No More Mr. Perfect Guy; Colts Take A Dive

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I am sorry, but I have to be blunt here. Somebody high in the Indianapolis Colts organization is a pussy. It is just that simple. If that offends you, sorry; but this is football and you have to man up baby. People have the gall to be yanking on Brett Favre for refusing to come out of a game that has important implications late in the season when the outcome is seriously on the line; but it is okay for the Colts to sit down Peyton Manning like some kind of delicate debutante in a game that had absolutely gigantic implications on the entire AFC playoff race? You have got to be fucking kidding me.

If I sound incensed; I am. I do not necessarily point at Peyton Manning for this unethical lack of manhood; but he is not off scott free. You think Brett Favre would have sat down for that shit? Hell no. Think Joe Montana would have? Nuh uh. Johnny Unitas or Bart Starr? Get out. But we don’t even have to look that far; you think Vince Lombardi would have backed off and put the taxi squad on the field like the Colts did? Hell no. And neither did Bill Belichick when the Pats were in the same position and had a chance to win the last games to stay undefeated.

But not the Indianapolis Colts though, oh no. Guess we should have known after the way the gutless wonders slithered out of Baltimore in the middle of the night under the cover of a snowstorm because they did not have the guts to be honest with their fans. Clearly they still don’t. Meet the new Irsay, same as the old Irsay.

How could the Colts so neuter their players? How could they steal the hopes and dreams of their fans and season ticket holders? If there was ever a man, a quarterback, built for this run it is Peyton Manning. The man works his ass off doing film study, repetitions and drills, both by himself and with his receivers and backs, all year long. Next to Brett Favre, the man is a statue the likes of which the NFL has never seen at the quarterback position; he is always there to play. He has effectively not even been sacked the in the last six weeks.

You play the games to win the games. Winning is not every thing, it is the only thing. Unless, you are the wimp ass Indianapolis Colts.

From Vince Lombardi:

Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit.
….
Every time a football player goes to ply his trade he’s got to play from the ground up – from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That’s O.K. You’ve got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you’ve got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you’re lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he’s never going to come off the field second.
….
I don’t say these things because I believe in the ‘brute’ nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour – his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear – is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he’s exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.

Exactly. Unless, of course, you are the Indianapolis Colts; in which case the corporate greed for tomorrow is far more important than the ethics, morals and manhood of your players and franchise today. The players deserved the chance to go undefeated. The fans deserved the chance to have an undefeated season. The integrity of the National Football League deserved to not have the playoffs decided by a fighter pulling punches and taking a dive. It is scandalous and it is despicable.

You think Brett Favre would have had any part of that wimptastic bullshit? No. Say what you will, he will literally die on the field first. Tonight’s game against Da Bears is, however, a measuring stick for both Favre and the Vikes. They need to play together, tough and win. It is Soldier Field in late December at night. This is where champions play, and we are going to see what the Vikings and Brett Favre at age 40 are made of. Put up or shut up. Favre would not have it any other way, and he is not afraid to fail. Now we will see if he does indeed still have the magic. No more Mr. Nice Guy; it is time for champions to take the field. We will find out what Favre and the Vikes are tonight, and over the next three weeks. Irrespective of whether the Colts recover enough of their manhood to win the Super Bowl or not, they have demonstrated what they are at heart.

If you could not tell by the tone, this is fucking Trash Talk baybee; get down to it!

(Music by my neighbor, Alice)

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89 replies
  2. GulfCoastPirate says:

    Thank you – a despicable act by the Colts. It’s also the kind of thing that destroys your concentration and ends up getting you beat somewhere down the line. It would be poetic justice if the Jets were the ones to go back to Indy and do the deed.

  3. emptywheel says:

    Peyton should have had the chance to play for it. It would have driven me nuts to see him win one after another. It would have made it all the more fun when the Bolts finally beat them.

    But he should have had the chance to play for it.

  4. Mary says:

    I don’t even know about the corporate greed part vs the justflatoutdumbassascanbe part. If they wanted to just bubble wrap – pull them in the first. But go into the third and then pull them?

