Would This Be The Ultimate Justice From The Football Gods?

[Blue Horseshoe]

Two years after the Colts, the winningest team of the 2001-2010 decade, quit on their chance at a perfect season they go 0-16

Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions, the losingest team of that decade and previously the only team to ever go 0-16, go 16-0 and then complete a perfect 19-0 season on the Colts home field.

[Ty2d]

I dont know what or what teams your watching. The Colts will not be 0-16. Colts Management will not let that happen even if they get 1 win they wont be 0-16 and also the Lions wont even make the playoffs. Their high of high with starting 4-0 will come crashing down and will lose half of the next 10 games. The are in tough division and will not win vs Packers and i dont think they will win both vs Bears so they miss playoffs even though the fans think they cant be beat. The Lions bus is about to hit a bump in road and crash.

[Smitto]

If there is anyone to blame it would be the colts themselves, they layed one in their own plate. this is just a glimpse of what this team will be like if they dont change some things and i consider this as a good thing because peyton will be back.

[cmgww]

Please stop with the "we're cursed b/c we quit on the perfect season" threads. It's over. done. There are no curses (my beliefs), football "gods", etc...That Jets game was handled horribly, yes. I will agree with that. But 16-0 had already been done by the Patriots two seasons' prior. What was the point? You think going for 16-0 means we would have won the SB? Did the football "gods" cause Freeney's ankle to tighten and swell up in the 2nd half? Did they cause that crazy onside kick that just happened to work b/c of Hank Baskett not being able to field a ball?? um...no. Had we gone 16-0, we'd have been 18-1, just like the Pats were after the Giants beat them (some say Tyree's insane helmet catch was the football "gods" revenge for the Pats running up the score on everyone that year, so it goes both ways if you believe in that type of junk)..Fast forward to 2009, and Belichick runs out his starters for the final game of the season. Bam, Wes Welker goes down with an ACL tear, and the Pats get crushed in the playoffs by the Ravens. Even genius Bill admitted regretting that decision! (in the recent "football life" documentary) Yeah, let's play Manning and the boys all game in snowy Buffalo...that seems really smart....

I don't believe in curses, football "gods", or karma. I believe in God. I also believe in a better strength/conditioning program, bigger players on D, and better coaching than we are seeing from Caldwell and Coyer. I also believe that we'd be 4-1 if Manning were healthy. Sorry, but the D can't be on the field 70% of the 2nd half of both the Tampa and KC games and not wear down and start getting gashed...That's on the offense (yes you Dallas, step it up! you catch those gimmes and we get 1st downs)

So stop saying the Colts "quit" on the perfect season. That never was the goal. 16-0 gets you nothing, especially when it was done already. 18-1 gets you put alongside the 2007 Pats, which is not a fun place to be. And that's what the Colts would have been had they "gone for the perfect season"...

[sfergson727]

So one has to wonder, if we are supposidly getting better six inches at a time, did we just get 18 inches worse on this last Sunday?

[OJl]

Two years after the Colts, the winningest team of the 2001-2010 decade, quit on their chance at a perfect season they go 0-16

Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions, the losingest team of that decade and previously the only team to ever go 0-16, go 16-0 and then complete a perfect 19-0 season on the Colts home field.

Hahaha! Seriously, some of you myopics need to let that thing go! We lost the darned Super Bowl! If we had won the Super Bowl that year fine, lady until you die. But we lost the darn Super Bowl so the tank job became moot. Move along! Stop livin' in the past man! You're livin' in the PASSSTTT!!! Keep it up and you're gonna be that * old man who screams down little kids because their wiffle ball rolled onto your lawn.

[Coltsagent]

You are reading too much Greg Easterbook for this football gods thing...on the other hand I do belive in the power and energy of the masses, just like us against the City of New Orleans and the Patriots going 18-1 becuase they got caught cheating.

[Blue Horseshoe]

So stop saying the Colts "quit" on the perfect season. That never was the goal. 16-0 gets you nothing, especially when it was done already. 18-1 gets you put alongside the 2007 Pats, which is not a fun place to be. And that's what the Colts would have been had they "gone for the perfect season"...

OK, this is the kind of nonsense that I simply do not understand about the whole disgraceful fiasco. Exactly how is 18-1 worse than 16-3, especially when 2 of the 3 were because you were too gutless to play the game.

If the scenario in my opening post ever does come to pass then football historians will crucify Polian forever and that is something I wouldn't mind seeing to be quite honest with you.

[oldunclemark]

Two years after the Colts, the winningest team of the 2001-2010 decade, quit on their chance at a perfect season they go 0-16

Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions, the losingest team of that decade and previously the only team to ever go 0-16, go 16-0 and then complete a perfect 19-0 season on the Colts home field.

The Lions??? 19-0....?????

You know they still have a team in Green Bay, right??

