I waited a full day to simmer down before writing this hoping I would come to some other conclusion, but nothing's changed my mindset since the game.  I think it's too easy and immature to simply say "I am pissed the Colts lost", but that's not really what's got my goat.  Several things bothered me about the game but one glaring game changing issue really has my questioning the Colts coaching staff. 

But first, let's cover some of the most obvious, smaller issues:

•1)      Did the ref's get shiny new whistles and they were just dieing to use them?  Did Ron Winters just finish reading the Walt Coleman Guide of  Officiating.  21 penalties for 180 yards?  Are you friggin kidding me?  If the NFL decided to use that game as an example to set the tone of the league, perhaps they ought to slip a note to the teams.  I was waiting for "Personal Foul, Colts, uhmmmm, just because, automatic first down."

•2)      Tim Jennings.  Does he play any decent defense other then spotting the WR 10 yards cushion then jumping on quick slants?  He constantly get's burned downfield and/or in man coverage and when he does, he cost the team 10-15 yards in penalties to cover up his mistakes.  I, for one, am tired of the Tim Jennings experiment.  That boy needs to ride the pine and learn to appreciate his job and what's required to play for this team.  He's quickly becoming a thug with his personal fouls.  Something the team can't be happy with right now.

•3)      Peyton had plenty of time in the pocket to throw downfield Sunday, but why didn't he?  The WR's, all of sudden, couldn't get off their defenders and create any separation at all.  Wasn't GB the team with the banged up secondary?  They manned up and shut down our WR's all game.  Come on guys, stop hand fighting, and bust off the line into your routes.

•4)      Finally, my main complaint .... We were severely out coached on both sides of the ball.  It's easy to say "well, we played sloppy and not our normal style..." and "you got to hand it to GB, they clearly outplayed us...".  Uh-uh, not acceptable.  Really, we just needed a few breaks to go our way and that game is turned around.  The coaches refused to change their game plan to put us in a position to get those breaks.

•a)      Offense - their secondary was playing lights out.  Our opportunities to throw downfield were very selective.  So, why did we continue to line-up in 3 & 4(Clark) WR sets?  Adding more receivers to the mix isn't going to solve the problem.  If the passing game isn't working, how about we try to use the running game to open it up.  Why didn't we switch to a big 2-TE set, use the WR streaking downfield as decoys, and run the ball?  In a 2-TE set, that usually puts a LB on Clark where we can create a mismatch to pass too.  But wait, we did run the ball .... Really? Running in a 2-TE set is much different then 3-WR set.  We kept trying to use the pass to set up the run, when we should have switched and did the opposite.

•b)      Defense - my biggest beef.  Did anybody happen to notice that Rodger's shoulder was ailing?  He's not going to throw anything deep with any kind of precision.  So, why in the hell were our LB's playing 10 yards deep on every play?  I've heard people comment about the lack of our pass rush, but how are we suppose to get to Rodgers when he's dumping the ball off underneath our coverage in 2 seconds time?  It was the Dink & Dunk show of all times and we simply would not change our coverage.  We let a RB or TE slip out uncovered for short little passes and then gain 6-7 yards while our LB's came running up from centerfield.  It just pisses me off that we didn't deploy at least one spy to cover any person slipping out.  Many times, that person is Bob Sanders and it's very apparent that we can't stop any decent offense without him.  I hear that we deploy a bend don't break defense.  Why do you think that is?  It's because we give so much cushion that we allow teams to march right down the field and only when the playing field get's smaller do we become defensively efficient.

So there you have it folks.  Don't blame Peyton... he didn't have much to work with and Tom Moore is the one sending out the formation sets.  Don't blame Bob for being hurt too often... it happens.  I blame you, Tony Dungy.  As our head coach, you have to recognize these things and make necessary adjustments during the game.  We can't continue to sit back chanting "Do what we do" when it isn't happening.  Make the adjustments.  If we don't change "what we do" then GB just showed the rest of the league how to dink & dunk on the Colts and their way to a victory.  I fear we've just been exposed!

