Justin Snow-Classic Colt NEW

Justin Snow, number 48, signed as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2000, Mr. Snow has played his entire career with the “Blue and White.” During his career, he has excelled at being the longsnapper (144 consecutive games as a Colt) on special teams for punts, field goals, and PAT’s. Along with Mike Vanderjagt and Hunter Smith (holder) they all 3 became the NFL’s first trio to go an entire season, including the playoffs, without missing a FG or PAT in 2003. 

Justin Snow is the very definition of a Classic Colt. He has spent his entire career in Indianapolis, yet is NEVER mentioned. Hailing from the same High School as Dominic Rhodes, Snow has probably been the MOST under appreciated person of long standing on the Colts roster. While Mike V, Hunter Smith, and Vinatieri get all the glory for the kicking/punting, that ball doesn’t just magically appear in Smith’s hands all by itself. The iceman delivering balls on frozen ropes is none other than Snow, Justin Snow.

–Derek Haste

Snow is also repsonsible for talking Dungy into letting Vanderjagt kick the game winning field goal in overtime in Denver in 2002.

Justin Snow-Classic Colt NEW

Justin Snow, number 48, signed as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2000, Mr. Snow has played his entire career with the “Blue and White.” During his career, he has excelled at being the longsnapper (144 consecutive games as a Colt) on special teams for punts, field goals, and PAT’s. Along with Mike Vanderjagt and Hunter Smith (holder) they all 3 became the NFL’s first trio to go an entire season, including the playoffs, without missing a FG or PAT in 2003. 

Justin Snow is the very definition of a Classic Colt. He has spent his entire career in Indianapolis, yet is NEVER mentioned. Hailing from the same High School as Dominic Rhodes, Snow has probably been the MOST under appreciated person of long standing on the Colts roster. While Mike V, Hunter Smith, and Vinatieri get all the glory for the kicking/punting, that ball doesn’t just magically appear in Smith’s hands all by itself. The iceman delivering balls on frozen ropes is none other than Snow, Justin Snow.

–Derek Haste

Snow is also repsonsible for talking Dungy into letting Vanderjagt kick the game winning field goal in overtime in Denver in 2002.

Jon Hand-Classic Colt NEW

Jon Hand was the Colts’ first round draft pick in 1986, and part of the first really good Colts teams in Indianapolis.  He was an immediate starter with the team, playing in 15 games his rookie year, racking up 5 sacks and 82 tackles as one of the lone bright spots on a team that started 3-13.  Three times in his career, Hand led the Colts in sacks, including posting 10 in 1988.  He was a key cog in a solid defense that was first in the NFL in 1987, and 11th the next two years.  Injuries ended his career at 31 years old after 9 seasons, all with the Colts.  He still ranks 6th on the Colts all time sacks list, after retiring in third. 

A high character player, Hand now runs a local construction firm.  He donated the ‘h’ in his first name to long time teammate  Rohn Stark.

Jon Hand-Classic Colt NEW

Jon Hand was the Colts’ first round draft pick in 1986, and part of the first really good Colts teams in Indianapolis.  He was an immediate starter with the team, playing in 15 games his rookie year, racking up 5 sacks and 82 tackles as one of the lone bright spots on a team that started 3-13.  Three times in his career, Hand led the Colts in sacks, including posting 10 in 1988.  He was a key cog in a solid defense that was first in the NFL in 1987, and 11th the next two years.  Injuries ended his career at 31 years old after 9 seasons, all with the Colts.  He still ranks 6th on the Colts all time sacks list, after retiring in third. 

A high character player, Hand now runs a local construction firm.  He donated the ‘h’ in his first name to long time teammate  Rohn Stark.

Duane Bickett-Classic Colt

One of the first true Indianapolis Colts, Duane Bickett burst on the
scene as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1985, and is still the
only Indianapolis Colt to win that award.  He helped to anchor the 1987 Colts defense, which propelled the team to its only division title in the first 15 years the team played in Indianapolis.  He earned his only Pro Bowl nod for his play that year which included 8 sacks in just 12 games (because of the strike). 