    Has anyone ever seen Caldwell and Harry Reid in the same room at the same time?

    Yes – when even I am chiming in on trash talk it’s because the heap of trash is too big to ignore. No one here in IN can even talk about it without taking BP meds first.

    • bmaz says:

      I still think of you more as a Bluegrass denizen. Indiana used to be about Bobby Knight; he would have had none of this. In fact, he had a perfect season; the last one in NCAA basketball history. Now it is about this bunk. Bleech.

  6. randiego says:

    I don’t blame the Colts for pulling starters, I blame them for the timing. Friday night the Chargers were up 42-10 with 10 minutes left. In came Billy Volek for Rivers and starting handing the ball off.

    The difference is that it was garbage time – the Chargers were in command and no way the Titans were coming back. The Colts were ahead 15-10 and basically decided to not win the game. Why not put the game out of reach and then pull everybody? That certainly violates the spirit of competition in the league, and favored the Jets over the Stillers and Ravens. Who gets to decide that? Not cool.

    Anybody here think giving the Jets the game and renewed playoff hopes has anything to do with not having to face Pitt or Baltimore in the playoffs?

    I think there’s a reason the Colts have lost playoff games they are heavily favored in. You simply can’t take the competitive edge away from players.

    The Chargers have their playoff position locked up and cannot improve it – they play the Redskins in SD this week. People like to bash Norv Turner, but the first thing he said to the players after destroying the Titans the other night was “if you’re healthy, you’re practicing – all week, and you’re playing next sunday”.

    If they go up three scores on the Skins, you’ll see Volek handing off again. But the Chargers are very worried about complacency this week and during their week off.

    • bmaz says:

      The Bolts should be; and the Colts should know better. The Colts have pulled this same shit before … and lost the momentum. The year they won the Super Bowl? That year they had to play their asses off every second.

      • randiego says:

        That Chargers had a playoff bye in 2006 and promptly gave a home playoff game – they dominated and should have won – away to the Pats . That’s all you need to know about how they are handling it this time.

  9. Mary says:

    @5 I think of me more as a Bluegrass denizen too, but since my grade and high school and undergrad are all IN and since I work here, I have to claim a bit of Colts. I work with people who have pics of Manning as their screen savers and one has a signed Colts jersey on his wall.

    And I come from a family of jocks who don’t understand playing unless you are playing to win. My brother kept playing in the city champs with a taped and retaped and retaped broken arm (idiot). He was on baseball scholarship at the same time as my cousins were football scholarships and we would still have these annual family side yard football games where we never went a year without sending someone to the emergency room. Coaches would call my aunt and mom and make them promise not to let the boys play in the family game, only to have my dad and uncle taunt them into it anyway.

    I wish I’d kpet track of how many different, non-bleepable ways people were coming up with to call Caldwell a dick. I figure you guys will cover the bleepable ones. *g*

      • Neil says:

        Party on Garth. Party on bmaz.

        I want to plop down in front of the football game but I have to get the house ready for guests (and the way I’ve been living, that’s a lot of getting ready to do.)

  12. scribe says:

    Gutless pussies is about right.

    I don’t think Peyton wanted to come out, but he didn’t have the balls to be insubordinate enough to tell his coach (and his backup) to fuck off, that he was going to go out there and win the game. Or at least try.

    It’s the fighter pilot syndrome: you want a guy who is disciplined and obeys the rules imposed by discipline, but you can’t win a dogfight with guys who aren’t willing to break the rules and are even relishing the prospect of doing so.

    Peyton, by obeying his coach and staying out, just showed what his core is about – he’s no leader, and no winner. Not compared to guys like Favre.

    • bmaz says:

      I don’t really fault Manning in some ways. But the whole organization knew this was the plan; I cannot believe there was not a major player revolt. I wonder how ugly it got behind the scenes even though we only saw smirking and despair publicly on the sideline?

