| John Palaszczuk. 5th February, 2009 - 11:56 am
 The Super Bowl is over, and the countdown to the NFL Draft has begun. This offseason, in particular, brings several questions, if not uncertainty, to the Indianapolis Colts.
The first, and most obvious, question is will new coach Jim Caldwell be able to continue the success the team has enjoyed over the past seven seasons?
Although he has had only one head coaching job, Caldwell is a disciple of the Tony Dungy system, and aside from Ron Meeks leaving for Carolina, the team and staff remain largely unchanged. The front office seems confident in their new leader, having given Caldwell a four year contract. Let's hope the fans, and more importantly, the players share that confidence.
Another question mark is Peyton Manning's health. Yes, I am fully aware of the fact that he was named MVP after absolutely catching fire after Week 5. The fact that he had two knee surgeries and missed the entire preseason cannot be ignored, though. This summer will determine whether he can be 100% by the start of the 2009 season, and if not, should the Colts take a quarterback high in the draft?
The defense faces a big change as well, with Meeks having left to run another team's unit. Yes, he was passed over for the head coaching gig, and yes, he should be a head-coach one day, which means no one can blame him for going to Carolina. But, will his departure alter the way the defense is run?
The bottom line is that change is scary, and often resisted, especially when things have gone so well.
Why fix it if it isn't broken? I was surprised (and concerned) that Dungy retired, especially since he's so young in coaching terms. It's also hard to believe that he has decided to retire for good. Most coaches and players that retire before their time often get the "hunger" and come roaring back, full of passion and desire, usually with another team.
However, in Dungy's case, I believe him. He didn't operate like other coaches that scream, yell, and jump up and down. He did his job quietly, but sternly. So when he says he wants to devote his life to helping others outside of football and that he won't be back -- he means it.
One can only hope that his demeanor and the example he set has been ingrained into the organization, and the future success of this team will be enhanced by the foundation he laid and not hampered by his departure. The Colts' ship is definitely navigating through uncertain times.
"With the 27th pick in the 2009 NFL draft, the Indianapolis Colts select..."
--QUICK HITS
I've heard more than one person say that Jennifer Hudson's national anthem at Sunday's Super Bowl was better than Whitney Houston's in 1991. Let me help you with this one people -- uh, no way. Whitney belted it out stronger than Barry Bonds on... (The information in this sentence remains sealed by the federal court.)
If anybody, even Arizona fans, said that the Cardinals would be playing to protect the win with less than a minute left in the Super Bowl, they would have and should have been committed.
Since when did Kurt Warner's mom start looking like his wife? Or when did his wife stop looking like his mom? I kid, I kid -- she's a nice lady.
If the Steelers weren't meant to win, Santonio Holmes would not have caught that ball and dropped his twinkle toes inbounds, but the replay shows that even the official wasn't sure. He looked as confident as Leslie Neilsen calling the first strike in that Angels/ Mariners game in Naked Gun.
Why, no matter how may times I see it, do I still laugh my pants off when I see that Denny's commercial with Nannerpuss?
By the way, the blue cake icing on Nannerpuss' plate is a very nice touch to the whole presentation. Whoever came up with that should be on Top Chef. |
