T.E.A.M.: Together Everyone Achieves More

This is a long one folks, so if you don’t make it to the end, I’ll understand.

I started out this season with one number in my head: 20.That’s how many regular season and post season games a team has to play to win the Super Bowl (assuming no first round bye in the playoffs); the last four have to be wins and a good number of the other 16 have to be as well. So as the weeks went on, I counted down: 20, 19, 18, etc. The two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, I had the number one in my head constantly. Just one more, guys…that’s all that’s left.

I’ll admit I had my doubts that this would be the season we made it to the Super Bowl much less won it. I mean really what part of NO RUN DEFENSE does one have to know before you stop believing it’s possible. At first, I thought the loss of Edgerrin James would do them in; that we would have a rebuilding year of sorts, then the tandem of Rhodes and Addai came to fruition, and I gained more hope. (Really how cool are those two guys. They pat each other on the back and do their jobs brilliantly.) We could have chalked it up to the injuries on defense, sure, because there were many…but I saw the bad run defense in the opening game of the regular season against the Giants BEFORE the injuries. Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs ran all over them, but the offense found a way to keep the Colts out in front. But the running just never stopped as team after team just kept running and running and running. I thought it was footage from Forrest Gump that never made it in the movie. We were ranked 32nd in run defense in the league and NO TEAM has ever won the Super Bowl being ranked that low. We allowed 100+ yards in all 16 games and gave some has been running backs the games of their careers (read: Ron Dayne). I held my breath more than a couple of times this season on games so close I was losing years off my life just watching them. We were winning the hard way on 2 minute drills, game winning field goals (or their missed field goals), and a chance interception here and there to stop the opponent’s final drive. I learned more than once what “you only need to win by 1 point” and “winning the hard way” meant. Amazingly, we never went to overtime in any game.

Peyton even started to slump, he started to throw interceptions when the ball never should have been thrown (even though he ended the regular season with the fewest interceptions of his career) or he would make bad reads and get sacked (even though the offensive line ended the season allowing the fewest sacks in the league).

Side Note: A common misconception about Peyton: he DOES NOT have happy feet. He moves his feet (Dance Revolution Style) constantly once the ball is snapped to keep himself mobile in case he has to run (heaven help me…it scares me when he runs). It’s not that he doesn’t trust his O-Line; he just always feels the need to be ready to run.

His receivers and tight ends would drop passes thrown right to the numbers (he had double the dropped passes this year than he had last year). The Jaguars game in December was the full team meltdown that I think they’d all been escaping all season. Sometimes though, a loss is a blessing in disguise. Sure they’d lost 2 games before that, but not as horribly as that Jaguars game. And, although they lost another game after that, I think the Jaguars game was kind of a wake up call to say, we’ve been going along like this, keeping the faith that everything would work out in the end, but somewhere along the lines they needed to do their part, too and finish plays. I, myself, even gave up on the season somewhere around the Tennessee loss. I wasn’t completely gone. I just firmly believed that if we (the entire team…all three units) continued to play the way we had been (just getting by and not finishing plays) then there was no way we could make it all the way to February. I felt a little bit better after the Bengals game, and I had to kind of brush away the loss to the Texans because really, we’d beaten them 9 straight times…eventually something had to give.

And then came the playoffs…

My goodness could the NFL have given them a bigger mountain to climb, not nearly as big a mountain as the Steelers last year starting as the 6th seed, but still…an uphill battle. The 32nd rated run defense against the #2 (by yardage) running back in the league…Are you kidding me??? Win that one; you get to go play the Ravens with the #1 defense in the league. Seriously??? Win that one, and you get to play either the Chargers (thought to be the most complete team in the league) or the Patriots (Sheesh…not again).

I was so scared the day of the Chiefs game that I was walking around just going through the motions and not really paying much attention to the world around me. But then the first ball was snapped to Trent Green, he handed it off to Larry Johnson, and Larry Johnson went no where. HUH??? WHAT??? Oh ok…that was the first play…there’s no way we can keep this up all game. And then the next play, and the next play, and the next play…It didn’t stop…3 and outs for the Chiefs until nearly the end of the 3rd quarter. Who would have guessed that? Not this girl. Larry Johnson was held to 32 yards. (No…I didn’t forget to put the 1 in front of that.) Peyton on the other hand played like…well like a rookie. He threw 3 interceptions, 2 were to Ty Law, the NFL player with the most career INTs off of Peyton (9 now). He was out of sync with Marvin Harrison, and I really just thought…well ok…we can beat Kansas City because the defense played like they should have been all season, but we can’t beat Baltimore without Peyton playing better than that. Colts 23, Chiefs 8

Favorite Quotes from the game:

“It’s not like we’re going to hold Larry Johnson to 12 carries for 25 yards,” Tony Dungy the week before the game. (He was right: Larry Johnson was held to 13 carries for 32 yards.)

