32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #9: The Indianapolis Colts

They are a great team. One of the best teams every year in the NFL. They have one of the top 3 Quarterbacks in the league every year. And 2 seasons ago, they won the Superbowl. They are the Indianapolis Colts lead by the poster boy of the NFL, Peyton Manning. Last season ended in misery for the Colts as they lost in a shocker to the San Diego Chargers. A Chargers team that did not have star running back Ladainian Tomlinson and starting quarterback Phillip Rivers playing at the time. The Colts are looking to not let that happen this year. Peyton Manning and his team are determined to once again win the championship and add another piece of jewelry to their fingers. However, they will not have it as easy as it has been over the last few years. The Colts will now have to battle to earn their spot in the playoffs. The AFC South as emerged as the toughest division in the AFC. With the breakout team in Jacksonville, the team that is missing only a few playmakers in Tennessee, and the up and coming team in Houston, the AFC South has become a division that can go any way. I love it.

The defense suffered last year with the loss of Dwight Freeney, one of the best defensive ends in the game, but Bob Sanders emerged to make a lot of noise for the team. Sanders was named the AFC Defensive Player of the year last year and I’m sure he’s looking to repeat that this year. Its not a bad defense. Tampa 2 is a defense that eliminates the big play. The Colts are a hard team to score on. They say that you can run on the Colts, that they can’t defend the run, but every time its brought up the Colts shut everyone down. They have a great defense. One of the best in the league.

As great as their defense is, no one wants to hear about it. Its all about the high powered offense for the Colts. Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison are both all-time great wide recievers. Not having Harrison in the offense last year, hurt this team a lot, but the emergence of Reggie Wayne as a big time big play wide out has made this team even that more dangerous. With the Colts, you basically have 2 #1 Wide Outs lining up on either side. Thats deadly with a QB like Peyton Manning. What can’t be forgotten is the star they have at tight end. Dallas Clark can do it all. He can block, he can catch on the short routes, he can catch on the deep patterns, and last year he proved he can score. Clark nabbed in 11 Touchdowns. A high number for tight ends in the NFL. Peyton Manning has targets and with Anthony Gonzalez also emerging as a star at Wide Out, this team is going to be hard to stop when they go to the air.

The ground game isn’t an easy one to shut down either. Joseph Addai is an amazing running back. He’s hard to tackle and he can eat up a lot of yards either on the ground or through the air as well. He can be a huge playmaker for this team when his number is called and thats really all that matters when you’re in the backfield. Spelling Addai and returning to the team he helped win a Superbowl is Dominic Rhodes. Rhodes spent a season in Oakland last year and didn’t have the year that a lot of people might have been expecting. Rhodes is not an elite running back, but as a backup he’s one of the best. He can make things happen when Addai sits on the bench and with Addai’s reputation of being Mr. Tap Out, Rhodes will see the ball plenty this season. I expect Rhodes to get some decent yardage this year with Addai seeing most of the carries. I will not however forget the draft pick the Colts used on Michigan running back Mike Hart. If Mike Hart can make this team, look out, he can make things happen. I can see Mike Hart being a big goal line threat with his style. He may take some of those touchdowns too.

A high powered offense cannot be successful without a great quarterback and the Colts have one of the best. Peyton Manning. I like to call him the poster boy of the NFL and if you can find a Quarterback that does more commercials then Peyton Manning, then I will shut up. Although his marketing prowess is well known on the television screen, whats better known is that Peyton Manning is one of if not the best Quarterbacks in the league. 31 Touchdowns last season lead the Colts into the playoffs, but a loss to the Chargers shut their season down. It could be said that Manning choked once again, but I think it was just the superior play of an emerging team. Peyton Manning will come back just as strong as ever and maybe with a little more to prove. After all, his brother Eli just won the Superbowl, so maybe Peyton needs to one up his brother. We will see how Peyton comes into this season.

The Colts are a playoffs main stay virtually every year. With Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Joseph Addai they make it very hard for opposing defenses to stop them. And with a stout defense lead by Dwight Freeney and Bob Sanders, they make it difficult for any team to beat them. This year, the Colts are not in an easy division and they do not have an easy schedule. 2 games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, 2 games against the Tennessee Titans, Green Bay, New England, San Diego, & the emerging Cleveland Browns. Those games are going to be tough ones for the Colts to win, but if they stay the course and do what they do, they can get the job done. I’m excited for this season. It’s going to be a fun one to watch.