Well... we did it. We finally looked like the Colts. Marvin proved he doesn't suck (i told you so). Peyton proved he's still the greatest. Our offensive line proved it could block. Most importantly, though, our defense proved it could stop the run. It looks like the season isn't a wash afterall. We can collectively breathe. Man, am I ever glad to see Marvin Harrison back to form, making people look retarded when they try to cover him one-on-one. Well done, Marvelous.

I had one problem with the game. After Diem's stupidass self got that freaken sweet touchdown called back, we played more lax than we had up to that point. We got content with what we had and didn't attack on offense any more. Our defense went back to the bend but don't break philosophy as opposed to the "Kill 'Em All" mentality. True, the Ravens only managed 3 points, but still... a shutout would've been splen-diddly-riffic. I don't like when we do that. I would've liked to have seen at least one more drive. One more bomb from the assault cannon. Just one more.

A quick question, though. Is Melvin Bullit trying to be the next Darrell Reid? I certainly hope so.

I've bitten my tongue (tied my fingers together) for the past few days after losing and reading a lot of the crap being posted elsewhere. Now sure, I love my team and may sound a little one-sided at times, but why are so many ready to let the waivers/releases/trades fly? I've read everything from the insane have to be joking to the "these people seem serious."

The latest comes with the Trade Addai For A DT? Now, I'm not just talking about posts found the other forum, but elsewhere, too. Big name players up on the trading block. Some argue the money side of it and others performance. So, based on performance, Addai should go before Dom? Really? I know people are frustrated, but give me a break. I really don't know where I am going with this, honestly. I think this more a chance for me to vent some frustrations I have built up over the past week.

Do fans loyalties to a team or player still exist. From the team side of it, it does, quite obvious. Loyalty to players on the other hand, not so much. Everyone also seems think themsleves a head coach and having the qualifications of one. Sure, people can follow stats, etc, but how many of us are truely qualified for that (or any coaching position) with an NFL team? I know people have opinions, hell I have opinions. I usually take peoples opinions with a grain of salt (actually sugar is better) and accept it for what it is. Lately though, I seem to be shaking my head more and more with the way I see this civilization going. The narcissistic attitude of so many people on some of these boards make me want to slam their heads in to a brick wall in hopes it clears some space for common sense and decency. But, I digress...

All this non-sense about trades for key players is crap, IMO. Sure, sometime you have to have the right bait to attract the big fish, but when we look to our running game, people are ready to hang our starting RB on the hook and dangle? What do we have beyond him at that position? A back that left for Oakland only to pack his bags after one season because he wasn't needed and came back "home" to back-up our starting RB. Next, we have Mike Hart. Sure, this kid some pretty good stuff during the pre-season, but so did the rest of our non-starters. Big difference to ass stomping we took this past week. He has no pro experience and behind him is yet another "oh this kid is the bomb and should be a starter ahead of everyone" in Forsett. Sure, alot of those people saying that are homers just like the KK followers, but how the f*%k do these people funstion in everyday life? Sure, I supported KK for a bit at the start of last season, I won't deny that. But not once did the phrase "KK needs to be our starter" come flowing out my mouth.

Do we need a "bull" on the d-line? Yes. Is trading our starting TB the best way to go about getting him? No. If people are willing to throw our starting RB out on a hook for a player, why not keep him and throw some of the other trash we have out on a line for a player. Maybe even two or three players for one solid d-lineman. Silly? Maybe, but no more silly than the other garbage I've been reading this week. Hell, even if they were to dangle Addai on the hook, do people really think we get the equivalency of his production in a d-lineman? Doubtful. Our defensive line will continue to suffer until someone pulls their head out their ass on draft day and grabs a beast in the making. I have really appreciated their focus on the offense, it's fun watching them when they are running on all cylinders. It's that situation which has given us the affordability to have a so-so defense. But as people are finally starting to see, our D doesn't hold up so well when they are called upon for the bulk of the workload.

Sure, two years they did a great...at the END of the season, but they just don't seem to have the stamina needed for a full season. Or the beef in the middle. I could hit on tht elinebackers, too. But I'll save that for another time. Maybe it's not so much all the d-lines fault...let's watch those linebackers. Tell me you don't see a major improvement that could be made there, but that falls back to the draft day head up the ass situation.

