The Natives are seriously restless in Indianapolis: Bob Kravitz breaks out the big words: paper tigers, one and Dungy, folding, underachievers. That was yesterday. Today, he's asking for Dungy to leave. As an impartial observer, I'm surprised the Super Bowl win didn't earn more affection. Do the Colts fans out there agree? Kravitz does point out one damning stat: Dungy and Manning are under .500 in the playoffs.
I may write more about this later in the week, but anyone notice how 5 of the 8 teams left have 3-4 defenses. And none of the teams use the Tampa 2 as their base defense. This is a year of massive linemen on both sides of the ball rather than speedy ones. Bill Parcells must be proud.
The dean of San Diego sportswriters, Nick Canepa, calls Saturday night's Chargers-Colts tilt the greatest ever played in the city. (The Chargers/Dolphins OT game in 1981 was at Miami). I can't disagree. Just a stirring contest filled with so many storylines.
I think this article was joking when it said that the Colts were unlucky that LaDainian Tomlinson was hurt. But I agree. I'm not sure the Chargers win that game with the regular season Tomlinson getting most of the carries.
“I don't think it had much of an impact, really,” Chargers T Jeromey Clary said. Just more proof that running back is the most fungible position in football. More on this later.
It looks like LT2 will miss this week, and probably the rest of the playoffs. I was already going to bury him in the late second or third round of my rankings next year, and groin surgery won't help his case. Now I suspect my low ranking of him won't be too out of the norm.
Reporter catfight between Jerry McDonald and Chris Mortensen! I'll take McDonald in this battle every time.
Interesting numbers about what teams were the most effective running behind which offensive line spot. More proof that Leonard Davis and Jeff Otah were awesome acquisitions over the last two years.
Comments
Dungy's defenses always play great in the playoffs despite the team having so much cap space taken up by a couple offensive players.
People should be calling Manning out if anything. Didn't he have like 3 touchdown passes to 7 picks in their Super Bowl run?
Posted by: Fredex | January 5, 2009 01:18 PM
Way to be spoiled, Indy. Try living in Detroit/Oakland/Cincinnati football purgatory for a few years and you'd be offering first-borns to get Dungy/Manning back.
In all seriousness, the Colts just weren't 12-wins good this year. They made the playoffs, as a 5 seed, on Manning's back despite multiple playoff-fatal flaws.
Posted by: Chad F. | January 5, 2009 03:07 PM
Calling for Dungy's head? Yeah, that's very short-sighted and silly. Be careful what you wish for buddy!
Posted by: J | January 5, 2009 11:10 PM
Kravitz is a hack. The STAR is one of many "local" newspapers run by USA Today, and when they took over a family-run paper, they threw out all the REAL journalists, replacing them with a $$$-first organization looking for a way to sell trash back to the locals.
Kravitz's bio says it best... "Bob writes four times a week, with two or three of them being vaguely readable." This one obviously wasn't.
Don't know if Dungy stays or goes, but it is his choice...no one in Indy is calling for his head.
Posted by: live-from-indy | January 6, 2009 10:03 PM