Have you forgiven Polian/ Irsay?

[StewieG]

For the decision to pull the starters against the Jets and not go for 16-0?

I for one and still pretty sick about it. We are probably the only team (or one of very few teams) in professional sports that wouldn't go for a perfect outing.

Has anyone here forgiven them?

[Buck Showalter]

Never held it against Irsay, but will never forgive Polian/Caldwell...

[Gavin]

Nothing to forgive, wasnt my call. But I didnt mind the decision in the first place

[StewieG]

Never held it against Irsay, but will never forgive Polian/Caldwell...

Well I think Irsay had more to do with the call than Caldwell did. Caldwell was probably going to do that whether he wanted to or not.

[FireJimCaldwell]

For the decision to pull the starters against the Jets and not go for 16-0?

I for one and still pretty sick about it. We are probably the only team (or one of very few teams) in professional sports that wouldn't go for a perfect outing.

Has anyone here forgiven them?

No, and that is something that will never be forgiven.

Never held it against Irsay, but will never forgive Polian/Caldwell...

Irsay has to share the blame. It's his team, and if he was clearly on board with that decision.

If in the future this team is graced with the same decision and they do the same thing, then I will be against it then too. If they change course and go for it, then I will be even more (can't come up with the perfect word) about the original decision.

Maybe I'll work up a rant at some point that explains exactly how I feel about the decision. If I do, it sure won't be published here.

[Boiler_Colt]

Doesn't matter because we lost the Superbowl anyways

[StewieG]

No, and that is something that will never be forgiven.

Irsay has to share the blame. It's his team, and if he was clearly on board with that decision.

If in the future this team is graced with the same decision and they do the same thing, then I will be against it then too. If they change course and go for it, then I will be even more (can't come up with the perfect word) about the original decision.

Maybe I'll work up a rant at some point that explains exactly how I feel about the decision. If I do, it sure won't be published here.

If we end up with the same decision at hand, I don't think we do it. I think Irsay knows how sick fans were after seeing that happen. Irsay would make sure Grigson/Pagano didn't do it.

[JustAColtsFan]

As a season ticket holder and one of those schmucks that bought additional tickets as Christmas gifts for other family members to go to the game - NO!! This is entertainment that we pay good money for - not only in ticket sales but jersey sales ect. That was far from entertaining!!

[jbaron04]

For the decision to pull the starters against the Jets and not go for 16-0?

I for one and still pretty sick about it. We are probably the only team (or one of very few teams) in professional sports that wouldn't go for a perfect outing.

Has anyone here forgiven them?

Nope history an the wasted it

[StewieG]

As a season ticket holder and one of those schmucks that bought additional tickets as Christmas gifts for other family members to go to the game - NO!! This is entertainment that we pay good money for - not only in ticket sales but jersey sales ect. That was far from entertaining!!

If I remember right, fans were booing as soon as Painter came out. It would have sucked to have been at the game.

[FireJimCaldwell]

Doesn't matter because we lost the Superbowl anyways

I get the reasoning, but I don't buy it.

It would make the Super Bowl a whole different scenario... It might end with the same result, it might not. Who knows.

If we end up with the same decision at hand, I don't think we do it. I think Irsay knows how sick fans were after seeing that happen. Irsay would make sure Grigson/Pagano didn't do it.

That is hard to say..> He might not want to make the same mistake again. I see your thought process and it's a possibility. If those events were to happen, he will be in a no win situation to some.

[JoKeR]

With Peyton's reaction, there was no question it was the wrong call IMO. Then there the "timeout" reaction, I thought Peyton would fire Caldwell on the spot, if he had the power to. I haven't forgiven that because it was still a stupid move but have moved on of course.

[ztboiler]

If we end up with the same decision at hand, I don't think we do it. I think Irsay knows how sick fans were after seeing that happen. Irsay would make sure Grigson/Pagano didn't do it.

Leading indicators, so far, suggest that Pagano will play to win....every game, every time. If he ever gets this franchise back to the point where it is an option....then he'll also have enough clout to assert his personality on such decisions.