Just my thoughts and rambling, really. Probably doesn't even seem to make much sense or go anywhere. Honetstly, I've never written a blog entry before. So maybe this will be a learning process, just like what our defense is going through this year.

-Freative

Surely, we have a ton and a half of talent on our offense. Bill Polian has stacked us so high that we can't see the top. It's been the most feared single unit in all of football for several years now. We pretty much have the ability to do whatever we want.

Except when Peyton Manning isn't in control.

Through the preseason, when the first unit has been on the field, we've looked regular. Normal. Average like Dominic Rhodes. With Jim Sorgi or Quinn Gray or Jared Lorenzen, our receivers came back from space and our running game all but disappeared (our first unit, that is. Mike Hart looked good against a few of the second and third squad defenses). We have nothing to worry about, as #18 will be back for the season opener... but we've learned that we're not that special without him. Just like our pass rush last year without Dwight Freeney.

Football is the ultimate team sport, and no single individual is better than the squad he plays on... Except Peyton Manning. For years we heard that Peyton would be nothing without his receivers. Last year he lost his best and we had one outstanding receiver, a rookie receiver, a physically unimpressive tight end, a rookie left tackle, an often hurt offensive line, a group of scrub receivers, my main man Ja, and Kenton Keith (the guy who's hands were models for the new Lucas Oil Stadium)... and Manning put up numbers very similar to his career average. He topped 4,000 yards passing and 30 touchdowns. He had only 14 INTs (6 in one game. a complete oddity. don't count on that happening again. ever). He took an average offense, all things considered, and made them as good as Colts Offenses from years passed. The myth of the receivers making Peyton great has now been aborted. He makes himself great.

After watching him last year do what he did, then seeing the performance of our offense this preseason, I say we're lucky to have Peyton. Everyone agrees with me because I'm right, as usual. He's easily the best quarterback playing in the NFL right now, and already among the best all-time even though his career is far from over (he's still in his prime). He's everything you could want in a quarterback. A natural leader, ridiculously accurate, a throwing arm as strong as a 540ci Hemi, reads defenses as easily as a Dr Seuss book, and a release that rivals Dan Marino. He's also tough as they come. I've seen him get hit and bent into unnatural shapes and come back for more. He's played with his jaw wired shut (which, for a quarterback, is a feat). He hasn't missed a regular season or playoff game in his career (coming up on his 11th season). Quarterbacks are known to be pansies. Pantywastes. Some even carry purses. But not Mr. Manning. After he demoralizes defenses, he goes to his home in Indianapolis and wrestles bulls in naught but his birthday suit. Bulls he then kills with his bare hands so he can eat dinner that night.

But I digress. Peyton Manning is the best football player on the planet and we are crap without him. So thank the Football Gods that they saw fit to send one of their own to play quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts.

Happy Thursday, kiddies! I thought for the program at noon (EST, U.S.) today, I'd just play a little bit of everything. Starting off, we'll take a listen back to some Top 40 Rock stuff over the past 15 years or so. Nothing too heavy. Then we'll wrap it up with some long lost extended mixes of 80's classics. Here's a track listing for the play today...

Bouncing Off The Walls Sugarcult Blurry - Puddle Of Mudd Special Garbage
I Did It - Dave Matthews Band
Big Yellow Taxi - Counting Crows Feat. Vanessa Carlton
Peaches - Presidents Of The Usa
Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me) - Blessed Union Of Souls
The Middle - Jimmy Eat World
Blue On Black - Kenny Wayne Shepard Band
Absolutely (Story Of A Girl) - Nine Days
Swing, Swing - All-American Rejects
Why Georgia - John Mayer
Flood - Jars Of Clay
Hell - Squirrel Nut Zippers
Backwater - Meat Puppets
Counting Blue Cars - Dishwalla
Right Now - Sr-71
Save Tonight - Eagle Eye Cherry
Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing - Chris Isaak
Meet Virginia - Train
You're A God - Vertical Horizon
My Friends Over You New - Found Glory

The 80's Lost Extended Mixes...

hungry like the wolf (night version) - Duran Duran
The One Thing (extended mix) - INXS
How Soon Is Now - The Smiths
Weird Science - Oingo Boingo
Big Time (Extended Mix) - Peter Gabriel
A Little Respect (Extended Mix) - Erasure
What's On Your Mind (Club Mix) - Information Society

Nothing too fancy. Enjoy!

