Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian: "We're a pretty gritty, blue-collar kind of team"

Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell congratulates
CB Tim Jennings and RB Joseph Addai Sunday
Darron Cummings/AP Photo

There sometimes is a perception about the Indianapolis Colts that they are finess, offense-only team.

Colts President Bill Polian said the reality is somewhat different.

Polian, speaking on his weekly radio show on Monday a day after an 18-14 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, said the victory at Lucas Oil Stadium – the Colts' franchise-record 16 consecutive regular-season victory – showed that the Colts are more than just a quick-strike offense.

“We won the turnover battle,” Polian said on his weekly radio show on 97.1 Hank FM in Indianapolis. “Even the sacks that (QB) Peyton (Manning) took were smart sacks. He didn't put the ball up for grabs. No one was open. Take the sack. Live to fight another day.

POLIAN SHOW REVIEW PART I. HERE

POLIAN SHOW REVIEW PART II. HERE

“That's what we've developed. We're a much more resourceful and gritty team than people recognize. When you have the kind of high-powered offense we do that's the thing that sort of gets all of the publicity, but we're a pretty, gritty-blue-collar kind of team if we get in those kinds of games.”

The Colts had won their previous four games by at least double digits, and hadn't led in the second half of any of those games by less than 11 points.

Against the 49ers, the Colts trailed 14-6, 14-9 and 14-12 and didn't take the lead until a 22-yard touchdown pass from RB Joseph Addai to WR Reggie Wayne on the first play of the fourth quarter.

“You're not going to blow everybody away in this league,” Polian said. “I've said numerous times, 'The so-called experts want you to win every game 35-0, win the turnover battle 5-0, throw for 300 yards, run for 200 yards, hold the opposition to 150 total yards and generally dominate things from start to finish.' That might be OK in Pop Warner football or high school football, but it doesn't happen in the NFL because as our linebacker coach Mike Murphy is fond of saying, 'The other team gets paid, too.'

“The idea that you dominate people is ridiculous in the NFL. There has been so much focus on it this year that people have lost track of the fact that virtually every game is a close ball game. Over 70 percent of the games in the NFL are decided by seven points or less. That game Sunday was much more the norm than that which we've seen in recent weeks.”

Polian on Monday also discussed:

*The effects of wind in Lucas Oil Stadium: “When the roof is open and the window is open, there is a wind tunnel effect that is really, really deleterious to us. With our kicking game and our passing game, it really doesn't make a lot of sense to do both. In the summertime, that's a different story. When the weather is nice and the humidity is high and you really don't have any of those kids of issues. But when you have fronts coming through as you did Sunday, or when you're in fall and winter and there is a fair amount of wind, the wind currents because of the roof and open window really create a terrible hardship for both passing and kicking.”

*The effects of the sun Sunday in Lucas Oil Stadium with the roof open: “It does cause some problems. First of all, we had never played a game with the roof open in the daytime in standard time. All of the games we played with the roof open have been in Eastern Daylight Time. Of course, the sun is a lot different in standard time than it is in daylight time. As a result, we didn't know where the sun would be. We found out Sunday that it's vastly different from what our experience previously had been. You might very well in future games if the window were open elect to defend the goal so that's not an issue early in the game. It abated by the second half, so you'd worry about the first and second quarters. We learned a lesson from that.”

*The decision to attempt a two-point conversion leading by four early in the fourth quarter: “The thinking is if you make it, it takes a touchdown to beat you. And you can come back with a field goal – even if they score a touchdown, you can come back with a field goal. That was the thought in mind. I don't have any quarrel with it. (QB) Peyton (Manning) just overthrew the ball a little bit. (WR) Pierre (Garcon) was open, but he was on the run and put too much mustard on it. It's not a play you practice religiously, or where the timing is exquisite on it. In that particular case, he had to put mustard on the ball to get it in there. He just threw it a bit high. That will happen from time to time. No one's perfect. I couldn't quarrel at all with (Colts Head Coach) Jim (Caldwell)'s thinking on it. His thinking was, 'Hey, it takes a touchdown to beat us and even if they get a touchdown we can come back and still win with a field goal.' He's dynamic on special teams. He's a game-changer on special teams.”

*The play of Colts P Pat McAfee: “Pat played awfully well. He kicked off well and he punted exceptionally well. He did what we brought him here to do, which was to kick backed up in our territory. It doesn't happen very much over the course of a season with our offense, but when it does, it's very important that you get the ball high and you get it out there with a lot of distance. He flipped the field for us about three times, which is really, really good. That's what we were looking for. You can't have a short kick there. You can't have a returnable kick there. He kicked long ones and he got it out there so we could cover it. In one case, he made a great play to push them back beyond their 30, so we flipped the field and that's to Pat's credit. He's done a great job throughout the season.”

*The 18-point offensive performance: “We had some opportunities where we thought we could get big plays and we did. We just didn't get them completed. When those things happen, they kind of send you off-kilter a little bit. I hate to use the phrase, “Out of sort,' but that's probably about the way it was. We were not hitting on all cylinders when we missed those early opportunities. . . . I was really gratified about how we handled the adversity in the first half, of which there was some, and how well we did in the second half in virtually all phases. Our coverages units again were outstanding – really outstanding. All in all, it was a good performance. We would have liked it to have been better, but when you're in one of those grind-it-out games, that's kind of the way they go. They have a way of taking on a life of their own. That's what occurred and we won it. We've had plenty of those in the past.”

*The play Sunday of Manning, who completed 31 of 48 passes for 347 yards and no touchdowns with no interceptions: “We rarely see him miss balls like that, but it will happen from time to time. He was not rushed on [an early deep pass to Pierre Garcon]. I think the ball got away from him a little bit. Sometimes, the ball can be a little slick or something of that nature. By and large, his performance Sunday was flawless – no interceptions, two of the sacks that he took were great sacks, because they avoided interceptions. Again, the fact that he only has been sacked twice in six games is not the norm in the National Football League. It's well, well below the norm. Having said that, it was not the scheme of the defense, it was the fact that in more than a few cases our offensive linemen got run over. They got run over by power rushers. That can mean one of two things – one, you're not executing your techniques correctly, which I think was the case or two, you have a strength deficiency, which I don't think was the case. You have to execute techniques correctly, and as our coaches said Monday, we were a little careless about that. When you're careless against good players – and they do have a very good defense , then you're not going to win very often. That's what occurred.”

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MAGNIFICENT SEVENS: WEEKLY COLTS THOUGHTS . . .

Magnificent Seven I: Seven training camp thoughts and observations

Magnificent Seven II: On the Colts' defensive tackle position and WR Reggie Wayne

Magnificent Seven III: On the Colts' running backs and offensive line

Magnificent Seven IV: On the Colts' offense, OG Ryan Lilja and WR Anthony Gonzalez

Magnificent Seven V: On S Melvin Bullitt and QB Peyton Manning