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Snow Bowl
Jun 13th
The NFL has recently announced that the 2014 Super Bowl will be played in New York at the new Meadowlands Stadium, home to the AFC New York Jets and NFC New York Giants. This is somewhat surprising, but not a shock by any means. New York has the largest media market and is home to its headquarters in downtown Manhattan. It is a unique opportunity for the league, which traditionally awards the Super Bowl to warm weather host cities or until recently, cold weather cities with new stadiums with a roof or dome. Plus, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the success of the 2014 Super Bowl would determine whether more championships are played at cold-weather sites. My brother-in-law recently asked me what I thought about the subject and after talking through several points; here are some pros and cons. More >
It’s time to retire, Brett…
May 24th
The NFL off-season. Those are words that any hardcore NFL fan dread to hear. Other than the draft and a few good weeks of free agent talk, the rest is filled with a lot of nothing, mostly filler stories and rumors that almost make that time tolerable, almost. And until training camp gets close, there generally isn’t much news involving individual teams, and if there is, it’s usually bad news, arrests and the like. That is unless you need to hear about mandatory workouts and when your new rookies and free agents start practicing; fantasy draft preparation starts early, you got to get your team ready, I get it. That is until Brett Favre decides he hasn’t heard about himself in the news lately. Brett Favre’s annual retirement talk starts and believe me the football world eats it up. Will he play this season? Will it be his last season? Will he come back next year? What is Brett Favre going to do next? And again the world waits in numb anticipation.
And now the news…
May 14th
Today’s society is very different than it’s predecessors. We want information right away, right now, instantly appearing before our eyes. We don’t have time to wait around for news, certainly no time to wait until tomorrow. Call it the internet generation. Instant information. This is definitely not the newspaper generation (we don’t have time for that), waiting for the news to be reported so we could read it tomorrow, that’s what your grandpa and your father did every morning at the kitchen table. Heck, I remember pouring over the sports page every day as a child, reading every box score and every stat of my favorite players, it was kind of a big deal. Before the internet, when you missed a ball game, the stats would not be available until a half of a day later; if you didn’t get the final score, then we would have to wait some more. Now I get a little miffed when my Wi-Fi connection is slow and web pages don’t load quick enough, oh, how times have changed.
Welcome to Indy…
Apr 26th
I love the NFL draft for many reasons. After reading multiple mock drafts from “experts”, it is fun to see how many they actually guessed right, which usually isn’t many. Seeing it play out is fun, since every draft has a few guys who expect to go a lot higher than they do and the looks on their faces are nothing but priceless. Most teams are going to pick on best player available, others though go after specific skill positions and if no one is available when they are on the clock, they trade down or sometimes up or even roll the dice and bet it all gamble (see Tebow, Tim). Actually there is no real science to it, with every bust comes a hidden gem. You have to factor in character and team chemistry as one bad apple spoils the whole batch (insert your favorite team cancer here). But it’s also fun watching proud fathers realizing their son’s dream come true, proud mothers who can only cry with joy for these same son’s and especially girlfriends and/or baby mama’s that pretend like they didn’t just hit the lottery. Ok maybe that was mean, but you can’t tell me it doesn’t happen. The biggest reason though that I love the draft is that it means one real thing, the new NFL season is just around the corner and it’s been a long few months after a bitter defeat in the Super Bowl.
So with the 2010 NFL draft weekend concluded and the picks made, it’s time to welcome in the new season with the unofficial meet and greet of new faces that will be wearing the big blue horseshoe.
*Snore*… flabglabla, what? Oh yeah, the blog.
Apr 21st
This post goes out to reader “betterd” for emailing and stating:
Where are u guys? … COME ON GET IT TOGETHER.
Well betterd, we hear you and everyone else loud and clear, believe me. It’s the off-season, as everyone painfully knows, and we’re doing some revamps to the site. Sorry to fall out of the loop everyone, but we promise that we’re not dead. Well, for the most part, we aren’t dead, though my lovelife is dead as usual… *single tear*
We’ve got some exciting shit on the block, including:
Downtown Indy Video Interviews
A weekly Podcast
A CONTEST EXTRAORDINNAIRE HOW THE F DO YOU SPELL EXTRAORDINNAIRE
And some other new and exciting content coming your way.
Also, Rick lost a bet a while back concerning our Facebook friends… and we’re going to make him pay. So yeah, keep coming by, we’ll be up and running again… sometime soon.
Ch-Ch-Changes
Mar 20th
The Colts have officially announced their long-anticipated coaching staff changes.
Clyde Christensen (pictured) finally gets his shot at offensive coordinator, replacing Tom Moore. Christensen has been on the Colts staff since Tony Dungy was hired in 2002, mostly as receivers coach, and was the assistant head coach this past season. His last gig as OC came under Dungy in Tampa Bay in 2001.
Continuing the trend of promoting from within, Pete Metzelaars will take over the offensive line for the retired Howard Mudd. The Wabash grad played under current Ball State head coach Stan Parrish, and spent 16 seasons in the league as a player before joining the Colts staff full-time in 2004.