He followed up a stellar 1987 with a strong 1988, and earned second team all conference honors from the UPI adding 3 picks to 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a team high 126 tackles.  Throughout his nine seasons with the Horse, he never had fewer than 3.5 sacks in a season, totaling 50, which was a club record, only recently surpassed by Freeney and Mathis, and still a team record for a line backer.

Bickett is an exemplary addition to the Classic Colts, and his candidacy is one of the most requested in memory, showing that more than 15 years after leaving the team, he still has many fans in Indianapolis.

Marcus Pollard-Classic Colt

In 1995, the Colts took a chance on a raw talent out of Bradley University, who didn’t play college football, but rather basketball.  Little did they know that Marcus Pollard would wind up as a Colt for nearly a decade.  He would end up becoming a major contribuitor for the Colts, peaking in 2001 with 739 yards and 8 scores.  He was part of the excellent tandem of TEs with Ken Dilger. Pollard was the deep threat and once scoring an 86 yard TD on a catch and run hook up from Peyton Manning.

Pollard was a fan favorite for his TD celebration of dunking the ball over the goal posts.  He is perhaps best remembered by Colts fans for getting unforgivably mugged on consecutive plays at the end of the 2004 AFC Championship game, including the deciding fourth down play where he was dragged to the ground with no call.  Pollard has bounced around the NFL since leaving Indianapolis, and had scored a very respectable 40 TDs in his career.

Marcus hold the distinction of being the most frequently nominated new member of the Classic Colts by our readers.  His inclusion is over due, and definitely deserved.

Eyes in the Backfield – Chargers (Playoff Edition)

Don’t worry, Norv.  Just call a timeout and everything will be fine.

It’s playoff time.  When last these two teams met, the Colts came away with a clutch win in one of the best games of the year.  Now, they meet again with both teams blazingly hot.  The winner may well storm the gates of Tampa, Florida, while the loser will have massive questions to answer.  This week, keep an eye on:

1.  Antonio Gates.  In his last four games against Indy, here are his numbers:  3 for 28.  2 for 28. 3 for 26. 6 for 29. No touchdowns. The problem is that Gary Brackett played in all those games, but he won’t play this week.  His loss could prove fatal for the Colts.

2.  Watch the deep ball.  The Chargers run a vertical passing game that should fit right in
with Indy’s defense.  However in the November game, Rivers threw 2 (of
the six all year) TD passes against the Colts, and completed several
deep throws.  He has just the kind of accuracy that can tear up a
Cover-2.  This could be like Pennington in 2002.  Noodle armed, accurate
QBs with good timing can beat this defense, especially with tall WRs against the Colts smaller corners.

3.  Watch the MVP.  The award will be announced on Friday, and 18 is the likely winner.  Manning has never looked better than he has the last two (nine) weeks.  Peyton usually puts up huge numbers against the Chargers, and the Colts need him to be on his game. 

4. Watch to see he’s enough.  Before last January, we always had the comfort of knowing that if
Peyton played perfect, the Colts would win.  Last year’s playoff game
changed all that.  Manning played one of the great games of his life,
and everyone let him down.  He completed his first 14 passes in a row
that day.  Had two picks bounce of his targets’ hands, saw his #1 guy
fumble on a huge third down conversion, got no protection on the two
biggest plays of the game, and had his last past dropped by Dallas
Clark. We can’t go into this game knowing that Peyton will do something
to pull it out, because he tried last year, and no one would
cooperate.  Hell, he even threw a huge TD pass to give Indy the lead
with less than 10 minutes to play and the defense gave it up against
Billy Volek.

5.  Watch Jamal Williams.  The massive nose
tackle always gives the Colts fits, as Saturday needed help blocking
him before he got hurt.  With Justice in at center, Williams almost won
the game by himself.  If Indy doesn’t scheme better, Williams will disrupt the offense and end this season early.

