Colts "Mount Rushmore" - NFL Network

[NewColtsFan]

 

I realize this thread is 99% about the Colts,  so my apologies for turning to another team.   I know most here will ignore my post.    That's fine.

 

But something from the OP jumped out at me in a stunning eye-popping, jaw-dropping kind of way.        A player who is clearly great and worthy of being in the Hall of Fame.      

 

But being on the Mount Rushmore of one of the greatest franchises of all-time?     The Dallas Cowboys and......  Troy Aikman?    I just was not expecting that.    Honestly,  it never even occured to me.

 

I would've had....   Bob Lilly, one of the greatest DT's ever.   And next it would've been Randy White, the next great Cowboys DT (who also had one of the great nicknames "Man-ster".   Half Man.   Half Monster)     Love it!!

 

I know Aikman gets acclaim for being the QB of 3 super bowl winning teams.    But those teams were among the best teams of all time.   The 47 man rosters were over-flowing with top flight  talent.   Jimmy Johnson really put together incredible rosters.   But my mother could've QB'd those teams and she had already died by then!   (To be fair,  Mom had game!)        

 

Was curious if this jumped out at anyone else the way it did to me?    Maybe it was only me....  and that's OK too.....

[SOMDColtsfan]

Personally for me, due to my age it was Bert Jones, Roger Carr, Lydel Mitchell and Bruce Laird of that era

[2006Coltsbestever]

22 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

I realize this thread is 99% about the Colts,  so my apologies for turning to another team.   I know most here will ignore my post.    That's fine.

 

But something from the OP jumped out at me in a stunning eye-popping, jaw-dropping kind of way.        A player who is clearly great and worthy of being in the Hall of Fame.      

 

But being on the Mount Rushmore of one of the greatest franchises of all-time?     The Dallas Cowboys and......  Troy Aikman?    I just was not expecting that.    Honestly,  it never even occured to me.

 

I would've had....   Bob Lilly, one of the greatest DT's ever.   And next it would've been Randy White, the next great Cowboys DT (who also had one of the great nicknames "Man-ster".   Half Man.   Half Monster)     Love it!!

 

I know Aikman gets acclaim for being the QB of 3 super bowl winning teams.    But those teams were among the best teams of all time.   The 47 man rosters were over-flowing with top flight  talent.   Jimmy Johnson really put together incredible rosters.   But my mother could've QB'd those teams and she had already died by then!   (To be fair,  Mom had game!)        

 

Was curious if this jumped out at anyone else the way it did to me?    Maybe it was only me....  and that's OK too.....

My Cowboys Mt Rushmore would be:

Emmitt Smith/Roger Staubach/Bob Lilly/Tom Landry.

 

No disrespect to Troy but Lilly deserves to be on IMO.

[ColtsBlueFL]

15 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

My Cowboys Mt Rushmore would be:

Emmitt Smith/Roger Staubach/Bob Lilly/Tom Landry.

 

No disrespect to Troy but Lilly deserves to be on IMO.

 

To be different-

 

Tony Dorsett, Michael Irvin, Mel Renfro, Bob Hayes.

[jimmy g]

15 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

My Cowboys Mt Rushmore would be:

Emmitt Smith/Roger Staubach/Bob Lilly/Tom Landry.

 

No disrespect to Troy but Lilly deserves to be on IMO.

As Dandy Don Merideth would sing "Turn out the lights, the Party's over......"

[jvan1973]

I think to be on any Mount Rushmore you should be in the hall of fame, or well in your way

[2006Coltsbestever]

6 minutes ago, ColtsBlueFL said:

 

To be different-

 

Tony Dorsett, Michael Irvin, Mel Renfro, Bob Hayes.

They had so many great players LOL. Irvin IMO is a top 5 WR of all-time. Dorsett was awesome too! 

[Smoke317]

1 hour ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

I realize this thread is 99% about the Colts,  so my apologies for turning to another team.   I know most here will ignore my post.    That's fine.

 

But something from the OP jumped out at me in a stunning eye-popping, jaw-dropping kind of way.        A player who is clearly great and worthy of being in the Hall of Fame.      

 

But being on the Mount Rushmore of one of the greatest franchises of all-time?     The Dallas Cowboys and......  Troy Aikman?    I just was not expecting that.    Honestly,  it never even occured to me.