[drew]

I have a few friends that are die hard Lions fans and I think it is cool to see them have a good season. But the Packers will take the NFC North.

The Lions will be 11-5.

[21isSuperman]

There is no way the Colts go 0-16 and there is no way the Lions go 16-0

[ruksak]

There is no way the Colts go 0-16 and there is no way the Lions go 16-0

.....and there is NO WAY we're going to lose to the Chiefs

oh wait.....

Edited October 11, 2011 by ruksak

[indycolts4life]

Their high of high with starting 4-0 will come crashing down and will lose half of the next 10 games. The are in tough division and will not win vs Packers and i dont think they will win both vs Bears so they miss playoffs even though the fans think they cant be beat. The Lions bus is about to hit a bump in road and crash.

umadbro?

You should give DET more credit. Stafford is a monster when healthy, he just hasn't been so far until this season. Stafford to Johnson is the best QB WR combo in the game. The chemistry they have is absolutely amazing. Plus, they know that they can win games no matter how far down they are. They are going to be tough to beat this season.

[King Colt]

What price is the ownership willing to pay to hold on to a QB with a foggy future passing on any chance of adding a potential superstar. Since not going to the playoffs pays nothing for this year, does the organization say,"We will be great again when #18 returns after a year of ZERO activity, a year older and what kind of guarantee on the neck"? What is in the minds of the players with only a few years left? With all pro sports living on the greed "Winning in the only thing" how does that figure in to this years record dictating years of failure in the future versus grabbing Stan Luck? No one is sacred and no one is above winning games......no one!!

[GoPats]

I dont know what or what teams your watching. The Colts will not be 0-16. Colts Management will not let that happen even if they get 1 win they wont be 0-16 and also the Lions wont even make the playoffs. Their high of high with starting 4-0 will come crashing down and will lose half of the next 10 games. The are in tough division and will not win vs Packers and i dont think they will win both vs Bears so they miss playoffs even though the fans think they cant be beat. The Lions bus is about to hit a bump in road and crash.

I don't think Detroit will go 16-0, but you're vastly underestimating what is a very, very good football team. And I would have said that prior to last night.

As far as Karma and all that goes... no. If anything like that was in play, it probably ended when Tracy Porter picked off that pass and took it to the house.

[Peytongirl]

Does anyone have any idea how sick I am of hearing the week 16 "perfect season" mess?

edit for addition - yes, I was upset too...16-0, history and all that would have been nice for all of the players and stuff. I was mad for about two hours. When we lost the game, it was over and time to focus on something else. It wasn't going to be changed and continuing the negative energy on something that wasn't going to change no matter what was unhealthy. But the lingering rancor is just unreal.

I mean, come on. Really, really? I agree with the posters who say move on, those that say we will not go 0-16 and while I think the Lions are good this year (best team and coach they have had ....oh, since 1957? rotfl) they aren't going to go undefeated.

[IndyLady]

Does anyone have any idea how sick I am of hearing the week 16 "perfect season" mess?

I mean, come on. Really, really? I agree with the posters who say move on, those that say we will not go 0-16 and while I think the Lions are good this year (best team and coach they have had ....oh, since 1957? rotfl) they aren't going to go undeafeated.

We do need to move on. In fact this is the last time I am going to mention it.

I love football and I have for a very long time. I saw the Dolphins have their perfect season and I wanted it too. I wanted that team, my team, to go into the history of the sport that I love as undefeated. Not just for me but for Peyton, Dwight, Bob, Jeff, Joseph, Reggie etc..... They are the ones getting the heck knocked out of them every week. They deserved a chance to try for the record books.

Moving on: If the Lions do have a chance to go undefeated, I hope they fight for it.

[ruksak]

What the Lions have done is awesome. I'm a long time fan. The game against Chicago was their first domination of a respected team, at least throughout. They exposed the cover-2 for what it is, a faulty, foregone scheme that isn't keeping up with today's offenses. It was brought about to address the passing trend in the NFL, now that trend has transcended the cover-2.

[FireJimCaldwell]

If they were to hit 14-0, I doubt they would lay down and spit in the eye of perfection. Their coach seems like he has some moxie about him.

Edited October 12, 2011 by FIreJimmy

[ruksak]

If they were to hit 14-0, I doubt they would lay down and spit in the eye of perfection. Their coach seems like he has some moxie about him.

ohhhh....I don't know about that. Given Stafford's history of injury and what happened to their star rookie RB, they might be inclined not to blow their first playoff run in eons.

[FireJimCaldwell]

ohhhh....I don't know about that. Given Stafford's history of injury and what happened to their star rookie RB, they might be inclined not to blow their first playoff run in eons.

You might have a point, but their coach doesn't seem like the type to lay down.

[ruksak]

You might have a point, but their coach doesn't seem like the type to lay down.