6.  Watch the short week.  Both teams are down a day of prep time.  Whichever coaching staff can be more efficient in game planning this week will give their club a major lift. The fact that these teams have already met 3 times 13 months means they should be familiar with one another.  One would think this bodes will for the Colts.

7. Watch the emotion.  The Colts seem steely eyed and determined this season.  They fear nothing and don’t get too high or low.  The Chargers have to be in high spirits after their raucous win on Sunday night.  They seem like an emotionally fragile team that might come in over-confident.

8.  Watch for the last minute.  Both the Chargers and the Colts have played an overwhelming slate of close games this year.  Indy went 8-1 in games decided by a TD or less.  The Chargers were less successful going just 2-7.  With mistakes like Norv Turner’s horrible timeout call against Indy, the Chargers tend to come up short if the game is close…and it’s been close all year.

9.  Watch the run in the fourth quarter. Six times this season the Colts have had the ball with a chance to run out the clock on the other team and failed to do so.  Usually Indy was vaguely successful and put together some first downs, but always left the opposition with the ball.  Against the Chargers in November, they had a 10 point lead in fourth quarter, before letting Rivers tie the game.  Indy doesn’t have to run to take the lead, but they will need to run to keep it.

10.  Watch the powder blue.  For reasons too insane to fathom, the Chargers have decided to wear their powder blue unis on Saturday in effort to sell out the game.  Why a team has to wear girl jerseys to pump up their fan base is beyond us.  Apparently, the move is designed “generate added excitement”.  There is so much wrong with that that I don’t even know where to start.

11.  Watch for survival.  Four of the hottest teams in the league will play this weekend in the AFC Wild Card round.  To survive the melee the Colts will have to pull out all the stops.  In last season’s game the Colts went 2 for 4 on fourth down.  In November’s game Tony Dungy’s team was 2 for 2 on fourth down conversions.  Both conversions were critical to the victory.  Don’t rule out an extremely rare fake kick or punt from the Colts.       

12.  Watch for pass-catching backs.  Tom Moore has heavily featured passes to the running backs in each of the last two games against San Diego.  Addai and Rhodes combined for 12 passes in November, including a key touchdown.  In January’s game Addai and Keith combined for 11 catches, but Keith botched a pass in the red zone causing an interception.  Manning is at his best when he uses his backs to extend drives.   

13.  Watch the long-term implications.  Some analysts viewed last year’s one and done as the same old Colts.  We believe a deep playoff run on the road would kill the choker label forever.  It would give Tony Dungy’s Hall of Fame credentials a nice boost.  It would also help Bill Polian’s long-shot case. 

14.  Watch the kicker.  Nick Kaeding is a very respectable 27 for 32 on the season, but he is not without a chink in his armor.  He is just 3 for 8 from the range of 40 to 49 yards.  He only attempted one field goal of 50 yards or longer on the year.  This could work out nicely given the Colts bend, but don’t break style of defense.       

15.  Watch for a defensive statement.  The Colts defense has quietly cobbled together a good season despite critical injuries in the secondary and on the interior line.  Gary Brackett’s injury is the icing on the cake.  Through it all they’ve made the clutch plays and are seventh in the league, allowing 18.6 points per game.  The Chargers defense (21.7 ppg) has been less consistent, but has stepped up during their recent win streak.  They will have DE Luis Castillo who did not play in the last meeting.  But if the game comes down to getting one stop, we’ll take the team with Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.     

16.  Watch for anything.  Unlike the Colts, San Diego is a hard team to figure out.  They lose close games, lose to bad teams, but find themselves in the playoffs with a searing hot quarterback.  After struggling to run the ball at times this season, they rushed for a franchise record 289 yards last week against the Broncos.  Are they peaking at the right time?  Or just a lucky mirage?  We really don’t know.       