Freative-

Find a reason to party each day.  Find out which day you were born on.  These are some fun ones!

http://www.louderbacks.com/home/dict/days.html#october

I find that I would be having a hella time trying to play U Pick M this year.  There are teams that haven't won a game yet that I am convinced are better than or capable of being better than some of the unbeaten teams.  Buffalo Bills come to mind as one of the unbeaten ones and we weren't far from being one of the ones with zero wins.  Houston has no wins, Tennessee is unbeaten.  I'm not even looking at the schedules and results of the league right now to go on further about it but I know when I look at them on Sundays and Mondays that it is obviously going to be anyone's grab for the play-offs. The Dolphins have only one win, that's predictable enough but the fact that it was against the mighty Patriots in a blow-out game is the surprise. Kansas City with no wins defeats Denver with no losses.  Maybe this is how the system is designed to run.  No team at the moment is looking as good as The Dolphins undefeated season nor is anyone looking as bad as the last Dolphins season. It's just not what I'm used to.  4 weeks into the season, I'm used to being able to start eyeballing the winners and the losers.  Anyone else as baffled as me or on the other hand, are some teams playing as you predicted they would? BTW, this is my first blog evah but since I couldn't post in the forum I thought I'd give it a try.

Super Bowl 44 goes through Indianapolis, Indiana.

But we got a lot of work to do. On offense, anyway.

We come out slow and turn it on in the second half; or we come out blazing like the gates of hell only to fizzle out; or we don't get things going until the 4th quarter; or we start strong, sag like an 80 year old butt, and finish strong. Not very often this year has the offense played a complete game...

Which is good news, if you ask me.

"How the smurf is that good news?" you ask (yes, i'm putting words in your mouth).

"Simple," is my reply.

Our defense has been playing Championship caliber football most of the year (the only bad spot is the Miami game, which was about 65 years ago), but the offense... the bread and butter of this team, they have yet to hit their peak. Our best football is still in front of us. We're 13-0 and we got plenty of room to improve. And that, friend, is good news.

This team this year has been impressive. Sure, lots of teams have walked away with the illustrious Almost-Win, but the 2009 Colts have gotten something far better: the Actual-Win. Several games this year, we probably should've lost. Miami, New England, Houston, etc... but these guys absolutely REFUSE to go down. Like it or not, that's Championship Football. A big round of applause for our offense for getting it done when they gotta, and a standing ovation to the defense for saving our asses all year long. Peyton Manning has thrown 14 interceptions this year and we've lost 3 fumbles (or numbers very close to that), and our defense (through some kind of evil magick) has yet to give up a touchdown off of any of those turnovers. I don't know that I've ever heard that said about a defense in my lifetime. It's remarkable, to say the least.

And don't forget, we've done it without Bob Sanders. And without Marlin Jackson for most of the year. And without Kelvin Hayden for a good stretch. And Tyjuan Hagler went to IR. And Gonzo has only seen action in one game this year... blah blah blah.

So we're 13-0, we've won 22 straight regular season games, we've won more games in a decade than any other team ever, and our best is yet to come.

So drink up, shoot in, let the beatings begin.

Hey there Colt's fans . If you haven't tuned in to CDR yet then you are doing yourself an injustice.  There really is something for everyone . No matter the genre you can find it all right here. Theres even talk of a sports talk show in the works.

And speaking of ....be sure to tune in tonight at 8pm est and catch the inaugural of "West 70" w/yours truly and "Hazy Side Of Heaven" w/Miss.Amanda.

