TheAgitator.com
The Debacle
Sunday, January 5th, 2003Here’s what ESPN Page 2’s Sportsguy wrote about yesterday’s Colts-Jets game:
[Colts' coach Tony] Dungy has proven to be a coach competent enough that he can get the car going to about 80 mph before it careens into a tree. And Manning has proven that he can drive that same car into the same tree with the best of them — it’s never like the accident is his fault, but every time you look at the wreckage, you always wonder if the driver could have done something to prevent what happened.
Thing is, he wrote that before the Colts’ felt the business end of a 41-0 thrashing at the hands of the Jets. Colorman Gary Danielson pretty much said the Colts’ defense looked inferior than most of the college defenses he’d seen over the past six months.
At the beginning of this year, I said that we’d see whether Tony Dungy was the defensive guru everyone claimed he as, or whether he was merely the beneficiary of some stellar personnel while at Tampa Bay. Clearly, it’s the latter scenario. Yes, the Colts jumped from bottom of the back to upper-middle of the pack in most defensive categories this year. But that’s two be expected of a schedule that includes the Texans (twice), the Jaguars (twice), Cincinnati, Cleveland, and even Tennessee (twice) — a good team, but by no means an offensive juggernaut. This team gave up 1100+ yards of passing offense in three weeks to the Titans, Giants, Jaguars and Jets.
If I were GM, I’d do the following:
1) Trade Edgerrin James. He’s being paid far too much for a featured back who skips mini-camp, put up maybe five solid games in two seasons, and who averaged less than two yards per carry in a playoff game. Dominic Rhodes will be back next year. He put up 1,000 yards in 3/4 of a season last year. James Mungro has proven himself more than capable. Trade James, get two solid linebackers, and maybe a draft pick.
Edge is also liable to be mighty unhappy anyway, given that the Colts pulled in in the third quarter of the last game of the season — while he was just 10 yards away from a $1.5 million incentive bonus. They did the same thing to Marshall Faulk several years ago. Faulk was so pissed, they had to trade him, too.
2) Fire OC Tom Moore. I’ve never seen worse play calling than I saw this year. On every single short yardage situation, it was a run up the middle. Everyone in the damn stadium knew what was coming. And this on a team with an all-pro quarterback, a near all-pro tight-end, and a Hall of Fame receiver. Two words for Moore: play action. This offense was far, far too conservative. Only when they dropped behind by two touchdowns or more did they fire up the no-huddle, and start employing some vertical pass-routes. Low and behold — it worked! So why not venture some riskier play-calling before falling behind? Also, I don’t believe the Colts pulled one fake kick this year. They did nothing to keep defenses guessing.
3) Don’t be afraid to fire Dungy. There’s no excuse for this team playing so damned lackadasical at the start of every game. It’s a coach’s job to get his team ready — strategically and emotionally — for the game. Dungy didn’t do that. I’m sure they’ll give him at least another two years. I wouldn’t. Marked improvement by game five of next year — if he’s not at least 3-2, maybe 4-1, he’s gone.
4) Defense, defense, defense. This teams’ defense has been woefull the past four seasons. Yet they’ve done almost nothing to beef it up over the offseason. Each time, the mantra has been to “let them mature.” Last season it was “let them learn Dungy’s scheme.” Time’s up. Schemes won’t save this defense. It needs new personnel.
OK, I’m done with the Colts. No more posts ’til preaseason, 2003.
UPDATE: This isn’t a new post, so I didn’t lie. Indy Star columnist Bob Kravitz says Colts owner Jim Irsay should look at firing GM Bill Polian, too. I agree.
Radley, I’m right there with you. I have never been a Dungy fan and do not have the slightest clue what he has done to merit the tag of great coach/defensive genius. What he did in Tampa was nothing special considering the personel that he had on the defensive side of the ball. Plus, the Colts’ offense now looks like Tampa’s old offense. How strange that Tampa’s offense got so much better this year once Dungy left.
I think that in the playoffs you can make a mint on Dungy, just follow the age old addage: Dungy on the sideline means money in the bank. He’s a lot like Marty Schottenheimer. I like to think of them as guys who always put their team in a position to lose a game.
The worst thing about this is the idiocy of the Colts’ ownership. Dungy gets fired by TB because he sucked it up for years and the Colts can’t wait two minutes to go out and hire him. It’s not like they did not have four years of game footage to see his incompetence at TB.
Well, at least my Giants are still in it. GO BLUE!
I saw the Jets giving the Colts a serious whuppin’ from a mile away. Pennington looks to be unstoppable. I just need the Browns to cover so I can collect on a three teamer. By the way, is anyone else completely amazed by Mike Vick? My God is he good.
Of course, the sick thing about all this is that the commentators will blame Peyton Manning for the loss (he’s 0-3 in the playoffs!); never mind that an effective passing game requires an effective running game.
Both Peyton and his brother Eli have basically been let down this year by horrible playcalling and the lack of a credible run threat.
I agree 100% with everything you wrote; the D sucks ass, Edge is overrated, and the offensive playcalling is, well, offensive.
If you can get some good draft picks, I might consider trading Edge. His value is down, however, and I think there is a good chance he should be much better next year. It seems like it normally takes a full year for players to regain their old form after an injury like his. I don’t know if he or the rest of the team knew what his body could do, and I think it showed.
I am not a fan of Mungro. The guy puts the ball on the ground way too often.
I would really like to see more short yardage passes to James. That is what they did his first two years, and it worked great. Now Manning almost never calls his number. Hopefully we’ll see more of those next year.
You haven’t mentioned the Pacers performance this weekend
I said it once and i’ll say it again, Dungy is not head coach material. We had him here in Tampa for four years and a long four years it was. He can get you up the mountain, but not to the summit. We actually laughed at the Colts when we found out they hired Dungy.
But I hate to say it, because Dungy is one hell of a nice guy. Maybe too nice…?
While I agree with your points, I have to throw a little “Blame Payton” into the mix. He is now 0-3 in the playoffs, and as a college player he could never with the Big Game. He could never beat Florida, and Tennessee won the national championship the year after he left. He did win an SEC Championship his senior year (97) – but didn’t have to beat Florida to get there. Here’s a big “you’re welcome” from LSU.
Payton may have been let down by horrible playcalling this year, but there was no such excuse at Tennessee.
And about his little brother, if he had gone to a decent school instead of following his daddy to Ole Miss, he may have had a shot at…well…anything except big wins at the Shreveport bowl. That’s his fault and nobody else’s.
Boy, you couldn’t be more correct. I went to see the Pacers lose on Saturday to the Gizzards (01/04). What a disgrace. There were no rebounds on offense and they couldn’t have been more lackadaisical. Where’s Reggie?
The Colts suck, as all “dome teams” do once they’re removed from the protected confines of their cozy little wombs. I can’t tell you how many times I could read Manning’s lips on the sidelines during last week’s game, frantically begging stadium personnel to “Turn up the fucking heat! What are you people??? Penguins???”
By the way, even the Skins beat up on the Colts back in late October. Which reminds me, I need to collect on something…