Indianapolis loss not a testament to will, discipline

As a friend and I drove down State Road 37 to Bloomington late Sunday night after Super Bowl XLIV, I couldn’t help but wonder where some of the outrageous, senseless slurs were coming from on the Colts’ postgame radio show.

This was a team that, at the most inopportune and unfortunate time, played its first subpar game of the season. It was previously a 16-2 team that came out firing in the playoffs after facing some of the most heated criticism in sports during recent years – criticism that, just or unjust, probably would have divided most locker rooms in the league.

We saw this kind of letdown happen to the 2007 New England Patriots. Now we’ve seen it happen to an astonishingly talented Colts team.

A down game. It happens. It’s hard to fathom, but get over it.

“Gutless” and “never will be Tom Brady” were two of the words and phrases that stick out in my mind from the show.

First, about gutless: I wouldn’t call Colts running back Joseph Addai bouncing and spinning off tackles en route to a third-quarter touchdown gutless. Nor would I blame an inexperienced secondary giving up over 32 completions to game-MVP Drew Brees on a lack of guts. For the former Purdue standout, it’s been a similar story all season.

After five months of exceptional, almost surreal football, let’s be realistic here: Would you call a one-legged and one-armed Dwight Freeney sacking Brees in the game’s first half gutless?

Any team with the kind of success the Colts have had in recent months is bound for a letdown. Face it, it’s the NFL. Technically speaking, Indianapolis’ starters were still undefeated coming into the night. It was bound to happen. The Saints had it at 13-0 when lowly Tampa Bay came in and beat the Saints’ starters.

Just to further my point for what seem to be many pessimistic Colts fans, take those 2007 Patriots. It was a Super Bowl-bound, 18-0 team at the start of February. All it took was an overdue underperformance for the underdog New York Giants to take down Hoodie and Brady.

And last night, it worked out to where it was the Colts’ turn to face the losing end. As sad and disappointing as the Super Bowl loss might be for Colts fans, there was nothing the front office or coaching staff could have done or not done to prevent this one.

Now, about that Brady comparison: The difference is defense. From top to bottom, the Patriots’ management was able to keep just about all of the defensive cornerstones during the team’s era of dominance. I couldn’t even begin to count the instability and defensive shakeups the Colts’ roster has seen during its regular-season success, especially with the periodic absence of Bob Sanders.

Brady hasn’t and probably will never match the numbers – aside from his single-season touchdown record in 2007 – Manning has put up over the years. The Colts defense gave up 24 points in this game, and it’s been either Phillip Rivers or Darren Sproles who have had field days with the Colts’ defense in past playoff matchups. Championships are all that matter, but I’d love to see what the Colts would have done with a consistent defense during this string of 12-plus win seasons.

Bad tackling on the Colts’ part? No question. Some questionable play calling? Probably. I’m still wondering why Indianapolis elected to play power football and run on third down in the first half’s end. Isn’t this a team that has feasted through the air during a two-minute drill?

But that said, the Saints won this game. Period.

They had everything the doctor ordered: discipline, firepower and motivation. Whether it was Tracy Porter’s interception taken to the house or the onside kick to open the second half, the Saints made plays to win.

Their 31-17 victory Sunday night at Sun Life Stadium was the perfect ending to a magical four-year fairy tale in the bayou. In a way, after everything the Colts have accomplished, the only team they should have lost this game to was a team as deserving as New Orleans.

Lord, I’d love to be in that number down Bourbon Street on Tuesday night.
I think it’s safe to say the parade will be anything but gutless.