The Indianapolis Colts(0-3) take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers(2-1) at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay tonight, with 7:30CST kick off, televised on ESPN. The Peyton Manning-less Colts are shown for the team people thought they were with Peyton artificially holding up the shell of the team they were just five years ago. The 2006 Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts find themselves in a situation very similar to that of the Dallas Cowboys last year. Both teams were hopeful to play for the Lombardi trophy in their home stadium, with a franchise quarterback. Both teams lost their franchise quarterback, and although the Colts still have time to salvage their season, it appears that the Colts will follow the path the Cowboys went in their abysmal six win 2010 season.
Jon Gruden will be announcing the game tonight, announcing the team that he, himself brought to the Super Bowl in 2003 (2002 season). You might wonder whether he will be rooting for the team he once led, or against the team that fired him in 2009. Some say the Super Bowl victory against his old team, the Oakland Raiders was largely due to the team that Tony Dungy built before him. Gruden was fired in 2009 after getting knocked from the playoff hunt by the team he defeated in the Super Bowl six years before.
The post-Gruden Buccaneers surprised the football world, by going 10-6 without him. The young talent, featuring rookies LeGarrette Blount (1,007 rushing yards in 2010) and Mike Williams (964 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns in 2010), largely made this happen. If Josh Freeman can prevent turnovers (to date he has 4 picks and 2 fumbles), and get the ball into Mike Williams hands, they should be able to defeat the deflated Colts easily. If the Bucs O-Line can't contain the two weapons the Colts did not lose this year, Dwight Freeney (3 Sacks in 2011) and Robert Mathis (2 Sacks in 2011), we should have another one of those games that are fun to watch, but not because of expert play.
Kevin
No comments:
Post a Comment