Colts Forgo Perfection for a Greater Goal
Dennis Dillon - SportingNews.com
Dec 28, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Colts' perfect season died here Sunday inside Lucas Oil Stadium. It was 14 games old.
The cause of death was coach Jim Caldwell's decision to pull quarterback Peyton Manning and some other starters in the third quarter and focus on preparing sagaciously for the postseason rather than continue chasing unblemished excellence.
In lieu of flowers, please send the Lombardi Trophy to South Florida. Super Bowl 44 will be played there on Feb. 7, and winning the Super Bowl trumps a perfect regular-season record on the Colts' list of goals. It was only two years ago that the Patriots went 16-0 in the regular season. That singular achievement was quickly tarnished when they lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl. The Colts are aiming for a different ending to their season.
"I want to win the Super Bowl, so whatever we've got to do to get there, I'll take it," said wide receiver Reggie Wayne, one of the Indianapolis starters who came out late in the third quarter during a 29-15 loss to the Jets. "We take care of business in the playoffs and go on to win the Super Bowl, I think a lot of this stuff will be forgotten."
That's not to say everyone agreed with Caldwell when he called it a day for Manning, Wayne, tight end Dallas Clark and a handful of other starters with the Colts leading, 15-10. Many of the 67,222 fans definitely didn't like it, and they voiced their displeasure with a chorus of boos every time rookie quarterback Curtis Painter trotted on to the field.
Whether the Colts would have prevailed against a team that ranked No. 1 in the league in rushing offense, overall defense and scoring defense if Manning and Co. had played the entire 60 minutes is a matter for debate. But things unraveled quickly after they departed.
On the first play of Painter's second series, linebacker Calvin Pace sacked the rookie, forcing a fumble. The ball bounded back toward the Indianapolis end zone. Tackle Marques Douglas fell on it at the 1 and rolled into the end zone for a touchdown -- and the turnaround was on.
As you'd expect, the decision to pull some of the starters was the main topic at Caldwell's postgame news conference.
"We worked all week in terms of our preparation and just felt that if we went into the third quarter with a lead that we'd give our starters a break in the action," Caldwell said. "The most important thing for us is, obviously, to make certain that we're operating on all cylinders come the playoffs. That's the key. That's important, and that's our focus."
Manning, who had been prepared for the possibility that he could be pulled from the game, voiced support for Caldwell's decision.
"Until any player in here is the head coach as a player, you follow orders and you follow them with all your heart," said Manning, who completed 14 of 21 passes for 192 yards and became only the fourth quarterback in NFL history to pass for 50,000 career yards.
Meanwhile, it was a breakthrough day for the Jets, who suddenly control their playoff destiny after getting a lot of help on Sunday. If they win a home game against the Bengals in the regular-season finale, they will earn a wild-card berth.
Although Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis was disappointed when the Colts' starters left the game -- "I want to compete against the best," he said -- he agreed that the Colts made the smart move. Since they already had locked up the AFC's No. 1 playoff seed and home-field advantage, there was no reason to risk injuries to key players in an attempt to complete a 16-0 regular season.
"Regardless of what the players think, the main thing is it was what coach Caldwell wanted to do," Colts free safety Antoine Bethea said. "He's been leading us great all year, so there's no reason to question him now."
No, there sure isn't.
Dennis Dillon is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at ddillon@sportingnews.com.
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