 

I would've had....   Bob Lilly, one of the greatest DT's ever.   And next it would've been Randy White, the next great Cowboys DT (who also had one of the great nicknames "Man-ster".   Half Man.   Half Monster)     Love it!!

 

I know Aikman gets acclaim for being the QB of 3 super bowl winning teams.    But those teams were among the best teams of all time.   The 47 man rosters were over-flowing with top flight  talent.   Jimmy Johnson really put together incredible rosters.   But my mother could've QB'd those teams and she had already died by then!   (To be fair,  Mom had game!)        

 

Was curious if this jumped out at anyone else the way it did to me?    Maybe it was only me....  and that's OK too.....

Irvin goes up over Troy from his own team alone let alone the all timers. And they’d both probably say LT Erick Williams was better than both of them and Emmit too. 

[Smoke317]

3 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

All Great points, Reggie performed Great with Luck in 2012 as well so he proved it wasn't just Peyton that made him and he was a Colt for 14 seasons. Edge was Great but was only here 7 seasons and wasn't on our SB winning team. So I would take Reggie over Edge. I love Edge though and thought he was Great here so I get your point. The Dungy suggestion for Mt Rushmore is interesting, I guess it just comes down to whether or not one thinks a Great Coach deserves to be on it over a Great player = tough call. If it were Belichick on NE's Mt Rushmore than it would be a no brainer. Without Dungy we did go to the SB with Caldwell in his 1st season and really should've went undefeated so that leads me to believe that Peyton had a ton do with Dungy's success.

The 49ers went to the Super Bowl with Seifert the year after Walsh retired. So was the 49ers success all Montana & not Walsh?  I don’t even think Joe would say so.  Just like Manning wouldn’t deny Dungy’s credit in the team’s success.  Now if we’re gonna give Peyton all the credit for the team’s success, then he deserves all the credit for the 1 & done playoff failures...  Can’t have it both ways. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

6 minutes ago, Smoke317 said:

The 49ers went to the Super Bowl with Seifert the year after Walsh retired. So was the 49ers success all Montana & not Walsh?  I don’t even think Joe would say so.  Just like Manning wouldn’t deny Dungy’s credit in the team’s success.  Now if we’re gonna give Peyton all the credit for the team’s success, then he deserves all the credit for the 1 & done playoff failures...  Can’t have it both ways. 

Let me ask this simple question. Who deserves more credit for our SB win and team success from 2003-2006, Dungy or Peyton? It's just a simple question = either Dungy or Peyton? Montana and Rice deserve the credit more than Walsh does IMO in 88. JMO

[Smoke317]

21 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Let me ask this simple question. Who deserves more credit for our SB win and team success from 2003-2006, Dungy or Peyton? It's just a simple question = either Dungy or Peyton? Montana and Rice deserve the credit more than Walsh does IMO in 88. JMO

For our overall success, I’d give the edge to Peyton. He was a phenomenal player. For our SB victory I’d give the nod to Bob Sanders and Dungy (who finally had all of his key pieces on defense healthy & ready to roll).  Peyton played terrible that super bowl run.  It was our D that carried us & Peyton to the mountain top. 

 

Here’s a question for you, would we have been more successful if Polian invested more of our money into retaining Dungy’s defensive studs and building a monster D while letting Peyton build up lesser players like Brady did with so much success rather than going offense so often with our first picks?  I think we would have had more overall success if we gave Dungy more players to work with rather than Peyton.

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, Smoke317 said:

For our overall success, I’d give the edge to Peyton. He was a phenomenal player. For our SB victory I’d give the nod to Bob Sanders and Dungy (who finally had all of his key pieces on defense healthy & ready to roll).  Peyton played terrible that super bowl run.  It was our D that carried us & Peyton to the mountain top. 

 

Here’s a question for you, would we have been more successful if Polian invested more of our money into retaining Dungy’s defensive studs and building a monster D while letting Peyton build up lesser players like Brady did with so much success rather than going offense so often with our first picks?  I think we would have had more overall success if we gave Dungy more players to work with rather than Peyton.

Peyton played a perfect 2nd Half vs the Pats but I will agree without Bob I have my doubts we would've won the SB. The Ravens and Pats both were top notch teams that season. To answer your question I do wish Polian would have invested more in drafting Defense so that isn't Dungy's fault. I liked Dungy and he was a Great Coach for us actually. I just think Peyton ran the team in reality. Dungy was a great players Coach and knew he had the greatest QB of all-time (or top 3 QB of all-time) so he was smart about it.