[P-Money]

Everyone on here has been happy as heck the last few weeks and look who showed up "Debbie Downer "!! Seriously, why bring up bad memories? I went to that game also and left at halftime.

[MAC]

I completely understood and supported the decision at the time, so I see nothing to forgive. (As I've expressed in more detail in the other 47 threads about this topic).

I will add that the "most angry" seem to be the people who were surprised by it. The fact that we had done the same thing every blessed year, and the fact that the FO strongly hinted their intentions well in advance of the game should have removed any element of surprise. It did for me.

I think that if they made a mistake it was in bringing the starters (well the starters who dressed in the first place - there were some people resting - particularly on defense) back out for the second half. That gave people the impression that they were trying to win the game as opposed to simply keeping a toe in the water in advance of the playoffs.

And I'll remind people again about the blizzard in Buffalo the next week. It was utterly horrendous. I watched that one counting the minutes until Peyton came out, thankful that they didn't need to win it.

[Boiler_Colt]

I get the reasoning, but I don't buy it.

It would make the Super Bowl a whole different scenario... It might end with the same result, it might not. Who knows.

It's the Superbowl, I doubt the players wanted it any less than if they had been undefeated. If we still lost, the loss would be that much worse. We could no longer rag on the Pats for their 18-1 chokejob because we would be in the same boat.

[FireJimCaldwell]

It's the Superbowl, I doubt the players wanted it any less than if they had been undefeated. If we still lost, the loss would be that much worse. We could no longer rag on the Pats for their 18-1 chokejob because we would be in the same boat.

I don't think they wanted it any less, but I think they could want it even more.

18-1 is better than 16-3. A loss in the Super Bowl is going to be bad either way.

Who knows... they might not even make the Super Bowl. That's the thing about what if's, nobody really knows either way...

If the Colts beat the Jets, then the Texans move into the 6th spot and into the playoffs... Nothing from that point in time would have been exactly the same. The Jets might even came back and beat the Colts in game 15....

Even if the Jets did win fair and square it would be much easier to deal with.

[Buck Showalter]

Think it was

As a season ticket holder and one of those schmucks that bought additional tickets as Christmas gifts for other family members to go to the game - NO!! This is entertainment that we pay good money for - not only in ticket sales but jersey sales ect. That was far from entertaining!!

This...

I am still upset because after having season tickets in previous seasons, I had to move out west for a job, that game was the only game I was able to attend that season...

So at the time I blamed Polian/Caldwell...

[JustAColtsFan]

If I remember right, fans were booing as soon as Painter came out. It would have sucked to have been at the game.

Yes there was booing. That made me even more upset. As mad as I was at the decision to pull the starters I would never boo the team. It wasn't their fault! They looked totaly demoralized on the side line And I will always believe that was the reason we lost the Super Bowl - we totaly lost our focus and momentum!!

[chad72]

It was about losing the edge we had, winning so many close games that year, IMO. It was almost like our mojo and heart was stolen from our team that day. We obviously failed in our next 4th qtr. comeback that year in the SB.

The following year, in 2010, we were 1-4 in 4th qtr. comebacks with the lone success due to a gifted fumble from geriatric Collins while the Titans had the game tied on their way to kicking a winning FG in the last game of the regular season.

[GoColts8818]

Doesn't matter because we lost the Superbowl anyways

This a million times this.

[CoachLite]

For the decision to pull the starters against the Jets and not go for 16-0?

I for one and still pretty sick about it. We are probably the only team (or one of very few teams) in professional sports that wouldn't go for a perfect outing.

Has anyone here forgiven them?

NO!

[Buck Showalter]

Doesn't matter because we lost the Superbowl anyways

This a million times this.

Different set of circumstances could've led to diferent results...

Just saying...

[Superman]

It was about losing the edge we had, winning so many close games that year, IMO. It was almost like our mojo and heart was stolen from our team that day. We obviously failed in our next 4th qtr. comeback that year in the SB.

The following year, in 2010, we were 1-4 in 4th qtr. comebacks with the lone success due to a gifted fumble from geriatric Collins while the Titans had the game tied on their way to kicking a winning FG in the last game of the regular season.