"I told Ty Law I’d be happy to introduce him at the Hall of Fame,” Peyton Manning after throwing his 8th and 9th INT to Ty Law in the game

“Our receivers did really well with the ball when I threw it to THEM,” Peyton Manning discussing his poor passing performance during the game.

Favorite Play from the game:

Well my favorite play of any game is if/when Peyton gets to take a knee to run out the clock, but in this game it was the first play from scrimmage for the Chiefs when the Colts defense didn’t let Larry Johnson go anywhere. I breathed a slight sigh of relief at that point.

On to Baltimore…Oh my goodness…what a horrible week that was leading up to the #3 offense playing the #1 defense. There were about 2,000 articles about the Mayflower moving trucks that week. I was already tired of hearing about that dead-of-night move before the Colts played the Chiefs, but I mean this was crazy and getting out of hand. Good-natured grudges are all well and good, but this was like hostile and violent almost. So naturally, it didn’t stop me from being nervous about the game. I wasn’t sure what the weather was going to do. We’d been having mild weather for a couple of weeks by then and I was hoping for it to stick around at least long enough for the game to come and go. Still, rain was predicted for the game, and that concerned me. Little did I know I had nothing to worry about. Plus, I was so afraid of what Ray Lewis would do to Peyton that I was in a foggy haze. Then the game started and there was no turning back. We were in it for 60 minutes…or at least our special teams was. :) Peyton reduced his INTs from 3 to 2 for this game. Dallas Clark came up HUGE as did Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. They all caught some MAJOR passes that kept us in the game and ahead of Baltimore. The offense kept getting into good enough field position for Adam Vinatieri field goals and the defense was keeping McNair out of the end zone, but I still didn’t really breathe until Adam kicked his last field goal. The last field goal being the one that has Coach Tony Dungy naming Adam, “Money.” 18 down 2 to go. Colts 15, Ravens 6

Favorite Quotes from the Game:

Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan asked his fans for five seconds of quiet each time Indianapolis lined up for an offensive play. The reasoning behind Ryan’s request was to allow his defense a chance to make quick defensive calls and adjustments before the Colts snap the ball. Dungy, however, didn't mind the quiet if Baltimore fans want to afford them the opportunity.

“I did hear that. And so we kind of said the same thing. We’re going do all our communication in those five seconds. We’ll yell as quick as we can the plays and see if we can get them out in five seconds,” joked Coach Tony Dungy.

“There were a lot of middle fingers on the bus ride here tonight,” Peyton Manning about the hostile environment and Baltimore fans.

“Take it out on the owner. From what I understand, it was one man’s decision and that man is no longer living. Everything I’ve read about him, I don’t think I’d have liked him very much. I was eight years old when it happened,” Peyton Manning responding to the Baltimore v Indy history.

Favorite Plays of the Game:

Dallas’s catch for 13 yards and a first down that kept our offense out on the field to drown the clock.

Joseph’s lateral to Peyton which resulted in a Marvin Harrison reception for a 1^st down. I’m trying to figure out if there is any uncatchable catch that Marvin can’t make. Sometimes he drops the easy ones, but he always seems to come up with the ones that no one should be able to catch.

My favorite field goal of the night was the 51 yd FG that hit the cross bar and went over. Vanderjagt’s would have bounced off and out not in.

On to New England…I kept trying to figure out the whole time leading up to the Patriots/Chargers game which team I wanted to win. Did I really want to go to San Diego and play LaDainian or did I want to have the Patriots come to Indy and have to play the playoff version of the team? Since there was nothing I could do about it, I just hoped that we played well in the AFC championship game against whoever we played. I was sick all day that Sunday leading up to the game not to mention that I had a very bad drive home from church that afternoon because the snow started earlier than it was supposed to. At that point, I was thankful that we had the head to head lead on the Patriots and didn’t have to play this game in New England because if it was snowing here, there’s no telling what it was doing in Massachusetts. I won’t explain the entire game here as I’ve done that in a previous blog already. But suffice it to say, by the end of the night, I was indescribably thrilled. There are only two other times in my life that I have felt joy greater than I felt that Sunday night: (1) the day I was baptized and (2) the day Nelson was born, in that order. Colts 38, Patriots 31

Favorite Quotes from the Game:

“I don’t get into monkeys and vindication. I don’t play that card,” Peyton Manning after being asked for the gazillionth time whether making it to the Super Bowl validated his career.

