As you may have heard (unless you don't watch sports or live under a rock...or don't watch sports while living under a rock), the Indianapolis Colts suffered their first loss of the season. Big deal? Eh, not really.
But how they lost it is.
As the blog's resident Colts fan, I'm taking it upon myself to assure you that losing a game isn't the end of the world for this team. 16-0 wasn't the stated goal for this time at any point during the season. Winning the Super Bowl always has been and will be the stated goal for this team. However, I can't help but think that losing to the Jets simply because coach Jim Caldwell pulled his starters to rest them is a bad sign. Had New York simply beat us at full speed with all hands on deck, that would have been one thing. But losing because you're taking your foot off the gas pedal in Week 16 is something else entirely.
A couple weeks back, I argued that the Colts should play all of their starters for the remainder of the year, regardless of the results. By giving them so much time off (their first playoff game won't be until January 16th/17th), the starters are in danger of losing their rhythm and forgetting the things that got them to 14-0 in the first place. You simply cannot take this much time off and expect to be as sharp when the playoffs roll around as you were the first three months of the season.
How do I know this? BECAUSE IT'S HAPPENED THREE TIMES ALREADY TO THE COLTS ALONE!!!
2005, 2007, and 2008. In those seasons, the Colts won at least 12 games, secured their playoff position by late in the season and chose to rest their starters in the last game in order to "rest them" for the playoff run. For the record, the supposed "playoff run" last exactly one game in each of those seasons. In 2006, the one year we actually had to scrap and claw our way to a decent playoff seed, we never benched our starters and ended up...wait, what was the result that year...oh yeah, I remember...WINNING THE SUPER BOWL!!!
Sorry to go all caps twice on you, but I'm just a little frazzled right now. This bout of deja vu is resembling '05, '07, and '08; not '06. I'm not happy about this.
A redeeming quality from the Jets game is that all of the players looked pissed. Not necessarily at Jim Caldwell or his decision, but just pissed that they were losing. If we can somehow channel that motivation into playing hard against Buffalo (you know, until they get benched again) and taking some intensity into the bye week prior to our playoff game, we may be able to salvage this situation after all. Sharpness is key in the playoffs because every team is good and the slightest of mistakes can turn into game-changers. If the intensity is lacking due to the benchings, sharpness will be as well, and that's bad news.
I love my Colts, and I'm not quibbling about a 14-1 record. What I am quibbling about is a troubling trend that seems to be rearing its ugly head yet again. Is it January yet?
~~ Lank
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