In Hindsight, It's Too Bad The Strike Was Resolved...

[sfergson727]

Humor me on this one, okay?

Strange as it seems, I had a revelation while drinking my coffee this morning. Suppose the strike hadn't been resolved and the season were cancelled....Madness, I know, but just suppose.

We wouldn't be 0-8.

Peyton probably, possibly, just maybe might not have needed the last surgery.

Bob Lamey would be able to sleep at night.

The most popular halloween costume wouldn't be Jim Caldwell.

Jim Irsay would be tweeting....well, I suppose there's no predicting what he might tweet about, is there?

What other positives can you guys think of that might have been, had the season been scrapped?

[Superman]

Peyton probably, possibly, just maybe might not have needed the last surgery.

How do you deduce that?

[sfergson727]

I'm speculating that he might have healed on his own, given more time.

Granted, I'm not a doctor (my father is) but I've been through some major surgeries (both hips resplaced) and know from experience that if you can avoid the knife, you should.

Edited October 31, 2011 by sfergson727

[ruksak]

Whatcha talkin bout?

This season is the best thing to happen to the Colts since Manning. If the lockout remains, then when Manning heals...there he is again, covering up an inept defense playing an inept scheme. There we are again, picking #26 in the draft and going into 2012 with the GOAT bandaid slapped on our team.

The positive effects of being exposed as a one man band, garnering a high end draft order, are going to hold this team up for many years.

Not only that, but I love NFL football, not just my Colts. There are some great teams to follow and some great ball being played outside of this horror show in Indy.

[sfergson727]

That's all true...it's just a shame to watch this product fester week in and week out...sometimes a mercy killing is better. (in the form of a lockout)

[JoKeR]

But if the lock out was still in place we Colts fans would feel like we were cheated from a homefield Superbowl.

[sfergson727]

That's true too, having the Superbowl is a big deal for the city. I suppose that as stinky as this season is, it still works out better for everyone that the strike ended.

[JCPatriot]

That's all true...it's just a shame to watch this product fester week in and week out...sometimes a mercy killing is better. (in the form of a lockout)

No. As much as enduring this season sucks right now, it is going to put the Colts in better position to improve for the future than losing the season to a lockout would have. If the lockout was still in effect and there was no football this year, the Colts would be picking at the bottom of the draft again. As it is, they will most likely be picking near the top, possibly #1 overall. This season is short-term pain for (hopefully, with competent drafting) significant long-term gain. A lockout would have been less short-term pain for no long-term gain. As much as it sucks right now, this season is going to be good for the Colts in coming years.

[BlueStallion]

As Slick Willy used to say, "I feel your pain." Even though it sucks to watch the Colts get humiliated every week, I'm glad the strike ended and the season was saved. I just hope Peyton Manning fully recovers and returns to play out the remaining years of his contract.

I agree with ruksak and JCPatriot. This nightmare of a season proves without a doubt that Peyton has not only carried the team on his back, he has also carried the entire front office. Without Peyton compensating for the team's many weaknesses, the Polians and the entire coaching staff are now exposed. These emperors have no clothes. Over the past five years, their busted draft picks (Gonzalez, Ugoh, Brown, Hughes, etc.), their bad personnel decisions (cutting Tommie Harris, starting Lacey and waiving Tryon), their preference for fast but undersized defensive players, and the awful coaching (Caldwell's timeouts, Tampa-2 featuring 15-yard cushions, no game-time adjustments, special teams suckitude) have finally caught up to them. Without Peyton covering up all these failures, the Polians and the coaching staff suddenly appear not quite as brilliant as advertised.

News Flash: The NFL's parity system works. When the worst teams get to pick first in each year's draft and the best teams pick last, the difference in talent will eventually show itself. If a franchise's front office is not completely inept, its team can go from stinker to contender within five years just from the higher-talent rookies accumulated through several drafts (ala Detroit, Buffalo, and San Francisco.) Conversely, the best teams picking late in each round year-after-year can easily slide down into mediocrity and even drop to the bottom as they lose talented veterans to free agency or old age and are unable to replace them with equally talented younger players. The number of years each team spends at the top, middle, or bottom of the league depends greatly on its front office.

Colts fans have been spoiled rotten privileged to watch their team get into the playoffs for eight years in a row, thanks to Peyton. No other team in the league can approach that record, not even Pittsburgh and New England. However, it's also clear that the team's overall talent level, aside from Peyton and the dynamic duo of Freeney-Mathis, has declined steadily since 2006. Bill Polian's penchant for finding late round gems does not make up for the string of early-round busts attributed to him and his son. Consequently, the Colts do not have enough talent -- especially on defense and special teams -- to keep up with the stronger teams in the league.