17.  Watch 88.  We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that Saturday’s game might be Marvin Harrison’s last in blue and white.  Last season he had a very dissappointing playoff game (2 catches, 27 yards) against the Chargers, coming off his knee injury.  This year has been a struggle at times for Marvin to find his place in the offense.  We are not predicting it, but we’d love to see the type of performance that would make cutting Marvin very difficult to imagine.    

18.  Watch for self-preservation.  DZ loves this 2008 team so much, he can’t bear to pick them.  It’s psychotic, but years of fandom have conditioned him to expect defeat in the most painful ways.  Nothing this good lasts, and he sees the Chargers exploiting Brackett’s absence to the tune of a heart-breaking 27 – 21 loss.  Demond likes the Colts in a see-saw battle 30 – 27.  Recall that the scoring in January’s game went Colts-Chargers-Colts-Chargers-Colts-Chargers-Colts-Chargers.

Eyes in the Backfield – Chargers (Playoff Edition)

Don’t worry, Norv.  Just call a timeout and everything will be fine.

It’s playoff time.  When last these two teams met, the Colts came away with a clutch win in one of the best games of the year.  Now, they meet again with both teams blazingly hot.  The winner may well storm the gates of Tampa, Florida, while the loser will have massive questions to answer.  This week, keep an eye on:

1.  Antonio Gates.  In his last four games against Indy, here are his numbers:  3 for 28.  2 for 28. 3 for 26. 6 for 29. No touchdowns. The problem is that Gary Brackett played in all those games, but he won’t play this week.  His loss could prove fatal for the Colts.

2.  Watch the deep ball.  The Chargers run a vertical passing game that should fit right in
with Indy’s defense.  However in the November game, Rivers threw 2 (of
the six all year) TD passes against the Colts, and completed several
deep throws.  He has just the kind of accuracy that can tear up a
Cover-2.  This could be like Pennington in 2002.  Noodle armed, accurate
QBs with good timing can beat this defense, especially with tall WRs against the Colts smaller corners.

3.  Watch the MVP.  The award will be announced on Friday, and 18 is the likely winner.  Manning has never looked better than he has the last two (nine) weeks.  Peyton usually puts up huge numbers against the Chargers, and the Colts need him to be on his game. 

4. Watch to see he’s enough.  Before last January, we always had the comfort of knowing that if
Peyton played perfect, the Colts would win.  Last year’s playoff game
changed all that.  Manning played one of the great games of his life,
and everyone let him down.  He completed his first 14 passes in a row
that day.  Had two picks bounce of his targets’ hands, saw his #1 guy
fumble on a huge third down conversion, got no protection on the two
biggest plays of the game, and had his last past dropped by Dallas
Clark. We can’t go into this game knowing that Peyton will do something
to pull it out, because he tried last year, and no one would
cooperate.  Hell, he even threw a huge TD pass to give Indy the lead
with less than 10 minutes to play and the defense gave it up against
Billy Volek.

5.  Watch Jamal Williams.  The massive nose
tackle always gives the Colts fits, as Saturday needed help blocking
him before he got hurt.  With Justice in at center, Williams almost won
the game by himself.  If Indy doesn’t scheme better, Williams will disrupt the offense and end this season early.

6.  Watch the short week.  Both teams are down a day of prep time.  Whichever coaching staff can be more efficient in game planning this week will give their club a major lift. The fact that these teams have already met 3 times 13 months means they should be familiar with one another.  One would think this bodes will for the Colts.

7. Watch the emotion.  The Colts seem steely eyed and determined this season.  They fear nothing and don’t get too high or low.  The Chargers have to be in high spirits after their raucous win on Sunday night.  They seem like an emotionally fragile team that might come in over-confident.

8.  Watch for the last minute.  Both the Chargers and the Colts have played an overwhelming slate of close games this year.  Indy went 8-1 in games decided by a TD or less.  The Chargers were less successful going just 2-7.  With mistakes like Norv Turner’s horrible timeout call against Indy, the Chargers tend to come up short if the game is close…and it’s been close all year.