“People ask me if this is how I wanted this game to go, and I say, ‘no, I’d have taken 35-0 or playing Oakland,’” Peyton Manning during the AFC Championship trophy presentation.

“It’s a shame we have to go to Miami, we should just go to Fort Wayne and play this off,” Tony Dungy after being asked about playing the I-65 Super Bowl against their neighbors to the north, Chicago.

“INTERCEPTED. The Colts are going to the Super Bowl,” Jim Nantz after Marlin Jackson intercepted Tom Brady’s pass with 24 seconds left on the clock.

Even better: “We’re going to the Super Bowl! We’re going to the Super Bowl!,” Indianapolis radio announcer and voice of the Colts, Bob Lamey.

Favorite Plays of the Game:

The touchdown to Dan Klecko in the 3rd quarter (and the 2 point conversion that only Marvin could catch) as well as Jeff Saturday’s fumble recovery in the end zone in the 4th quarter that finally tied the game. (Jeff’s spiking of the ball was just so darned satisfying.)

The 52 yard pass to Dallas Clark in the 4th quarter that lead to Adam’s final field goal of the game.

The 32 yard corner-route pass to Brian Fletcher on the Colts’ final drive of the game.

Joseph Addai’s touchdown that finally put us ahead after 59 minutes of game time.

And naturally, Marlin Jackson’s interception. I loved the fact that he thought about running but just collapsed onto the field so he wouldn’t lose the ball. I was already pretty much out of breath at this point, but Marlin sent me into hyperventilation.

On to the Super Bowl…I had little twinges the week before the game, but I never got really sick until the teams ran out on the field. There were parts of me that thought, they’re not going to give this up. They made it this far, they’re bringing it home. But there were Bears players that scared me. I was scared of which Rex Grossman would show up. He’s the scariest kind of quarterback…the inconsistent quarterback. How do you prepare for that? Is the good Rex or the bad Rex going to show up. Prepare for the good, hope for the bad. Brian Urlacher didn’t play in the last Colts/Bears game a couple years ago, so I didn’t really know what to expect. He’s a great athlete and fantastic at his position, so anything could have happened. Devin Hester had run multiple kickoffs back for touchdowns this season and I knew our special teams wasn’t good at return coverage. I had reason to be concerned. And then there was the weather. Rain favors the offense and specifically the running game. Peyton tends to get pass happy when he gets flustered and doesn’t rely on the running game like he should (see playoff game against the Steelers last year). So I was nervous that the rain would unnerve him and he would try to pass all night. On that one, I had nothing to worry about.

I had secretly hoped leading up to the game that we would lose the coin toss even though we got to call it. Every post season game we’d played to that point, we lost the coin toss and look how those turned out. So, Adam calls tails and in my head, I’m chanting heads, heads, heads. I’m probably the only Colts fan in the world who was excited that we lost the coin toss. Then the moment Adam’s foot hit the football on the opening kickoff, I knew. I just knew. I don’t know why I did, but I did…and it happened. Devin Hester, 92 yards, touchdown. First ever opening kickoff return for a touchdown in Super Bowl history. I also knew that the game was not going to end at 7-0. Colts turn…Peyton ended the first drive with an interception. His only one for the whole game, but at least it wasn’t costly as the Bears went three and out on the next drive. Peyton threw a beautiful 53 yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne, and I felt better. Then the PAT happened or didn’t actually. Hunter Smith (love you buddy) fumbled the snap and Adam Vinatieri was forced to take the ball and basically fall on it. After that the rest of the first half was basically, a touchdown by Chicago, a touchdown and a field goal by the Colts, and five more turnovers between the two teams before Prince even started tuning up his guitar. I lost count of the total fumbles (lost and recovered).