I don't agree with that. It's easy to point to something like that, but we dominated the Jets and the Ravens on the way to the Super Bowl. And then the coaching was so atrocious against the Saints that I don't know if any amount of "edge" could have overcome that. And we had enough injuries to fill a mash unit in 2010, particularly at skill positions on offense. I can't get past all those things with enough blame left over for The Decision of 2009.

I obviously disagree with The Decision, but I don't think it had anything to do with us losing the Super Bowl, nor do I think it had anything to do with our inability to come from behind the following season.

[GoColts8818]

Different set of circumstances could've led to diferent results...

Just saying...

No I refuse to believe pulling the starters didn't impact us in the two playoff games before the super bowl and it showed up in the super bowl. We got beat by the saints. You can blame Caldwell the defense garçon heck even Peyton but the jets game a month before hand is not why we lost.

[FanFromtheWasteland]

If we end up with the same decision at hand, I don't think we do it. I think Irsay knows how sick fans were after seeing that happen. Irsay would make sure Grigson/Pagano didn't do it.

From what I have seen from them so far I don't think its in either one of them to do it.

[StewieG]

I don't agree with that. It's easy to point to something like that, but we dominated the Jets and the Ravens on the way to the Super Bowl. And then the coaching was so atrocious against the Saints that I don't know if any amount of "edge" could have overcome that. And we had enough injuries to fill a mash unit in 2010, particularly at skill positions on offense. I can't get past all those things with enough blame left over for The Decision of 2009.

I obviously disagree with The Decision, but I don't think it had anything to do with us losing the Super Bowl, nor do I think it had anything to do with our inability to come from behind the following season.

It really killed team morale. Now I know we did crush the jets and ravens, but we just still had so much talent so it would have been hard for us to lose unless we just played flat awful. Our whole team looked shaken during the saints game, the coaching was horrible and we just didn't look like a good team at all.

[Smitto]

I really dont care, that was what like three seasons ago? Sucked they didnt win all 16 games but it is what it is.

[Superman]

It really killed team morale. Now I know we did crush the jets and ravens, but we just still had so much talent so it would have been hard for us to lose unless we just played flat awful. Our whole team looked shaken during the saints game, the coaching was horrible and we just didn't look like a good team at all.

Like GC8818 just said, it's hard to believe that we would dominate those big physical teams, and then all of a sudden have our confidence shaken from a game a month prior. By the way, we came out and blasted the Saints in the first half, until the mistakes started piling up and the coaching got in the way.

I can't buy it. If we looked shaken in the Super Bowl, it's because the Saints took our best punch and then countered like true heavyweights. It's because the coaches did nothing to adjust to the Saints from the second quarter onward. It's because we played super conservative, kicking out of range field goals and failing on 3rd and short from the shadow of our own goal post. I cannot buy that it had anything to do with a game that had been over with four weeks ago.

[StewieG]

Like GC8818 just said, it's hard to believe that we would dominate those big physical teams, and then all of a sudden have our confidence shaken from a game a month prior. By the way, we came out and blasted the Saints in the first half, until the mistakes started piling up and the coaching got in the way.

I can't buy it. If we looked shaken in the Super Bowl, it's because the Saints took our best punch and then countered like true heavyweights. It's because the coaches did nothing to adjust to the Saints from the second quarter onward. It's because we played super conservative, kicking out of range field goals and failing on 3rd and short from the shadow of our own goal post. I cannot buy that it had anything to do with a game that had been over with four weeks ago.

The whole team hated the decision just like we do. Polian basically blamed the offensive line for the loss, and our o line was horrible the following year. That proves the decision did have an effect on the whole team.

[SOMDColtsfan]

The same fans that whined about it being done would have been the first to whine if Peyton had gotten hurt in a total meaningless game. The "perfect season" had been done before, it wasnt some new record. Never bothered me. Losing the super bowl did though and thats another story

[Superman]

The whole team hated the decision just like we do. Polian basically blamed the offensive line for the loss, and our o line was horrible the following year. That proves the decision did have an effect on the whole team.

No it doesn't. What a stretch.