      • scribe says:

        I am faulting Manning for not stepping up. He did a thing perfectly acceptable to those concerned with obeying the rules and coloring within the lines and shrugging off a loss because, after all, we’ll go 15-1 and our playoff position is set. He followed his orders, just like a cubicle dweller concerned with his paycheck over doing what is right.

        Playing football is not for cubicle dwellers any more than boxing is. In each of those sports (and probably the rest, too), to be a champion one has to transcend coaches and managers holding you back, and merely obeying them, and seek victory.

        I fault Peyton for not seeking victory.

        At the end of the ’07 season, the Pats were coming to the Meadowlands to play the Giants. The Giants’ playoff position was set and the Pats were 15-0. The Big Topic on NYC sports talk radio for a good two weeks prior to that game was, since the Giants stood to gain nothing in the playoffs from winning the Pats game, should the Giants rest their starters or not.

        There were a lot of strong arguments raised in favor of resting the starters or not playing them the whole game or whatever. Good, grey, corporate conference room reasons. And the Giants played their brains out, lost, and then took their experience and, more importantly, knowledge that they could take all that NE would give, and went out and won the Super Bowl against them. As I recall it, no one dared broach the question with Coughlin until after the game and, when they did, to his eternal credit, Coughlin dismissed it out of hand like it was not even worth thinking about. And it wasn’t – it was (and still is) contrary to Football to lay down and not try to win.

        I don’t really like Coughlin as a coach, but I will always respect him for the way he coached and they played that meaningless game.

        Predictions: 1. Peyton takes a nasty blind-side sack wen one of his O-Line guys decides to take it easy.
        2. Indy’s coach gets the Ray Handley treatment. He’s already lost that locker room, een if it hasn’t come into the open yet.

        • bmaz says:

          Good point. I mentioned Belichick playing to win that game, but the absolute same, if not more so, was true of Coughlin and the Giants. You are exactly right, and I should have remembered to put that in the post.

          • scribe says:

            The Football Gods have a dark future in store for Peyton and, moreso, his team’s coach and management.

            That, and someone ought to be asking how, and how much, everyone in Indy’s management had bet yestrerday. (And don’t tell me they didn’t … everyone does.)

        • randiego says:

          I think Peyton is trained not to question authority. I think his dad would read him the riot act had he mouthed off at his coach on national television.

  13. Jim White says:

    Oh, bmaz. The Colts were just being pragmatic. Everyone knows there just aren’t 60 19 wins out there. They had to lose one here so that they wouldn’t have to lose one over there. After they win the Super Bowl, they’ll get retroactive immunity for the loss. Please don’t criminalize a strategy difference. The Colts need to look forward, not back.

  14. scribe says:

    Oh, yeah. One more thing.

    Not only did the upper-management of Indy steal from their players and their franchise the chance to win and the chance to go undefeated and become a legendary team, they also stole the victory from the J-E-T-S.
    No matter that it says “W” in the stats, everyone knows (no one more than the players) that it isn’t a real win if the opponent is laying down and letting you win.

    Ask the 1919 Reds.

  15. Neil says:

    Clearly, Peyton Manning doesn’t care if the Colts won or lose. There are no “W” or “L”‘s on his paycheck. (LMAO)

    • bmaz says:

      I don’t golf more than once a decade or so, so have no clue. He plays constantly though and has for decades. First time I met him was on a golf course when I was in high school. Either 1974 or 1975. He was golfing and looking for a place to take a leak; I and some friends were smoking something not necessarily totally legal there. We shared with him and his crew, and they had golf carts chock full of Budweiser. It all worked out wonderfully….

  19. Jim White says:

    And just because I haven’t made an Urban Meyer comment in over 24 hours:

    My first gut reaction (a substance issue?) to the Meyer resignation still lingers around the edges of my consciousness. It had almost faded, and then over dinner tonight I found this in the Gainesville paper, from an interview Pat Dooley (local sports columnist) had with Meyer in the short time between the resignation announcement and the change to leave of absence:

    In the summer of 2007, reality hit when Wake Forest basketball coach Skip Prosser died of a heart attack.

