"We sucked....could'nt do diddly poo, Playoffs? talk to me about Playoffs??? Playoffs? You kiddin me?" 2nd best press conference ever only behind Allen Iverson and "Practice?"
LOL. What are you even talking about? The correct answer is, "Ah, yes, sorry: I see I read that incorrectly when I attributed the author predicting 10 wins for the Colts...." He used a Vegas line that had already accounted for Manning being out... fair to assume it was *higher* before the neck injury was fully-known. Thus, not a 10-win team but a 10+ win team. They play Jacksonville and Tennessee twice, and then Cleveland, Cincinnati and Carolina. Those are 7 winnable games, with or without Peyton Manning. From there, all it takes is a single critical defensive turnover, or catching a team sleeping, for them to jump into the 8-9 win arena. If you put a gun to my head, I'd guess 6. If we FF to January and they have 8-9, I simply wouldn't be shocked. That's all I'm sayin'. Plus, we still don't know how many game Manning will miss.
I think the Colts will be unrecognizable come Sunday. Manning more of a difference the numbers alone can explain. That team was built from Manning out and even the defense will suffer because they won't have the offense to provide long drives and rest which will give teams more time to exploit them. I still think this will end up to be a blessing in disguise. They could get a high pick if not the top pick and pick up an impact rookie or a king's ransom for the pick.
Arguably? Not even close. May I present the New Orleans Aints: Born in 1967, they went 14 years before they even reach .500, and 20 years before their first winning record. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nor/
Reminds me of when David Robinson was injured and ended up winning the draft lottery to get Tim Duncan
The Colts are still playing the Texans Sunday, right? The team that has historically underachieved and shrunk in big moments? Their head coach is still the guy a lot of people here thinks has and will continue to cost them wins, right? Is this thing on? Hello? You don't have any concerns about the Texans wilting under this pressure and gifting the Colts one of those impossible nine win? That's completely unfathomable?
We don't play them there until Dec 22nd, when odds are very good that Manning will be on IR, the Colts have nothing to play for but pride, and the Texans are fighting for playoff seeding. And I keep seeing this....but what is there to play up? They have a nice stable of receivers, though you have to temper that at least a little in that Manning makes them look better. Clark is formidable and should be a point of concern. Wayne is very good but isn't considered an elite WR by too many. Garcon can be electric but has a serious case of the dropsies (caught only 56% of his passes last year). Collie is fine but doesn't torture teams. Addai can be a problem if he has space catching out of the backfield, but he had only one play that broke 20 yards (receiving or running) last season - he isn't a playmaker. They have premier rushing 4-3 ends. They have good special teams. They have below average DTs that seldom plug the middle. The O Line is below average by all accounts. The run game is among the least effective in the league, even when Manning was keeping safeties out of the box. The linebackers are suspect. The secondary is suspect. Collins has never, ever been a top ten QB in his career. He has a rep for being immobile, being slow to get rid of the ball, and is playing behind a porous line. He has no run game to take the pressure off. Texans have to stay on their toes in the secondary and also not let screen passes gash them. When Brady went down, you still had a top defense, good offense with dangerous receivers, an already-installed back up QB, and elite coaching to see them through. We were all stunned when Cassel kept them afloat and in the playoffs, it would be much more amazing if the Colts were a 9-win team without Manning.
God, this is the dumbest debate ever, and it's raging everywhere I look. We could (and probably will) have this debate over every single team we're favored to beat. Here's how it is: The Texans SHOULD beat the Colts handily on Sunday because we have a far superior team. Of course, any team CAN beat any other team on any given Sunday, especially if the Texans overlook them. It just isn't very probable. We all agree? Good. Nobody is saying the Texans can afford to be comfortable and come out flat. Nobody is saying the Colts are anywhere as near as good as the Texans. Settled now? Please?
Under the heading "Best Team to Not Make the Playoffs" Peter King: "The offense will be top-five, Mario Williams will transition well to the 3-4, and look out for Brooks Reed making a pass-rush impact. That won't be enough, though." Wow. I never really worry about what sportscasters say, but now I'm worried if Peter King still has a pulse. I think he died sometime before the pre-season started.
LOL. You don't read much of Peter King, do you? This keyboard I'm using to type out this response to you? It knows more about football than Peter King. Oh, don't believe me? Guess who Petey picked to win the AFC South last year............
Put 'em together and it's the ultimate. <iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/exOxUAntx8I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I don't read any sports blogs on a regular basis (thus the "I never really worry about what sportscasters say" comment). But if all three of those things happen, then where does PK think we will fall short? Sunday can't get here fast enough.
No, no - I know. I just don't think people here realize how hard they've stepped on the gas. I'm getting ripped for suggesting a team that has averaged 12.1 wins since 2002 (and was 14-0 two years ago!) might not shrink as quickly and decisively as people think - but no one seems to think breaking a 10-year losing streak - or beating the Colts in consecutive seasons for the first time in never - is anything more than a tiny leap across a dried-up creek. And besides - why the heck am I, Mr. King Texan Cheerleader, the fly in everyone's oinment??? I mean, you guys trust this team to live up to expectations? I'm the only one that's nervous? What the heck, people! Not cool that you all did this. NOT. COOL. AT. ALL.
I didn't read the article - is he predicting we'll do all those things and finish 8-8? If so, then he is, indeed, a maroon. If we do all those things, finish 10-6 and miss out on the wildcard... I guess that's possible - but I'd love to know who he thinks is going to win 10+ games in the AFC South to push us to the WC spot....
If you ranked all 32 teams according to what Peter King knows about them, the Texans would rank dead last on his list. I share Ric's opinion, he's a total boob.
He is picking the Colts to win the division. And he has the Jets and Ravens as wild cards. And now, I have completed my Peter King study for the year. Maybe my prediction will come true and he won't have a pulse for long.
One more "what?" moment, then I have to get away from this computer....That bastion of great sports journalism, The Bleacher Report, has this for a lead in sentence- The perfect storm is gathering around the Houston Texans for them to win the AFC South, beginning with Saturday's home opener against the Peyton Manning-less Indianapolis Colts. Saturday? Sunday really can't get here fast enough.
