Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Super Bowl Champs

The question for the Indianapolis Colts is, can they repeat last year's Super Bowl championship season?

It's unlikely, but certainly possible.

Watching them play the Bears last night, it's difficult to tell much. The majority of the game was played by the backups and those trying to make the team, so all that could be said about the Bear's 27-24 win is that their rookies and free agents are a bit better than the Colts'.

And the Colts' special teams stink. Why they can't seem to find a decent kickoff team year after year puzzles me.

The Colts' first teams looked pretty sharp in the first quarter. The offense failed to score twice when they probably should have, but otherwise Peyton and the boys look like they'll continue to be one of the league's best offenses.

The Colt defense is questionable, just as they were last year. Last night, they looked good at times and not so good at other times. Which is also the same as last year. Will they miss their starting corners from last year? Somewhat. Will they miss Cato June? Not really. Will they miss Booger McFarland? Yes.

The same question asked about the Colts' chances in the last 4 or 5 years still applies this year. Can the defense manage to give up a few less points than the offense puts up this year?

They have a pretty good chance of winning their division again this season, although Tennessee should be a lot better this year. New England will probably be back as a major challenge to the Colts' Super Bowl hopes. It will be interesting to find out what other AFC teams rise to the top this year - will Pittsburgh be back with their new coach? Cincinnati should be strong as usual. Can San Diego break through? Did Kansas City improve or get worse with their QB shuffle and running back problem? Jacksonville and Baltimore could easily rejoin the elite.

For me, it's just fun to watch it all develop.

I'm not sure that Indy will be able to win their first regular season game against New Orleans. That's a pretty good team that might be able to run through the Colts' porous defense and keep the ball away from Peyton.

It's fun to move into the best season of the year. I also enjoy football at the high school and college levels, so that HD flat screen I've been saving up to purchase hopefully will be in place just in time for the regular season.

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