    “After he went down, it really hit me,” he said. “It got worse. I kept going in for tests and they said my heart was fine. But the pains kept coming.

    “It got bad, real bad. I was on a lot of medication.”

    So he was “on a lot of medication”. The context here was the chest pains, but the column does also mention the severe headaches from the brain cyst. Very interesting.

  20. Phoenix Woman says:

    And the Vikings continue their record of making absolute asses of themselves on evening TV. I almost wonder if they’re dogging it so they can get rid of Childress for next season?

          • bmaz says:

            He really does. He cannot even coach up his fucking kicking game.

            Oops, or special teams.

            I will fully admit to being a Favre fanboy; just love the joy he plays the game with. He has not been great this December, and there is no injury like there was last year. He deserves some blame. But he has not been throwing these games away; the Vikes have sucked all the way around. There is squat for protection for Favre nor running holes for Peterson; and the defense has sucked too, partially due to key injuries to Winfield and then Henderson, but still. It is NOT a well coached team.

          • freepatriot says:

            What? He’s not Mr Personality?

            the dude looks like a junior high science teacher

            or maybe a tax inspector

            but he has a few points in his favor

            he ain’t named urban

            or NORVAL

            looks like old man geezer of the north is travelin this January

            I hear Philly is lovely in winter …

  23. pdaly says:

    OT: thinking ahead for New Year’s was researching location for Beamish.
    Beer Advocate had this sobering news re: Beamish Irish Stout: “This beer is retired; no longer brewed.”
    http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/358/927/

    Thought I’d come to the source to learn whether this is true.
    (I’ll also make an emergency stop to Cornwall’s in Boston tomorrow if true; maybe there’s a keg left)

  31. randiego says:

    I had it wrong – it was the Broncos/Stillers who are the big losers from the Colts LDG (Lay Down Game) – from ESPN (John Clayton):

    Because of the common opponent tiebreaker, the Jets will be the No. 5 seed if they beat the Bengals next Sunday. The Ravens will be the No. 6 seed if they beat the Raiders on the road. The biggest loser of the day was the Broncos, who possibly face their second consecutive late-season collapse. The Broncos lost a heartbreaker in the final seconds to the Eagles, 30-27. Last year, the Broncos went from 8-5 to 8-8 and lost the AFC West to the Chargers. The Ravens should beat the Raiders. But if the Jets also beat the Bengals, the Broncos would be out.

    Had the Colts kept in their starters, the Ravens and Texans would have been in good shape, and the Steelers would still have had a chance to make the playoffs if the Patriots beat Houston next Sunday. Now, thanks to the Colts and a rookie quarterback, the Jets and Ravens are in control. The Bengals and Patriots can also thank the Colts for possibly keeping Ben Roethlisberger out of the playoffs.

  32. Danno11 says:

    Well, the revisionist history around the league says that New England only lost the Super Bowl because of all the pressure surrounding 19-0.

    Of course, buying that would ignore the tightly contested week sixteen game between the Giants and Patriots that year. Buying that would also ignore how well the Giants defensive line played on Super Bowl Sunday. And it’d also ignore how insanely lucky Eli Manning got on the last drive between the Asante Samuel dropped interception (The man drops that ball and turns around and asks for $10 million per year…still ticks me off) and the Tyree catch over Rodney Harrison.

    It didn’t work out in the end for the Patriots but at least they had the courage to go for it.

    Finally, Indy better be worried about getting to the Super Bowl much less winning it.

    • bmaz says:

      Wasn’t the pressure; Pats just got beat that day by a team that was hot, confident and clutch at the right minute. Giants smashed them in the mouth all day, took the Pats offense off their game just enough. Giants earned it fair and square.

    • freepatriot says:

      Well, the revisionist history around the league says that New England only lost the Super Bowl because of all the pressure surrounding 19-0.

      reality says the patriots lost cuz they dint score enough points

  33. cheflovesbeer says:

    F the Indianapolis irsays. May the fleas of a thousand camels infest their arm pits.