So here we stand, Colts fans. One win away from securing our spot in the playoffs, like so many years before. It's different this time around, as we can't win our division, but we're coming up on the end of the season and we're one win away from being able to sit our starters in the last game of the season.

Deja vue? We got the Titans to finish the season yet again, and we could see our boys bow out early, yet again. Of course, this all depends on how we fare against the Jaguars, but since my lack of focus won't affect the outcome any, I'm gonna look ahead.

But first, I'm gonna look back...

3-4. That's how we started our season. Many people, fans and "experts" alike, had already called the Colts dead this season. We'd seen flashes of brilliance, but nothing consistant. Injuries, out of synch, all kinds of problems collaborated against us. We got handled easily by the eventual AFC DirrtyDirrty Champions, though the score doesn't reflect too much of that. Then came the arch-rivals, the nemesis, the antithesis to the Colts, and everything that is wrong with the NFL: the New England Patriots. In the usual, hard fought battle, the Colts came out on top thanks to an Adam Vinatieri field goal. Then came the streak... the Steelers, the Texans, the Chargers, the Browns, the Bengals, and finally the Lions. Seven wins in a row (though admittedly, the last two don't really count. it's not fair to count wins against high school teams... but we can't pick who we play)... anyway, seven wins in a row and we stand on the verge of yet another playoff birth under Coach Dungy after overcoming a very dismal start to the season. We sit at 10-4 now and in control of our own path to the tournament.

We've beaten the top two defenses in the league (destroying the Ravens and coming away with another close one in Pittsburgh). It could turn out that the Steelers come to be the #1 seed in the playoffs, so that gives us, I think, a bit of confidence going in. We laid 24 points on the best defense in the NFL, the most of any team in the league against that defense. And here we stand... poised and ready for a playoff push. Many pundits say we're one of the more dangerous teams heading in, and I couldn't agree more. Our defensive line is playing solid football (thanks, Freeney) and we still got Peyton Manning and all his toys on offense.

Whodathunkit? The Colts, a team that started the season destined to fight for a top draft choice, now stand battle-tested and ready to raise hell in the 2008-09 NFL Championship Tournament.

Hell of a season... let's keep the train rollin'.

The one game we, as Colt fans, circle on our calender.

Indianapolis vs. New England.

This one, like so many in the past, didn't disappoint. This season has brought particular hardship on both teams. Ed Johnson and Quinn Pitcock gone. Tom Brady gone. Indy's offensive line (and with it, the run game) gone. Neither team, however, let that stop them. Both teams played good, sound football and the Indianapolis Colts stood victorious in the end thanks to the foot of one Adam Vinatieri.

New England let him walk a couple offseasons ago because his kickoffs were shorter and he hadn't made a field goal from 50+ in about 5 years I think. Well... Adam's been booming kicks so far this season and Indianapolis won thanks to a 52 yarder from #4. Bob Sanders was back made it known right from the start. He helped to neutralize Randy Moss, who had only 4 catches with zero being touchdowns. When brought into the box against the run, he made his tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage.

It really felt good to see Colts football again.

Our defense only gave up 1 touchdown the entire game, holding New England to field goals the rest of the way. That's what we're built to do. I'd have liked, as much as anybody else, to get a few more three-and-outs... but with the interior of our defensive line in the shape its in (thanks to Johnson and Pitcock), I don't count on that. And neither should you.

If anybody can find anything to complain about (and they have. i've seen it), then they're obviously just looking for something to bitch about. We won, we beat New England, and we looked good doing it. Maybe not Megan Fox good, but good. Here's hoping it carries over into the second half of the season.

Tonight at 10 eastern, Iridium (hosted by yours truly) is doing a Pre-Super Bowl Spectacular Extravaganza Mega Happy #1 Special Show.

Then tomorrow starting at 4pm eastern, Freative and Gsmack will be hosting a live call-in request/tailgating show from Miami. The number to call for that is 888-429-2760.

ColtsDigital Chat will be open for both and all y'all are welcome to join.

The reason why I am so upset about this is becuase I got to experience the years before Manning. I remember asking why dad why people were reading at the game instead of watching the actual game. I remember 1-15 and I remember 97 and going 3-13. Yeah we got Manning in draft, but in 98 we went 3-13 again.

