrying or anything. Considering Folk was much more accurate under 40 as opposed to beyond 40, Folk 2011 40+ 5/11. 30-39 14/16. Again, New York had a time out so if they wanted to use it then so be it. If they want to spike the ball, to then set up a run to the kicker's preference, let them. Yet, here comes Jim and that time out... Hmmm what does that do? It gives Schottenhimer and Sanchez time to go over multiple plays and decide on the one they ended up running, and then they were allowed to call their own final time out to stop the clock and set up a much easier 32 yard fg. Would they have come up with the same play? Not likely. Would he have hit from 47ish or the 51 you were talking about? Who knows, but the odds were far worse. Guaranteed victory? Far from it but again I like our odds at 47-51 as opposed to 32.

So while I agree the kick coverage was horrible and set the table for it, Caldwell's time out cut the Turkey and allowed them to feed.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/players/8432/kicking_splits.html

[21isSuperman]

Nay Nay. A coach with a regular season winning percentage of 75% should have been fired already. Yeah I know he took the Colts to the Super Bowl in his first year as a NFL Head Coach. And double digit wins and a division title with a roster decimated by injury - all that be danmed!!! Get rid of this embarassment to the city, to the team, and to me personally. What a freaking bum he is.

this made me laugh

[braveheartcolt]

Now Caldwell gets all the kudos for Manning's brilliance. It's normally Polian. Whilst I fully respect Coffee / JSkinnz / Chad etc., this is all smoke and mirrors. We ALL know a reputible coach would take the Colts further. Hiding behind Manning's right arm to excuse Caldwell's record is a load of baloney. ANd I know you know it, but you are just not admitting it, because you think being loyal to the management is the right thing to do. It's not. It's foolish.

[jskinnz]

Now Caldwell gets all the kudos for Manning's brilliance. It's normally Polian. Whilst I fully respect Coffee / JSkinnz / Chad etc., this is all smoke and mirrors. We ALL know a reputible coach would take the Colts further. Hiding behind Manning's right arm to excuse Caldwell's record is a load of baloney. ANd I know you know it, but you are just not admitting it, because you think being loyal to the management is the right thing to do. It's not. It's foolish.

With all due respect - please don't lump me in with your generalizations. In fact we all don't know what a "reputable" coach would do with this team. Saying that you do know is complete foolishness. That is almost as foolish as your contention that resting players in 2009 helped lose the Super Bowl, completely discounting the fact that they won 2 freaking playoff games in between.

Look, I am not certain that Caldwell is the rigth man for the Colts job. My point is, and always has been, that his record as coach is pretty freaking good and that has to count for something. His teams always play hard, they never panic, and are never out of games. YOu contend that is solely on Manning but I just refuse to believe that Caldwell did not play some role in not only his team's success since he has been HC, but also what he did with Manning as a QB coach.

[dynasty13]

Now Caldwell gets all the kudos for Manning's brilliance. It's normally Polian. Whilst I fully respect Coffee / JSkinnz / Chad etc., this is all smoke and mirrors. We ALL know a reputible coach would take the Colts further. Hiding behind Manning's right arm to excuse Caldwell's record is a load of baloney. ANd I know you know it, but you are just not admitting it, because you think being loyal to the management is the right thing to do. It's not. It's foolish.

Your underestimating the importance of coaching in this league.

Question. Did you think Tony Dungy was a good coach?

[NM_Colts]

If Caldwell is along for the ride via Peyton's arm, who coached up Painter for the game against the Packers?

[FireJimCaldwell]

If Caldwell is along for the ride via Peyton's arm, who coached up Painter for the game against the Packers?

Peyton isn't Brett Favre ignoring Aaron Rodgers.

Manning has tutored Sorgi, Painter and now Kerry Collins and every other quarterback that has been on the roster. I would say Manning has worked with Painter more than Caldwell has. With that said, you can only do so much.

[jskinnz]

Peyton isn't Brett Favre ignoring Aaron Rodgers.

Manning has tutored Sorgi, Painter and now Kerry Collins and every other quarterback that has been on the roster. I would say Manning has worked with Painter more than Caldwell has. With that said, you can only do so much.

That entire premise is based on assumptions that you cannot possibly know to be true. If just fits your argument so run with it.

[braveheartcolt]

Your underestimating the importance of coaching in this league.

Question. Did you think Tony Dungy was a good coach?

He was OK, but not my cup of tea. Better than Caldwell though. Without playing up to your New England pride, I'd suggest the Colts would have been the Dynasty of the 2000's, not the Patriots, if we had BB as our coach from 1998.....and no, I can't prove that.