Watching the Lions the other night was quite remarkable. As a Colts fan, I saw the same offense that we're accustomed to here in Indy. Single back sets, fast play action shots to the tight end streaking down the middle when the linebackers come up for that brief second. Much like Indy, everything is predicated upon the QB. We've seen what happens when that piece is missing, and it's devastating. I implore Colts fans to watch Detroit and see the similarity, it's remarkable.

Just look at what happened this year, the same would've happened in 2009 if Manning had gotten hurt. Here's whats funny, and has been missing from this conversation of the perfect season that could've been. All these people that have been screaming about this for years have always countered with "Manning's never been injured.....". AHA! They didn't know, did they? I didn't, you didn't, no one did. Manning was hurt. He has been hurt this whole time. Hiding, just under the surface, was a terrible neck injury that tanked our 2011 season.

Maybe the Colts did lay down, in that they could have played every starter except Manning in 2009 and tried for the perfect season. But we would've lost because we had a green QB that is still to this day finding his sea legs. What I'm saying is if we had gone all out with Manning, and subsequently lost Manning, the year was lost.

Detroit has the same conundrum if they make it to 14-0. Stafford has shown he can get hurt with far greater ease than Manning ever displayed. If that were to happen, they would be done.

It's just plain stupid to risk it. For a franchise that has been starved of any semblance of success, I think perfection is a goal they had best temper.

Edited October 12, 2011 by ruksak

[FireJimCaldwell]

Watching the Lions the other night was quite remarkable. As a Colts fan, I saw the same offense that we're accustomed to here in Indy. Single back sets, fast play action shots to the tight end streaking down the middle when the linebackers come up for that brief second. Much like Indy, everything is predicated upon the QB. We've seen what happens when that piece is missing, and it's devastating. I implore Colts fans to watch Detroit and see the similarity, it's remarkable.

Just look at what happened this year, the same would've happened in 2009 if Manning had gotten hurt. Here's whats funny, and has been missing from this conversation of the perfect season that could've been. All these people that have been screaming about this for years have always countered with "Manning's never been injured.....". AHA! They didn't know, did they? I didn't, you didn't, no one did. Manning was hurt. He has been hurt this whole time. Hiding, just under the surface, was a terrible neck injury that tanked our 2011 season.

Maybe the Colts did lay down, in that they could have played every starter except Manning in 2009 and tried for the perfect season. But we would've lost because we had a green QB that is still to this day finding his sea legs. What I'm saying is if we had gone all out with Manning, and subsequently lost Manning, the year was lost.

Detroit has the same conundrum if they make it to 14-0. Stafford has shown he can get hurt with far greater ease than Manning ever displayed. If that were to happen, they would be done.

It's just plain stupid to risk it. For a franchise that has been starved of any semblance of success, I think perfection is a goal they had best temper.

Yeah all that is commonsense. Belichik and the Pats play game 16 full force beat NYG, go on to the SB, and lose to the NYG. Fast forward to game 1 of the next year and Brady goes down in the first half. Imagine the out cry if that would have happened in game 16 vs. NYG. Obviously there are risks a team/coach should and shouldn't take. I don't see Belichick running the option with Brady, and that might be an exaggerated example, but if an injury is meant to happen, it's going to. Detroit(I don't see them going 14-0) but they could rest Stafford in game 15 and he could break an ankle going down his steps... Car wreck, hamstring, etc. Plenty of things could happen to disrupt a season. We learned that the hard way with Coach Dungy's horrible situation that he had to go through.

To me, there is only one way to play the game, and Herm Edwards is famous for it.

[plshlp18]

Love the thread. Never thought we would be at a point this soon where the Colts are 0-5 and Detroit is 5-0. It's obvious some Colts fans didn't mind laying down to the Jets and that's completely fine. In fact, I'm envious you were able to remove it from your memory so quickly. I on the other hand, will never forget that day. If Peyton had agreed to rest for the playoffs, I would have stood by the decision. But his reactions on the sidelines are still front and center in my head. This is Peyton's team. This is his legacy. He had already won a Super Bowl. He had a chance to do what the Patriots and Brady could not, but he had that chance stripped from him. If he had lost to Buffalo in the snow the next week, or if he had finished with the one loss to the Saints, I could have lived with that. But to see some first-year coach (or Polian as some suggested) make that call? To me, it's the blackest day in Colts' history (I wasn't alive when the team moved from Baltimore).

[ruksak]

Yeah all that is commonsense. Belichik and the Pats play game 16 full force beat NYG, go on to the SB, and lose to the NYG. Fast forward to game 1 of the next year and Brady goes down in the first half. Imagine the out cry if that would have happened in game 16 vs. NYG. Obviously there are risks a team/coach should and shouldn't take. I don't see Belichick running the option with Brady, and that might be an exaggerated example, but if an injury is meant to happen, it's going to. Detroit(I don't see them going 14-0) but they could rest Stafford in game 15 and he could break an ankle going down his steps... Car wreck, hamstring, etc. Plenty of things could happen to disrupt a season. We learned that the hard way with Coach Dungy's horrible situation that he had to go through.