The line was horrible because the players weren't very good, and we made stupid coaching decisions with the offensive line (like paying Linkenbach at guard instead of Mike Pollak). How did it have anything to do with the criticisms Polian made of the line? If anything, they would have played harder to prove him wrong, which would make sense based on Saturday's response.

I'm sure the team hated The Decision; that much was obvious. But suggesting that it had residual effects on the team's play doesn't work if you're arguing that those residual effects didn't show up until the Super Bowl. I don't buy it. We dominated the Ravens and the Jets, and then we were outcoached by the Saints and made too many mistakes. It's quite simple. You're trying too hard to blame the Super Bowl loss and the substandard 2010 on The Decision. Had we lost to the Ravens in the playoffs, I'd buy it.

[Buck Showalter]

The same fans that whined about it being done would have been the first to whine if Peyton had gotten hurt in a total meaningless game. The "perfect season" had been done before, it wasnt some new record. Never bothered me. Losing the super bowl did though and thats another story

Ive complained about it, because I was at that game,(traveled from the West Coast even), and it was the only game I was able to attend that season, add in a multitude of other reasons, and I feel like I earned the right to "whine" as you put it...

and yeah it would've sucked had Peyton gone down, but that is a chance every player takes every snap...

In best Herm Edwards voice... "You play to win the game..."

I will agree though losing the Super Bowl was worse...

[indy1888]

The same fans that whined about it being done would have been the first to whine if Peyton had gotten hurt in a total meaningless game. The "perfect season" had been done before, it wasnt some new record. Never bothered me. Losing the super bowl did though and thats another story

Peyton could have gotten hurt just as easily the next week when he played in a snowstorm in Buffalo. It was a meaningless game as well. That's always been my biggest problem with it, don't claim one week that records don't matter and then turn around the next and play guys (some for nearly an entire half) in a snowstorm just for the sole purpose of achieving certain records.

[Buck Showalter]

Anyway you slice it I am WAY happier as a fan moving forward with Pagano & Grigson, albeit they've only played 2 preseason games, itstill feels like the teams mantra and attitude has toughened up compared to the Polian era. It was time for a change and alot of the fanbase seems to be behind it...

[House]

Peyton could have gotten hurt just as easily the next week when he played in a snowstorm in Buffalo. It was a meaningless game as well. That's always been my biggest problem with it, don't claim one week that records don't matter and then turn around the next and play guys (some for nearly an entire half) in a snowstorm just for the sole purpose of achieving certain records.

Was literally about to bring this up. Rest 'em if you want to rest 'em, but why would any of the starters have played in the Buffalo game? In the snow no less?

[dgambill]

Wow this is old?? I thought it was stupid. Why play more than one snap with Peyton and the starters if they were just going to give the game away....it was dumb. Be committed 100% or not at all....I think you just play for the win. Anyways thats long over. Besides...that was Caldwells call. He is the COACH. He makes game decisions not the front office. What can they do? Fire a guy that is 16-0?????

[SOMDColtsfan]

Ive complained about it, because I was at that game,(traveled from the West Coast even), and it was the only game I was able to attend that season, add in a multitude of other reasons, and I feel like I earned the right to "whine" as you put it...

and yeah it would've sucked had Peyton gone down, but that is a chance every player takes every snap...

In best Herm Edwards voice... "You play to win the game..."

I will agree though losing the Super Bowl was worse...

I understand your point after traveling that far, thats reason enough to be frustrated and I would have been too. Didnt mean to disrespect. That lone game really divided the Colts fanbase and some were more upset about it than others and still are.

[JCPatriot]

That proves the decision did have an effect on the whole team.

Do you understand what proof is?

[TKnight24]

Why would people be upset? Yeah, the perfect season was on the line. But let's say he doesn't pull Peyton or Wayne. Let's say Wayne gets a pass like Collie did against the Eagles & suffers a Concussion. Let's say Leonhard or Smith come on a Blitz and hit Peyton late, causing him to break his Ribs. Then what do you have?

You have an Angry fan base & the media after you throwing the same question at you... "Why didn't you sit your Starters? Was the perfect Season worth losing Wayne & Manning?"

You have to look at the "What-Ifs" in situations like these. People will turn on you based on the outcome. They'll either like you, or they'll hate you