Now I am 27 and experiencing the golden era of the Colts first hand. I get to tell my grandchildren one day that I got to watch Peyton Manning just like my grandpa got to reflect on guys like Gale Sayers and Johnny Unitas.

I know this golden era is coming to an end soon. It will not last forever.

That is why sitting at 14-0 and only 5 games away I wanted them to go for it so bad. I wanted it for the fans, for the players, and for this city.

I wanted 19-0 added to Manning's all ready hall of fame resume. I wanted 19-0 as a testament to Irsay and the organization he runs. I wanted 19-0 for Bill's work in the draft and building this team.

I wanted to say I saw 19-0 happen right before my eyes. We were on the brink of cementing a legacy that would live on for years. Yes, if we win XLIV it will be great, but 10 years down the road people will not be able to tell you who won without looking it up or thinking about it for awhile. If we go 19-0 we are remember every year when that team is sitting at 9-0 or 10-0.

After the Jags game I was so excited thinking that they were going for it. I figured we would just keep Freeney on a pitch count,b ut if you are healthy we are going for it. Then my fiance nudged me and said Painter is warming up. All of that excitement and anticipation was gone just that fast.

If wanting 19-0 for the city, the players, my fellow fans, and myself is selfish then I am guilty. That is why I hated the decision and will always hate it.

but i tell ya, kid/you're better off playing leap-frog with a unicorn/that's right

The Colts are 8-0. Have won 17 regular season games straight. Peyton Manning just set a new standard with 40 grand in passing yards in a decade. He's four touchdowns away from another standard in play (300 touchdowns in a decade). He's tied for fourth all time in wins. Caldy is the first rookie head coach to go 8-0 since 1930something.

And that's just what I can remember from this passed Sunday.

On top of all that, coming into the game our defense was #1 in scoring, allowing a meager 14 points a game (though that'll go up slightly with the 17 the Texans scored). It's been a great year so far, bitches.

Here we are.

The game everyone has been waiting for.

November 15th.

Week 10.

The New England Patriots.

I'm glad Tom Brady looks to be playing his usual, albeit pansified, game. I'm also glad that after beating them, we'll tie them for second longest winning streak. It'll make it that much sweeter. No excuses.

Since 2005, we're 4-1 against them, including The Greatest Game Ever Played. Four of the five games have been won by seven points or less (with the Colts having the only blowout win, 40-21 in Foxborough). As recent history has shown, it should be a good'n. Sunday Night Football at it's finest.

As it stands now, the Colts are alone atop the AFC with the Broncos just one game back. In the AFC South, we're killin' it. Up 4 games over second place Houston with a head-to-head victory on top of that. The Patriots are 6-2, and likewise are clear favorites in their division. This game, midway through the season, could be huge come playoff time... but that's a lot of speculation I don't really wanna get in to.

Last couple weeks, we've not been so hot on offense. I'm not one bit worried, though. It's still the same offense, and Peyton's still lighting it up like Drew Barrymore did in Firestarter. We'll get into the endzone. And often.

Expect a big score by the end of the night. It could easily reach the 80s by the end of the night (that's combined, folks. settle down). This game will have all the NFL media buzzing like a 12 pack of Killian's. I like it.

"But KY, what do you think the score will be?"

86-3 Colts.

The Patriots can suck it.

Hey Colts Fans, be sure to tune in to Firestorm this Saturday night February 14th at 9:00 EST for a special unplugged edition of Firestorm. We will be playing some of your favorite rock and alternative tunes in their acoustic form, and even a few 'surprises' you may not have heard before. As always hit me up for your Firestorm requests, and I will do my best to get them on the air for you that week. See you Saturday at 9:00 PM EST. GO COLTS!!!

Hey gang, had a little time to put together a show and figured I'd post a little ahead of time of what to expect this week at noonand other times on Colts Digital Radio.

