Colts coach Caldwell isn’t second-guessing his decision

By Tom James

INDIANAPOLIS — A day after Sunday’s 29-15 loss to the New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Caldwell isn’t allowing himself to second-guess his decision to pull the team’s starters late in the third quarter.

“I’m one of those guys, it’s probably my greatest strength and my greatest weakness, I can focus in and I narrow my scope. Once you make a decision, you’ve got to live with it,” the first-year coach explained Monday.

He’s quite aware that opting to start substituting with little more than five minutes remaining in the third quarter and holding onto a slim 15-10 lead wasn’t a popular move

Caldwell, though, is moving forward and is looking ahead to this week’s regular-season finale in Buffalo.

“You certainly are aware of the options before, you take a look at all the things that could occur. But once that decision is done, you just keep moving,” he said.

The coach was roundly booed by many of the 67,222 fans who attended the Jets game. He understood

the reaction.

“We’re all disappointed. I understand the fans and how they feel. Every player on our squad is disappointed. Every time we lose, we’re all disappointed.

“It’s not something we’re accustomed to. So we certainly share in their disappointment,” Caldwell said.

“Our fans have been loyal, they’ve been vocal and very passionate. They may not agree with everything that we do. But I think that when it really counts and it really boils down to when things are on the line, they’ll be in our corner rooting hard for us.”

• Players discuss booing fans — With a 14-1 regular season record along with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, it was quite unusual to hear a stadium full of fans booing the Indianapolis Colts this past Sunday.

Fans weren’t happy when Caldwell pulled the team’s offensive and defensive starters. And they aired their displeasure pretty loudly.

“I know the fans really wanted [the Colts] to go 16-0. But the important thing is getting to the playoffs, which we’ve done, and then winning the whole thing which we’re trying to do,” said offensive tackle Tony Ugoh.

Middle linebacker Gary Brackett said that he wasn’t all that surprised by the fan’s reaction.

“Nothing surprises me anymore. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion,” Brackett said. “But a healthier team is a better football team. But some guys got a chance to get some much needed rest. The most important thing is getting everybody ready for the postseason.

“Losing [to the Jets] shows that you could be beat. You definitely have to be on those details the rest of the season and especially in the playoffs. But we’ve been here before. There’s something to be said for the guys who’ve been here before, know the situation, know what our goal is and that is to reach the Super Bowl. We don’t like to lose. But [the fans] showed their disappointment and we just have to continue to get better.”

The Colts defensive captain stressed that the idea of going undefeated was never a major issue for the team.

“Our goals have always [been] to win our division, to get home field in the playoffs and then go into the playoffs healthy and then go on to win the Super Bowl. Our goal at the beginning of the season wasn’t, ‘Hey guys, let’s go undefeated,’” he said.

“Truth be told, anytime in the regular season if someone would have told you, ‘I’ll give you 12-4 and you guys don’t have to play a game,’ I think 32 teams would sign off on it. 12-4 is a great record. 14-0 is a great record, but it’s done rarely and that never was our goal. Our goals are still intact. We’ve still got home field. [The loss to the Jets] changes nothing. And we’ve still got an opportunity to win a championship.”

• Injury report — Running back Joseph Addai suffered an undisclosed injury in the second quarter of the New York game Sunday. He did not return. His status for the Bills game won’t be known until later this week.

Wide receiver Pierre Garcon is continuing to nurse a bruised hand.

He was hurt two weeks against Jacksonville and did not play against the Jets. Garcon probably won’t be available for the Buffalo game, but a final determination isn’t expected to be made for a few more days.

• Petrowski surgeries go well — Former Indiana State and Terre Haute North tight end Jamie Petrowski is continuing to recover from a pair of surgeries that he went through over the past couple of months.

Petrowski was placed on the Colts’ injured reserve list in September after suffering a lisfranc — a fracture and dislocation of the joints in the midfoot — injury in the team’s final preseason game at Cincinnati.

“Everything’s going well so far,” he said Monday. “The surgeries went well. I’m starting to do a few more things now. I’m hoping to get out and start doing some stuff here in the next few weeks.”

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