Coffee with the Colts: A next-day look at the Indianapolis Colts' 18-14 victory over San Francisco

November 2, 4:23 AMIndianapolis Colts ExaminerJohn Oehser

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Indianapolis Colts RB Joseph Addai and WR Reggie Wayne
(Darron Cummings/AP Photo

Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser takes a next-morning look at the Indianapolis Colts' 18-14 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis in Week 8 of the 2009 NFL season . . .

THE QUICK LEAD . . .

Before panic and angst set irrevocably in, Indianapolis Colts fans should remember one very important truth . . .

Blowouts are rare in the NFL. No matter how it seems sometimes around Indy.

Another truth is that the San Franscisco 49ers are not only good, but -- as evidenced by Sunday's performance -- pretty well-coached, and that may be the most important truth to take away from the Colts' 18-14 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday.

Not that there weren't concerns on Sunday.

There were, the continued struggles of the running game and a few too many missed opportunuties among them. But the truth is the Colts are 7-0 entering what QB Peyton Manning on Sunday called the teeth of their schedule, and overall, Indianapolisis doing what's necessary to win.

"You feel good about yourself when you win the close ones," RB Joseph Addai said after a game in which his 22-yard touchdown pass to WR Reggie Wayne provided not only unusual fourth-quarter points, but the winning ones.

"You have those games that you win that are really big. Yeah, it's a good game, but it means something when it's close. That was a game you didn't think about the scoreboard. You just went out there and played."

Several thoughts coming out of Sunday. One is this was a pretty typical midseason game in the NFL. The 49ers are a contending team and it's difficult to blow contending teams out in November. Another is that the 49ers did as good a job blitzing and putting pressure on Colts QB Peyton Manning as any team has done in a long time. Another is this team seems to find different ways to win -- a touchdown pass by a running back on a day when their quarterback had none? Yet another is that the touchdown pass from Addai to Wayne is one of those moments to be savored -- a memorable, flashpoint momen in an otherwise not overly memorable game.

But the overarching thought -- the one I kept going back to reflecting on the game afterward -- is that while the game will cause angst among fans, sometimes it's not bad to have a close game. or two. Or three. In 2005, the Colts won 13 consecutive games by seven or more points. That never had been done in the NFL, but I remember Tony Dungy saying the next season he liked it more when the Colts had a few close games, and as opposed to 2005 -- when the Colts lost in the Division Playoffs to Pittsburgh -- he believed they entered the 2006 postseason more playoff ready. That was the year they won Super Bowl XLI.

"We need these games," Wayne said, "We’re going to continue to push for our goal, which is the Super Bowl. We’re going to need these close games. We’re going to need to fight through a little adversity and push forward. We were able to do that today. The team did a good job. Coach (Jim) Caldwell said he was proud of the way we finished today. It was a grinder, and we figured out a way to win.”

Were the Colts thrilled with how they played Sunday? No. Should they have been? Of course not. But the reality is there are close games in the NFL, and the reality is it's not bad to know how to play those games late in the season.

The Colts got some of that experience Sunday. And in a very real sense, that's OK.

A FEW QUICK THOUGHTS . . .

* Don't overlook the 16 consecutive games won by the Colts. It will be one of those streaks that gets lost historically, primarily because there's a postseason loss tucked in the middle. But the Colts are one of eight teams in NFL history to win 16 consecutive games, and it has been been an impresive run. Colts QB Peyton Manning and DE Dwight Freeney are each playing as well they ever have, and Wayne is, too. That's three of the top players in franchise history all in their primes at the same time, and although they're not the sole reasons for the streak, they're big ones. There have been other streaks -- a lot of others -- for the Colts in recent memory, but this is a special time in Indianapolis Colts history. That this streak really isn't dicussed nationally too, too much speaks to how numbingly consistent Indianapolis has been for the last half decade.

* When many NFL quarterbacks have "off days," they throw four interceptions and their teams lose 31-10. When Peyton Manning has an "off day" -- and the term, in this case, is used somewhat sarcastically -- he completes 31 of 48 passes for 347 yards and a passer rating of "only" 86.0 and his team wins 18-14.

* I know fans are down on the running game, and with reason. It's not where it should be, but I still believe it's improved from last season. Most of last season, you just knew the Colts weren't going to be productive on the ground and figured they should just go ahead and throw all the time. This season, there are enough flashes that it's possible they can get it figured out. "The biggest thing is just staying with it," Addai said. "The O-line, they are always talking about, 'Let's just stay with it, stay with it.' It’s a 60-minute game. It kind of opened up a little bit at the end."

 * The team could use WR Anthony Gonzalez. WR Austin Collie caught six passes for 66 yards and WR Pierre Garcon caught four passes for 53 yards Sunday, but the feeling here is Gonzalez will be a bit more consistent than Garcon and may have the ability to get open a little deeper than Collie.

* I didn't think P Pat McAfee would have a huge impact this season. I was wrong.

QUOTABLE

Around the locker room . . .

* Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell: “Our defense rose to the occasion when we needed it most.  We needed a couple of big stops to knock them out of field goal range. That was huge. We were pleased with their effort. We may not have been perfect, but we found a way to win.”