9.  Watch the run in the fourth quarter. Six times this season the Colts have had the ball with a chance to run out the clock on the other team and failed to do so.  Usually Indy was vaguely successful and put together some first downs, but always left the opposition with the ball.  Against the Chargers in November, they had a 10 point lead in fourth quarter, before letting Rivers tie the game.  Indy doesn’t have to run to take the lead, but they will need to run to keep it.

10.  Watch the powder blue.  For reasons too insane to fathom, the Chargers have decided to wear their powder blue unis on Saturday in effort to sell out the game.  Why a team has to wear girl jerseys to pump up their fan base is beyond us.  Apparently, the move is designed “generate added excitement”.  There is so much wrong with that that I don’t even know where to start.

11.  Watch for survival.  Four of the hottest teams in the league will play this weekend in the AFC Wild Card round.  To survive the melee the Colts will have to pull out all the stops.  In last season’s game the Colts went 2 for 4 on fourth down.  In November’s game Tony Dungy’s team was 2 for 2 on fourth down conversions.  Both conversions were critical to the victory.  Don’t rule out an extremely rare fake kick or punt from the Colts.       

12.  Watch for pass-catching backs.  Tom Moore has heavily featured passes to the running backs in each of the last two games against San Diego.  Addai and Rhodes combined for 12 passes in November, including a key touchdown.  In January’s game Addai and Keith combined for 11 catches, but Keith botched a pass in the red zone causing an interception.  Manning is at his best when he uses his backs to extend drives.   

13.  Watch the long-term implications.  Some analysts viewed last year’s one and done as the same old Colts.  We believe a deep playoff run on the road would kill the choker label forever.  It would give Tony Dungy’s Hall of Fame credentials a nice boost.  It would also help Bill Polian’s long-shot case. 

14.  Watch the kicker.  Nick Kaeding is a very respectable 27 for 32 on the season, but he is not without a chink in his armor.  He is just 3 for 8 from the range of 40 to 49 yards.  He only attempted one field goal of 50 yards or longer on the year.  This could work out nicely given the Colts bend, but don’t break style of defense.       

15.  Watch for a defensive statement.  The Colts defense has quietly cobbled together a good season despite critical injuries in the secondary and on the interior line.  Gary Brackett’s injury is the icing on the cake.  Through it all they’ve made the clutch plays and are seventh in the league, allowing 18.6 points per game.  The Chargers defense (21.7 ppg) has been less consistent, but has stepped up during their recent win streak.  They will have DE Luis Castillo who did not play in the last meeting.  But if the game comes down to getting one stop, we’ll take the team with Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.     

16.  Watch for anything.  Unlike the Colts, San Diego is a hard team to figure out.  They lose close games, lose to bad teams, but find themselves in the playoffs with a searing hot quarterback.  After struggling to run the ball at times this season, they rushed for a franchise record 289 yards last week against the Broncos.  Are they peaking at the right time?  Or just a lucky mirage?  We really don’t know.       

17.  Watch 88.  We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that Saturday’s game might be Marvin Harrison’s last in blue and white.  Last season he had a very dissappointing playoff game (2 catches, 27 yards) against the Chargers, coming off his knee injury.  This year has been a struggle at times for Marvin to find his place in the offense.  We are not predicting it, but we’d love to see the type of performance that would make cutting Marvin very difficult to imagine.    

18.  Watch for self-preservation.  DZ loves this 2008 team so much, he can’t bear to pick them.  It’s psychotic, but years of fandom have conditioned him to expect defeat in the most painful ways.  Nothing this good lasts, and he sees the Chargers exploiting Brackett’s absence to the tune of a heart-breaking 27 – 21 loss.  Demond likes the Colts in a see-saw battle 30 – 27.  Recall that the scoring in January’s game went Colts-Chargers-Colts-Chargers-Colts-Chargers-Colts-Chargers.

Eyes in the Backfield – Titans

Take a break, Peyton.  You’ve earned it.

