Many of us probably expected that the Indianapolis Colts would not do well this season due to the neck surgery of Peyton Manning(notes). However, very few of us foresaw a 0-8 start.

Colts president Bill Polian doesn’t blame coach Jim Caldwell. Polian stated “How you evaluate (Caldwell) is how he does with what he has.”You can’t hold him responsible for injuries. You can’t hold him responsible for an unforeseen surgery (to Manning) that no one anticipated would happen.” Polian doesn’t see an effort issue on defense, but wouldn’t say what, or who, was the problem.

The problem is Jim Caldwell, and Bill Polian knows it.

I have watched Colts games since Caldwell took over in 2008 and have never seen him utter a single word into his headset, nor to the players on the sidelines or to the assistant coaches. I have wondered if his headset is even working.

Now with Manning out, Bill Polian has installed a plan. And that plan is in Stanford, California. There is no assurance that Peyton Manning will be able to play at the level that we have been accustomed to seeing and he may be forced to retire. What would be better than to bring back that winning tradition with another rare, elite quarterback? Yes, the Indianapolis Colts are “Sucking For Luck”.

The Saint Louis Rams, who up until they upset the New Orleans Saints, were winless. And the Dolphins, still winless, have put in tough fights all season. Their persistence will eventually reward them with a victory.

The Colts are the only other NFL team without a victory. Their lack of fire and passion has been evident all season long as a direct reflection of Caldwell’s demeanor on the sidelines. It almost appears that he is being “told” to lose.

The Colts are playing in a different league this season. They are not playing in the NFL, but in the SFL, the”Suck For Luck” league. Their actions just may trigger discussions around the league to consider some form of lottery to prevent teams from purposely tanking a season to acquire high profile draft picks.

At the end of the season, Bill Polian will fire Jim Caldwell and he bring in an offensive-minded guru to groom their sweepstakes prize.

Andrew, you’d better start getting fitted with a helmet with a horseshoe on it.

Source:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7155435/bill-polian-says-injuries-not-jim-caldwell-reason-indianapolis-colts-0-7

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In week 6, I ran the table with a perfect 3-0 mark with my picks for the AFC South division and I was in position to accomplish the feat again in week 7. As predicted, the New Orleans Saints beat up on the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans defeated the Tennessee Titans. With the Jacksonville Jaguars playing against the Baltimore Ravens, I figured another perfect week was in the bag. However, the Jaguars played very well defensively and beat the Ravens 12-7. Despite being in a state of disbelief, I have to put it behind me and look ahead to week 8, where all four teams in the division will face each other.

Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans:

Both teams are coming off disappointing losses from last week. With first place on the line in the division, the Titans were defeated at home by the Texans 41-7 while the Colts were completely dominated by the Saints, to the tune of 62-7. Everyone figured the Colts would be a different team without Peyton Manning(notes) under center, but to lose a game by 55 points is just unacceptable.

The Colts have yet to win a game this season and they will face a Titans’ team that will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss at home. Simply put, the Titans should win big in this one and maybe Chris Johnson will finally have that big game that everyone has been waiting for. Maybe.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans:

The Jaguars made me look bad last week to say the least. I gave them absolutely no shot against the Ravens but they proved me wrong. I guess anything is possible when you hold a team to -1 passing yards in the first half. Despite a decent showing against Baltimore, I think the Texans are more than capable of moving the ball efficiently against a Jaguars’ defense that has been average at best this year.

Arian Foster(notes) caught and ran for over 100 yards against the Titans last week and I think it’s safe to say, he will have another good game against Jacksonville. Look for the Texans to win their second straight game against a divisional opponent.

James Tillman is a resident of the Chicago-land area who has been watching NFL games for over 20 seasons. For interesting discussions about the NFL, NBA and MLB, follow on him on Twitter @jtillman9693.

Sources:

Week 8 Picks and Predictions

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Anybody who watched the Colts self-destruct against the New Orleans Saints on October 23 in the Big Easy could tell you that just about every facet of Indianapolis’s game is in bad shape right now. The loss of quarterback Peyton Manning(notes) has exposed a mediocre offense that struggles to eat time off the clock and, more damning, a defense that can’t stop the run, can’t run routes and just can’t get off the field. I’ve lived and died with the Colts since they arrived here in 1984, and this 0-7 start may be the ugliest stretch I’ve ever witnessed, with a healthy portion of the blame going to that woeful defense. After listening to ” The Bill Polian Show ” on WIBC the night after the slaughter, I’m pretty sure that there will be some changes made, soon, in response to the current mess.

Polian, the Colts vice chairman, repeatedly assured host Bob Lamey and callers that he and head coach Jim Caldwell feel the offense is capable of winning games as currently constituted. This will be pretty disappointing for most Indy fans to hear, because a lot of us feel that Caldwell has under-performed in his duties since taking over for Tony Dungy a few years ago. The good news, though, is that Polian said the organization plans to actively address the shortcomings on the defensive side of the ball. He also insisted that he is happy with the effort players are making, but that something is just not working. If the effort is intact, then that leaves player personnel OR schemes and play calling as possible areas for improvement.