    Indianapolis deserves the irsays, &%#@&* that they are.

    People in Baltimore are still pissed. Ran away in the middle of the night they did.

  34. tanbark says:

    TOTAL agreement, BMaz. It was so fucking corporate-driven that it’s disgusting. Now, for trying to back into the title while protecting their stars, they get a firestorm on their heads. Couldn’t happen to a nicer franchise. :o)

    BTW, is Robert Irsay, the king of the stealth moving vans, still alive? :o)

    If so, then this outrage is, especially, God’s work. :o)

  35. perris says:

    not with you on this bmaz, I’m protecting my playoff team if this is me, I don’t give a flying hoot about the implications other then the fact that it helps my chances in the super duper

    I am planning to win the super and that’s my strategy

    I remember the first year we had the wild card system in baseball, by some fluke, a team would make it to the playoffs by losing the last game…something about switching to “best heads up record” or something like that

    of course they lost that game

    this is war not a battle

  36. Loo Hoo. says:

    Nate’s got some arguments with Marcy, though he likes her and Spencer!

    — The taxes are probably high, because of the various tax credits that would be available to this family. Firstly, this family should be able to take advantage of the Child Tax Credit at $1,000 per child. Secondly, there’s a separate tax credit for child care that is worth 20% of day care expenses. Thirdly, depending on various factors, their health care costs should be tax deductible. And fourthly, if they own rather than rent their home, some of their mortgage costs will be tax deductable.

  37. Leen says:

    “Somebody high in the Indianapolis Colts organization is a pussy. It is just that simple. If that offends you, sorry; but this is football and you have to man up baby.”

    Have always picked this up from you Bmaz. A “prick” vibe.

    “Pussy” one of the most powerful places on earth.

  38. 4jkb4ia says:

    I am so slobbering with gratefulness to the nice coach that I was thinking of sending him a card. Also remember that the Colts could only muster 9 stinking points the whole first half. And I think that bmaz cannot take it that if Mark Sanchez has one more good game the Jets will make the playoffs without Favre and the Packers are a certainty to make the playoffs without Favre.
    (I was confident that once the 10th of Tevet was over, things were going to start going right for the Jets. I was rewarded because once the sun set they did not have to play the real Colts. /shtick)
    (The Colts have never cared about the perfect season and could only manage 9 points even with the real team. I checked in for the fourth quarter only)(Must keep husband out of malls)

    Why I was here: it is simple to look up on THOMAS Bush’s record for getting US attorneys confirmed in his first year. 63 were confirmed. The first one was submitted to Judiciary on July 31 and there were a large haul confirmed on November 4, 2001, admittedly post-PATRIOT.

  41. bobschacht says:

    So, what is so special about #15 Miami? They just got their asses handed to them by #25 Wisconsin, who beat the stuffing out of Miami’a quarterback for about three quarters, and then teased them at the end with a “prevent” defense that gave up a touchdown, and then special teams gave up an on-side kick, before the Wisconsin defense decided to end the charade, shutting down Miami’s offense on their final drive.

    Bob in AZ

  42. freepatriot says:

    So, what is so special about #15 Miami?

    read up on their coach’s life story

    it’s the great American success story wrapped in a never ending tragedy

    I hate “The U” but I want the guy to succeed

    it’s weird

  43. dougkahn says:

    As the song says . . .

    Miami Dolphins, Num-ber One!
    Yes, they stole the melody (if you can call it that) from the Houston Oilers.

    What is the big deal about the Colts? Shula (Don, that is) and Earl Morrall went from Baltimore (the Colts, that is) to the Dolphins. The 1972 Dolphins. 17-0.

    The Colts can never go undefeated. Never. Not ever.

  44. freepatriot says:

    I read the story in a dead tree copy of Sports Illustrated


    this has a brief mention of the misery

    it’s interesting because he kept it all a secret, until he had to miss a team function because he was attending a sibling’s funeral

    IIRC, that happened after he became Defensive coordinator for Miami

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