Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning (David J. Phillip/AP Photo)
Each week on Examiner.com, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser offers seven thoughts on all things Indianapolis Colts. Without further delay, the Magnificent Seven for Week 13 of the 2009 regular season, in which the Colts (11-0) will play host to the Tennessee Titans (5-6) at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis. This week: a special, play-them-or-sit-them version of the Magnificent Seven . . .
7. A debate that's already been decided. Let's make this clear: this whole "debate" over how the Indianapolis Colts will approach the final few weeks of the season isn't really a debate at all. Forgetting for a moment that the Colts haven't actually clinched anything yet, there's still no getting around the truth, and the truth is all anyone discussing the Colts seems to want to discuss these days is just what the Colts will do in what seems the inevitable event that they clinch home-field advantage with regular-season games remaining. There are actually many nuances to the question, but in most circles it comes down to the simple breakdown of will the Colts: 1) rest their starters in meaningless games; or 2) play starters and front-line players and try to win those meaningless games. The issue is complex enough that we'll devote this entire version of Magnificent Seven to it, but the reality is it doesn't much matter what we discuss here, what is said on talk radio and what is debated in the blogosphere and on NFL Live and anyone else who discusses such things. The Colts never have cared much about public perception when making football decisions, and considering the Colts have won six AFC South titles in seven years, made eight consecutive postseason appearances and won a Super Bowl following the 2006 decisions, said people have made some good decisions. They also have achieved those accomplishments by being consistent in approach, year after year, and as Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell said this week when discussing the issue and declining to delve too much into it prematurely, “We won't deviate too far from what we've done previously.” That means if and when the Colts clinch playoff seeding, it's fair to expect the Colts' front-line players to play sparingly, if at all. But as mentioned, this is a complex issue, so we'll move on to . . .
6. Institutional approach. Before we get into what may become a muddled mess of a conversation in the final five entries, let's make one thing clear, and that's that while there will be debate in the blogosphere and over the airwaves, there won't be any debate inside the Colts' complex. At least not among the decision-makers. The Colts under President Bill Polian and under former Head Coach Tony Dungy were an organization of like football beliefs. Not to say they didn't have disagreements. Most likely they did, but at the core, they believed much the same things, and one view they shared was on when to play players late in the season. And while Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell has proven since succeeding Dungy in January that he is very much his own man and own head coach, there's no vibe coming from Caldwell that he believes any different from Polian and his predecessor on this issue. Polian said early this week on his weekly radio show that he wasn't a believer in momentum and discounted the whole theory of a team being rusty because a few starters don't play in meaningless late-season games. Caldwell has given no indication he feels differently. The Colts' philosophy is you eliminate rust by practicing, and by eliminating it that way, you minimize injuries. And make no mistake: above all else, the Colts' philosophy is it is far better to have a team of healthy players at playoff time than a roster full of battered and bruised players with momentum that they don't believe truly exists.
5. Pursuing perfection. This is where the argument has gotten a little muddied. A common argument is that if you have a chance to play for 16-0, then you do that. While Caldwell has said that 16-0 isn't necessarily a goal, history suggests the Colts won't necessarily lay down and let the chance at perfection pass. The closest the Colts have come to an unbeaten regular season this decade was 2005, when they started 13-0 and lost to San Diego a week after clinching home-field advantage. While I've long maintained that the Colts in that game didn't seem to have quite the same emotional/physical edge with which they played the first 13 games, to say the Colts didn't make an effort to win isn't correct, either. QB Peyton Manning played the whole game, as did all healthy starters. The Colts did play their starters sparingly in the final two games of the 2005 regular season. I remember Dungy saying afterward that that would have been the approach even had they beaten San Diego, but I always had a feeling they would have played a bit more all-out had they still been unbeaten. This season, I'd be surprised if you see them pull up too, too much until at least Week 16 against the Jets.
4. A different thought on momentum. Let's step away from the whole unbeaten concept and assume the Colts lose to Tennessee, Denver or Jacksonville and enter the Jets' game, say, 13-1. And for argument's sake, we'll say that the Colts play Manning, WR Reggie Wayne and every other core player that they can't win the Super Bowl without for the final two games. And let's say they win those games against two teams that appear to be struggling and could be playing for nothing. Really, how much momentum do you get from playing such a game? READ MORE
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