The Colts can swap their existing personnel in and out of the lineup, they can move guys up from the practice squad or they can sign some new faces who may be waiting for a moribund and desperate team to give them a call. At this point in the season, though, there is probably not a real difference maker hiding on the roster or sitting at home on the couch, and Polian understands this reality. While he said they will experiment with their current player lineups, he also slipped in a mention of “other” possible changes.

To me, it looks like defensive coordinator Larry Coyer is squarely on the chopping block. Coyer was at the defensive helm in Denver when the Broncos forgot how to stop anyone or anything in 2006, and he took a lot of heat for the Colts’ second-half meltdown against the Saints in Super Bowl XLIV . A lot of fans have been calling for his head, and Caldwell’s, for a couple of years now, and Polian may finally grant that wish.

Adam Hughes was raised, and still lives, in rural Indiana. He has been a Colts fans since the team arrived in Indianapolis on a snowy morning in 1984. The Blue and White eventually replaced the Chicago Bears as his #1 team, and Super Bowl XLI was a dream come true.

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The Indianapolis Colts are now 0-7 on the season. After a lopsided 62-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints, the Colts are at a new low. In previous losses the Colts fought hard and were competitive into the fourth quarter before eventually losing the game. Against the Saints the Colts were defeated badly in every aspect of the game.

The Colts biggest problem continues to be the play of the defense. The defense is not doing a good job stopping or even slowing down anyone. The 62 points allowed is a new franchise record for the Colts and an embarrassment for all the players. The Colts had no pass rush, could not defend the pass and could not stop the run. Drew Brees(notes) looked and played about as good as a quarterback can play. Brees finished the game compelting 31 out of 35 passes for 325 yards and five touchdowns. Brees made everything look very easy against the Colts. The Saints also ran for 236 yards against the Colts.

The Colts offense could do nothing to move the ball and was only able to put up a meager seven points against a previously struggling Saints defense. They had only one drive that went anywhere and luckily put up one touchdown drive so that the team was not shut out. If there is any hope for Colts fans to take away from this game it may be the success of rookie running back Delone Carter(notes). Carter ran 10 times for 89 yards and a touchdown and showed a few great runs. Donald Brown(notes) even looked decent on a few carries. Brown had nine carries for 47 yards. The passing game was just awful though and were never able to get anything going at all. When the Colts run for 152 yards and average 6.6 yards per carry that is typically a good sign for the Colts offense.

As a Colts fan it’s discouraging to see the team get beaten so badly and put forth such a poor effort. The Colts are continuously out-coached on a weekly basis and are just not a good enough team without Peyton Manning(notes) to make up for deficiencies elsewhere.

Colts fans have to begin questioning if and when the team will win a game this season. At 0-7 the Colts are one game away from the halfway point in the season and face a challenging game against a conference opponent traveling to Tennessee next week.

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong fan of the Indianapolis Colts. He attended Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and follows the team closely. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

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The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints week seven matchup was supposed to be one of the premiere games on the 2011 NFL schedule. When the game was scheduled nobody expected the Colts to be sitting at 0-6. The Saints are currently at 4-2 like many fans expected. The Colts will still be without Peyton Manning(notes) and the Saints will play the game with coach Sean Payton in the press box after his injury on the sidelines in week six. Peyton and Payton have huge impact on their teams and luckily for the Saints, their Payton will be in his normal role on Sunday.

The game was expected to be a rematch of Super Bowl XLIV between two of the best teams in the NFL. Now the Colts are amongst the worst teams in the league and the Saints are right where everyone expected them to be. While the Colts are currently 0-6, they have been in contention in nearly every game.

For the Colts to win in New Orleans they will need to play their best game yet and play much better defense than they have in their last few losses. The Colts have had troubled slowing down opposing offenses and Drew Brees(notes) and the Saints are the best offense the team has faced yet. Brees has too many weapons for the Colts to sit back in a zone and allow Brees to pick them apart. If the Colts don’t get big games out of Robert Mathis(notes) and Dwight Freeney(notes) the defense could be in for a long day.

The Colts offense is surely capable of moving the ball on the Saints defense but will need to turn drives into seven points if they want any chance of winning. This is the game in which coach Jim Caldwell needs to play unconventional and be more daring. If the Colts face a fourth down he needs to go for it. The Colts should have trick plays and onside kicks ready. They will need every bit of help they can get against the Saints.

For Colts fans hoping for payback after the Super Bowl loss, this will not be the week to get it. The Colts simply are not good enough and are not the same team without Peyton Manning. Before Manning’s surgery this was the one game on the schedule that I circled when the 2011 schedule was released. While I will still be cheering for my team, the Colts stand very little chance in this game.

Prediction: Saints 34, Colts 13

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong fan of the Indianapolis Colts. He attended Super Bowl XLIV in Miami and follows the team closely. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

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