Indianapolis Colts S Antoine Bethea
Entering what has become an annual November showdown with the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell said there obviously is much to like about the Colts.
Not just that they're unbeaten.
Not just that they've won a franchise-record 17 consecutive games.
Not even that they lead the AFC South by three and a half games.
Caldwell, in his first season as the Colts' head coach, said what he likes about the Colts right now is they continue to find different ways to win. And he said Monday, a day after a 20-17 come-from-behind victory over AFC rival Houston that in the NFL, that is as important as winning big.
“That's the great thing about them,” Caldwell said Monday. “They're resourceful. . . .The ability to win a number of different ways is good. This league will force you to do so. Often times you find what you may consider to be a strength one week – the opposition is going to look at that and say, 'How can we take this particular phase away from them and try to make them play left-handed?'
“Therefore, you have to find other ways to win. I think our team has been good at that so far.”
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The Colts (8-0), one of two unbeaten teams remaining in the NFL with New Orleans, are one of four teams in NFL history to win at least 17 consecutive regular-season games. New England holds the NFL record with 21 consecutive victories from 2006-2008.
The Colts, who play host to New England (6-2) Sunday night, moved three and a half games ahead of Houston (5-4) in the AFC South with the victory. On Sunday, they took a 13-3 lead before Houston rallied to take a 17-13 on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Colts re-took the lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by Joseph Addai, then clinched the victory when Houston kicker Kris Brown missed a 42-yard field goal on the game's final play.
One area of concern, Caldwell said Monday, has been red-zone effectiveness. Against San Francisco two weeks ago, the Colts kicked field goals on three in-game trips inside the 49ers' 20. On Sunday, the Colts scored two red-zone touchdowns, but twice in the first half kicked field goals after moving deep into Houston territory.
“I think if you execute, that solves all of your problems, regardless of what it is," Caldwell said. “It boils down to execution for the most part. We don't make any excuses about that. We just need to finish and finish better. We've been able to do so, week in and week out.
“We're sputtering a little bit right now, but we believe in how we practice. We believe in the guys who are playing for us and we'll find a way to get it done.”
With the 8-0 start, Caldwell became the first Colts head coach to win his first eight games, and also became the only rookie head coach in the Super Bowl era to start 8-0.
“There's a quote in the bible, 'Exalt thyself and be humbled or humble thyself and be exalted,''' Caldwell said. “I like to take the latter part of that, and really, it is more an indication that our team is playing well – every player, every coach, everybody in this organization certainly has a part in it. Any time anyone starts to think that they are the reason why, or all of a sudden there's a pedestal set that you've accomplished something – it's a team-oriented game . . .
“I refrain from talking about it a whole lot, but I do recognize that it is something of note, because it's hard to win one game in this league, let alone what our team has done – putting together back-to-back games for eight in row . .
“That's something that's very, very difficult to do. I don't want to discount it.”
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*** CATCH UP WITH ALL THINGS COLTS ON INDY FOOTBALL REPORT. HERE
*** COFFEE WITH THE COLTS: NEXT DAY LOOK AT COLTS-TEXANS. HERE
*** TEXANS-COLTS GAME STORY. HERE (INCLUDES PHOTO GALLERY)
*** QUOTING THE COLTS. WHAT THEY WERE SAYING AFTER HOUSTON. HERE
*** IFR EDITOR JOHN OEHSER ON COLTS DE DWIGHT FREENEY: HERE
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
Magnificent Seven VI: On RB Donald Brown and the start of the season . . . at last
Magnificent Seven VII: On WR Reggie Wayne, the OL and blitzing
Magnificent Seven VIII: On WR Reggie Wayne, QB Peyton Manning and DE Dwight Freeney
Magnificent Seven IX: On DE Robert Mathis, S Bob Sanders and DE Dwight Freeney
Magnificent Seven X: On QB Peyton Manning's start and life without DT Ed Johnson
Magnificent Seven XI: On RB rotation, DE Dwight Freeney and S Bob Sanders
Magnificent Seven XII: On WR Reggie Wayne, TE Dallas Clark and running game
Comments
John, I love your writing and the amount of time you invest into your football team. As a Houston Texans fan (who enjoys reading about the competition), I thought it was interesting to have an article about the Colts finding different ways to win football games with the image posted in the article.
The image shows the Texans fumbling the football, Bethea out of bounds and touching the football. This call was ruled by the refs correctly as the ball out of bounds at the 2, but was later overturned and ruled a safety. Do you feel like the win is tainted, or that the missed call does not matter because it was in the first half, and we cannot predict the rest of the game had the call stayed correct?
I appreciate the comments. I'm not sure the call changed the outcome as much as many have written. As you said, the second half dynamic would have been drastically different. Along a similar line, had the Colts NOT intercepted late in the fourth quarter and the Texans gone on to score there, it was very possible the Colts would have been the team with the ball last and driven for a game-winning touchdown (as Manning has done so often). My point here isn't to say the Colts would have won whatever the circumstance, but to say that you're basically right: the fumble (incorrectly called or not) was important, but with so much time remaining, not the end-all point in the game.
Thank you for your response.
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