[BloodyChamp]

I say Jim Parker belongs on the Colt's mountain instead of Marvin Harrison. He's considered by everybody without a Lombardi Packers OL crush (which I understand don't get me wrong) as the greatest lineman ever. And even by a few people with that crush. I agree with the Packers mountain as it is. Rodgers doesn't belong.

 

The Cowboys one is tough. Man is that a tough one...they have so many guys that belong that we have still left 1 out - Larry Allen. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

5 minutes ago, BloodyChamp said:

I say Jim Parker belongs on the Colt's mountain instead of Marvin Harrison. He's considered by everybody without a Lombardi Packers OL crush (which I understand don't get me wrong) as the greatest lineman ever. And even by a few people with that crush. I agree with the Packers mountain as it is. Rodgers doesn't belong.

 

Rodgers doesn't belong on the Packers mountain. 

Jim Parker was awesome good call. I agree regrading Rodgers = he doesn't belong at least yet. I am not sure what your Packers Mt Rushmore is but I have Favre/Lombardi/Hutson/R.White as mine.

[southwest1]

7 hours ago, Smoke317 said:

None of the Baltimore Colts players have/had any love for Indy or our Colts.  So I have no love for them.  I respect what they accomplished and their legacies but I have no problem separating Baltimore records and accolades from Indianapolis records and accolades.  So my Mt. Rushmores are as follows:  Indy: Manning, Harrison, Freeney, James (HM: Dungy, Wayne, Mathis, & Saturday).  Baltimore:  Unitas, Moore, Marchetti, & Berry.  

 

If forced to combine, I'd go Manning, Unitas, Harrison, & Moore.  Too many honorable mentions to name.  And for the record no Colt ever had better hands than a healthy Marvin Harrison.  Not Berry.  Not Wayne.  Not TY.  No one.  You'd be hard pressed to find any receiver in NFL history with better hands.

Nice entry here Smoke317. I like your Mt. Rushmores in both cities that you named in both cities. I personally don't hate Baltimore, but I understand why some fans do & I never hold it against anybody. Marvin did have great hands no question.

 

I do miss Dwight Freeney in his prime. Jesus, in his heyday, the human tornado was unstoppable. The dude was a beast. No question. Anyway, good list.

[southwest1]

13 hours ago, Myles said:

Do the Titans have the Oilers history?

I would say yes. The Oilers & the Titans go hand in hand. Man, I loved watching Warren Moon play in the old school uniforms with the rig on their helmets. Just awesome.

 

Warren doesn't get enough credit for how truly great he was as a field general. Darn, he threw a beautiful ball with the prettiest spiral you ever saw. Amazing, but I digress...LOL!

[southwest1]

32 minutes ago, BloodyChamp said:

I agree with the Packers mountain as it is. Rodgers doesn't belong.

Yes, you're right BC. Rodgers doesn't belong there. I honestly thought he would have been to another SB by now. I must admit as it stands now that Brett Favre is better than Aaron. I will own that now.

 

I place a premium on SB appearances more than I probably should...But, Brett was more clutch than Aaron is...Facts are facts. I was wrong. I stand corrected.

[Smoke317]

1 hour ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Peyton played a perfect 2nd Half vs the Pats but I will agree without Bob I have my doubts we would've won the SB. The Ravens and Pats both were top notch teams that season. To answer your question I do wish Polian would have invested more in drafting Defense so that isn't Dungy's fault. I liked Dungy and he was a Great Coach for us actually. I just think Peyton ran the team in reality. Dungy was a great players Coach and knew he had the greatest QB of all-time (or top 3 QB of all-time) so he was smart about it.

I get what you’re saying.  I don’t think Peyton ran the team so to say but I definitely think he reached a point where he ran the offense. He was that cerebral. He was the gift and the curse. He was so good that even the great Polian himself became awestruck and went offensive playmaker happy. Hard to blame him because 18, 88, 32, 87, & 44 were a show to behold...  

 

But imagine if Dungy had a Leonard (Derrick Brooks) type to run his defense rather than Brackett, who I have a lot of love for but he was limited because of his size?  We kept letting our young and talented linebackers walk.  So I guess you’re right. We made it Peyton’s team and only got 1 out of the greatest QB to ever do it.  It’s always the QB’s team anyway (if you have a good one), we should have made it more Dungy’s team.