On Monday, February 2

Let's step back in tima bit and relive some of the greats tunes that got us to where we are today. We'll be hearing bands such as The Bangles and Go Go's, a double shot Of The Time,Escape Club, Boys Don't Cry, Company B, Crystal Waters and more. Two solid hours of music.

On Tuesday, February 3

The David Lawrence Show replay.

On Wednesday, February 4

Friday Night Retro replay

Transatlantic Retro Countdown replay

On Thursday, February 5

DJ Freative Presents 2 hours of non-stop dance mixes to get an early start to the weekend.

On Friday, February 6

DJ Freative Presents...something a little special on todays show. It is time to break out the cardboard, boom boxes and parachute pants. We are paying tribute to the originators of of hip hop and breakdancing our way through two hours of old school. I'm not talking about LL Cool J or people like that. Older. We're talking about songs like King Kut, Reckless, etc.

Don't forget about the other great shows that air during the week! On Tuesday Nights you can catch the replay of Firestorm, hosted by Carolinacoltfan and Iridium, hosted by KYcoltsfan starting at 9PM, EST.

On Fridays, it's Free Ride, hosted by Freative followed by the KING of Friday Nights, GSMACK and his #1 listened to program, Friday Night Retro. David Lawrence follows him, and this all starts at 8PM, EST.

Saturdays, this is the night to flip the finger to authority and crank it up when Carolinacoltfan and KYcoltsfan jam out 2 hours of rock / metal starting at 9PM, EST.

Tune 'em in and crank 'em up!

i normally don't do this, but i've got an announcement about Iridium...

as some of you may know (and shame on you if you don't) the only keyboardist Lynyrd Skynyrd has ever known, Billy Powell, died at age 56. he crafted the intro to the epic Free Bird. he was one of Dixie's favorite sons, and so with his passing and to his honor i'll be hosting an hour-long tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd. it's a one-night only deal. bands ranging from 3 Doors Down to Armored Saint will lend their talents, so join me in saying goodbye at 10pm Eastern on ColtsDigital Radio.

normally, Iridium is all about making your ears bleed, but not tonight. tonight i pay tribute... i'll be in the chat while the show is on so join me.

and don't forget to tune in to FireStorm at 9pm eastern.

Hey guys and galls, it's FRIDAY! Feeling like movin' my feet a bit, so I've thrown in 2 hours of non-stop dance at noon, EST, today. Tune-in and turn-it up and get the weekend started early!

Dont know about you guys, but I am very concerned witht the D line situation.  McCargo didnt pass the physical and Ramsey was cut.  Not the Ramsey was doing much, but has anyone seen Muir at all.  I know he was hurt, but I damn sure hope he can step up and play sometime and make some plays.  Pitcock and Johnson can kiss my blue ass!!!

Bow down/sell your soul to me/i will set you free/pacify your demons/bow down...

Which brings me to my next point. We have got to get better against the run. There's no choice. The Titans are leading the division right now (undefeated), with the Jags in second place, we're lagging behind at 1-2 in third place. All we gotta do to get better is tackle. So let's start tackling, huh? Tony Dungy is a defensive minded coach, a guru if you will. He has a damn defensive scheme named after him. Let's tackle somebody. We need to stop going for the big hit and actually start trying to bring people to the ground.

Too many times, I've seen us have whoever is running the ball behind the line of scrimmage only to see them break free and bust one loose for a million yards. After three weeks, enough is enough. We should be 0-3 right now. We would be if the Vikings could've put at least one touchdown on the scoreboard. Peyton is the best in the game, but he can't do anything if we can't get the opposing offense off the flippen field. I'm sick of the pussyfooting about, with all the not-tackling. Sick of it. To death. Like Edgar Allen Poe was sick of having one of his ears attached to his head. Its time to start playing defense at least as good as we did last year.

I know our only DT is gone (Ed "dumbass" Johnson), but by Baby Jesus, that's no reason to not tackle somebody. The Jacksonville Jaguar run game has been subpar all season long, except against us. Adrian Peterson creamed us. That Forte guy (a freaken rookie!) walked all over us. All because we couldn't tackle. Not "couldn't"... WOULDN'T.

