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November 14, 2012

Till It's Over: Colts road to playoffs gets tougher starting this weekend

Craig Pearson The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — It’s almost Thanksgiving and the Indianapolis Colts, minus Peyton Manning and allegedly in rebuilding mode, are among the elite NFL teams in the playoff conversation.

But these young Colts haven’t proven just yet that they’re ready to sit at the NFL’s grown-up table once again.

The 6-3 start is impressive, but is it shocking? No.

For one, I believed the hype that Luck is the best QB prospect since Peyton Manning or John Elway. No. 2, the AFC South has two of the worst teams in the league.

Beating an NFL team is never easy, but the combined record of opponents in Colts’ victories is 23-33.

As Chris Berman wrote in his NFL ranking, is it possibly the best story in the NFL that the Colts are 6-3?

No way. The Colts' win over the 6-3 Green Bay Packers is the only quality win of the six, and they've suffered awful losses to the Jaguars and Jets.

Best stories in the league are reserved for the amazing comeback of Peyton Manning and the rapid recovery by Adrian Peterson from knee reconstruction. Or even the Bears’ defensive prowess that has Chicago 7-2 and leading the NFL in point differential (242-133).

One could say the same for the Bears’ weak schedule in their 7-2 start, and Chicago is looking like it could be without Jay Cutler against San Francisco on Monday night.

Don’t get me wrong. Andrew Luck is a phenomenal story. Playing without new head coach Chuck Pagano adds to it, but Luck’s rookie year has already blown Manning’s away.

Luck has led Reggie Wayne and the Colts to sixth in the NFL in total yards, sandwiched between elite offenses quarterbacked by Drew Brees and Matt Ryan.

The question is can Indianapolis continue to improve on both sides of the ball?

We’ll begin to find out this weekend. New England is the No. 1 offense in the league, ranking fifth in rushing yardage with 146 yards per game on the ground.

New England hasn’t been unbeatable by any means, barely hanging on to beat Buffalo on Sunday and losing earlier in the season to Seattle and Arizona.

Even New England is a work in progress.

“We’ll keep working on getting better in all the areas,” New England coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday during a conference call. “I didn’t think that was the level of play in any of the three phases that we are looking for that we really need. Hopefully we’ll be able to ramp that up and we’ll need to against the Colts, they’re one of the hottest teams in the league.”

The Colts have won five in a row, and it will be interesting to see how well they play on the road against the franchise’s biggest rival of the last 10 years. If Luck has another outstanding game, they’ll have a chance, but it comes down to the defense’s ability to keep Brady and his offense out of the end zone.

This game and the two matchups with the Houston Texans will decide the Colts’ playoff hopes. Indianapolis’ ability to slow Arian Foster and the Texans running game will dictate whether the Colts have a chance in those two divisional matchups.

A win in one of these three games, and I like the Colts chances.

If Indy goes 0-3 in those games, it’s likely an 8-8 season, which is also pretty darned good for a team with a rookie quarterback and a new coaching staff.



Craig Pearson can be reached by e-mail at craig.pearson@tribstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @TribStarCraig.

 

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Ethan Page is the race director for the Terre Haute Triathlon.

  • TILL IT'S OVER: Terre Haute Triathlon's new race director seeks more events for his hometown

    Today is the day for the Thunder in the Valley, and the Terre Haute Triathlon is under new leadership in 2013, the 28th year for the event at Hawthorn Park.
    A former Terre Haute North track and cross country standout, Ethan Page is the race director as the race falls under the reign of Page’s new company, Crossroads Events.

    May 18, 2013 2 Photos

  • SPT0502113BB olds.jpg Olds pitches South to share of MIC baseball title

    Friday night, winning the second game 5-0 and earning a share of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title.
    Damon Olds was dominant on the mound for the Braves, striking out 14 and walking just one while pitching a three-hit shutout.

    May 18, 2013 1 Photo

  • Bradley ends 16-game MVC losing streak against ISU

    Momentum was the only thing riding on Indiana State’s baseball game against Bradley on Friday. With a five-game winning streak going, ISU wanted to keep the good vibes going into next week’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
    ISU couldn’t do it.

    May 18, 2013

  • South wins first half of doubleheader against Lawrence North

    Host Terre Haute South kept its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title hopes alive — and clinched no worse than second place in the process — by downing Lawrence North 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night.
    The second game, which started after Senior Night festivities between games, ended past the Tribune-Star deadline.

    May 18, 2013

  • PREP ROUNDUP: Calleja pitches West Vigo past South Vermillion

    Brandon Calleja had 13 strikeouts to lead West Vigo to a 5-1 victory against South Vermillion in high school baseball Friday.
    Brandon Behringer went 2 for 4 with two RBI for the Vikings, who secured second place in the Western Indiana Conference.
    Kaden Lawson had double for South Vermillion (15-7), which finished 4-2 in the WIC.

    May 18, 2013

  • SPT0511613track keller.jpg Seibert returns from injury to win three events as Braves win sectional crown

    His baseball equivalent might be Rick Sutcliffe of the 1984 Chicago Cubs.
    When Tyler Seibert returned to the Terre Haute South track and field lineup Thursday for sectional action at Terre Haute North, it was like the midseason trade the Cubs made for Sutcliffe that earned them a playoff spot.

    May 17, 2013 4 Photos

  • SPT 051613 CAMP VOLLEY.jpg South switches up lineup to defeat North in tennis sectional

    Terre Haute South coach Bill Blankenbaker said two weeks ago that he would change the Braves’ lineup after the 3-2 dual-meet loss to Terre Haute North.
    The Patriots knew it was coming, but they couldn’t do anything to stop it.

    May 17, 2013 2 Photos

  • SPT0511613manaea4.jpg Behind 16 hits and Manaea's pitching, ISU beats Bradley

    Indiana State’s baseball team rode a wild ride of emotion on Thursday.
    First came the public announcement that Bob Warn Field would host the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Later, Sean Manaea’s availability to pitch ISU’s series opener against Bradley was in doubt.

    May 17, 2013 1 Photo

  • Indiana State women add five transfers, including experienced D-I point guard

    Indiana State coach Teri Moren believes the addition of five more newcomers to the program — in addition to the five who had already joined the program earlier this calendar year — will provide her coaching staff the athleticism and depth it needs to play a successful, up-tempo brand of basketball next season.

    May 17, 2013

  • PREP ROUNDUP: North slips past Northview in eight-inning baseball game

    Colton Pittman drew a bases-loaded walk to score Zach Milam with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as host Terre Haute North edged Northview 8-7 in high school baseball Thursday at Jennings Field.

    May 17, 2013

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Ethan Page is the race director for the Terre Haute Triathlon.

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Consultation: Rex manager Brian Dorsett talks with his pitcher and players during a time-out Sunday, July 15, at Sycamore Field. (Tribune-Star file/Bob Poynter)

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