 

Peyton was gonna shine & get the credit anyway.  But hindsight is 20/20.  I’m happy to get the one we did. I had a blast sitting through that rain storm to witness it.  But I’m also happy that CB is building around Luck the right way.  It’s nice to see Luck be able to have off days or only throw it 23 times for under 200 yards & we can still win and dominate with defense, running game, and efficiency.   Luck still threw for 4 TD’s...  That’s the kind of balance & timely playmaking a young Brady rode to 3 quick titles.  Luck has the talent and ability to do the same. 

[BloodyChamp]

I didn't mean to include that last sentence. Once was enough lol! This forum and my phone are just never going to get along. I went back and edited it.

 

My Packers mountain has never included White. He's more of an enigma in Packers lore than a cornerstone. He's an Eagle at heart (which is ok). He's like Jim Harbaugh to the Colts kind of, an important part of history but not exactly the longest part of history. My mountain is Favre, Lombardi, Starr and Lambeau. I sometimes replace Starr with Forrest Gregg or Ray Nitsche. But heck the whole OL belongs arguably, plus a few guys from the previous successful era with Lambeau.

[2006Coltsbestever]

3 hours ago, BloodyChamp said:

I didn't mean to include that last sentence. Once was enough lol! This forum and my phone are just never going to get along. I went back and edited it.

 

My Packers mountain has never included White. He's more of an enigma in Packers lore than a cornerstone. He's an Eagle at heart (which is ok). He's like Jim Harbaugh to the Colts kind of, an important part of history but not exactly the longest part of history. My mountain is Favre, Lombardi, Starr and Lambeau. I sometimes replace Starr with Forrest Gregg or Ray Nitsche. But heck the whole OL belongs arguably, plus a few guys from the previous successful era with Lambeau.

Yeah White was kind of an Eagle but IMO he is the greatest DE ever and won a SB with Favre so I put him on my Packer Mt Rushmore, Starr probably deserves it more.

[ColtsBlueFL]

2 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Yeah White was kind of an Eagle but IMO he is the greatest DE ever and won a SB with Favre so I put him on my Packer Mt Rushmore, Starr probably deserves it more.

 

the 'Godfather' Gil Brandt agrees with you.  His top 10 DE -

 

1.  Reggie White
2.  Deacon Jones
3.  Bruce Smith
4.  Gino Marchetti
5.  Doug Atkins
6.  Lee Roy Selmon
7.  J.J. Watt  {already!} *
8.  Jack Youngblood
9.  Michael Strahan
10. Carl Eller

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 hours ago, ColtsBlueFL said:

 

the 'Godfather' Gil Brandt agrees with you.  His top 10 DE -

 

1.  Reggie White
2.  Deacon Jones
3.  Bruce Smith
4.  Gino Marchetti
5.  Doug Atkins
6.  Lee Roy Selmon
7.  J.J. Watt  {already!} *
8.  Jack Youngblood
9.  Michael Strahan
10. Carl Eller

Nice list 

[2006Coltsbestever]

Here are my Mt Rushmore's for these great franchises:

Colts - Manning/Harrison/Unitas/Marchetti - I went 2 and 2 with Baltimore

 

Patriots - Brady/Belichick/Hannah/Gronk

 

49ers - Montana/Rice/Lott/S.Young

 

Packers - Lombardi/R.White/Hutson/Favre

 

Cowboys - E.Smith/Staubach/Lilly/Landry

 

Steelers - J.Greene/Bradshaw/Noll/Swann

 

 

-I labeled them as I would choose them in order but all made my Final 4 regardless.

 

 

[dodsworth]

The Colts are bucking their history of aerial attack of Unitas/Berry

and Manning/Harrison. We are now switching to smash mouth lines

and stout defenses. 

 

Although it is still a work in progress but we can see the new direction

the team is heading.

[BOTT]

On 10/25/2018 at 9:14 AM, Myles said:

Well, there is the Browns who were allowed to keep their history with a different team.

Always thought that was a scam. How is on earth allowed to keep another's history? The original Browns play in Baltimore.

[BOTT]

1. Lilly and Irvin should be on Cowboys Rushmore 

 

2. It's Walsh who deserves more credit than Montana.  Walsh revolutionized offensive football with the west coast offense.