Last week, we witnessed on of the great games in Colts history.  For years, we’ll remember the night when we saw Manning at the absolute peak of his powers. His reward?  A nice relaxing trip to the bench.  That’s right, it’s December and the Titans are in town, so it must mean that it’s Sorgi time.  This week watch for:

1.  At least 100 yards.  Peyton needs 93 for 4000.  Don’t think he doesn’t know exactly what he needs.  It’s a good bet he throws for a couple of scores too.  If the Colts get in tight on the goal line, watch for passes.  Peyton knows he can seal up a third MVP award with even a ‘modest’ quarter or half. 

2.  Don’t watch for sacks in the first quarter.  These two teams feature the lowest “adjusted sack rates” in the NFL.  On one hand the Titans have a bruising line that keeps their QB clean.  On the Colts side, they have Peyton Manning.  Once he leaves the game, watch for Sorgi to go down often.

3.  Watch for Vince.  Before the season, we predicted another division title for the Colts to go with 11 or 12 wins.  Basically, the only thing that stopped that from happening was Vince Young getting hurt.  The Colts held up their end of the bargain, but we were counting on VY to suppress the Titans.  Instead, Kerry Collins has pulled them to 13 wins.  That’s bad luck.  Now, VY is about to get back on the field.  A fun time will be had by all.

4.  Watch the run game.  With Dom out, it’ll be interesting to see how much the Colts run Joseph Addai.  He’s been banged up all year, but at the same time, Indy needs to prove it can move the ball on the ground at least a little.  The Titans are without Haynesworth up front, so running might be an option.  If the Colts hold Addai out as well and go with Simpson, you might just see 18 throw on every down.

5.  Watch for Sasquatch.  That’s our new nickname for the elusive Roy Hall.  For two seasons now, he’s been lurking in the shadows of the Colts camps and complex.  His size is amazing.  He tantalizes the bloggers who snap grainy photos of his amazing deeds.  Yet strangely, this misunderstood outcast shies away from the spot light, disappearing for weeks at a time on to the inactive list, showing up randomly to make a special teams tackle.  He may well see the field on offense this week, so get a look while you can.

6.  Watch for Quinton Ganther.  The Titans won’t play Chris Johnson very much because he is too valuable.  Lendale White and his 15 touchdowns are pretty valuable as well.  Look for a committee of no-name backs to carry the football for Tennessee.

7. Watch for 7.  If you see Manning force feed Marvin short throws early,
it might mean that 88 is done as a Colt.  He needs just 7 catches to
hold the #2 spot all by himself.  If the Colts go out of their way to
get him those catches on Sunday, it could be a bitter-sweet moment.

8.  Watch for 8.  That’s the franchise record for fewest TD passes allowed in a season (14 games).  The NFL 16 game record is 9.  As of 15 weeks, the Colts have allowed only 6 passing scores.  If they can keep the Titans out of the endzone through the air more than once, they’ll have broken two very prestigious records.

9. Watch the sidelines.  We think Tony Dungy will come back for another year, but it is possible that Sunday will mark the end of an era in Indianapolis.  Enjoy it.  A coach like Dungy, who has combined success with grace and humility, comes around once in a football fan’s lifetime.
   
10.  Watch Marcus Howard.  The Rookie out of Georgia and fellow backup Josh Thomas will see the field early and often.  The Colts can’t risk and injury to Robert Mathis or Dwight Freeney, who will be essential peices of any playoff run.    

11.  Watch for 6 straight.  The inaugural season at Lucas Oil Stadium started with losses to Chicago and Jacksonville, but the Colts have since turned things around at home.  A win over the Titans will give them 6 in a row and a very respectable 6-2 mark in their new confines. 

12.  Watch for 12.  Personally, I think Manning gets a half of football before they pull him, and in that half he’ll put up three scores and seal the MVP award.  The rest of the game is a crap shoot, but in honor of the Maytag man, we’ll call it for the Colts 24-10.

Eyes in the Backfield – Titans

Take a break, Peyton.  You’ve earned it.