If you’re a college football fan, two familiar names will fill the vacancies left by Christensen and Metzelaars. Ron Turner, who spent eight seasons as head coach at Illinois, will be the Colts’ new receivers coach. Turner seems to be a bit overqualified for the job, considering that he spent two stints as offensive coordinator of the Bears (1993-96, 2005-09). Another successful college coach, Ron Prince, will be the new assistant offensive line coach. Prince has no NFL experience but spent time at Kansas State (head coach 2006-08), and Virginia (offensive coordinator 2001-05) in the college ranks. Before being bumped to OC with the Cavaliers, Turner spent the previous eight seasons as offensive line coach at Alabama A&M, South Carolina State, James Madison, and Cornell.
All of this news pales in comparison to the promotion of Jim Bob Cooter (giggle) to offensive assistant. Cooter was a backup quarterback at Tennessee during his college days before joining the Colts’ staff last season (why didn’t anyone tell me that Jim Bob Cooter was with the team?) As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk said earlier today, Cooter has a bit of a checkered past. At UT, he was arrested for a DUI in 2006. Also, he was facing aggravated burglary charges after climbing into a window and jumping into bed with a woman last summer.
Everyone deserves a second chance, but maybe Cooter’s promotion will make Colts’ fans cool it with the whole “classier than thou” attitude. With huge rosters and coaching staffs, you’re bound to find coaches/players that have had legal trouble at some point on every single NFL team. Let’s hope Cooter’s past transgressions are behind him.
But, getting back to the point, the most interesting news comes from Phil Richards of the Star. He is reporting that Tom Moore will be retained as senior offensive assistant. I’m assuming this may be more of an “advisor” role than a day-to-day task. It’s smart for the Colts to keep Moore in the family to help with the development of Christensen.
Getting to Know You
Mar 16th
In what is usually a very quiet time around Indianapolis, the Colts have Bill Polian has been quite busy on the free agent market. To get you caught up, we’ll try to help you get to know the most recent Colts’ additions:
OT Adam Terry
Measurements: 6’8, 335 pounds
Dropping knowledge: The behemoth tackle spent the last four seasons in Baltimore, but missed the entire 2009 campaign due to a knee injury that he suffered during training camp. During his career, Terry has started in 18 of the 48 games he’s appeared in. Terry was widely criticized for his lackadaisical attitude, and some point to that as the reason why the Ravens decided to let him walk. However, his size certainly makes him an intriguing addition.
Projection: The average at-best play of Ryan Diem, and the uncertainty as to whether Charlie Johnson will return to the left tackle spot, means that Terry will get a shot to start. This seems like a low-risk move for the Colts – if Terry slacks-off, he won’t see the field.
DE J.D. Skolnitsky
Measurements: 6’4, 255 pounds
Dropping knowledge: I’d be lying to you if I had told you that I had ever heard of J.D. Skolnitsky before about a week ago. However, as you see from the measurements, Skolnitsky fits the usual Colts prototype for the defensive end spot. He was given a contract by Washington last season after being undrafted out of James Madison. Further information on Skolnitsky is hard to find (this guy has to be the only player in the NFL without a Wikipedia page).
Projection: At 23, Skolnitsky is a cheaper/younger alternative to Raheem Brock, and could fit into Indy’s defensive line rotation. From the positive things that coaches and teammates have had to say about him in his short career, he seems worth taking a flier on. Also, his name is fun to say.
OG Andy Alleman
Measurements: 6’4, 304 pounds
Dropping knowledge: This will be Alleman’s fourth team in four years, but he could find a long-term home in Indianapolis. The Colts tried to claim Alleman last year before he was scooped up by Kansas City. Coming out of Akron, scouts were wowed by his physical abilities, but he has yet to get a chance to put everything together.
Projection: With the bustilicous Mike Pollak perhaps being a Camp-casualty, and Ryan Lilja’s release, Alleman could be the Colts’ new starting right guard in 2010. It sounds like a reach, but at the very least, Alleman provides some much-needed depth.
This trio isn’t exactly Julius Peppers, Brandon Manumaleuna, and Chester Taylor, but they’re ample replacements for the players (Lilja, Brock) that the Colts have decided to let go.
I still think that the offensive line will be addressed via the Draft, and the tackle and guard spots will be the two most interesting position battles in Terre Haute this summer.
Ryan Lilja Cut
Mar 8th
Ryan Lilja has reportedly been cut by the Indianapolis Colts today. The reasons for the move are unclear at the moment, but rumor is it could have something to do with his poor play and the fact that he is due a $1.73 million bonus soon. In the grand scheme of things that’s not that much money, but that’s $1.73 million they could use to pay other players, like the Andy Alleman, the new Colt offensive lineman they just picked up in free agency.
Don’t worry, there’s plenty more blame where that came from
Feb 13th
Ugh. Here we go again…
Colts President Bill Polian pointed the finger at two units – the offensive line and Special Teams – and bemoaned the lack of execution in Indianapolis’ Super Bowl XLIV loss to New Orleans.
How Long is This Going to Hurt?
Feb 9th
I don’t feel very good at the moment. I have a sickening feeling. It feels like I just got punched in the stomach or maybe even one of my kidneys. I am not sure how it happened or where it came from; all I know is it was out of the blue. I was just standing there and all of the sudden, fist meets kidney (or stomach, if that’s your preference). My natural reaction is to wince, double over, and hold myself for comfort; did I catch some type of bug? This is how I have felt for the past 24 hours.
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