 

3 Rodgers > Favre no brainer.

[BOTT]

3 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Here are my Mt Rushmore's for these great franchises:

Colts - Manning/Harrison/Unitas/Marchetti - I went 2 and 2 with Baltimore

 

Patriots - Brady/Belichick/Hannah/Gronk

 

49ers - Montana/Rice/Lott/S.Young

 

Packers - Lombardi/R.White/Hutson/Favre

 

Cowboys - E.Smith/Staubach/Lilly/Landry

 

Steelers - J.Greene/Bradshaw/Noll/Swann

 

 

-I labeled them as I would choose them in order but all made my Final 4 regardless.

 

 

Swan wasn't even the best WR on the Steelers.  Stallworth, Lambert, Ham, Franco, Webster > Swann.

[Coltsman1788]

On 10/25/2018 at 9:11 AM, NewEra said:

Most who wouldn't recognize them as the same are older, bitter Baltimore fans

Or young naive Indy-era only fans who know nothing of the franchise’s rich NFL history.

[2006Coltsbestever]

11 hours ago, BOTT said:

Swan wasn't even the best WR on the Steelers.  Stallworth, Lambert, Ham, Franco, Webster > Swann.

Swann was Great in the Playoffs though, he was crucial during all of those SB runs that Pitt had. He even won a SB MVP. Webster perhaps Franco should be on instead but Swann deserves it more than the first 3 guys you named, JMO.

[jimmy g]

22 hours ago, dodsworth said:

The Colts are bucking their history of aerial attack of Unitas/Berry

and Manning/Harrison. We are now switching to smash mouth lines

and stout defenses. 

 

Although it is still a work in progress but we can see the new direction

the team is heading.

Unitas era Colts ran 65-75% of the time. Lenny Moore made the NFL's 50th Anniversary team. Their OLine opened huge holes, and their D was unmovable 

[2006Coltsbestever]

19 hours ago, BOTT said:

Swan wasn't even the best WR on the Steelers.  Stallworth, Lambert, Ham, Franco, Webster > Swann.

The more I think about it you are right regarding Webster. He really is arguably the greatest Center ever to play so he should be on it instead of Swann.

[dodsworth]

1 hour ago, jimmy g said:

Unitas era Colts ran 65-75% of the time. Lenny Moore made the NFL's 50th Anniversary team. Their OLine opened huge holes, and their D was unmovable 

Hopefully we can get there again with the O line and D. We could have 10 to 15% more passing than those stats though.

[HOF19]

Take your pick >>>>>>> List of Colts Hall of Famers (per Hall of Fame website)

Indianapolis Colts
(Baltimore Colts - 1953-1983)

Art Donovan (1953-1961)
Bill Polian (1998-2011)
Don Shula (1963-1969)
Eric Dickerson (1987-1991)
Gino Marchetti (1953-1964, 1966)
Jim Parker (1957-1967)
Joe Perry (1961-1962)
John Mackey (1963-1971)
Johnny Unitas (1956-1972)
Lenny Moore (1956-1967)
Marshall Faulk (1994-98)
Marvin Harrison (1996-2008)
Raymond Berry (1955-1967)
Richard Dent (1996)
Ted Hendricks (1969-1973)
Tony Dungy (2002-08)
Weeb Ewbank (1954-1962

[LJpalmbeacher2]

On 10/25/2018 at 10:55 PM, southwest1 said:

I would say yes. The Oilers & the Titans go hand in hand. Man, I loved watching Warren Moon play in the old school uniforms with the rig on their helmets. Just awesome.

 

Warren doesn't get enough credit for how truly great he was as a field general. Darn, he threw a beautiful ball with the prettiest spiral you ever saw. Amazing, but I digress...LOL!

.....and Earl Campbell. What a Beast! One of my all time favourites to watch.

[2006Coltsbestever]

17 minutes ago, HOF19 said:

Take your pick >>>>>>> List of Colts Hall of Famers (per Hall of Fame website)

Indianapolis Colts
(Baltimore Colts - 1953-1983)

Art Donovan (1953-1961)
Bill Polian (1998-2011)
Don Shula (1963-1969)
Eric Dickerson (1987-1991)
Gino Marchetti (1953-1964, 1966)
Jim Parker (1957-1967)
Joe Perry (1961-1962)
John Mackey (1963-1971)
Johnny Unitas (1956-1972)
Lenny Moore (1956-1967)
Marshall Faulk (1994-98)
Marvin Harrison (1996-2008)
Raymond Berry (1955-1967)
Richard Dent (1996)
Ted Hendricks (1969-1973)
Tony Dungy (2002-08)
Weeb Ewbank (1954-1962

I still feel good about my Peyton/Unitas/Harrison/Marchetti Mt Rushmore. I think it's fair to both Baltimore and Indy players. I think there has to be a Defensive player in it as well to be fair to the Defense and Marchetti deserves it IMO.

