On September 28, 1969
 

The Colts walked into Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis to face off against the Vikings. Three hours later, they staggered off the field on the short end of a 52-14 annihilation in which Joe Kapp and two backups threw for almost 540 yards.

The next year, they finished 11-2-1 and carried home the Lombardi Trophy.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that the Colts are a year away from the promised land. Next year’s QB is likely to be a rookie who’ll experience the usual growing pains. But, also, don’t mistake that as pessimism. Chris Ballard has put together a heckuva roster that only needs a few tweaks to walk into the big game and carry off the trophy.

Some luck is needed. Drafting a QB always has elements of a crap shoot. But, if Ballard hits with the pick and he adds a couple of pieces to the OL…

Glad someone gets it.

I was a Colt fan back then. That team wasn't nearly as bad as this one, they finished second and were 8-5. Having said that, I agree completely. Next year who knows? This year we pretty much know.

Another more recent example was the '02 playoff 41-0 skull fucking we took from the Jets. Although as with the '69 team previously mentioned the '02 team was a lot better than this year.

Getting the OL fixed is just as important as getting a QB b/c if the OL continues to play like this years then it doesn't matter who our QB is.

Didn't we hear from a liquored up kicker after that game?

Parity now more then ever in the NFL hell look at the Rams

Unless you have Burrow, Mahomes or Allen

Yep. That's the game where Vandershank ran his mouth off on Canadian TV a week after the beat down.

I am 100% homer, however I find it difficult to believe this season is the start of a years-long process to fix.

At the core is OL. I'm a bit pissed at Ballard for his comment that "y'all pressured me to draft a WR". Yes, Pierce is good and potentially great, but honeslty, were all grown ups here, you let some key players walk, and didnt draft anyone behind them.... Pierce is really the difference between a top 5 OL and the bottom? He's not selling anyone on this bullshit.

To a certain extent, if we cant protect and playcall to a QB's strengths, we cant be successful. One of my lessons learned in the last 5 years is how talented Philip Rivers actually is. And I also think he is a douchebag.

I think too much was made out of that soundbite. I don't think he was making the point you are insinuating, but that when a team gets a strong area, another area becomes weak. That is the nature of the salary cap, and the short peaks of the careers of NFL players.

Did he really make that comment? Because that is a bad look. Ballard is an NFL GM. No amount of fan pressure should influence his pick.

That said, Alec Pierce is a really talented WR. He could certainly point out "What guard was available that would've given us the value Alec does?" And that would've been a completely valid argument that doesn't make him look bad.

How could Ballard and Reich both not see that Ryan's arm is shot? Most of his throws have nothing on them....they hardly played him at all in the preseason, I guess they either didn't want everyone to see how badly they screwed up or they knew he didn't have much left and they didn't want to waste any of it on preseason....either way, to miraculously get out of the Wentz disaster only to double down on stupid with Matt Ryan and still have a job, Ballard is teflon Chris and I hope he gets some help before drafting a QB this spring!

I liked Frank Reich; I really think he’s a quality NFL Head Coach. But, he was the guy who said that he looked at tape of every throw Ryan had made, in 2021, and didn’t see any decline in arm strength. That was the basis on which that Ballard made the decision to trade for him.

By the time that training camp rolled around, there were damn few options left to explore. The pooch was jiggered.

In some way, I’m reminded of the quote from Star Trek in which Scottie says fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. For two years in a row, Ballard made decisions on the most important position in the game based, almost entirely, on the recommendations of Frank Reich. Both were disastrous, and you get the feeling that there wasn’t going to be a third time.

o


The rules of the game have changed so much since that time, particularly for quarterbacks, receivers, and defensive backs.

One year earlier in 1968, Earl Morrall was the MVP of the NFL ...... his statistics for the season, which were considered outstanding at that time, were 26 TD's, 17 INT's, and a 57.4% Pass Completion Rate.

o

Wasn't the Pittsburg game, after he pushed the kick wide right??

o


No, the wide-right miss against the Steelers was from the 2005 season divisional playoff game. That wound up being Vanderjagt's last games as the Colts' kicker.

The idiot-kicker getting liquored up incident was from just after the conclusion of the 2002 season, a few weeks after the Colts were throttled by the New York Jets in the wildcard playoff game by a score of 41-0.


Vanderjagt continued to be the Colts' kicker for 3 more full seasons after the idiot-kicker fiasco from 2003 through 2005, until the miss against the Steelers wound up being the final nail in his coffin as a Colts player ...... Manning was angry about what Vanderjagt had said about both he and Coach Tony Dungy, but to his credit he didn't insist that the Colts replace Vanderjagt as the team's kicker because of those incendiary comments. Peyton wanted to win first and foremost, so he kissed and made up with Vanderjagt because Vanderjagt was the most accurate kicker in the history of professional football at that time ...... Manning did not want to throw out the baby with the dirty bathwater.

o

i thought there was a rule to never bring up that Jets game?

is there not? there fucking should be

o


The 1968 season Super Bowl and the 2002 season playoff game are two infamous Colts-Jets post-season games for Colts fans ...... the painfulness of that 2002 playoff game is nowhere near the level of agony of other Colts historical losses, such as the 2009 season Super Bowl against the Saints, the previously-mentioned 1968 season Super Bowl against the Jets, Jim Harbaugh's incomplete pass to Aaron Bailey on the final play of the 1995 AFC Championship playoff game, the 1977 Double-Overtime playoff loss to the Raiders on Christmas Eve, and the 2008 season Wildcard playoff loss to the Chargers ...... we beat the Steelers on their homefield that season, and we were the only AFC team that really had a shot to beat them in the playoffs. The fact that the 12-4 Colts had to go on the road to San Diego to play the 8-8 Chargers on their homefield was almost as painful as the loss itself.

o

We had a hella line the year Harbaugh was our QB and alas for 1 yard on 3rd&1 we beat those dang Steelers in that playoff game.

Point is most QB’s look good behind a great line


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

o


Agreed.

And by the same token, most QB's look sub-par behind terrible offensive lines ...... there are exceptions to the rule, as you might get away with having a terrible offensive line if you have a Randall Cunningham (incredible mobility and athleticism) or a Dan Marino (super-quick release), but generally speaking, your offense is fucked behind a terrible offensive line.

A 39 year-old Philip Rivers, who had the mobility of an inanimate object, played well in both the regular season and the playoffs in 2020.

Darryl Lamonica, Ken Stabler, and Jim Plunkett all looked composed and cerebral when they had the greatest offensive line in the history of professional football blocking for them from the mid-1960's to the early-1980's.

o