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The Colts have become New England Patriots, v2.0
The Advocate
The Indianapolis Colts, in their second Super Bowl in four years, are now officially the luckiest team in the league.
Two weeks ago, the Colts were playing the Baltimore Ravens in a game that was close in the first quarter. By halftime, the Colts had a 17-3 lead that appeared insurmountable considering how little the Ravens’ offense had produced; they had, for some ridiculous reason, abandoned the run after little success on their first drive. To start the third quarter, Colts QB Peyton Manning threw an interception right to Ravens safety Ed Reed – and Reed promptly fumbled on the return. Another Manning interception later in the game was nullified by a penalty.
Hosting the New York Jets last week, the visiting team was up 17-13 at the start of the third quarter and had possession of the ball. Once they reached midfield, RB Shonn Greene, who appeared on his way to having a marvelous game, got injured. Enter 31-year-old RB Thomas Jones, who had averaged a mere 3.1 yards per carry since week 15. The Jets offense stalled around the Colts’ 40-yard line, punted — and did nothing the rest of the game. On the ensuing drive, Manning threw a short slant to WR Reggie Wayne, who then fumbled. Surely, the Jets have a chance now! Miraculously, the ball fell out and bounced in the direction Wayne was falling. Wayne fell on the ball, putting a “Game Over” stamp on the Jets’ Super Bowl hopes.
My point? All of these things were sheer luck. The Colts won seven games during the regular season on the final drive. They can’t run the ball (they finished 32nd out of 32 teams), they do nothing special offensively, their defense is light and has no legitimate playmakers, yet they keep winning.
The Colts operate perhaps the most basic offense in the NFL. They try to run the ball, and either pick up less than four yards or get stuffed for no gain. Then they run play-action passes, and perform no trick plays. Their offense is basic, yet Terminator-like in precision. Their defense isn’t overly talented, but are disciplined and play their assignments as well as any defense in the league. And for all the reasons listed above (and many more), they are lucky. They are, for all intents and purposes, the 2001-2004 New England Patriots.
The Patriots thrived on three things: luck, a slow-moving, efficient, ball-control offense and a sound defense. The Colts are doing these three things better than anyone.
The Saints are a total contrast. They play blitz-happy, turnover-reliant defense and formation-variant offense. The Saints have had a great deal of luck this season as well, especially last week. I would have more faith in the Saints if they hadn’t been beaten by Minnesota in every possible category (except turnovers) in the NFC Championship game. Being plus-4 in turnovers means New Orleans should have won by at least 10 points, not by three in overtime.
Ironically, I think if Minnesota were playing against the Colts, they’d win. In fact, the Colts are probably only the fifth or sixth best team in the league, but all of the teams better than them have been eliminated. En route to this Super Bowl, they beat the lowest possible AFC seeds (fifth and sixth seeds) and have a strong match-up against New Orleans. I’d love to see Saints QB Drew Brees win a Super Bowl, and I (like the rest of America) will be rooting for the Saints. In the end though, I just can’t bet against the kind of luck that has been prevalent so often this decade.
The Advocate reserves the right to not publish comments based on their appropriateness.
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