Colts Silence Whispers, but for how Long

By Calvin Davis

Amidst all of the T.O. talk over past week or so, it was easy to forget about Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts’ ongoing rivalry with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. I firmly believe that the history of a game is just as important as the game itself. And this AFC match up had no shortage of history.

Over the past two seasons the Colts have had their seasons ended by New England, in New England. Quite naturally, those playoff losses are what people remember the most. But it’s the regular season losses to the Pats that forced the Colts to travel to New England in January two years in a row.

Back in the 2003 season, the two teams met in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis during the regular season. A win there would have given the Colts home field advantage during the playoffs that year, meaning that they would not have had to play in the horrible New England weather that January. Instead the Colts lost that game in devastating fashion, coming short on a fourth down attempt that would have won the game. Because of that loss, the Colts had to travel up to New England for the AFC Championship Game and lost badly.

The Colts got there chance for redemption a year later in the opener of the 2004 season. Although the game was in New England, the Colts played well enough to win. They had a chance to tie the game in the last seconds, but suffered a missed field goal by the usually unflappable Mike Vanderjagt. Once again a win there would have come in handy. Due to that loss and a remarkable season by the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Colts had to migrate north for another January affair with the Patriots.

Despite the fact that Manning had one of the best seasons for a quarterback in history, breaking Dan Marino’s single season touchdown record (49) and finishing with the NFL’s highest passer rating (121.1), it seems that everything is thrown out of the window when he plays against the Patriots. The Colts’ receivers Reggie Wayne, Brandon Stokley, and Marvin Harrison all had 1,000 yard season last year. The Colts were also touted as the leagues best offense, still when they met the Pats in January they couldn’t produce a single touchdown. After that loss it became painfully obvious that the Colts needed to beat the Patriots before January if they wanted to beat them in January.

On last Monday night, the Colts put themselves and their undefeated record on the line in New England. Though the game’s importance was somewhat diminished because of the Patriots’ recent fall from grace, it was still a statement game for Manning and the Colts. And they made that statement loud and clear. On the second play from scrimmage, Manning went deep to Marvin Harrison on a 43 post route. That play, along with many others, set the tone for Indy as the Colts went on to win the game 40-21. But in my mind the pressure is on the Colt’s even more now.

They have gotten past their biggest stumbling block, but they may have stumbled upon another. Now that they have gotten beaten New England, which many felt was the only thing preventing them from winning a Super Bowl, what will be the reason if they don’t go all the way? Unless they have a total breakdown in this second half of the season, they should be able to claim home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

No team in the AFC looks stronger than them, so anything less than a Super Bowl appearance will be looked at as a disappointment. And since the Philadelphia Eagles don’t even look like a playoff contender, anything less than a Super Bowl victory can be looked at as a disappointment.

But Peyton Manning, who seems to always put things in their proper perspective, knows that they are not done. So does Coach Tony Dungy. “You don’t win championships in November”, said Dungy in a post game interview. Reggie Wayne echoed those sentiments saying, “We’ve got bigger fish to fry.” And that they do. While this win was big for the Colts, a few wins in January will undoubtedly be bigger. The echoes of past losses to New England have been hushed for a while, but the Colts almost have to make it to Detroit this February if they want to hear complete silence.

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