The second half I was still unnerved as we were only up by five starting out. First drive of the second half, we get a field goal. Adam had missed the one right before halftime and you’d think the world was coming to an end the way the announcers talked about it. Do people forget that he has missed in the post season before. In fact, the 1st New England Super Bowl run, he missed a field goal in the AFC Championship and in the 2nd NE Super Bowl run, he missed 2 field goals in the Super Bowl and one in the divisional round. He’s not perfect and if you repeat that he hadn’t missed all post season this year every time he walks on the field to kick, quite frankly, you’re inviting a miss. In any case, by the end of the third quarter, we had added two field goals and the Bears had added one. Peyton along with mainly his running backs (Joseph and Dominic) were busy drowning the clock as neither the team nor I was sitting pretty with a five point lead. With a little over eleven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Rex Grossman threw an interception to Kelvin Hayden (in the game for an injured Nick Harper) and Kelvin ran it back for a touchdown. We were now ahead by twelve, and I was a little more relaxed. Then on the very next drive, Rex Grossman throws another interception to Bob “what knee injury” Sanders with roughly 10 minutes left on the clock. On their final drives, the Bears never got past midfield. I was only sad that Peyton didn’t get to take a knee at the end, but knee or no knee, we won the Super Bowl. Colts 29, Bears 17

I waited 11 years to see Tony Dungy have Gatorade dumped on him. I waited 13 years to see Peyton Manning win “the BIG one.” I waited 9 years for the Colts to have 53 players that could play as a team. In the grand scheme of things, I know lots of people have waited a lot longer than I have for the Colts to win the Super Bowl, but I enjoyed every minute of it: validation, vindication, monkeys gone, whatever you want to call it…it was worth the wait.

I was proud of Peyton accepting the MVP award on behalf of the entire team because that 60 minutes was what we had all been waiting for during the 19 previous games. The number 20 in my head had been reduced to zero (which I somehow realized when Kelvin intercepted the ball. I realized there was no next game. This was it.). I was sad that I’d given up on them after the Tennessee game, but realized that the way the team was playing after that game was not the way they were playing now. And that other team was the one I gave up on. I wouldn’t change a thing. I wouldn’t take back any of the losses because I think they helped us. I wouldn’t take back any of the interceptions Peyton threw in the post season because it made the defense work that much harder. I wouldn’t take back the utter depression I felt at halftime of the AFC championship game because the joy I felt after the second half was worth it. I know Peyton has said he’d have taken 35-0 against the Patriots, but if I had it to do over again, this is exactly how I would have scripted every single play.

Favorite Quotes from the Game and Beyond:

“Super Bowl Champion Tony Dungy,” Rich Eisen on NFL Gameday. “Say that, again,” Tony Dungy coming to join NFL Gameday for a postgame interview.

“I wanted to be on a TEAM that won the Super Bowl, and I’m just proud to be a part of this team,” Peyton Manning during postgame interviews.

“We wanted to win this one for our coach,” Peyton Manning during a press conference following the game.

“We’re going to Disney World,” Tony Dungy and Dominic Rhodes.

“I want to thank Peyton Manning and the offense for making me the least used player at my position in the history of the game,” Hunter “the Punter” Smith at the Colts Homecoming Rally at the RCA Dome. (This was Hunter's 8th season. He has punted 472 times in regular season play. That's an average of 3.7 times per game and 59 times per season. He punted 47 times this season, a career low. Only the NE punter had fewer punts for the season with 43.)

Favorite Plays of the Game:

Matt Giordano’s never give up play on the opening kick off return against Devin Hester. He didn’t catch Devin until the end zone, but the boy just never gave up and still pulled him down. Didn’t save the 6 points, but good grief, how many other defenders do you know who wouldn’t just pull up when the guy crossed the goal line? Nice hustle, Matt. Two seconds earlier and you’d have had him.

Reggie Wayne’s 53 yard touchdown pass. It was a thing of beauty. After all he’s been through this season with his family, it was a beautiful cap on the season to see him make it to the end zone. (His 6 receptions for 137 yards the next week in the Pro Bowl made me VERY happy!)

Dominic Rhodes on every play he was in the game for. He would make a fabulous contractor because apparently there isn’t one brick wall anywhere he can’t run through.

Kelvin Hayden’s interception returned for a touchdown.

And that’s it. If you made it this far, I commend you. Thanks for sticking it out for the long haul. Everyone else, I understand your giving up because this blog post (as most of them are) was mainly for me.

My final thought…

I’ve waited a long time to say this as I was there 9 years ago when it was the 1st, but…

With the 32nd pick in the 2007 NFL draft, the Indianapolis Colts pick…

Stay tuned!