Colts Season Opener 2008

Well, I think I'm finally a few days removed enough to talk about the Colts losing to the Bears last Sunday. It sure was disappointing. Here's what I took from it.

The Good

1) Lucas Oil Stadium.


It looks awesome at night. And apparently, everything works. In a night where not a lot of good things happened for the Colts, at least their new home is cool. Here's a sweet video I found of the opening ceremony with some helicopters that flew over the top.



2) The Colts picked a good time to lose. I know every game counts, but this game isn't as important as many others will be. It's early enough that we can get some things fixed and get some experience for our newer players (the O-line). And it's not like a devastating blow to our momentum heading into the playoffs or anything.

3) Chargers lose their game and Patriots lose their season.


Of course, the Patriots will probably end up making the playoffs and being awesome. I seriously don't like seeing Brady go down like that. Any time that happens just sucks. Even if I do hate the Patriots.

4) Dwight Freeney. He looked like his old self, which is a really good sign.

I think that's it for the good.

The Bad

1) Losing for the first time in September (or October), after 21 in a row. Yep, the Colts won't go at least 7-0 for the first time since 2004. At least they didn't go 18-0 in a season, then lose the Super Bowl.

2) Colts run defense. Reminds me of the 2006 Colts, except they've been combined with an average offense. The Colts made Forte look like a stud and that 50-yard run on third and long was devastating. Speaking of third down...

3) 10 of 16 third down conversions. By the Bears. That's terrible. A few were pretty long third downs too. The Colts have got to do a better job getting the other team off the field.

4) 53 yards rushing. By the Colts. Enough said.

5) Colts Offensive line. They just got outplayed. The silver lining here is that they didn't play terribly and they're still getting used to their positions.

6) Jeff Saturday. This goes along with #5, but it sure hurts not having Saturday. I'm sure Jamey Richard will improve and he did a decent job. But I bet we win this game if Saturday was playing.

7) Red zone touchdowns. First two times we get into the red zone, we settle for field goals. We've got to get touchdowns dangit.

The Ugly

1) Too many Bears fans. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like there were a lot of Bears fans in the crowd. I couldn't believe the noise out there when our offense was on the field. What's up with that?

2) Opening kickoff. Instead of kicking to Hester and blowing him up, we do a weak little "squib kick" (or whatever it's called). They get the ball on like the 40 and it sends the message that we're scared. I guess it may have been a good idea, given what happened at the Super Bowl, but still.

3) Harrison's fumble. He's been back two games since his injury and fumbled both times. Before that, he averaged like a fumble every 10 years.

4) Going for it on 4th and 1. This was a pretty bad call. I guess if we make it, it changes everything, but given how much time was left and how we couldn't run for shat against the Bears, that makes it a bad call. Oh well.

5) Having to watch a game with a Bears fan. This is still one of the most annoying things in the planet. I've said all I need to say about it here. Nothing's changed.

Well, that's all I can think of and this post is getting long. All in all, it's great to be watching football again. I sure hope this game was just a fluke and not a sign of the future. We'll find out this week against Minnesota. Dangit, I'd hate to go through a season of sucking. I'm sure eventually we'll probably have to deal with it, but I'm not ready yet. C'mon Colts! Be good, dangit! GO HORSE!