Last week, we witnessed on of the great games in Colts history.  For years, we’ll remember the night when we saw Manning at the absolute peak of his powers. His reward?  A nice relaxing trip to the bench.  That’s right, it’s December and the Titans are in town, so it must mean that it’s Sorgi time.  This week watch for:

1.  At least 100 yards.  Peyton needs 93 for 4000.  Don’t think he doesn’t know exactly what he needs.  It’s a good bet he throws for a couple of scores too.  If the Colts get in tight on the goal line, watch for passes.  Peyton knows he can seal up a third MVP award with even a ‘modest’ quarter or half. 

2.  Don’t watch for sacks in the first quarter.  These two teams feature the lowest “adjusted sack rates” in the NFL.  On one hand the Titans have a bruising line that keeps their QB clean.  On the Colts side, they have Peyton Manning.  Once he leaves the game, watch for Sorgi to go down often.

3.  Watch for Vince.  Before the season, we predicted another division title for the Colts to go with 11 or 12 wins.  Basically, the only thing that stopped that from happening was Vince Young getting hurt.  The Colts held up their end of the bargain, but we were counting on VY to suppress the Titans.  Instead, Kerry Collins has pulled them to 13 wins.  That’s bad luck.  Now, VY is about to get back on the field.  A fun time will be had by all.

4.  Watch the run game.  With Dom out, it’ll be interesting to see how much the Colts run Joseph Addai.  He’s been banged up all year, but at the same time, Indy needs to prove it can move the ball on the ground at least a little.  The Titans are without Haynesworth up front, so running might be an option.  If the Colts hold Addai out as well and go with Simpson, you might just see 18 throw on every down.

5.  Watch for Sasquatch.  That’s our new nickname for the elusive Roy Hall.  For two seasons now, he’s been lurking in the shadows of the Colts camps and complex.  His size is amazing.  He tantalizes the bloggers who snap grainy photos of his amazing deeds.  Yet strangely, this misunderstood outcast shies away from the spot light, disappearing for weeks at a time on to the inactive list, showing up randomly to make a special teams tackle.  He may well see the field on offense this week, so get a look while you can.

6.  Watch for Quinton Ganther.  The Titans won’t play Chris Johnson very much because he is too valuable.  Lendale White and his 15 touchdowns are pretty valuable as well.  Look for a committee of no-name backs to carry the football for Tennessee.

7. Watch for 7.  If you see Manning force feed Marvin short throws early,
it might mean that 88 is done as a Colt.  He needs just 7 catches to
hold the #2 spot all by himself.  If the Colts go out of their way to
get him those catches on Sunday, it could be a bitter-sweet moment.

8.  Watch for 8.  That’s the franchise record for fewest TD passes allowed in a season (14 games).  The NFL 16 game record is 9.  As of 15 weeks, the Colts have allowed only 6 passing scores.  If they can keep the Titans out of the endzone through the air more than once, they’ll have broken two very prestigious records.

9. Watch the sidelines.  We think Tony Dungy will come back for another year, but it is possible that Sunday will mark the end of an era in Indianapolis.  Enjoy it.  A coach like Dungy, who has combined success with grace and humility, comes around once in a football fan’s lifetime.
   
10.  Watch Marcus Howard.  The Rookie out of Georgia and fellow backup Josh Thomas will see the field early and often.  The Colts can’t risk and injury to Robert Mathis or Dwight Freeney, who will be essential peices of any playoff run.    

11.  Watch for 6 straight.  The inaugural season at Lucas Oil Stadium started with losses to Chicago and Jacksonville, but the Colts have since turned things around at home.  A win over the Titans will give them 6 in a row and a very respectable 6-2 mark in their new confines. 

12.  Watch for 12.  Personally, I think Manning gets a half of football before they pull him, and in that half he’ll put up three scores and seal the MVP award.  The rest of the game is a crap shoot, but in honor of the Maytag man, we’ll call it for the Colts 24-10.