So TACKLE SOMEBODY. Damnitall. With Saturday back, our offensive line might come back together. And with the return of Coach Mudd, I'm sure it will... our offense looked like it might finally get on track against the Jags (and they actually almost did the impossible with the comeback against Jacksonville), but our defense couldn't hold up its end of the deal and make one flippen stop. Just one. We could be 2-1, but we're not... I guess i should be happy we're not winless, but still... TACKLE.

Muhammad Ali or Joe Frazier.

Larry Bird or Magic Johnson.

Yankee or Confederate.

This season, the Colts have a similar debate at the running back position.

Do we want Mike Hart or Dominic Rhodes as the primary back-up to Joseph Addai?

Who's better?

I'm gonna break it down, but before I do I'm gonna make it perfectly clear that I'm in no way, shape, form, or fasion in favor of Dominic Rhodes.

We'll start at the beginning. Super Bowl XLI. Dominic Rhodes had a fairly good game. 113 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown. Using my superior mathematical powers, and a calculator, I found that he averaged 5.38 yards per carry. That's a pretty good stat line. What people don't really think about, though, is all he did was run through the HUGE holes the blockers created for him. If you go back and watch the tape (like i have several times over), the Colts offensive line did an incredible job of pushing the Bears defense around. All Rhodes had to do was get the ball from P-Money, hit his hole, and run straight ahead. Which he did to great effect. Dominic Rhodes is superb, and I do sincerely mean superb, at running in straight lines.

You don't get anything special from Dom. He's OK at picking up his blocking assignments, he's OK at catching passes, he's an OK runner... but all he is is OK. There really isn't a bad point to Rhodes's game, if you ignore that he doesn't really give his blockers time to set up their blocks (which i don't. sometimes i hate him for it) and you also ignore the (thankfully) non-contagious disease known around the league as "The Fumbles", but at the same time there's nothing special about his game, either. You never get an "oooh" moment when he's running the ball. He has little-to-no juke. It's like he runs on rails. I'd compare him to a train, but that'd insinuate that he has a power game. Maybe a toy train... Dominic "Toy Train" Rhodes.

I like it.

Anyway, he's crap. He wasn't good enough for the Raiders to keep around.

The Raiders...

The flippen Raiders.

And we (or i), as Colts fans, should have to endure his mediocrity as the primary back-up to Joseph Addai?

Thanks, but I'd rather lick my own butt.

Mike Hart is clearly (and by clearly, i mean in my opinion. which is the end-all opinion) the better choice. He set school records at Michigan (not some podunk school like Midwestern State. where is that?)... anyway, Hart set school records at Michigan at the running back position. According to his website, he only lost 3 fumbles during his four years in college. Once as a freshman, and then two more times in the final game his senior year. That's quite a long period of time between fumbles. When we drafted him I checked out some videos on the internet of the kid during his college years (i don't watch college football, so i knew nothing about him). I really, really liked what I saw. Nevermind the records the guy owns, the way he runs is what I was looking at. He's very agile. He can make would-be tacklers look retarded (he's slicker than snot on a doorknob). Hart plays a lot faster than his pre-draft 40 time of 4.7 would lead you to believe (i don't think 0.3 seconds of time is really that significant, and most people are considered fast at 4.4). I didn't see him miss a lot of blocks (of course... i was watching highlights so that may be why), and the guy can catch the ball and get turned upfield very quickly.

He made his NFL debute against the Skins in the Hall of Fame game, and for a brief time he tore it up. I saw what I'd seen him do in the videos at Michigan. He's better than Dominic Rhodes. Better footwork, field vision, better at protecting the football, he's patient enough to let his blockers set him up, he's shiftier, blah, blah blah, blahblah. He can do anything Rhodes can do better. He can do anything better than Rhodes.

On top of all his in-game awesome, whenever Coach talks about him he talks about his work ethic. His desire. Now... obviously I can't watch him practice from up here in Seattle, but I'll take Dungy's word for it. Rhodes may be the primary back-up to start the season (much to my dismay), but if Mike Hart gets any amount of carries during the season, he'll easily supplant Rhodes. Easily.