It's wishful thinking to believe that a team perennially hobbled by injuries and comprised largely of busted early-round picks, undrafted rookies, free-agent scrubs off the street, and 4th-stringers poached from other teams' practice squads could consistently win. Yet Peyton enabled this motley crew to prevail through his enormous talent, strong leadership, and sheer force of will.

The Colts front office has managed to fall *-backwards into a rare and precious opportunity to extend the team's reign at the top of the league for another decade. By enduring one ugly season without Peyton and dropping immediately to the bottom, the team is potentially avoiding several years of mediocrity or worse. I don't believe they are intentionally tanking; I believe they are really that bad without Peyton.

At the midway point of this season, it's already obvious the Colts will pick among the top 3 in each round of next year's draft, which just happens to be loaded with excellent QB prospects. If Peyton can no longer play football and must retire, the team will be forced to draft its next QB in the first round. If Peyton does return to play, the team can still use one of its picks to acquire a good QB to sit on the bench for a few years, but not necessarily an early first rounder.

Even if the Polians pick wisely and hit on all of their selections (don't bet on it), I'm not delusional enough to think that one good draft will solve all of the team's glaring weaknesses. Besides, most rookies need at least one or two years to learn the pro-game and earn a starting spot. I just hope the front office will change its philosophy about building the team exclusively through the draft (and free agent rookies). They need to spend some money in free-agency to acquire a few proven veterans who can upgrade the team right away. There will be some very talented free agents avaiIable such as DeSean Jackson, Laron Landry, and Paul Soliai. I'd much rather the team spend big money for top-caliber free agents than overpay to resign its own mediocre veterans (ahem...Kelvin Hayden, Gary Brackett).

To free up cap space, the front office will need to cut some dead weight from the roster at the end of the season. Will the Polians swallow their pride and admit they made some bad picks by releasing unproductive players like Gonzalez, Brown, and Hughes?

Pardon my rambling rant

[JCPatriot]

Pardon my rambling rant

This isn't rambling. It is very well said. I 95% agree with everything that you said. If I get a chance at some point, I'll pick out the points that I disagree on.

[John Waylon]

NO.

Yeah, things suck for us.

But not having any football?

Worst suck of all.

[Andy]

But they we'd have nothing to watch on Sundays. I love the Colts, and they're by far my favourite team, but I love watching some Ravens-Steelers games or some Pats-Jets games. It's good the lockout didn't happen.

[willysp]

Humor me on this one, okay?

Strange as it seems, I had a revelation while drinking my coffee this morning. Suppose the strike hadn't been resolved and the season were cancelled....Madness, I know, but just suppose.

We wouldn't be 0-8.

Peyton probably, possibly, just maybe might not have needed the last surgery.

......

Peyton's surgery would have been done at the last minute next year and we'd be in the same place....

[sfergson727]

Well, I can't argue with anything that's been said here. I just bought tickets to the Falcons game this weekend, my only chance at seeing the Colts play, as their suckitude has made it such that the television networks in Chicago no longer carry the Colts as a regional game. (Detroit now gets all the air time) So I'll go enjoy a nice family outing in Indy, and regardless of who wins the game, it should be fun. I'll even try to refrain from chanting "Fire Caldwell", but no promises.

If anyone is there at the game, I'll be up in the nose bleed section, but I'll be easy to spot....I'll be wearing my Peyton Manning offical NFL jersey that I bought in Singapore.

Edited November 1, 2011 by sfergson727

[ruksak]

NO.

Yeah, things suck for us.

But not having any football?

Worst suck of all.

WORD!

I was an NFL before I was a Colts fan.

[super8todd]

This season is the best thing to ever happen to us since Manning. We get the #1 pick, Manning gets to heal all season on the recommended surgery.. And we get to pick top of every other round.. So our 2nd round pick is almost like what we normally get anyway every year.. its like we get 2 1st rounds.

[ruksak]

This season is the best thing to ever happen to us since Manning. We get the #1 pick, Manning gets to heal all season on the recommended surgery.. And we get to pick top of every other round.. So our 2nd round pick is almost like what we normally get anyway every year.. its like we get 2 1st rounds.

Aside from all that, it was crucial that this franchise was forced to address the inadequacies of our previous philosophies. Specifically the lack of proper back-up at the QB position, the scheme/personnel that our secondary operates with and our philosophy regarding a lack of participation in free-agency/ signing UDFA's.

Lets hope there's a serious culture change in 2012. People have long defended the need for change by chanting repeatedly our record of success over the last decade. Which was hard to counter. However it has become fast apparent that Manning has been playing every instrument in this one man band, and is wholly responsible for our success, not because of the FO philosophy, rather, in spite of it. He's that good.

If Peyton played for SD, NE, Pitt, and many others, he has 3-4 rings at a minimum, with the most storied championship career in NFL history.