[HOF19]

Anybody on this board remember Dickerson on a Halloween night vs Denver ?  ……….. I found an article about that game on the internet...….Here's some of it >>>>>>> "We could do nothing to stop Eric Dickerson. He was outstanding."
-- Broncos' head coach Dan Reeves                            Also from the article  >>>>>   It was a record-setting night, both individually and for the team: Dickerson's four rushing TDs tied Earl Campbell's MNF single-game record, and the 55 points were the most ever scored in a Monday Night game, a record that still stands. Dickerson also broke the Colts' team record of three rushing touchdowns in a game. Article link >>>>>>>> http://www.espn.com/abcsports/mnf/s/classic/denind88.html

[jimmy g]

3 hours ago, HOF19 said:

Anybody on this board remember Dickerson on a Halloween night vs Denver ?  ……….. I found an article about that game on the internet...….Here's some of it >>>>>>> "We could do nothing to stop Eric Dickerson. He was outstanding."
-- Broncos' head coach Dan Reeves                            Also from the article  >>>>>   It was a record-setting night, both individually and for the team: Dickerson's four rushing TDs tied Earl Campbell's MNF single-game record, and the 55 points were the most ever scored in a Monday Night game, a record that still stands. Dickerson also broke the Colts' team record of three rushing touchdowns in a game. Article link >>>>>>>> http://www.espn.com/abcsports/mnf/s/classic/denind88.html

Somewhere, I have it on cassette

[ColtsFanMikeC]

On 10/25/2018 at 3:05 PM, 2006Coltsbestever said:

All Great points, Reggie performed Great with Luck in 2012 as well so he proved it wasn't just Peyton that made him and he was a Colt for 14 seasons. Edge was Great but was only here 7 seasons and wasn't on our SB winning team. So I would take Reggie over Edge. I love Edge though and thought he was Great here so I get your point. The Dungy suggestion for Mt Rushmore is interesting, I guess it just comes down to whether or not one thinks a Great Coach deserves to be on it over a Great player = tough call. If it were Belichick on NE's Mt Rushmore than it would be a no brainer. Without Dungy we did go to the SB with Caldwell in his 1st season and really should've went undefeated so that leads me to believe that Peyton had a ton do with Dungy's success.

 

I agree it's tough between Reggie and Edge for what they did on the field.  My thought with Edge was that he really was a bell cow and, IMO, one of the 2 best RBs in the league for the majority of his career.  Reggie was the 2nd best WR on our team for most of his career, and even though he was here for 14 years, he only had 4 years with 100+ catches and only had a very good season  when he was our #1 WR in Luck's rookie year.  Edge was exceptional for us from day 1 aside from when he got hurt.

 

Dungy I put on there because he led this team to the most wins by any team in a decade in NFL history, which is very impressive.  Jim Mora didn't seem to be able to get it done with Peyton and Co.  Dungy is a HOFer and he built that team, helped us win a superbowl and was a class act all the way.  Even though Caldwell took us to a SB after Dungy left, that was still Dungy's team (IMO).  Of course, having Peyton helped tremendously, but Dungy did the same thing in TB... he built a team that was on the brink of the SB and the year he left Gruden took them there... then, like Indy, the 2nd season Dungy was away in TB the teams kind of fell apart.

 

The way I look at it is... for the Indy-era Colts.... is we have 4 100% sure fire HOFers:

 

Tony Dungy (already in)

Marvin Harrison (already in)

Peyton Manning (first-ballot, no doubt)

Adam Vinatieri (though, he did quite a bit with the Pats and is a K)

 

I think Edge, Freeney, Wayne all get in, though none are locks or first/second ballot guys (maybe Freeney, but doubt it).... I think Mathis is going to be on the bubble, but think his late-career PED suspension is going to look bad to voters... and then Saturday will be on the ballot, but I don't think he ever gets in.

 

I think it's pretty hard to justify a K on 'Mount Rushmore'... there's my logic for keeping Dungy, Manning and Marvin... then I guess it'd be a toss-up between Edge, Freeney and Wayne.  I choose Edge.