* Wayne on the 22-yard touchdown pass from Addai in the fourth quarter: “It just seemed like it was up there forever, plus he’s a left-hander, so the ball was spinning the opposite way. It felt like when I caught it, I was in there by the bathroom somewhere. That’s something we’ve been practicing for years, and we’ve never actually had a chance to do it.”

* Colts K Matt Stover:  "That second field goal I hit left. I was very angry with that field goal. I know I made it, but in the long run if you keep putting them like that, you’re going to miss them. If you look at the last two, they didn’t come anywhere near the left upright. They stayed right, and they were strong right. That was because I was making sure that they stayed right. I guess over my few years of kicking you have to learn how to adjust on the fly. You get a little something going on in your swing, you better correct it as quickly as you can without having to go out there and do it.”

LINKIN' 

* Phil Richards' game story from the Indianapolis Star. Here.

* Phil B. Wilson of the Indianapolis Star on the Colts' second-half defense. Here. 

* Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star columnizes and emphasizes Addai's touchdown pass to Wayne. Here.

* Kravitz's report card. Here.

* Mike Chappell talks about the remarkable start to Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell's head-coaching career. Here.

* Len Pasquarelli of ESPN weighs on game, Addai's touchdown pass. Here.

* Mike Singletary vowed in the Sam Jose Mercury News game story the 49ers will make the postseason. Not sure he's wrong. Here.

.* Todd Golden wonders if the Colts are really the AFC's best. I wonder if sometimes some of us in the media are guilty of the college mentality of wanting to see impressive victories. In the NFL is a victory is a victory. The Colts have seven and no losses. That's not true of any other team in the AFC, so that makes the Colts are the best. For now. Here.

HOW THE COLTS STAND . . .

1. Indianapolis (7-0). The Colts weren't as dominant Sunday as they wanted. They may even slip in some power rankings this week. The bottom line? When most teams have subpar games, they lose. When the Colts have won, they win -- and never really feel too far out of the game.

2. Houston (5-3). Is this the year they're finally for real? Tune in Sunday, when the Texans visit Indianapolis. Biggest game in franchise history. Not even close.

3. Jacksonville (3-4). The Titans were playing very, very poorly entering Sunday. They played Jacksonville, and on that day, the Jaguars were worse.

4. Tennessee (1-6). The Titans won their first game of the season Sunday, and did it with Vince Young at quarterback. But is he the long-term fix?

WHAT WE LEARNED SUNDAY . . .

1) The Colts need Donald Brown. The Colts aren't run-blocking as well as they want right now, and as long as that's true, Brown's big-play speed gives them at least a chance to break a long run or two. Addai played well on Sunday considering the space he had to run, but the Colts are better when both Addai and Brown are playing.

 2) The Colts' defensive ends are stunningly efficient. Sometimes, you feel as if you're writing too mucn glowing stuff about DE Robert Mathis and Freeney. You wonder that until they make the two biggest defensive plays of a tight, hard-fought victory. These guys make it brutally tough to come back on the Colts.

3) Reggie Wayne is just, plain tough. We always knew he was good. And OK, we already knew he was tough, too. So, maybe Sunday just reconfirmed it. On Tuesday of last week, Wayne didn't think he was going to play because of a groin injury. He doubted it Wednesday, too. He stayed in treatment throughout the week and in a tight, nailbiter, he made big catch after big catch. And when Assai overthrew him slightly, he made a reaching, diving catch for the game-winner, too. A true professional and without him, the Colts would have been in real trouble Sunday.

4) Jim Caldwell is phenomenally modest. Know this about Caldwell: when he says he's not concerned about being the first coach since 1931 to start his career 7-0, he's being honest. He's also honest when he says he never thinks about it unless asked. But I'll say it for him. It's a remarkable accomplishment for a guy who's done a remarkable job. It's easy to overlook Caldwell's role in the unbeaten start, but it's not fair to do so. A coach gets the blame if a team's 7-0. Have to give him credit for 7-0.

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW . . .

1)  Can the Colts run. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It's not time to panic, but it is time to keep working.

THE LAST WORD . . .

. . goes to . . . Wayne . . .

 We know that this guarantees nothing. We’ve had starts better than this and come out with nothing. So, we just want to stay dialed in and continue to win games and do what we’ve been doing and that’s staying focused all week, playing fast. Like I said, we need these type of games. It’s going to help us in the long run. It’s another ‘W’. It’s not easy in this league, but we were able to get it done.”

**** BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT THE COLTS. SUBSCRIBE TO IFR EDITOR JOHN OEHSER'S EXAMINER ARTICLES BY CLICKING "SUBSCRIBE" ABOVE

*** PREVIEWING COLTS-49ERS. HERE

*** IFR EDITOR JOHN OEHSER ON COLTS DE DWIGHT FREENEY: HERE

*** A REVIEW OF COLTS PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN'S WEEKLY RADIO SHOW: TE DALLAS CLARK SHOULD GO TO THE PRO BOWL HERE. AND AN UPDATE ON WR REGGIE WAYNE. HERE.

*** COFFEE WITH THE COLTS. A NEXT-DAY REVIEW OF RAMS-COLTS. HERE.

*** COLTS-49ERS GAME STORY. 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