To me, there is only one way to play the game, and Herm Edwards is famous for it.

Whats Herm up to nowadays? lol....sorry, had to go there.

No, Detroit won't go 14-0. If for no other reason, theres that big green elephant in the room. At best they split games with the Pack.

Edited October 12, 2011 by ruksak

[FireJimCaldwell]

Whats Herm up to nowadays? lol....sorry, had to go there.

No, Detroit won't go 14-0. If for no other reason, theres that big green elephant in the room. At best they split games with the Pack.

He's on tv these days, just one of a number of former coaches that would be a huge upgrade to what we currently have in place.

[ruksak]

He's on tv these days, just one of a number of former coaches that would be a huge upgrade to what we currently have in place.

Now thats just mean.....

[MAC]

In another thread I commented on what NY and Philly think of their current coaches. I'll add here that many many many loud Jets fans and commentators just loathed Herm Edwards. He was all but ridden out of town on the rail. I have a hard time viewing him as an upgrade either.

Edited October 12, 2011 by MAC

[18Manning]

Two years after the Colts, the winningest team of the 2001-2010 decade, quit on their chance at a perfect season they go 0-16

Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions, the losingest team of that decade and previously the only team to ever go 0-16, go 16-0 and then complete a perfect 19-0 season on the Colts home field.

It's certainly possible, but I think unlikely.

[MAC]

It's fun that the Lions are coming around, and I wish them well. Their young players are exiting and their fans have been punished for far too long. But I can't see them going undefeated, and I highly doubt that the Colts will be win-less.

By the way, I also wasn't bothered much by the Colts not trying to go undefeated. I get the impression that Peyton talked the coaches into letting the starters come out again in the second half against the Jets to try and build a sustainable lead, and that was a serious mistake. I had read Polians comments before the game, and obviously knew the teams tendencies in previous years. It never occurred to me that they WOULD try to go undefeated - until the second half started and the big guns were still in there. They should have clearly announced their intentions ahead of time and pulled the starters at the half, and people wouldn't feel that their emotions had been toyed with. They should have told the networks their intention so that there wasn't a national audience expecting something special. The way they handled it was just moronic, and I was upset at the moment it happened, but I got over it in no time at all.

As far as I'm concerned, football is a uniquely intense sport. Either you NEED to win a game, or you don't. It's impossible to bring the same intensity to the later that you do to the former. As far as I'm concerned the Colts DID go undefeated that regular season. They won every game that mattered, they won every game they tried to win. Those last two were as utterly devoid of meaning as a preseason game.

Some of you talk as if failing to try to go undefeated reflects a character flaw. I look at it exactly the opposite. Doing everything possible to win games that you don't need to win shows about as much character as the Patriots do when running up the score in a lopsided game, or as the Colts did when Peyton threw five microscopic passes to Reggie in Buffalo so he could hit 100 for the season. "Wooo hooo", I'll bet he'll be telling his grandkids about that - "And then I caught a FIFTH 3 yard dump off, ducked out of bounds, and went and had a hot chocolate." That's a hall-of-fame moment for you. Really people, that was embarrassing, and so is risking your chances of succeeding in the playoffs just to win a couple of exhibition games. One in a BLIZZARD no less. The only NFL people who talk about undefeated seasons are the surviving members of the Dolphins (who by the way, only went 14-0 in the regular season themselves), and people who are obsessed with the Patriots. I have to ask, if the Pats hadn't done what they did in 2007, would you care about this half as much. This seems far more meaningful to some people than all the numerous playoff losses combined - but any ONE of them is 1,000,000 times more important than that stupid Jets game, and infinitely more painful.

[doogansquest]

Yes. You are absolutely right. This is exactly why everything is happening this way, and it all makes perfectly reasonable sense. I dont know why I couldn't see it before...

Of course, if the football gods have a hand in it, then it's always been a part of their plan, and theres nothing we could have done abiut it anyway. Maybe had we tried to win 2 completely unnecessary games, the football gods would have punished our ungrateful and greedy ambition by causing Manning to suffer a career ending injury on the the potentially game winning drive of the Super Bowl. Then we lose anyway, Manning has to retire, and Brady and Rivers split the next 7 MVP's and Super Bowls.

[ViriLudant]

Two years after the Colts, the winningest team of the 2001-2010 decade, quit on their chance at a perfect season they go 0-16

Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions, the losingest team of that decade and previously the only team to ever go 0-16, go 16-0 and then complete a perfect 19-0 season on the Colts home field.

2nd winningest, actually, based on playoffs.